New-York tribune., 1877-07-06


plant of him in this sense. Nothing is more absurd
than to see a dozen stalwart young white men oung-
ing all day about country store and cursing the
"niggersD because they won't work. while the only
lahorcrs that can be seen in the fields are blacks
1t is true that the negro works in listess inter
mttcnt way, but he cannot be expected to do better
until the superior comes into competition with
him. Now he is the sole farm laborcr, and he
knows that he is indispensable to the landowner,
and VIII only work much he pleases or rather.
as much as will keep HIM from starvation
Northern people, who Judge of the negro race by
the few specimens of intelligent cOlored BARRIERS and
walters they ut home, always have their theories
as to the condition and capabilities of the race sud-
denly unsettled when they study the pure African
types of the plantatIons-ignorant ragged dirty
blacks with cOuntenances so brutal as to be repul-
sive, and persons and clothing so dlsgustngy ana
odorously unclean, that their presence is insnp-
portable. However enthusiastically one may favor
the principle of equal civil rights, he does not want
to ride in a railway car with such creatures these.
Fortunately he is not obliged TO- for they go into the
car provided for them of their accord and seem
to have no desire for the company of the whites.
Occasionally a respectfully dressed ColOred man or
woman rides on the same car with the white pas
sengers, no one objcctlng Color prejudice appears
90 be slowly giving way but the prejudice against
close association with such dirty bad-snellng pe0-
pie rs are the majority of the plantation negroes
may be expected to continue for all time.
The best and the worst of the colored population
flock to the cities and townsville more intelligent
and ambitious who seek better opportunities OF I'M
proving their condition than plantation life affords
and the idle vagabonds, who want to be where there
is more fun aud more to steal than In the country.
Every Southern town is belted ground with zone
of negro dwellings-some comfortable little cot
tages Stl gardens, belonging to the former class,
and others wretched novels where the Latter class
huddle together like swine. The industrious negro
of the town is a mechanic, coachmsn- n porter
dray-driver, amarket-gardencr maH of all work.
He s well-dressed on Sundays, is pillar OF his
church. sends his children to school, has a little
money laid by and is in al ways good citizen, re-
spected 10y the whites as well as 10y his own people.
The Idle negro is The pest of the place. He is THEY
ish dissolute and generally worthless, and lives by
pcying upon tho community. His food he gets
from the kitchens of white families where his wives
are empoyed-for he generally has two or three
wives so as Is make sure of something TO eat when
one of them quarTcls with him; bis clothes are old
garments stolen or begged by the women from their
employers. and his spending-moncy for tobacco and
whiskey he gets by piferiug whatever he can lay
his hands on Of dark nights that is salabe 10 the
junk dealers. o
The whites at the South say that all negroes VIII
steal but this is an eXTavagaut generalization, for
every white man OF woman who REPEATS this COM
mon saying viii. if questioned, admit to having
known coored people who were scrupUously honest.
Nevertheless II cannot be denied that the blacks As
q class are much more given 10 stealing than the
poor ignorant whites. Southern prisons and peni-
tentiaiics are full Of negroes. ANA than one
Southern state there is a serious agitation in av0rOt
Tcviving tAe whippng-pOs as punishment orthett.
TO relieve the community from the heavy burden OF
supporting SO many prisoners have found CON
vincng evidence that the heavy prepondeiauce OF
blacks over whites ia county jails and state prison
not the result Of any uufairuess on the part OF
Judges and juries IN the trial of the former. In add
tion 20 proofs of this, given in former letters may
cite the Mississippi State prison. which under Re
publican administration Lad ON its rolls about one
thousand convicts, only ouc-tenth of whom were
whites and uo~ has about two thousand effect of
improved administration of justice but shares no
change in the proportion Of blacks 10 whites, ten to
one being still the ratio. I'm most of the old slave
States d large number not ALL of the oonycts are
hired out to contractors for work on rail- Dads,
levees, and plantations. The system is not good
one for correction and discipline hUt c states are
H. build prisons large enough TO hold al the
negroes guilty Of grand larceny.
1t ulay ~ ~ be doubted, said before II on t'ie
whole the nel r'es are king any substantial pro-
qress The sr- u II" est condition III section,
where the Wh.ca prcdo. mate, while iH regions
where the black population is propjr, .aly heayl-
est they arr barely one remove ION African bar
barisn. They speak the English language. and pro-
fcss religion that j. nOmually Christian, but III
their ways OF living they are essentially barbariaus
still. To give them political asceudeucy over the
whites was the most horribly grOtosque experiment
ever tired in the science Of government The only
hope Of their getting forward ia the path OF cvIza
tion. with anything Ike rapGity, hes ia the pros
pect that the tide of emigration VIII be deiect
ed from the West TO The South, and the whites thus
reinforced by large numbers u settlers from the
Northern States and Europe, VIII become as dOmi-
nant III numbers as they are in intelligence.
The negro appears capable Of originating and de
vcloping no fruits of civilization from his own
nature-the white man must the seed. OF the
present relations between the two races will speak
in a future letter. Z. V. 5.
IHE FIRE RECORD.