New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-25

That was the Calhounites' contribution TO the
"preparation" Mr. Garrison, on the other banu, de-
clared that he was for medding with slavery every
where in order 10 effect its overthrow That was
the Garrsontes' contribution to the prepara-
tlon." And so. too, Intentional or unlntenuonai
contributions to the same end were MADE oy tno
course of parties in Congress- by the black laws en-
acted in border States against free negroes anu
mulattoes by the still blacker school laws Oh INC
slave States, whose primary object was to Keep ING
negro in state of ignorance and by the deniai Vi
the rights of citizenship by the Northern states 10
the negroes of their own population. but ,no
chief contributor to the preparation, according 20
our author. was John Brown. "The shock nc
writes " that Brown gave the walls of the save
institution was felt from its centre to It's utmost
limits 1t was the entering wedge; 1t laid bare inc
accused institution and taught good men every
where to hate il with perfect hatred. Slavery re-
ceived its death wound at the hands of lonely
old man. When he smote Virginia. the non-ressl-
ants the anti-slavery men, learned lesson.
He rebuked the conservatism of the NORTH anu
gave an example of adherence to duty, devotion to
truth. and fealty TO God and man. that make the
mere professor to tremble with shame"
And so the narrative reaches 1860, when in the
fifteen slave-hOlling States there were 3,ooo'ooo
slaves How did tins great element and the tree
negroes of the United Sta'es conduct themselves
during the bloody that followed the elecion OF
LIncoln7 The next part of the work is taken up
| with answering this question. There was scarcely
city in the North, from New York to San Fran
CISCO whose colored residents did not speedily oher
their services the States to all i'll supervising the
Rebellion. But everywhere as promptly were thelr
services declined on the theory that the war that
was beng waged was "a white mans war, was
not a war that proposed to interfere With slavery
The result of this ate of public feeling was ihat
slaves were expelled from the Union lines while the
free negroes at the North were heartily abused by
the Copperheads. Then the reaction came. In
August. 1882 Mr. Greeley addressed his famous
open letter in THE TRIBUNE TO the President, IN
which he argued that all attempts TO put down the
Rebellion and at the same time to uphold Its lnclt-
ing cause were preposterOus and futile; that the
Rebellion, If crushed tomorrow. would be renewed
within year if slavery were left in full vigor;"
and that the ConfscatlOn act, which gave freedom
to the slaves of rebels coming within the Union
lines should be unqualifedly executed. Mr.. Liu-
coin responded in a letter the gist of which was
that his paramount object was to save the Union,
and not either to save destroy slavery. But the
course OF events soon gave the negro his Opportu-
nifty. In September. 1862, precisely month after
the date of Mr.. Greeey's letter, the Emancipation
Proclamation appeared, and it was not long after
that that the correspondents all began TO testi-
fy that :" the colored troops fought noblv." At
Port Hudson, at Milhken's Bend at Helena, ut
Morris Island at Petersburg, al FAIR Oaks, at Fort
Pillow and on scores of other battle-fields they
were brave as the bravest, dong their whole grim
duty without fear or reproach. Well may Mr.. Will
Jams exclaim that no history of the war has ever
been written, no history of the war ever can be
ance, fortitule and neroism of the negro soldiers
who prayed wept. fought, bled and died for the
preservation of the Union" As an appropriate
conclusion of this section the capture and treat
ment of negro soldiers during the war-special ref
erence being made TO Fort PIllow-are considered at
some length. The work closes with a glance at
the frat decade of freedom" from 1865 to 1875,
and at " he decline of negro governments from
1875 to 1880 The fact that the author Is prepar-
ing separate work on the history of reconstruc-
ton leads him TO touch lightly this theme
There are interesting chapters in this part on rep
reseutative colored men, Douglass. Greener, Bruce,
and Others the negro in his relation to various
religious denominations and on the exodus OF the
negro from the South to the West IN 1879. AS
last word Mr.. Williams briefly considers the future
of the negro in America, lie believes il 10 b. big
with promise; that race prejudice before the potent
influences of character, education and wealth, Is
bound TO give way; that the negro will return to
politics in the South when he is qualified to gov
ern and that he Will return TO stay; that In due
time we may expect poems novels and phllosophic
treatises from him, and that after ne has thor
oughly developed and established himself he VIII
turn his attention to the civilization of Africa
MIR. Wilhams's work excels all that have pre-
coded it in the field in comprehensiveness, aud
although its depth is not equal to its range and it
contains blemishes TO which alluded in MOTTO
ing the first volume il is to be regarded as a nota-
bic contribution to American history.