Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1866-07-04
- For the Newsdealer.
STATUS OF THE NEGRO.
BEVERLY FARMS, Mass. !
July 25, 1866. I

social circles, political circles, and relig-
ious circles. 1t has been discussed in ly-
ceums, in Congress- and in the pulpit -
and finally on the battle, field.
The decisions reached, thus far have been
various and curious; such as these, enc.
groes arc a species of ape, and have no
SOULS" "they were made to wait upon
white men !" "they have no rights white
men are bound to respect" they fit only
for merchandise. upon the auction block"
or freight for the underground railroad"
or "a cargo for the colonization society"
"game for blood hounds !" slaves = and
at last, yes at last. "Fresmen." mos.a b
And what does freedmen" mean? The
old slangs seem to to be set aside,r and this
word is substituted, and yet We are puz-
zled to know where in human society to
place them. 1- ua. la. f.,'I'
We arc told they have civil rights )"
but how are those rights to be protected ?
By a"Bureau" we are told. Free men in
a Bureau rather a tight place. They
are taxed, drafted and punished, but they
cant vote; and hence cannot represent
themselves, nor be represented. They
seem to be 10 political purgatory, and how,
when or in what shape they will come
forth, will doubtless depend upon the num-
Der of prayers offered in their behalf; and
the number of prayers offered, will de-
pend upon the amount Of stipend" laid
down.
But turning from the clouds of dust,
which sel6shness has raised over this ques-
tion, and looking in clear light, at a
few naked facts, we get more definite
impression.
These facts demonstrate that the freed.
men are the "balance weight of the ma
ton, Neither is this place that they
have assumed, but the place to which they
have been assigned as can be easily shown.
Before the war they were assigned
to the work Of rearing that spacious idol
of America, worshipped as king Cotton =
hence, commercially the negro held the
balance of power" ...
Before the war the whole policy Of the
Government, from Inauguration to inau-
geration, was shaped to suit the ncgrooc-
racy of the South; hence politically the
planters adjusted the balance weight
Before the war, in religion, the pulpit,
in far too many cases was compelled to
thunder forth the divinity Of slavery"
upon penalty of hunger, nakedness cold,
frOwn, teers, tar and feathers. So the
national weight" was adjusted religious
ly to the condition of the negro.
Secessonists plotted the mad scheme Of
war, and upon the persuasion that the
slaves would fight for their masters. based
their hope of success; making the negro
the balance of power" ,l,. .
In the war, TIE time came to try that
hope, but rebeldom hesitated /; the North
seized upon the suspicious moment and
called for volunteers to the Union army
from the colored men: 100000 responded
to the call, and the war that ''stood trem.
bling in the balance" was quickly decid-
ded for the Union; the negro serving al
as the "balance Of power" H ,.
Now the war is over, the South will
not attempt another, for they have asccr
tanned where the freedmen will fight; and
so their decision about going to war il
1860, would be reversed in 1866. be
, cause the freedmen hold the balance o
power" t Hh '.1+ @'F 'r
If the freedmen are denied the right Il
vote, which they are likely to be, if the
: "ringbOne and spawned" amendment nov
before the country be adopted, for being
) left out of the representation, it leave
the South in q hopeless minority, an,
gives the power to the North; beauti
Q fully, because the negro is the "balance 0
! weight" A0 ~ aaa hoIgi3
Had Congress done them justice give
J. the freedmea the right to vote. which the
d had as much right to do, as to give ther
d the bill Of Rights the freedmen woul
Of course voted with the North, lea win
the South agsin in hopeless minority
all because the negro holds the ..balanc