The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1866-01-10

managers Of estates (for the propretors
were mostly absentees) forgetting tba,
the negro was no longer a bondmac,
carried into their new sphere the habits
Of thought and action to which they had
been accu ustoned, but OF which the freed
man was very naturally most impatient,
and attempted to subject the latter to n
system Of discipline which the laws had
} made obsolete. DistIust and aliueation
| were the Inevitable consequence. The
laborer in disgust abandoned his old
home, and set up for himself. 1t is not
without some degree Of truth that wri
ter in the Westminster Reviep," Feb
ruary, 1853, asserts, "1he dlminuliou Of
labor was the direct and immediate con
sequence Of .!-e Encouragement of the
| planters"
Southern plsn,ers,i it is to be hopeI
will avoid this error. Oar colored peo
pie are possessed, we believe, Of the mos;
kindly feelings towards their late owners.
Many OF them have declined 10 accept
the protfsred boon OF freedom; all, with
perhaPs tAe exception Of the few who
have been corrupted by those who left
their masters and took up arms against
them in the late struggle. wish ana hope
to live amongst US qnie;ly and orderly.
The negro is by nature submissiv Q. and
peaceable. lie has no propensity to acts
OF violence and blood. lntemperance is
not among his crimes. lis chief faults
are fslsehood and theft, and these were
tho incidents Of his servis condition, jus,
IS gaming. gsllan,ry, the pleasures Of the
table and extravagant display in dress
and equipage are the products Of high.
or stage OF civiliz ,tiou. Possessing with
in himself the constituents Of an effective
laborer, he may be ,rau.mu,ed by judi
cious and pains taking efforts into y
valuable coadjutor in the new career Of
progress upon which the South Lac en-
| tered.
One striking peculisrity Of his charac
ter is his strong local attachment, his
love Of home and its surroundings. The
Southern planter may avail himself Of
this element Of hls nature, and turn it to
al Int T.. l.;
dependent. The negroes original at
tacbment 70 the homestead may be con.
irmed and invigora,ed by kind and cour
,eous treatment, by sffectionats interest
in hs family and regard for his welfare.
lie may thus be made a permanent fix
ture Of the plantation; and our patriarch al
institution may be replaced BY one com.
bining all its advantages with none OF its
evils. Slavery is an abnormal, and, as
the history Of the world has proved, a
deciduoas institutions Whs.her this is
the growth of mans virtues or his vices,
We stop not to inquire. We accept the
fact. But the relation of master and
servant is natural and unaltcrable. Our
Former system may be replaced by one
such as that which exists in England,
where the play mate Of childhood becomes
the confidential agent Of later years,
resides at the old homestead, and dying.
leaves bis children in the service Of his
original employer, and attached 10 their
native spot by all the sweet and gentle
associs tons Of home, kindred and friends
Such a system Of hereditary employment,
Of transmission Of duties and affections
from parents to children, is the fsirest
school Of human nature. 1t is ,h. nursery
OF oil that ia nobl est, and dearest, a nd
best in our social relations, and far tran
sceuds the miserable schem OF mercenary
and transient services which parssdes the
domestic econ omy OF the North.
We are, as We have said, anxious ,ha,
. fair experimen, should be made with
the colorsd people. We are hopeful, even
confident, 10 regard to its issue. Blu:
should the experiment fail, there exists
no ground for dependency in reference
70 our future. Our broad lands and
fertile fields will invite foreign emigration.
The young, the vigorous, and the en-.
tsrprising will coms among us TO seek