The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-01-22
[From the Richmcud Dispatch. ]
The Negro His ( tatus &c.
.g1gBY 'sARIEL.

political interest which just now belongs
to its subject. It is an appeal to preju-
dico which may achieve temporary
notorietv, but can produce no lasting
effect upon readers of ordinary under.
standing and reflection The fippant
contempt with which the author speaks
OF the opinions Of other men whom he
derides as 'the learned, and his parade
of his own discoveries in biblical
research, concurrent" (meaning per-
haps "con'emporaneons") history, ard
the development Of mummies, remind
one Of the quicksilver and his trnmpe.-
or at fair or market dcnouncing all
the doctors, and cxlolling lie niracu.
lous and infalliblo virtues of his own
pills and powders. Thus impression is
confirmed by his language and St lie;
for it is impossible to believe that one
who betrays such ignorance OF English
grammar, and Of The meaning of Eng
ish words, can possess the acquaintance
lie seems to boast Of with ancient
tongues still less that he can bo capa-
Bile Of correcting the mistakes OF his
predecessors IN such studies. Moro.
over. there are passages which might
tempt us to imagine the whole rerfor-
nance only a Jurlcsqnc but, taking 1t
altogether, he appears to assert his dt e.
mas as if ho really believed them.
To review such q production won]d
bo a waste OF time. The theme, which
is inflicted on the reader in many rcoe.
tihons and involntions, is simply this !:
That the negro is not descendant of
Ham, nor OF Noah, nor Of Ad;rm and
Eve; that he was a beast and as such
went into and came out Of the ark !: that
he was the boast callel the serpent, by
which Eve was tempted in Paradise;
and that where ID is said that tho sons
OF God took TO themselves wives among
The daughters OF men, to the displeasurc
OF the Almighty, tho trae meaning is
that the descendants of Adam took
wives from among the daughters Of this
beast.
Wo leave these matters to DO discus.
sed by those who may be of opinion
that ID ls worth while and who have
the learning necessary for tho task
The question, 70 our mind, isnot whcth-
er the gcnealogy Of the negro can be
traced to this or that ancestor, or to any
ancestor ut all but it is whether as
henow exists upon the earth, he is q
man, belonging to tho human race OF
racca---or whether he is, as asserted by
Ancl, one o! the brute creation and ;
beast.
This is obviously question Of physi
oloey IN its widest sense. Ita soluiso.
defends upon comparison Of tho ma
tnre mud capacity of tho negro, Of the
physical structure and powers, and o
his intellectual and moral faculties q,
the one hand with those Of tho othc,
races OF men, and on the other will
those OF The brute creation. 1t has beer
made the subject ofpnlient aud though,
'n' 'hvrsugation Oy mon OF powerful
and cultivated minds, in all ages and
the inquiry has been pursued, IN recent
times, with all tho ligI, to be derived
from history, sacred and profanc, and
from scientific discovery aad linstra-
ton. Tac results arc the same that
wonld DO reached innine cases on, of
ten by nnlenrnel men Of sound and
sober Judgment from their own obscrya.
ton and experience; because tho main
iNc,s arc as patent to all who see and
'mnk as he mountains and tho valleys,
tho woods and The waters which diver
shy tho earth and The labors of the
learned have only brought those great
facts into significant rehicn with each
other, aud confirmed thoiy TEACHINGS
by proofs OF n more reconditc charac.
ter.
These results arc in brief:
u, That The negro is MANN the
sense IN which that word is used by
every one except ".kricl' - tlat is 70
shy, ono Of tho human race or races, dis.
tlngusho oil FROM all other animals, tho
gorilla inc'ulcd, bo;h by physical con-
formation, by intellectual ana moral
qualities, by capacities Tor development
ana Tor the transmission and increase Of
knowledge, and by habits and modes Of
lir, more or loss civilized which aro
Unknown to and unattainablo by any
order, class, genus, or species of the
lower animals. s...,,-
Tie limits vr an article like this for
bd any extended ilustratior. We
must bc content with referring to one
single gilt God TO man, which oft.
s"!!!s decisive or Tie whole matter = .!;c
gut of speech. Upon this subject vc,y
comment writers says.g
Several animals may bc tancht to
pronounce words, and even to rspea,
sentences; which proves cltarry That
thc want ofspcech isnot owing to any
defect in their organs; but to make
them, conceive the ideas which those
words express is beyond tho power of
art; they ,artculale and repeat like an
cclio ora machine
Langnagc implies train Of think.
mg; and Tor this reason brute animals
are incapable of speech Tor, though their
external senses are not inferior to our
own, and though VIC should allow some
OF them to possess faint .dawning Of
COMPARISON, reflection, and judgment.
= Is certain that they arc unable TO form
l,nt ~. .