Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-04
THE FUTURE OF TIE NEGRO.
An Interesting socla,G Problem in Anthr

LIE lhU VC lee NE 0hVs
An Interesting socla,g Problem in Anthro
POLICY.
London Spectator.
Throughout its whole course, in the old
world IS in the modern one, under the
most extreme variety CT circumstances,
no negro OF full blood has ever risen to
frst-class eminence among mankind. Not
only has there been DO negro philosopher,
OF inventor, or artist, or builder, but
there has been 10 negro conqueror, nor,
unless we class Said, Mahommed's slave,
az one, and Toussaint rOuverrure as an
other, any negro general above the rank
OF a guerrilla chief. There seems to be
40 reason for this except race. People
talk of the seclusion of the negro, but be
nas always been in contact on the Nile
with the Egyp ian, OF the Greek, or the
Roman; in South America with the Span
lard, and in North America with the Ed
g,ish speaking Teutou, ard he has learned
very little.
It is objected that he has been always
slave; but go was everybody else in the
Roman period, most modern Italians, for
example, being the descendants of the
white slaves CT the Roman gentry. More
over, why does the negro put up wi b
that position, when the Cninaman snd the
red Indian, and even the nstivo Of India
will not? It is said that he has been bu-
ried in The most " massive of the fous
continents, and has been, ED to epeak,
,st to humanity; but he was always on
the Nile, the immediate road to the Med
iterranean, and in West and East Africa
he was on the sea.
Africa is probably more fertile and sl-
most certainly richer than Asia, and is
pierced by rivers as mighty, and some OF
them at least as navig able. What bould
8 singularly heAlthy lace, armed with q
constitution which resists the sun and
deties malariy, wish for better than to be
seated on the Nile, or the Congo, or the
Niger, in numbers amply sufficient to
execute any needed work, from the cutting
Of forests and the making of roads up to
the building of cities? How was the
negro more secluded than the Peruvian,
or why was he "shut up," worse than
the Tartar OF Sam.Icand, who one day
shook himself, gave up all tribal feuds
and, from the Sea of Okhotsk 10
the Baltic, and southword 10
the Nerbudda, mastered the world?
One Tartar family was reigning at one
time over China, Tartary, India and Russia.
Why he's the negro, who is brave as man
| may be, alone Of mankind never emerged
| from his jungles and subdued neighbour
| ing races? Why has he never invented q
creed of the slightest spiritual or moral
| merit, never. in fact, risen above fetish
ism? Adore all, why has he remained il
Africa for 5000 years at least, withou!
| forming empires or building stone cities,
or employing common medium of utter
communication? Mr.. Blyden says he has
formed cities jul Of busy life and con-
MERGE; but have they ever been better
than encsmpments, and why have they
not lasted?
We VINO write certainly do not believe
| in the iacurabe iucspacity CT the race, FOL
| we know OF Bishop CroGther and Mr.
! Blydep, and have talked with negroes ap
parentIy, as thoughtful and IS we'll in,
struc.ed as any Europeans; buI we con-
| TESS that the history OF the race remsins
| to us al insoluble puzzle, except upon the
theory that there are breeds OF ma kind
in whom that straDgest Of al phenomeus,
| the arreetment of development, occurs 3,
very early stage.
The negro went by himself far beyond
the Australian savage. He learned the
uses OF fire, that sown grain will grow,
! the value OF shelter, the use Of ahe bow
/ aud the canoe and the good Of clothes;
but there to all appearances he stopped.
unable, until stimulated by another race
like the Arab, 70 advance step. He did
not die, like the Australian. He did not
sink, like one Or two varieties Of the
Red Indian and of the eborigines o!
South Africa, into puny being hsrdly
like man; but he STOPPED at g point Is
it arrested by divine Will
There Is not a shadow Of
proof that the negro described by
Verne differs In shy way from the negro
Ct the time of Sesoatris. 1t is not quite
certain even that the race when g arted
again would, as race, go on improving
The Haytisns, who are Christians, |hc
are free, and VINO are in the fullest con-
tact with great white races, are believed
to be retrograding; and only the hopeful
! would believe in the future Of American
slaves ii they were to be expelled, as De
| Tocqueville thought They would ultimately
be, to the islands. or, as is Infinitely
more probable, should the war OF races