The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1866-03-16
Jack PETERS, NEGROES. y

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| "JACK PETERS NEGROES
They are beginning to dnd out, in the
South that free labor benefits commu-
nifty in more ways than one. 1t is now
generally acknowledged that the freed
men work well last Christmas exploded
the foolish notion that, having been
made free, they would, at the first OPP
portunity, run muck against The rest
of the community; and now it begins
to be discovered that their liberation is a
source of great prosperity to the local
merchants and traders. An Alabamaian
| writes to Mr.. Blow, of Missouri:
III am happy to state to you that our
free negroes are doing finely. We have
no trouble with them. They have all
gone to work manfully. They give an
| impetus to trade that we never before
| had. ! have sold Jack Peters negroes
more goods this year and last year than l
ever sold Peters, and he owned four hun-
dred and fifty negroes. So you see the
free negro system is working well with
US.
OF course they give an impetus to
trade: they have money to spend; they
have desire to I've comfortably, to dress
decently, to fit up their houses respect
ably; and now that they are earning
wages, they will spend all they make in
the neighboring shops and stores, for
articles which before, while they were
| slaves, they never could have.
A planter like Peters, whom this Ala
| banhian speaks of, bought all his sup
| plies at wholesale in one of the great
business centres, Mobile Memphis, New
| Orleans, Atlanta, Charleston or Savan
| nah, whichever was nearest to him. He
bought only the coarsest stuffs and the
cheapest food for his slaves; as he paid
for the whole, and had large biz set
| tie, he naturally got as little for them "a
! they could live upon and as for himself
and his family, they spent their money
In New Orleans or in the North. Thus
the small trader, the country storekeeper
who is an important and prosperous In
dividual in free community, had hard
struggle for 1t In the South.
But it is not alone by the money spent
by Jack Peters negroes tina. this Ala
bama merchant from whose letter we
quoted above, will benefit. The whole
community on whose custom be depends
will become more able to support him
will increase their trade with him under
the free-labor system. The rich planter
living upon his estate owned his slave
mechanics, went North or to Europe,
when he wanted to amuse himself, aud
had no interest in the social advance
me mt Of the country in which he hap
pened TO be settled. Why should he
care for schools ? His children had tu-
tors at home or went to Northern col
leges. Why should he seek to form or
elevate society around him? When he
wanted company" he went TO Charles
ton, or Savannah, or Mobile, or New
Orleans, or New York. Why should
he buy the small farmers truck ?"
His own slaves raised all be wanted.
But with free labor all this is changed.
The freedmen, as their condition be-
comes more settled, and themselves
more prosperous, will have more CONS
Portable houses; they will buy more
comfortable and more abundant eioth-
ing; they will live better in every way.
and this will make work for mechanics
of all kinds, carpenters, blacksmiths,
tailors, masons, ETC., etc. These, be-
coming in turn prosperous, will still
further increase the storekeeper's bust
ness, for they are all small purchasers,
| who deal at the local shop. They will
also create demand for the butter, eggs,
chickens, and other "smaIl truck,u
which forms one of the most important
items of New England farmers profits,
but for which, under the slave system,
there was no call. And thus will be
built up free society, which naturally
fallsintO villages, with schools, churches,
shops, and artisans in various branches.
all drawing their support from the sur
rounding country, and making up a
nd hannxy
Why should he employ free mechan-
les? He preferred to buy a carpenter,
s.nd sell him again when the work was
done. He would not help to support the
village etOre-if there was one-for, as
we have said, he bought his supplies at
wholesale in the great city. He did not
need the village tailor, for his clothes
were made in New York. His wife did
not EN- ploy the village milliner, for she
got her dresses from New Orleans. or
New York, or Paris. In short. the
planter, under the slave system, had no
interest in the country where he hap
pened to own soil, except to raise as
much cotton off the land as possible he
spent the proceeds away from home.
Nor must We forget another point,
where the free labor system will benefit
all classes; it will make working capital
greatly more abundant in the South than
1t could be under the slave system. For
merly, planter with fifteen thousand
dollars capital paid say three thousand
dollars for his land, and had then to
spend all the rest, twelve thousand, i'm
the purchase of slaves, leaving him
cramped in his means-in fact, a poor
man from the start. But the same man
can now afford to pay twice as much for
his land, and yet have nine. thousand
dollars left with which to improve it, to
buy the best tools, and to help on vari-
GUS local enterprises calculated to bene-
fit more or less directly his own under
taking. ". Y. Post.
81
The Prince of Condo, the Oldest son of
| the Duke of Aumale. and the Duke of