The Washington critic., 1890-02-04
INJURING THE COUNTRY
PROBABLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE
COLONIZATION SCHEME.

Major Robert S. Lacey, who has
made careful study of the negro ques-
tion, was talked with yesterday by
CRITc reporter in regard to the pro
posed colonization scheme. II am ut
terly opposed to It, he said. !" The natu-
raj interests Of the country are such as
to demand not only the labor of the
negro, but many importations. Tue
negro in the South gives better labor
than any other race hence, to colonize
him would be an injury to the country
which the whites themselves would re-
sist.
"0ne evidence of this arises from my
own experience in reconstruction. In
the spring of 1868 General Howard
lent his influence to hiring Of laborers
for plantations in the extreme South
west. At first this met the approval Of
The whites, but as soon as they realized
that this expectation of colored people
deprived them of their farm laborers
they protested and the emigration
scheme was stopped. So now | firmly
believe that any movement looking
TO the deportation of the negro from
the South would meet with general
resistance on the part of the whites
never saw people more closely identi-
fled in general thought and mutual in
terests than the whites and negroes of
the South. | cannot, therefore, con
ceive that by any probability the two
peoples could be separated.
NO GENERAL CONFLICT POSSIBLE.
mo general conflict can possibly oc-
cur between the two races, because of
their unity Of thought and ideas. They
cannot fight each other as races because
they cannot possibly have an issue to
fight about. A Northern man, like nv
self, who had never seen slave till
1861, except fugitive and whose
| Judgment of slavery was necessarily
| formed upon adverse and partisan lit
.erature, had much to learn and to un
learn. One of the first convictions
| forced upon me in 1865 was that in Vir-
ginia slavery was largely patriarchal
in its form; so much SO that severity
toward person was scarcely more than
is found in the family circle everywhere.
EXPERIENCES IN LYNCHBURG.
Now, the reason why am qualified
to talk on the subject" continued the
Major, lis that on July /, 1865, was
assigned to the charge of the Lynch
burg (Na.) military district with head
quarters at Lynchburg. | remained
there, engaged in reconstruction duty,
until 1869. My district extended from
Augusta County in the north to Pittsyl-
vania County in the south and back.
During these four years was constantly
travelling on inspection and other du-
ties, and my travels extended over the
South. Since 1869 | have sojourned
and over parts of Tennessee. Misss
sippi. Alabama and Louisiana. Oi
course, after such long residence in the
South, and coming in contact with it,
people as soldier, citizen and lawyer
and mixing with them in all stations
OF life, | have necessarily reached pos
tive conclusions.
In 1860 we were met by the uni
versal belief on the part of the whites
that freedom of the slave meant war ol
races eventually. But | never saw tho
slightest ground for such apprehension
and / believe that the one great cause
of harmony and peace is that homo
gently given by the patriarchal or fam
lily feature of slavery. Both races ar,
alike amcnable to social and church in
fluences. Both are alike Methodists
Baptists and Presbyterians and Ger
tainly can never fight on the score o
religious influences. The only differ
ence is that given by politics. and yea
by year the influence for evil of th
political knavc, who would make crimi
nal use of the good instincts of th
negro to be n Republican by teachin;
him that even on local matters affectin,
his own material interests he must per
force vote for any seoundrel who dub
himself Republican, has materially
lessened.
SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIZATION.
From an educational standpoint
am thoroughly well satisfied" said th
Major, THAT no good could come on
of the colonization of the negro in Soutl
, America. In my district there wer
, thousands of colored children wit
: whom there was universal desire {
read and write. | found the progress @
/ the colored child as great as that of th
white, and l think it is true of the e1
slave everywhere that he has an intens
desire TO educate his children Dow
, at Selma, Ala, went out on a colore
. plantation, and among the ex-slavt
: was the same ambition TO have the
/, ,, children educated that ] observed |
Virginia. In general terms i regar
the negro as an American in the fulle
: sense of the word.
Il never saw anything in him to IL
dicate that in schools, general thrift an
+ good citizenship he was not on the sau
: footing as the white. | never saw
= Virginia or elsewhere in my trave
g any desire on the part of intelligeI
It whites to harrass the negro. To m
. own military district, which is pro-
a ably superior representative of ii
r STAKEHOLDER and Confederate soldie
n this is particularly applicafle. W
| have occasional murders. but no mo-
so than occurred among the whites, an
] don't believe that from the 1st
!, July, 1865, forward, there was more o
y fence against the person by the viii
: 10 the black than by the whites
IS themselves. In view of this extren
o harmony among the whites and Il
$, blacks, except on politics, am nece
!, sarily an optomist on the polite
q score. If then, war of races is il
p possible on all other questions regal
il is as impossible in politics.
e AFTER-DINNER BEER.