Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-10-23

"ArieI'' and DIR. YOung-A Rustic View
Of the African q uestiOn, from Smith
County.
To the Editors of the Union and Dispatch.
A pamphlet having the title, "The Me-
gro; his chronological Status" etc, has been
pretty extensively circulated and read in
this rural district for the last six weeks. For
most of that time il has furnished the sub-
ject for not a little conversation and discus
sion pro and con. More recently, W hat
processes TO be an answer to this anonymous
publication, has made it appearance, and is
now being about as generally read as the
"Negro" by Ariel. have been no little
amused to witness the zeal and ardOr which
the advocates and opposers Of Ariels views
have respectively manifested, and now the
same effects are produced by DIR. Young's
answer have looked into both pamph-
lets, and, after such an examination as one
could reasonably afford to give 10 such pro-
auctions, am forced TO admit that | do not
find much in either, new or very startling.
/ certainly don't profess to be a scholar,
and have read but little Of what so-called
learned men have written about ethnology
or the natural history of races, but there
is certainly very little in the "Negro," by
Ariel, that have not either read in books,
or heard in conversation, long before / saw
it there. The only new idea presented by
Ariel, as il seems TO me, is his attempt to
prove his position by the Bible. "The
Bible is true" is a motto upon his title
page, and he closes his paper in
the words of this motto. Thus the
gauntlet is thrown down to all the learned
graduates in theology. DIR. Young being
r Al IL - .
az he tells US, he had been solicited to do
80 by an association of ladies; but whether
from choice, or under whatever influence,
he took it up, and we have his answer.
Whether DR.. Young's pamphlet is
complete answer TO Ariel or not, or to what
extent il is an answer at all, each one will
Judge for himself 1t is unfortunate for
the truth that in this case, as in all Others
Of the kind, Ignorance and prejudice viii
have much to do in determining each ones
opinion. Without expressing any opinion
on this point, / cannot refrain from re-
cording the regret that the Doctor did not
treat the subject with more dignity than he
did. To us unlearned country people, it
matters but little whether a writer observes
the rules of grammar or rhetoric very
strictly or not 1t is all the better for us if
he write in a popular style, and avoid the
technical language of 20 called science.
Ariel stopped, or lifted himself up to the
language Of the people. No answer can
possibly be perfect in its adaptations to the
case that is not in the same language.
In my opinion, Ariel utterly fails to es-
tablsh the position that the negro has no
soul How can he prove that my horse or
my terrier dog has no soul They both
manifest intelligence. They make COM
parsons and draw conclusions. Does any |
one tell me this in them, is instinct? Very
well can such an one tell me the differ.
ence between instinct and reason? Where |
one ends and the other begins? Who has |
ever explained these mysteries? Who |
that has ever attempted it, from the days |
of Job TO the present, has done anything |
but "darken counsel by multitude of
words ?7
But have read worse things about the |
negro than this notion of Ariel, that he has |
no soul. Rev. w. G.. Brownlow, in book |
published under his supervision and for
him, in 1858, teaches that the negro is 50
low in the scale of being that he can only
be raised " through the mild and benig-
nant institution Of slavery" His view Of /
their origin is that they are the descend
ants Of Cain, who was "a degenerate, de-
graded, deteriorated vagabond," and his |
descendants, being the negroes, possess the |
same character, 10 that he tells us that |
Intelligent travellers have been led to class |
them ar a superior species Of the monkey |
tribe" Ariel saws they are superior to the |
gorilla, which is much superior TO the
monkey. The vagary about having no
soul is a comparatively harmless view of
the negro compared with that which adj
mits him TO have soul, but makes his
salvation" depend upon his beinga slave.
IL il be blasphemy for Ariel to call the
negro beast, without soul to be saved
or lost how much more the representation
that he is 30 degenerate, degraded, british,
and polluted that his Creator can only save
him by making a slave Of him. Upon
the whole, | have not been able TO see any
thing 30 very new or dangerous in Arieis
pamphlet, or 50 vice or good in DR.. Noungs.
There is, in my opinion, an evident ten
dency in the latter, whatever the intention
Of the writer or writers, 20 palliate the
horrid crime of amalgamation, and an DIR.
Blackie's letter. by far the abest part of
the pamphlet, 20 commend the impossible
ity of the social equality Of the races. Why
does he adduce instances Of beautiful ne
srroes. IL not to remove our preiudices
against associating with them2 | know
there are a great variety Of tastes in the
world. and this difference in taste gives rise
10 various opinions as 10 what is beautiful;
Int this learned Doctor will hardly ever
convince many respectable people of the
superior beauty Of negro.
RUsucUs.