The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-01-24
Charity Begins Abroad

NS t0ucnlnk W Mls"Ss
ra,hy now poured fOrth in New Englana
mon the cause of the Cretsn insurgents.
Mr.. WENDELL PHrLLIPs and BENJAMIN
prr,rn vie with one another In Calling
upon New England TO contribute in every
way to the support of that rebellion. ,, nm
observe, that rebellion is not reoen IA
|, 0o,ns, me best Government the s .,...
feScr saw: although the Turks To- St.
mart. think the Government Q, Wv 80
por,e obont the sublimest INSTITUTION "
~ g existence. 1t does not appear
~. zeal of those philanthropists
s - Com any love Of the Cretans them
sp,.as who. in fact, are to this day what
,hev were when ST. PAUL, repeating the
most abusive hexameter verse that ever
Pagan poet wrote, called them "evil
beasts, and always liars" what they were
when the proverb ran against them IN
Greece snake once bit Cretan-the
snake died." 1t is not that these charita-
bic folks love the Cretans; but they en-
joy an occasion of abusing the turks I; ana
they dearly love to be abusing somebody.
Besides, this afiectation of an enthusiasm
for freedom very far off proves-does 1t
not THAT if they are for crushing the rights
and liberties of the South, it is not for
want of zeal in the cause of liberty; IL IS
not from delight in tyrannous domination
per Sc; but by reason OF the Mucous
crimes and abominablc character OF the
inhabitants of these southern States VINO
are incapable of awakening any Of that
respectful sympathy and regard poured
forth so lavishly upon those interesting
islanders five thousand miles off.
But it is just to mention that some OF
the same sort of persons-namely, Parson
BEEcuER, a Mr.. COLEMAN, and some
others-have also organized a committee to
get "help for the starving South" Mr..
BEEcHER is not averse to throwing NOR
sci of bread to the hungry, provided they
will humbly take it as charity. He would
not allow Southerners any rights, but would
fling them trife OF aims. The northern
people at this moment are deliberately
keeping the South in condition OF social
and political DISCRIMINATION and paralysis
which prevents us from earning our own
bread; but they would not refuse the beg
CARS a subscription for soup-tickets. What
we want is freedom and right; which
would at once attract to our country the
capital and labor which war destroyed for
us; and freedom and right are precisely
the very things which the philanthropists
cannot think of allowing us. Any thing
but that. Tie sufrages of freemen, the
protection of law, the prerogatiye OF citl-
zenship-all these must be withheld until
after the next Presidential election at
least. Until then-and how much longer,
| who can tell ?-they must continue to tax
us without representation; to make our
industry subservient to their wealth to
build up their luxurious communities upon
our beggary and ruin; but they can occa-
sionally pitch us a loaf of bread for
charity.
After all, when those people talk of the
"starving South" we suspect that they
mean the negroes, who are certainly suffer-
ing severely in some places, because they
have Freedmen's Bureau and think they
ought. not to work. 1t is too true that
thousands are dying of Freedmen's Bu-
reau. That is what comes between them
and their employers, unSettles their minds,
and drives them TO mendicancy or bri-
gandage. These people are Suffering;
but even as to them, the South would need
no aims if the country were but governed
sjy law and in possession of the ordinary
rights of citizenship. Whether as free
men now, or as slaves before, it is we who
know best how to deal with negroes, and
how to feel for them, too; and they would
all long since have been contentedly at
work on productive labor for themselves
or others if there had only been no Freed
mems Bureau. But we suppose there is
no use in urging topics of this sort, in tell
ing our northren brethren to be just before
they are generous; in bidding them take
their hands out of our pockets and their
happy claws off our tables; and then the
South will need no aims, whether for white
or black. Surely they have objects on
which to exercise all their charitable viz
tues in their own country and at their own
doors; but in this case of the South, as
well as in that of the Cretans, their charity
began abroad, and is all abroad still.