Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1880-02-11

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churches, held with closed doors
and bound to secrecy those they
had deluded. The first batch that
went, being few in number, were
well received and Immediately en-
ployed. These wrote back to their
friends, advising them to come, and
hence, said witness, it is easy to
understand the great exodus from
North Carolina.
Mr.. Olney, in the course OF his
further statements, described con-
versations personally held by him
in North Carolina during the past
few weeks with James II. Harris,
Osborne Hunter, Jr., M. V. Turn
er and other very prominent col
ored men, and with Gov. Holden,
Richard Badger and Col. Ike
Young, prominent radical Repub-
licans, all in full accord with the
foregoing explanation OF the real
causes of the exodus. They all
likewise agreed that the condition
of the colored people of North
Carolina, although susceptible of
improvement by the contemplated
amendments to some of the laws,
and especially by the restoration
of their rights to elect certain
county officers is, on the whole,
highly favorable, and that there is
no adequate incentive, whatever,
for the colored people to leave the
State. ain fact" said the witness,
"every intelligent colored man in
the State is opposed to it, and the
six colored newspapers of North
Carolina are fighting it, and l say
that. although an exodus from the
Southern States may be blessing,
the exodus from North Carolina is
fraud and a curse" While testi-
flying to the existence of the most
kindly relations between the white
and colored people of North Caro-
lima, he described the liberal pro-
vision made by the North Carolina
Legislature, largely upon Govern
or Vance's recommendation, for
the education of the colored peo-
pie, both in common and normal
schools, and for the benefit of the
colored deaf and dumb, blind and
insane, and after speaking of the
number of colored lawyers who
have made a name at the bar, doc
tors who have lucrative practice,
farmers who own their farms and
carry their own cotton to market,
he continued 81 lived in the
West two and half years, and |
never saw in Raleigh, n. c., such
a poor, ignorant class of colored
people as | saw at Oberlin, Ohio,
the paradise of the colored people.
There were many rich colored
men there, there were colored men
doing a good business, but the
poor people were poorer than any
| ever saw at any town in North
Carolina. Now this was in their
heaven. My God what will they
do in Indiana, which State, up to
within a few years, had n law on
her statutes that negro could not
live in the State p
WHITE TESTIMONY.
Thomas Mills tRepublican), of
indianapolis, testified that he re-
marked to "the boys" when the
North Carolina colored people
first began to arrive at Indianap-
oils, 1--WE want twenty thousand
bucks, and no women and child
rem"
Mr.. Voorhees.-"You wanted
them to votel"
Witness.-"Yes, we wanted them
to vote"
Mr.. Voorhees.-"Well, that is a
square answer. You thought if
you had them you could politically
STAY us 7"
Witness.-"Yes, we thought if
we had them we could get away
with you everlastingly." Laugh
teri
Mr.. Voorhees.--"But they
brought a good many women and
children with them Z"
Witness.-"Yes, they overdid
the thing on women and children,
but we thought it would be a good
thing to scatter them around on
cheap lands"
Mr.. Voorhees.-"In close coun-
ties 7"
Witness.-"Well yes, il ciose