The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-01-05

age. One theory Is that which starts with the
fundamental idea that the two races cannot
dwell together except in the subordination of
one to the other. The necessity of this subor-
dlnation was the doctrine of that man, to
whom, though IN the grave, the country is
most indebted for the miseries which have
been inflicted upon it. He relied upon it as
justification of slavery. If true, then in self
defence, the white man must maintain the in
stitution. Propositions having no other found
alton than the sheerest assumption, uttered
with an air as if ec cathedra and persistently
repeated, passing from mouth to mouth I'M
CHALLENGED, come to be received as first princi-
PIES The assertion so often made and long
repeated that the blacks are an inferior race,
has become common belief There are GER
tain prominent characteristics which marx
them as a different race, but these py no
means establish the fact OF natural me
riority, for they do not necessarily atfect thelr
intellectual or moral organization. Inc igno-
rance, the propensities, the laziness, the inca
pacity to take care of themselves, the feeble
Sense IF moral obligation alleged against the
baclss are to be considered, and their origin
traced. Brought to this country in a savage
state. shut out and forbidden all means of OBJ
tanning knowledge except by observation, how
could they be otherwise than ignorant? If
they will steal, is it strange that the victims of
perpetual robbery should lay their hands on
what might come in their way liable to appro-
priation? Doubtless they have always been
taught it was improper to take their masters
property, but when he was snatching their
all without recompense, abstract teachings
would be very likely to fail in the light of such
an example. Practically forbidden the enjoy
ment of the family relation, deprived as it has
been of all those sanctions which constitute
it the incentive and guard to chastity, the
charge of RIGHTEOUSNESS can be made with no
more Justice against them than against the
brute creation. The laziness which shirks la
Dor is not wonderful when the laborer does
not receive his reward. How many white
men would work except upon the compulsion
of the task-master, if at night collector stood
by to receive their wages, from which the la
borer should be allowed but pittance to sup
ply him with the scantiest fare and shabbiest
rafment? The great wealth of the South be-
fore the rebellion, was due almost wholly to
the toll of the slave, and the worlds history is
pregnant with proof that the security of ac-
QUESTION is the greatest possible stimulus to
industry. If they are insensible to moral OBJ
legations, is it not pertinent to inquire how
regard for these could be expected Of people
towards whom moral obligations have never
been maintained, and whose whole existence
has been fraught with lessons that no such
obligations existedp Suppose the like number
OF whites reduced to the same bondage, under
precisely similar conditions, who doubts that
the assertion would be made and accepted that
they were an inferior race? Whatever there
Is in the condition of the freedmen giving col
or to the allegation Of inferiority, is it not
chargable to the bondage in which he has
been held? 30 stl.fhffs~ SIT
Mr.. Jefferson, one of the wisest and most
philosophical statesmen this country has pro-
duoed, was inclined to the belief, that, sum-
ming up all the elements of organization and
character, the blacks were inferior to the
whites, but even to this belief he gave utter
ance with great doubt and hesitancy, as there
were no sufficient tests known to him by
which the question had been tried, to justify
0an authoritative judgment. # in anything
they were inferior, it was in the highest quail
ties of intellectual organization, But admit
ting, for the sake ofthe argument, the alleg-
ed inequality, how does this conflict with the
compatibility of the two races dwelling to-
gethefs1 the same country2 Is 1t true that
all whites are equal in the endowments God
has bestowed, or in the requirements they pos
sess? On the contrary, with every race and
tongue, thsre are gradations of physical and
intellectual power in individuals, but these
differences create no disturbance in society,
and all of its Adjustments are made easily and
4
plished can live in the same community with
the Ignorant and the rude; if wealth and poy-
erty can stand side by side, each respecting
the rights of the ether when they are of the
same complexion, why may not the same har-
mony exist when there Is difference of rag
es? If inequalities VIGOROUSLY existing
among the so-called master races do not pre-
vent the harmonious arrangement of society
it should require the test Of actual experiment
to induce belief that the same differences in
another race would be attended with different
results. hi .-,e-.lp
Mr.. Jefferson, contemplating the abolition
of slavery and specializing upon the Difficult
ties attending it, conceived that the resent
ment of the oppressed race, stimulated by the
recollection Of the wroDgs they had endured
would excite them to take vengeance on them
masters and that this state of feeling contin.
uing, would make the residence together oil
the two races in state of freedom incompati-
bic with the safety of either. Is it affirming toe
much to say that this apprehension hrs proved
groundless? The disposition Of the blael,
race is, for the greater part, mild and forgiv-
ing, and when it is considered that this vast
multitude Of ignorant beings hayo been sud.
denly set at liberty, it is astonishing that SC
few excuses have taken place or have been SC
easily corrected sdJ l1li ai.lt.g tI Of, ..f ~
The first great demand of this country Is fol
labor. From the very foundation of our gov.
eminent, it has been our policy to invite the
ffeast immigration from every portion ofthe
earth. The allurements of a free government
the ease with which citizenship has been ac-
auired the facility for obtaining cheap and
fertile lands; the readiness with which en-
ployment for unskflled labor even could be
procured and the vast commerce which has
brought them, SO cheaply to our shores, has, in
1lad ~
to only equal those Of the black population oil
the country to-day. Yet with all this tide 81
life flowing in upon us, labor has been in read
Ter demand and commanded higher price in
the United States than ffl an other portion Of
the civilized globe, and the need is still press.
ing for more. The inventive genius of man
has been and is constantly on The rack to de-
wise machinery and processes in every depart
ment Of lie, which shall increase production
and. dispense with 81 give greater efficiency to
human labor. ar 4l.fi-
: With the south the very first necessity is la
Dor to till its fertile soil. The freedman, ig-
norapt as he may be in all else, is well-trained
in her agriculture. The southern climate, un-
friendly and enerYating to the whites, is con-
genial to the negro by reason both OF constitu-
tional organization and long aeelimatioa, and
no imported labor could compete with his al
ali, eyen if the substitution could be made in
day without cost OF Inconvenience Thede-
mapd at the south for labor in the production
Of rice, tobacco, cotton and sugar, outruns all
others in an immeasnrable degree and nothing
but the blindest rage could prompt desire for
the deportation of the freedman. 9s'f
i. No doubt the crudest notions, at this time,
are entertained by the blacks in regard to
their rights and taetr relations to their former
masters. The first lesson for them, and they
are learning it rapidly, is that freedom does
not mean idleness, but that 1t brings 70 them
the necessity of labor with the right to retain
the fruits Of it. There can hardly be ques-
ton that in the course of a brief period of
time the decentralization Of labor existing at the
south, will corrected. The wants Of existence
force the most unwilling to toll, and the incen-
tive which the freedman now feels for the first
time, that he is his own and the labor OF his
hands is not to be sHatched from him, will
achieve the same results with him as with the
white. The land owners of the south must
be eager to resume the cultivation Of their
plantations. stimulated alike by necessity and
the love Of gain, The white needs what the
Lilo all hoo tn call-lahOr. and tIbn blaoE vuo1,fc