Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1876-09-09
AN ABoL1TIoNIsT's VIEW.

spent his life in seeking the overthrow of slavery
anthropic C2) scheme having been accomplished
at the cost Of u halt a million lives and thou
Grated and the ballot placed in their hand, Mr.
Redpath went with congressional committee
few months ago to Mississippi TO view the prar-
tlcal workings OF the ideal republic they had
founded. His report is published in the New
FORK Independent. He cannot be charged with
incorporating the negro: Ills syinpaihies and
The English language hardly affords terms
strong enough to express the adherence in
ns o the s9uh ih
terms used to describe the citizens; terrorism
violence" 'msssacre,' assinated.'' -
''cruelIy murdered, " and a 'reign of terror
indicate their their accustomed acts and its re-
suit in Mississippi. Alter picturing the white
people of the state in the biuckest colors, so rs
to convince the world that he Is still Il violent
and bitter partisan of the negro, he draws the
following significant picture OF the latter:
This is one side OF the story. What does the
other tell? 1t says that our reconstruction policy
is failure; thnt the iliterate negro of M:ssis-
sppi y as corrupt rs the illiter:te Irishman of
were burlssques on republican rule, and We're
rapidly drifting the party to ruin. Counties are
treasurer, y chancery CLERK. aid other officers
appointed by them. Justices of The peace are
elective, Men ran for sheriff who would have
had no higher ambition in Boston than to be
''artists IN lime, - leading .'proIcssors iu the
y ns or ai t. tnn S99iJsss
u, 90 to $l5 900 year ..iegitimatey,' and
high rs $50, 900 when they are not honest. Men
were elected county treasurersa who could not
knew NO Law. 1 had the honor OF an interview
with member of sclIOOl-board who could
neither read nor write, The board ior supervl
the seiectmen and county Commissioners COM
Bined represent In New England. Sometimes
four out of these five local Legislators could
teachers: They frequently gave these positions
to their illiterate partisans. The Levee Board.
an organization for the preservation of lhe river
lands from fnundation, with important duties
and very large expenditures. was gradually GO
ing into the hands of the most ignorant negroes.
Az some OF the black politicians expressed it:
''De bottom rail was ON de top The state
nient was correct, but it was not complete; for
the bottom rail WAS rotten too.
1never experienced SO keen a sorrow, con-
nected with public affairs, as during my visit to
Mississippi. never had 80 profound contempt
Tor what is called the conservative republican
policy. We ought never to haye given the ne
gro . vote, or we ought to have forced him to
learn to read and built school for him IN every
township. He has shown that he is not fit to
rule In Mississippi He is the aupe in peace of
black and white demaSogues; and alas! in war
for the last campaign was a military revolution
he Is the only victim who suffers from our
sins Of omission. The negro county govern
ments in Mississippi bore, the same rela-
negro minstrelsy burlesques. bear to the divine
symphonies OF beethoven. What right had We
10 expect better result? 1li.i!igI IuIN. ~s-lf .
Fellow republicans, 1t is idle to denouncc tho
south, We are to blame We knew the negro
70 be ,timid, nnarmed, iillter,,te; and yet we
left him in the midst of the fercest fighters on
this planet, and expected him to rule them. In
and blood. So viii It disappear, unless we act
promptly, in South Carolina and Louisiana .
It Is the greatest problem Of our time and
> most complex problem. Let me state it broad
ly. five give complete military protection to
the negro In all elections in Sauth Carolina,
Mississippi and Louisiana, where there Is q large
black majority. we shall establish a system oi
government which no white race ON the face OF
Ibis earth either ought TO endure or will endure.
And the other side of the problem reads: If
we fsii TO protect the negro In the right ofIsuf-
frage we thereby surrender the states of South
CarOlinH. Mississippi and Louisiana to the same
brutal Iandiui who drove those communities
As Mr.. Tweed remarked. What are you going
to do about 1t? We must do something. MASTER
ly inaetivity means dnstaizlly surrender To be-
gin with, We must remember that, alter all, the
negro has duties; and that, after ali, the rebel
has rights tO0.'' - ..I...- ..t.t-'.,;f. 80,
Mr.. Redpatf's s summing up is significant. 1t
is an apology for every alleged outrage in those
states that have been ruled by the negro and tl.
bayonet. Hlmself a negro wOrshipper. 1t is his
or is one vseM seJ. no srite aa 's gaoe os
the fass Of this earth, either ought to endure
paints the difficulties in the way of successful
negro government, In even darker colOrs. 1t
9'Ihe problem is an absolutely in.oluble one
for the present generation, lor whichever way
We turn is DEATH Let the negroes exercise their
rights as citizens, and their government rs al
most sure 10 be corrupt; but the alternative IS
Hamburg msssacres and virtual disframehise
ment and alayery. 45...- F-..r - .
- any, it is siar of and it depends the faith
fulness Of the friends OF the negro. 1t consists
in education and Christianization-a very slow
process. Mr.. kedpath notices the ignorance of
the negro. He does not men ion the If immOf.aIi-
ty and superstition. ,.... l,
This phase is one which We have more than
a lad tn lr,I -,
the anger OF some cOlOred Christians ut the
south but tt appears 10 us evident beyond all
Sontradiction 60 that large bodies of the se-caled
Christians among the colored people Of the south
are sunk in an immortality and superstition that
hardly have their parallel in any foreign land to
wil. which we send our missionaries. We knowthc
Memorial Institute. At Charlotte, N. C., to lie a
wise and impartial observer. He was for some
Board in Persia. He writes TO The Evangelist
that the condition of the negroes in the counties
south Of him Is most disheartening. In portions
single house of worship for the colored people.
with preachers utterly ignorant even of reading,
ers are described AS men who change their wives
AS easily as IN the days of slavery, and their
people are quite as devoid OF morality. He says;
The condition of the people is terrible. From
my study two railroads are in hearing. Riding
down one of these to the southwest, eight large
counties are passed in the condition Above de-
scribed-either entirely unproyiled with in
structiOn or provided with such preachers as
can do very little good. There are exceptions;
good preachers and teachers ut work in some
places; but the mass OF the people will perish
spiritually and, Though American citizens, re.
lapse into barbarisin unless rescued. TO the
southeast Is another RAILROAD, passing through
another region, if possible i'm deeper ignorance
ana superstition, the superstition including
belief in wltchcrait. The gross lmpurity, the
real condition of the people is not understood by
their friends in the nortii.''
That this testimony is true-net of the Curoli-
mas only hut of all the gull st:ltes-we have nu
me- La rAmr 1N. anil
that Is the Bible and the spelling book. the
preacher and the teacher. Our people are
strangely blind to the danger. and forgetful that
they must educate the men they have made
voters. There is no peace for the south so long
as shia state of things continues. And yet the
Presbyterian church last year gave only $50 900
to the evangelization of the freedmen, while it
proposes this year TO give nine lines as much to
White home missions and eleven times us much
70 the heathen abroad. That schedule and some
others need evision.-Ilndepcndent.