Year: 1860

! pal association in Essex county for the atempt-
ed settlement of escaped slaves. Its professed
object is "to assist the refugees from American
slavery to obtain permanent homes in Canada,
anu to promote their moral, social, physical and
intellectual elevation"


1t is evident from its character that the A.
merican British Land Association is in effect, il
not directly, part and parcel of the Under
ground Railroad, as charged by the Detroit Free
Press; for it offers special inducements to slaves
of the United States to escape from the South
to the British possessions in Canada. 1t will
be seen also that as a speculation it is not en-
tirely destitute of Yankee shrewdness. Not
only are the land purchases likely to yield even
tually good profit, but year after year the so
ciety in the garb Of charity and philanthrophy,
goes begging abroad and never returns without
well filled pockets. The Rev. c. C. Foote, OF
Canada, the General Agent of the society, is a
sturdy beggar, and has within few days past
been plying his vocation in Philadelphia and
other cities, soliciting aid from the society, and
boaSting Of its connection with old OsSawato
me Brown. As the directors Of the Refugee
! Home" deny that their association is actually
| the grand western depot of the underground
railroad, it is difficult to tell what they do with
! the funds they thus cxtort from the charitable





! in Canada, and their society processes to be,
and to make the settler, "selfsupporting." The
really charitable should look into those facts
thoroughly, before they yield to the importuni-
ties OF the men who are constantly appealing to
them so pathetIcally on behalf Of the poor
slave" So far as the ''poor slave" on the Re-
! fugee Home Society's lands is concerned, it
would he mercy to send him back to a careful
master and southern home. Half clad and
half starved, he ekeS out sort of existence by
petty larceny committed upon his neghbor who
chance to have anything TO lose. lie is bur-
den upon the community, and no help to him
self or to anybody else-unlesS indeed, it may
lie considered q useful service to be played off as
'decoy duck" to attract the dollars out of the
pockes of charitable men into those of the Bri-
tish American abolition spectators in Canadian
! lands.


| OTHER SETTLEMENTS IN ESSEN COUNTY.


There are other settlements Of negroes in
Essex county, in the townships of Anderson,
! Sandwich, Maiden and Colchester, of less pre-
| tensions than that of the society whose opera
tons | have described; but they are all of a
character similar to those already alluded to-,
ard do not require notice. They are small,
and invariably sunk into poverty. They seem
to have sprung up mainly around some charita-
bic donation Of land, to which the idle negroes
| flock as blue flies to a sugar barrel Wherever
these nests congregate decay falls upon the
neighborhood, and the white residents either
dispose Of their land at sacrifice, or bear the
annoyance of idle and dishonest neighbOrs.-
The better class Of negroes, it is observed, in
variably avoid these settlements and endeayor
to locate themselves apart from thoir colored
brethren. There are some thus situated in Es-
sex county, who are good, industrious citizens,
and who make their way well and prospcrously
! in the world.


We have seen that the immigration Of fugitive
slaves into Canada is unattended by any social
or moral good to the negro. 1t is injurious also,
to the white citizens Of Canada, inasmuch as it
deprcsses the value Of their property, diminish
es their personal comfort and safety and destroys
IL peace and good order Of the community
Mr.. Sheriff Mercer of Kent county, assured
me that the criminal statistics Of that comfy
prove that nine tenths of the offences against
the laws are committed by colored persons
The same proportion holds good in Essex coun-
ty, and the fact is the more startling when it is
remembered that the blacks do not at present
number more than one fourth Of the whole pop
uation.


In the township of Anderson Essex county,
this fall, nearly every sheep belonging to the
white farmers has been stolen. The fact was
presented in the return of the grand jury OF the
county, and some twelve negro families, men,
women and children were committed to Jail on
the charge Of sheep stealing. The cases of petit
larceny are incredibly numerous in every town
ship containg negro settlements and it is fact
that frequently the criminal calendars would
be bare of a prosecution, but tor the negro pris-
| oners.


The offences of the blacks are not wholly
confined to those OF light character. Occa-
sionally some horrible crime sartles the COM
munity, and is almost invariably attended by
a savage ferocity peculiar to the vicious negro.
If a murder is committed by black, it is gen.
orally of an aggravated and brutal nature. The
offence of rape is unfortunately peculiarly prev
| alent among the negroes Nearly every asSze
is marked by q charge of this character. A
promlnet lawyer of the Province, who has held
the position Of public pl osecuor, told me that
his greatest dread was of this offence, for that
experience had taught him that no white wo.
man was safe at all times from assault, and
those who were rearing daughters in that part
of Canada might we'll tremble at the danger by
which they are threatened. He told me that
he never saw really brutal look on the human
face until he beheld the countenances of the
negroes charged with the crimes Of rape. When
the lust comes over them they are worse than
the wild beast of the forest. Last year, in broad
daylight a respectable white woman, while
walking in the public road in the town Of Cha
than, was knocked down by black savage and
violated. This year, near Windsor the wife o.
a wealthy farmer, while driving alone in wa
gon, was stopped by negro in broad daylight
dragged out into the road and criminally as
sauted in most inhuman manner. 1t was i'm
possible to hear the recital of those now COM
mon crimes without shudder


The fugitive slaves 90 into Canada as beggars
and the mass Of them commit larceny and lay
in jail until they become lowered and debased
and ready for worse crimes.


In June, 1858, in the course Of debate lr
the Legislative Council Col Prince was repor.
ted to have spoken as ollows:--


ain the county of Essex the greatest curse
bsle them was the swarm of blacks that nfest.
ed that county. They were perfectly inunda
ted with thsm. Some Of the finest farmers o
the county Of Kent had actually left their beau
tful farms, so as not to be near this terrible
nuisance. Ii they looked over the criminal cal
anders of the country they would see that the
majority Of names were those OF colored peo
pie. They were useless. thriitess set Of peo.
pie, too lazy and indolent to work, and toe
} proud to be taught


Were the blacks to swarm the country and an.
noy them with their rascalities? Honorable
gentlemen might speak feelingly for the negroes
but they had never lived among them as he had
done. Notwithstanding all that he said about
them, they would say, if asked on the subject
that they had no better friend than Colonel
Prince. But there was no Use in trying to get
Al - IL