New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-10-23


which neither time nor Cancellation" unless
in the shape of a money consideration, and
hardly that, will ever erase from their men,
DRY, is the emancipation of their slaves.
They not only mourn as one without hope,
and refuse to be comforted, because they are
not, but they are filed with the bitterest
hatred towards the Government for depriving
them Of this highly prised and lovingly cher
ished species of property. Nothing will ever
heal the wound which this great wrong has
done them, and fully reconcile them to the
Government or the Union, but the restora-
ton of the emancipated negroes to slavery.
But they seem to have very little hope of
that in view Of the poor prospect of the re-
turn Of the Democratic party TO power; and
as the next best thing they attempt to heal
their wounded spirit by dwelling on the
chances of being paid for their emancipated
"chattels" by the Government
Every once in while, therefore, they
formally present their claim for compensa-
ton through some convention, by the mouth
of some beloved champion, like eX-Presi-
timent, or through the columns of their pa
pers. Not very long ago the slave Dem
ocracy of Maryland, in convention assem-
| bled, put into their platform, as one of its
chief planks, the proposition that the Gov
eminent must pay for the slaves it had so
unjustly converted into free citizens. Frank
Blair took substantially the same position in
his letter which the Democratic convention
Of 1865 adopted when they took him as its
candidate for Vice President. JEFF. Davis
has frequently proclaimed it by declaring
that the Constitution "as it was must be
restored, and all the reconstruction measures
of Congress be repealed" This, indeed, is
the position, more or less openly announced,
of every leading Democratic paper and poll
tician of the South.
| The last declaration we have seen Of this
determination to enforce upon the Govern
ment the duty of paying for their emancipated
slaves is by ex-senator r. NJ. T. Hunter, of
Virginia. As one of the ablest and most
influential and popular public men Of the
State, he undoubtedly represents the views
of the old slave-holdng aristocracy and eX-
rebels in presenting claim for compensation
from the Government. But we must do Mr..
Hunter the credit to admit that he is con-
siderably more reasonable in his demands
than many other friends Of the measure. He
states that he would be content to receive
four hundred millions of dollars as full COM
pensation. Now this would be only sl0C
each for the four millions of emancipated
slaves. AS their market value has always
been held to average $500 each at the very
lowest, or 100000 900 in the aggregate
our readers will see that his proposition is q
very liberal one, being a deduction, for the
sake of peace, Of 81 COO, 100000.
But after all s4OO, 900, 900 is very large
sum, especially during the continuance of the
financial panic, which has caused such g
stupendous shrlnkage Of values, such par
alysis Of the business Of the country, anG
market. And we shall, therefore, mos
strenuously protest against the payment o
four hundred millions of dollars to Southern
slave owners for their emancipated "chat.
tels," comparatively moderate and fair as
the price is, except on certain conditions.
AS the central organ of the colored people
of the nation, we have claim to present
against the Government in the name and or
behalf of that portion Of them once held in
slavery, which we shall not abandon while
: their late owners continue to importune the
: Government to pay even four hundred mil
&c ln11 60. "a hol ~
whole civilized world, outside of the old
slave States, will admit that it Is infinitely
more just and equitable than the claim o.
ex-slaveholders and rebels to which we have
referred.
The claim we now present against the
Government is for the service and labor
of the slaves who were held in bondage by
the Government, and compelled to labor
without wages for their masters from the
adoption of the Federal Constitution, in
17SS, till the proclamation Of emancipation
June /, 1868, a period of seventy-five years
OF course there were vastly greater number
Of slaves in 1868 than in 1888, and it would
not be fair to state that the average number
of slaves during that period Of scventy-tive
years was over 2,000,0o0. But that would
not be an eXaggeration. And TO be entirely
just in our demands, we will charge for the
services of only one out Of every four of their
bondmen, which would comprise only the
able bodied male portion of them.
Here, then, are the services of 500 900
men for seventy-tive years each, making a
grand total Of thirty-seven millions five hun
dred thousand years of labor rendered their
owners without dollars compensation be-
yond a bare subsistence. This labor has for
ali that time supported the whole siave-hold-
ing population of the South in ideness and
luxury. But we will only estimate each
mans service to be worth $40 a month, or
sl20 year. At this rate though not halfwhat
he.earned his master, it would, for 81 500, 900
years work, amount to the nice little sum
of q, 900, 200, 900, or $500, 900, 900 more than
the rebellion cost the Government
When the Government allows US, as it is
in justice bound to do, though the South had
the benefit of our unpaid labor, because it was
by its laws that the great harm was done US.
this back pay" we are willing that the four
hundred million dollars should be put in as
an offset against Mr.. Hunters demand of