Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-05-11
THE SOUTHERN NEGRO.

.,.tceRble Lack of Progress In the
Tlaok M where Unincumbered by
the whites.
The American negro is an anomaly,
re John's island, 5. c., special to the
Cnicago Times. Thousands Ol volumes
Sove been written about him and many
ron thousands OF editorials and magazine
articIes. and the more we study him the
.,oro we don't know about some of ais pc
Charities. And now, after seeing the
200 naCro in the North, the slave negro
- the South. and the freeman and freed
n.n hotb North and South, and after
romipg to some conclusions in regard 10
tSem. | find on this coast and these
stands an entirely new variety of the &C.
ms. necessitating new theory.
FL the best OF my knowledge every
,ronhecy ever made about the American
nagro has been completely talslhed by
Sscts do not, just now, remember one
ness. even BY the wisest, that has proved
correct, whether the guesser was friend
M foe. In the first place, there were
those in England ana tine colonies VINO
said the negro would Wlther away IN
bondage: but, unlike every other race on
the gl0be. and unlike bis own race in
ofber countries, the negro IN the United
states fourIshed in slavery and multi
nIied as no other race has since the mir
aculous times OF
ISRAEL IN EGYPT.
The histories of the slave trade all agree
that no more than 100000 Africans were
imported to this country; war and eman-
ctpation found them over 4,OO0,0OO, and
now. including their Anglo-Airlc or mis-
eegere descendants, they are close TO
1000 600. But IN the years OF the slave
trade the same authorities tell us about
o 600 900 Africans were taken to South
America. the TWO Indies and Spanish col
onies as slaves. Where is their Increase!
8 lConsider this amazing fact: that In the
United States the original Africans have
multiplied 1,300 per cent, while IN the
rest of the western world their numbers
have fallen off One-half. There is but one
exclamation possible. Slavery in our
South. with all its evils, assumed the
mildest form it ever took on in this world.
In our South alone of all the slaVe-h0lding
countries in the world the natural hui
manity OF the well-bred Caucasian trl-
umphed over the natural evils OF slavery,
and came as near as nature would allow
to turning an evil into blessing. Surely
the white people of these States must
have been originally the grandest and
most humane OF the human race, since 1t
was not possible for as dlaboiical an in
sututlOn as slavery to quite spoil them.
The second prophecy in order OF time
was that of the OptImists Of lIS5-loO5.
who pointed out the obvious fact that
slavery did not pay, and argued therefrom
that it would gradually die out. Even
Thomas Jefferson believed this for awhile,
and in fact it did come nearer to fulfill
ment than any of the prophecies, for there
was rapid growth OF
ABOLITION SENTIMENT
In the South during the first third of this
century, and IN 1S35-40 North Carolina
and Tennessee were so near 10 emancipa-
ton that 10 per cent. more OF the popular
vote would have carried it. Indeed, the
hill for gradual emancipation lacked but
one vote of passing the popular branch OF
the Legislature. Then the great reaction
set ina movement strangely overlooked
and never fully explained; the Quakers
began to leave North Carolina for the
Northwest, the OutspOken anti.slavery
men left Tennessee, the whole South
grew more prO-slavery every year, and
all the prophecies of all who went before
were completely talsifed.
Now new set of prophets sprang up.
In the South they said: Tomorrow will
as this day be, yea, and much more abun-
dant. The negro is connecting link
has soul, of course, but not our kind OF
a soluble is a foreOrdained madsill, and
on him we will rear-nay, we have reared
the finest white society in the world,
and it will last as long as God maintains
the distinction OF race" In the North
this school said: ''Slayery may be curse
TO the white man, but 1t Is a blessing to
the negro. heard those identical words
used I'm the pulpit by the most popular
Methodist preacher at that time in W estern
Indiana. The negro undoubtedly enjoys
HIMSELF; at any rate, there Is no remedy,
and it will far outlast our time and that
Of our children" Many a time | have
heard one OF the best men 1 knew. an ell
der in the Old-schOol Presbyterian church
and a neigbbOr of my fathers, make the
remark that "the judgment day would
surprise the master and the slave in the
field together.v This venerable Christian
has lived to laugh at his opinion Of thirty
years ago, and, like the rest OF us. has
grown more modest in prophesyIng.
These are but specimens of the prevailing
ideas lin Indiana at least) from 1S45 to
1850. The war came and knocked them to
smithereens.
At the close of the war, as all you old
folks remember, prophets ran to and fro,
and in multitude OF councillors there was
a deal Of confusion. Wisdom Cor what
claimed to be such) cried aloud in the
streets and told us that all we had to do
was to make the negro voter and he
would take care of himself-the govern
ment would never be called on to sustain
him. Was ever prophecy more completely
AAlHluths HI OH uAoboty hO iA4bAG
RIDICULOUS CHANGE
Is recorded than that OF the Old abolition
ists. For forty years they had been tel
ling us how degrading slavery was; how
completely it untitled man to be a man,
and how the shareholders denied the ne
gro every avenue of knowledge. No
sooner, however, was slavery abolished
than their views Of the negro went to the
opposite extreme. He was now become
capable OF ruling nine States-far more
capable than his late master. 1.-The would
but commit the civil power OF the
late Confederate States TO him all
would be well. The complete falsi-
hcation Of this prophecy need not
be recorded. Had their views proved
correct, all the philosophy of his
tory would have been upset. and aboli-
tlonism itself would have been demons
trated TO be a crime. For if the negro bad
come out of slavery moral. honest, tenn
perate and capable Of civic virtue then
slavery would have accomplished more
Tor race in TWO centuries than freedom
aud Christianity ever did in ten, and
logically we should all have gone upon
the auction block for the good OF our
souls.
Down 70 this time the Southerners had
not prOphesied much-they are not a