The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-11-16
HAR Es TON
MONDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 16, 1868.
A colored Man to the colored People.

they have had no sincere and unselfish aa'
visers upon whom they were willing to rely
Made free by the chances of war, receiving
the privilege of the franchise, more for the
purpose of neutralizing the political power
of their former masters than because they
were able to exercise it with prudence and
discretion, they have been assiduously
taught that it was their first duty to dis
trust every respectable Southerner who
professed to be their friend. Cut OF IN
this manner from the guidance of those
whose interests were identical with their
own, they have been the plant tools of
office seeking adventurets. Led astray BY
the liberal promises of the place-hunter
who wanted their votes, they have not cared
to work diligently for the support Of their
families, and have, for the most part, ex-
pected to obtain, by confscation or forcible
seizure, that property and wealth which can
never be theirs except as the result of long
years of toll and self deuial. Sometimes
colored man has been found who would
speak to his people with sincerity dicta-
ted by knowledge Of their many necessl'
ties. Such cases are rare in any Southern
State, and rarer still in South Carolina; but
in the Rev. R. r. Cain, the colored editor
of the Missionary Record, the freedmen Of
this city and State have friend, who, if
they will allow him to do so, will lead them
out of the wilderness of political excite
ment into the happy Canaan Of honest and
remunerative labor. We noticed last week
series of articles published by the Rev.
R. H. Cain in the Record, and we print this
morning an article from the same source
which is worthy to be written in chcrac-
ters of geld.
The editor of the Record, in asking "What
sis the res: duty of the colored man in the
'South under the present circumstances"
describes the condition Of the colored peo-
pie OF the time of their emancipation, speaks
of his own services in defending their man
hood against all attempts to wrong them,
and declares that when he saw, in the result
of the Presidential election, the establish.
ment of "thelaw of justice to oil men," he
felt that his mission in the political arena
was ended, so far as parties were concerned.
The war of political parties was over, and
he thought that the colored people should
at once turn their whole attention to busi-
ness and the agricultural and industrial
pursuits of life. He believes that the col
ored man should seek the friendship Of the
whites, and in giving his reasons for this
belief he says:
tsWc are all free and equal before the law,
and that is as much as any reasonable man ca
wish. The whites have the superior advan-
tages over us in this country. We know that,
in the contest bet,oeen the t,co races, the whites
will be the victors. We know that our race
cannot compete with them now, if ever. The
whites have government, country. law, COM
merce and oil the superior mea:S of civiliza-
ton. They are superior in numbers and IN
| intelligence. We ere but coming out of Egypt,
and are poor, ignorant and helpless, and We
need the helping hand of the white race to as
sist US to rise up to honor and distinction. 1t
is mere folly for the colored people in tine South
| to say that the whites cannot live without
them. Capital and labor must 80 together, or
! neither can flourish. We cannot succeed while
| we disregard the mutual obligations which
| exist between the races. The poor man must
depend on the rich for employment. The rich,
by their superior education and position, crc-
| ate business for themselves and give employ
ment to the laborer."
And these are his concluding words:
:Colored men of the South! it is time VIC
we're turning our attention to other duties than
following the lead Of irresr onsible politicians.
Your wives and childrens' interest demands
your attenti n. You should secure land, Pc
come taxpayers and industrious citizens The
whole country has its eyes upon you TO see
| how you conduct yourselves with the freedom
| bestowed upon you, and II you make bad use
| of il YOU will be the sufferers. Be warned IN
time, and secure your own peace"
This is the counsel given by the colored
minister to the colored people, and it is the
counsel also given them by the white peo-
pie of the South. We do not hate the freed
men. On the contrary, old associations, q
natural feeling of indulgence for the weak
and ignorant, and knowledge of the value
of the colored man as laborer, have made
us anxious 10 ameliorate their condition
aud to raise them out of the slough into
which politics has led them. We desire tt
see the colored people happy, contented
and thriving, feeling always that there can
be no permanent revival of our trade and
commerce while the one race, in thought
at least, is arrayed against the other. Agar
and again, with perhaps wearying iteration
have we told them these things; but W;
have not been believed. We have been &C
cused of falsehood and double dealing, ano
at this moment the relations between tht
whites and the freedmen are more critica
than they have been at any previous time
since the close Of the war.
For this sad condition OF affairs it il
impossible for US 10 find the remedy. Th
forward step must be taken by the coloret
people, and if they will accept the leader
ership Of the Rev. R. H. Cain, whose words
we have quoted, there will soon be cordi