The Wilmingtonian., 1884-10-18
THE RACE OF MANKIND.


The theory OF the common DfotnefhOou OF
man is agreeable not only to the rinciples of
Christianity but to the first and paramount
doctrine of the societies to which the hreth-
rem of this lodge claim the privilege Of being
affiliated. And yet there are numerous and
important arguments to show, not only that |
the principle thus adduced is erroneous in
conception, but likewise impracticab.e in
application. Without declaring adhesion to
either of the views taken by ethnologists on
the question of the unity of the human race,
it will be well to consider briefly the points
relied ON by those who have given the mat
ter special attention.
The first systematic attempt to classify
the races of mankind was that of Cuver,
whose method has the browning merit of
simplicity, and is still preferred by many
writers on anthropology. Cuvier recognized
three races-the white, yellow and black.
| To the white lie referred the men of Europe
and Western Asia. In the yellow he included
the Chinese, Japanese, Malays and the
Indians of America. To the black race he
assigned the negro race throughout the
world.
Bumendach's classification, which is gem
orally preferred, divides mankind into five
races, viz, the Caucasian, the NIongolian,
the Malay, the American or Indian, and the
Negro. The Caucasian includes the white
population of Europe, Western Asia, Amer
lea, and Oceanic. The Monaghan includes
the Japanese Chinese, and perhaps the peo-
pie of Hungary and Laplapd. The Equi-
maux are generally assigned to the Mongol-
iau race, although few authorities class
them with the Malays. The Malays include
the people of the Peninsula of Malacca, and
all the population of Oceanica not belonging
to the black race. The American race
covers the aborigines of the American CONT
nent, and was the type of the Red men OF
the island of Cuba, now extinct. The last
division is the Ethiopian or Negro, compris-
ing the aborignes of 0ceanica, Australia
and Van Dieman's Land, the natives OF
Africa and the exported slaves and then
descendants, bound or free
The races in Blumenbachs classification
, are arranged in the order of their superiority
4 in mental and moral development. The
, Mongolan is the only race which can live
/ on anything like equal terms with the eau
a casian. In every country in which the
white man has set his foot, fate has inexora
4 bly, decreed the extinction OF the weake
I races which originally tenanted it. tn,
q black population of the world, thorgh mum
erically larger than any two of the other
. put together, is disappearing at rate whicl
is simply appalling. Unhappily, the YER
\ means designed to improve the condition O
! the negro have proved but the means of hi
speedy downfall. The Indians of Mort
America will exist only in history and trad
ton in the course Of another century.
1t is fact proved beyond all dispute tina
the early inhabitants of the whole of til
islands of Polynesia were negroes. Tb
Solomon and Fiji Islands are still so peoplet
But in the remaining islands the black POI
= ulation has long disappeared, having bee
:. destroyed by the warlike Malays, who i
= empire of the white man. The Tahtian
= and Sandwich Islanders have embrace
Y Christianity and civilization, but the chang
= has been tatal to them. At the present rat
Tie last o. "rse unfortunate islanders wi
Z have disappeared long ere another cen,ur
p of civilization shall have passed away.
2 The Nlongolians (including the Japanes
and Chinese are an abiding illustration
Y Oriental conservatism. They do not advanc,
but neither do they recede. They ha,
enough vitality to hold their own, but ne
enough to colonize with view to annex
le ton or conquest. Beside the Malay
S. Indians and Negroes they are strong rae,
v Industrious thrifty, law-abiding and capab
le of self-governmcnt. In time the Caucasia
$, and Monaghan races must remain alor
e upon the earth, and then again it will |
Is proved that the filter will survive
The Mongolian will not, and the otht
= races dare not, accept the white mans civi
20 ization. Certainly it is a painful experient
. among the promoters of foreign mission
that the peope who most readily embrac
u Christianity are re3isely those who have
the past six or eight decades died out at IL
rate of thousands annually. On the otht
hand the Chinese, Japanese and especial
~ the Jews, who have steadily and utterl
!" defied prosclyt'zing inhuer ces, have mali
- tanned their numerical proportion
. unchanged. 1t is not, however, any dife
ence of methods Of worship which destro,
% the weaker races;it is the inability 10 accom-
MEDIATE the pursuits and habits of the ind
- vidual to the higher requirements of comp
titive civilized existence.
Among the many disputed topics of IL
t, age is the question of the peopling of ii
world from IL single pair or from represents
! tive pairs of the various races. Holy VIZ
says emphaticAlly a single pair, ScienC
fayors plural creations. Without expressil
an opinion in either direction, it may be sa
u that the Mosaic record is not unsupportC
by evidence. Nearly every existing matte
:, has its tradition Of deluge and there is !
obstacle in the way Of migration from OF
:, continent to another, all over the habitat
earth. The tradition of a great sunken co
H. tnent between the Mediterranean and IL
!, Gulf of Mexico, resting on strong eXistir
10 evidence, would favor the doctrine of Il
u dispensing Of mankind. On the other har
We have the innate, or what we may call Il
sentimental objection, which finds stroI
a., expression in the case Of the races at Il
/ extremes Of the scale. Then there is Il
j argument of Professor Agassiz, based on Il
II anatomical differences between the race
~ and lastly the objection of Professor Murc
ison that Africa, the oldest of the continen
"a shows no sigus of deluge.
pr In any case it seems to be a melancho
en- fact that it is not possible for weak race