Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-01-23
THE NEGRO CONVENTION AT
WASHINGTON.
The GIpniOn Of One of the Del
egateS-TEle Future
of the Race.

gton-Ccrrespondence Of the Cincinnati
Commercial.l
The eolored Convention now in session
here Is well worth attending. 1t is dig
nified body Of earnest men, and so far as
intellect goes, compares favOrabiy with
white assemblies of like sort. The
speakers are clear, forcible, and in some
instances eloquent, while the body OF
the Convention is attentive and we'll
behaved.
hsd long talk with Southern del
egate who gave some startling fae.s-at
least to me-concerni1g his race. He
had been slave in his youth; escaped
long before the war, in which he had IA.
ken an active part, and had picked up,
one way and another, s very good educa-
ton. l asked him if he thought his peo-
pie would vote the Democratic ticket 81
the South if the masters were disfrsn-
chised.
81 think not, sir" he replied, ''they
are well organized and getting better
enlightened every day.u
But the poor whites always voted for
the masters, and believe" I continued,
"thst there is more affection for the
master on the part OF the cOlored man
than there ever was on the part Of the
poor white"
That is very true. But then the
right OF suffrage is precious privilege to
the black man more than it ever was to
the poor white. He treasures it up with
almost religious veneration, and will be
careful to consult with his friends, and
bestow his vote whore it is best for hirn-
self and his country"
You say they are learning rapidly ?''
"Yes. There are tW o things a eolOred
man seeks for, above ell others, at the
South. The one is to read, and the other
to own the land he euitivates. You'd be
sstonished to see me9, ST e. working
hard all day, walk five and six miles to
night schOol.n
" Is it not the novelty of the affair,
that will wear OF after while ?u
"I think not, sir. or course there is
sons falling off; but this sort OF thing
has gone on for some time, now, and ct
this time the eoloFed people are better
educated at the South than the whites
are."
" You have 8 right, then, to anticipate
bright future for your rscs."
My friend paused moment, and then
said sadly:
"No, sir; have no bright antieips-
uOns. In few generations the eoIOred
races of America will have disappeared.
We have taken the vices with the viz
tues Of the stronger race, and they are
fatal to u.s."
"I don't clearly understand your
Well, sir, it is generally believed
that the black race is hardy race. This
is not so. The average duration of life,
under the whip, on the plantations, was
only ten years. The supply was kept up
by the masters care in breeding-it
being his interest. Now, this is not the
case, and while the mortality eontinus,
dissipation, the increase through
has fallen eff painfully. On
and in neighbOrhoods where,
before the war, children sWsrmed
almost, yCu scarcely find one now"
WY, how do you account for that p?
What becomes Of the children ?n
"The mothers have learned from New
how to xiii them. You know.
sir, that New England is dying out from
3 lack of Y Yankees, and the poor cOIored
people have not been slow to learn. But
while the whites receive q fresh supply
from immigration, the coiored race has
nOne,U