Year: 1859

turday, extra fine clothes and horse, and
often a carriage at his command. The per-
qnisites generally exceed the amount OF
wages, to say nothing Of the amount stolen
through the year. AS general thing our
free negroes will not hire for a longer term
than day or month"; or by the job. That
kind Of service may suit our town people as as
above stated, but no prudent farmer will
hazard his crops upon such uncertain la
Dor: he must have constant labor by the
year or he cannot afford to risk his time and
capital in agriculture. But the free negroes
must live as well as others, and that, too,
without labor How do they do it? Most
ly by intermarriage with the slaves, and
living by stealth and otherwise upon the toll
of the white man and his slaves. All of us
in Maryland are familiar with this state Of
things and are trying to protect ourselves
from such intolerable evils. But hard-head-
cd Englishmen, and whining Yankees who
write about abolition, are as ignorant of them
as man in the moon.


I have just said that some of those free
negroes are Industrious, and would not get
at hundred evil doers by trampling down
one innocent man. now state who they
are and how they effect our white popula-
tion. They are generally those free ne
groes who are in their first stage Of freedom,
and have been born and raised slaves, and
taught habits of industry and morality un-
der the discipline of slavery. In an evil
hour, and perhaps on dying bed, the mas
ter or mistress has been approached by dis
guised abolitionists and taught the way to
Heaven would be easy if they would only
free their slaves Satan, you know, ruined
our race by similar suggestion to Eve
So ruin follows negro emancipation, wher-
ever it has been tried. Such wicked deeds
often occur in the hour of death, and the
slaves then set free, compose the small num-
Der of our industrious free negroes. But
strange as it may be, even they will not al
low, or rather compel, their children Gin the
second stage of freedom) to labor, and SC
their offspring swell the tide Of Incidence and
depTayity so inherent with the free negro.


a lose few industrious ones often rent
ssss's aud BY that means, dispface an equal
number of our native whites, and drive them
out of the State to seek homes under more
favorable circumstances That is the cause
why our white population in the Counties
remains stationary or on the decline. This
has been going on for years, and its balefu]
effects are seen and felt throughout the
State. The young white man as he grows
up with strong arm and vigorous constitu-
ton, looks around him with the view ot
marrying and settling on the soil of his ma
tive State Fortune has not blest him with
wealth SO that he can purchase land, but
health and industry. aided by the assistance
of his parents, qualify him to rent farm
and rear up family of useful citizens.


Now, my position is that ours is a gov
ernment for the use and benefit Of the white
man, and the only relation the negro ought
to bear to him is that of slavery But how
is it practically in our State? Here is an
Industrious free negro on the one hand and
white citizen of equal industry and supe-
rior sagacity on the other hand They both
want to rent certain farm of the land-hold-
er, and he has to make choice between the
two CT will be seen in this case am max
ing the strongest possible supposition in ia
vor of the industrious free negro, in order
to shut the door against the thousands ot
our free negroes less worthy; and in order
also to give the former the full benefit of an
impartial decision as between him and the
white MANI Well, the decision must be
made, and one Of those applicants must gel
the farm to the exclusion of the other. How
would the abolitionist decide? Yankee like,
he would decide one way for himself and a.
mother way for us. He would advise us to
let the free negro have the farm, for he says
the free negro is fully equal, and little
superior to the white man. But the treat
ment Randolph's freed negroes met with in
Ohio some years ago, when they were driv-
en- out Of the State by abolitionists; and thai
clause in the Topeka Constitution of bleed.
ing Kansas (made by abolitionists) which
forbade free negroes from going there; and
the Constitution and laws of many of the free
States forbidding the free negro from enter.
ing their limits-all show the decision he
would practically make for himself.


But how will the Maryland landholde,
decide? In too many cases, regret te
say, he will decide for the free negro-bu,
from far different motives than the aboli-
zionist ever dreamed Of AS before stated,
that small class Of our free negroes now un.
der consideration, has but recently been Sc,
free, and the landholder often happens to be
a member of the family where the negro was
born and raised a slave. He feels warm
family tie for the negro, and regards him
still as family appendage, and those. feel.
ing secure his favor Another class of land
holders prefer the free negro, because he
cannot. under our laws, confront him before
our courts of justice. and so has the advan-
tage in any matter of dispute where their
separate interests are involved. But this
latter class I believe to be very few in num-
Der in our State.