The Portland daily press., 1876-05-17
Rebel Prisons.

The fanaticism of the South, especially
among the cultivated classes, was amusing and
excessive, so far as their relation to the rebel
lion and the North was concerned. am not
sure but this was entirely confined to those
classes. 20 not remember any case in which
the poor whites were not opposed to the
war, being forced into it by their terror of the
master" class, nor do remember any case in
which those poor whites did not un lerstand
from the first that the South was sure to be
beaten. 1t was quite otherwise with the up
per classes, they were sure to win.
On one occasion l received information that
some union men in city on the coast OF the
Mexican Gulf were in prison and were to be
hung. took steamers and troops and landed
there in the early dawn, and marching directly
into the place, surrounded about dozen hous-
es of the principal citizens of the place, incud-
ing that of the Mayor. and captured the mas
ters. They were all taken to the broad veran-
dab of the Mayors house. where We had
conference. They gave assurances that no vio-
lenee of any sort should be inflicted on union
men, and pledged their honor to that point,
which was accepted as satisfactory. They
were assured that any violence of any kind
perpetrated upon union men would be vgor.
ovsy punished by sharp retaliation. That
by such a policy the inevitable evils of war
would be greatly aggravated.
After that matter was arranged, asked
them what the motives were which induced
the South to undertake the rebellion, telling
them they were at liberty to speak freely,
without the slightest restraint. There were
ahouf fra oF fban oil s-k
ligent and cultivated men. The Mayor replied
promptly, that the reason for the rebellion was
that the evils, annoyances and expressions
coming upon the South from the general gov
ernment had become intolerable. That its pol
icy had always been to favor the North at the
expense of the South, and the results of 1t
could be seen on every hand both at the North
and South. There everything was in the most
fourishing condition as any traveller might see,
while at the South. except in some of the
larger cities, everything was in a state OF di-
lapidation and decay. said TO him, "you are
an educated man and consequently cannot be
ignorant of the fact that the national govern
ment has been generally in the hands of South
ern men, and when by accident there were
Northern men in any department of the gov
ernment, they were men of Southern princi-
piles. So you see that it is impossible but that
you are mistaken in your views. When the
rebellion commenced the national government
was directed entirely in the interests of the
Soulh and Mr. Buchanan was thoroughly in
accord with every principle of Southern policy,
and the same was true of the heads of all the
departments; and the South had controlling
influence and power in Congress-.
The Mayor said: Northern wealth aud
prosperity come from the products of Southern
industry. Your marble palaces are built with
Southern money; while we of the South are
left in a state of dilapida.ion and decay.
Everywhere the North is fourishing, while
over a considerable part of the South may be
seen worn out lands and abandoned plantations
returning to state of nature. with bare CHM
neys scattered over the landscape from which
the houses have fallen away. How is it,
asked, that northern prosperity is the work Of
Southern industry aud how is il that our mar
BILE palaces are built with Southern money!
We are an agricultural people, he said; we pro-
duce cotton, rice, sugar aud tobacco; your
Northern ships come down South and trans
OOrt these TO market for which we pay you
large freight; Northern men sell them in TOR
eign markets and we have heavy commissions
to pay; northern smen buy goods in foreign
markets and bring them in Northern ships TO
Northern parts, and we OF the South go there
and buy them for our home consumption and
they are brought down South to as in northern
ships, and ships and goods are insured in
northern oficSss So you see we have many
profits besides freight, insurance and commits
sons toIpay, all to Northern men; and when at
last we have our goods in Southern shops ready
for sale to own people, we find they are almost
always owned and kept by Northern men. And
so we find that when we have the necessary
articles of home consumption as the product OF
our crops, there is nothing left for our years
work. Very often we find that we have not
made the two ends of the year meet, and we
are left largely in debt to Northern cites. They
hrve absorbed all the products of our industry
except small portion returned to US in goods
of various sorts.
can easily see, 1 said. why you are kept
poorer than you might be, but you have no
reason to find fault except with yourselves.
Northern men come down South to your mag
nifcent forests, cut down the timber which
they require, transport 1t North and build their
ships of it, which are furnished with sails OF
southern cotton, and with these ships they tran
sport your crops to market, and ycu pay them
for the work. Why do you not build your own
ships of your own timber, with sails of your
own cotton, and man them with Southern
hands-and thus save at home all this money
which you now pay to Northern ships and
Northern men? Why do you not buy your
own goods in the foreign markets and sell
your own crops there, thus saving to yourselves
freight, commissions Eand profits? Why do
direct from foreign parts and thus do all this
work for yourselves instead of paying North
ern men for doing it?
The difference, said, between North and
South so far as this matter is concerned, is
easily accounted for. At the North every body
works with head or hands at some productive
industry; everybody is earning something-in-
dustry, work is honorable there. At the South
only the negro works-labor is not respectable;
the negro is expected not only to support him
self but to keep his master and his family.
There is little or no productive industry at the
South except that Of negro hands-and this is
always of the rudest and most unskilled sort.
1t is inevitable that country viii increase IN
wealth where everybody works, while that
country cannot grow rich where more than
half the people spend and do not earn. r.