Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Part 19

[122] American Archives, vol. i. folio 616.

[123] American Archives, vol. i. folio 641.

[124] American Archives, vol. i. folio 687.

[125] American Archives, vol. i. folio 735.

[126] American Archives, vol. i. folio 914.

[127] American Archives, vol i. folio 573.

[128] American Archives, 4th series, vol. iii. folio 11.

[129] American Archives, 5th series, vol. i. folio 1178.

[130] American Archives, 5th series, vol. i. folio 192.

[131] American Archives, 4th series, vol. iii. folio 1385.

FREE COLORED POPULATION.

WHEN the author was carefully collating the facts from the Record of MAJOR LACHLAN, in reference to the fugitive slaves in Canada, he was not aware that he should be so fortunate as to obtain, from other sources, any testimony in their support. Canada has all along been a sealed book to the public of the States, so far as the condition of blacks, who had escaped thither, were concerned. Since the completion of the stereotyping of the volume, and just as it was about ready for the press, the _New York Herald_, of January 5, reached us. It embraces a detailed report on this important subject, which was prepared by a special agent, who visited the settlements he describes. It is very interesting to find, that the opinions and predictions of Major Lachlan, made in 1841 to 1850, as to the results of colored immigration into Canada, should be so fully sustained and fulfilled, by a report upon the actual facts in 1859.

It may be remarked, here, that we believe a crisis has arrived in the history of the free colored people of the United States, which demands the most calm and serious consideration; and we would remind the more intelligent colored men, that the honor of conducting their fellow-men in the road to a high civilization, will be as great as are the honors heaped upon the few of the white race, who have been the master spirits in bringing up their fellow-men to the pinnacle of greatness upon which they now stand. More than one field, for the accomplishment of this object, now presents itself; and, as the darkest hour is said to be that which immediately proceeds the dawn of day; it may be hoped that the lowering clouds now overshadowing their prospects, will soon be dissipated by a brighter sun, that shall reveal the highway of their deliverance.

But to the extracts from the _Herald_. After giving a detailed account of the whole subject of negro immigration into Canada, together with the particulars of the results of the several attempts at founding settlements for the refugees, the _Herald's_ reporter sums up the whole matter thus:

"THE SOCIAL AND MORAL EFFECT OF THE IMPORTATION OF FUGITIVE SLAVES INTO CANADA.

"While, as we have seen, the British abolitionists in Canada are laboring with the republican abolitionists of America to entice away the slave property of the South, and to foment a servile insurrection in the Southern States, and a disruption of the Union, there are men of sense and of honor among our neighbors over the borders, who deplore this interference of their countrymen in the affairs of the republic, and appreciate the terrible catastrophe to which, if persevered in, it must eventually lead. I conversed with a prominent abolitionist in Chatham, holding a public position of trust and honor, who told me that the first suggestion of the Harper's Ferry attack was made to Brown by British abolitionists in Chatham, and who a.s.sured me that he had himself subscribed money to aid Brown in raising men for the service in Ohio and elsewhere in the States. In reply to some questions I put to him, he stated that he and his a.s.sociates on the other side looked with expectation and hope to the day, not far distant, when a disruption of the Union would take place; for that, in that case, the British abolitionists would join the republican abolitionists of America in open warfare upon the slaveholding States. When I reminded him that the patriotic men of the North would raise a barrier of brave hearts, through which such traitors would find it difficult to reach the Southern States, he replied--'Oh, we have often talked over and calculated upon that; but you forget that we should have the negroes of the South to help us in their own homes against their oppressors, with the knife and the fire-brand.'

"I conversed on the other hand with conservative, high-minded men, who expressed the most serious apprehension that the bold and unjustifiable a.s.sociation of Canadian abolitionists with the negro stealers and insurrectionists of America would eventually plunge the two countries into war.

"We have seen that the immigration of fugitive slaves into Canada is unattended by any social or moral good to the negro. It is injurious, also, to the white citizens of Canada, inasmuch as it depresses the value of their property, diminishes their personal comfort and safety, and destroys the peace and good order of the community. Mr. Sheriff Mercer, of Kent county, a.s.sured me that the criminal statistics of that county prove that nine-tenths of the offenses against the laws are committed by colored persons. The same proportion holds good in Ess.e.x county, 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 population.

"In the towns.h.i.+p of Anderdon, Ess.e.x 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 pet.i.t larceny are incredibly numerous in every towns.h.i.+p containing negro settlements, and it is a fact that frequently the criminal calendars would be bare of a prosecution but for the negro prisoners.

"The offenses of the blacks are not wholly confined to those of a light character. Occasionally some horrible crime startles the community, and is almost invariably attended by a savage ferocity peculiar to the vicious negro. If a murder is committed by a black, it is generally of an aggravated and brutal nature. The offense of rape is unfortunately peculiarly prevalent among the negroes. Nearly every a.s.size is marked by a charge of this character. A prominent lawyer of the Province, who has held the position of public prosecutor, told me that his greatest dread was of this offense, for that experience had taught him that no white woman was safe at all times, from a.s.sault, and those who were rearing daughters in that part of Canada, might well tremble at the danger by which they are threatened. He told me that he never saw a really brutal look on the human face until he beheld the countenances of the negroes charged with the crime of rape. When the l.u.s.t 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 within the town of Chatham, was knocked down by a black savage and violated. This year, near Windsor, the wife of a wealthy farmer, while driving alone in a wagon, was stopped by a negro in broad daylight, dragged out into the road, and criminally a.s.saulted in a most inhuman manner. It was impossible to hear the recital of these now common crimes without a shudder.

"The fugitive slaves go into Canada as beggars, and the ma.s.s of them commit larceny and lay in jail until they become lowered and debased, and ready for worse crimes. Nor does there seem at present a prospect of education doing much to better their condition, for they do not appear anxious to avail themselves of school privileges as a general rule. The worse cla.s.s of blacks are too poor and too indolent to clothe their children in the winter, and their services are wanted at home in the summer. The better cla.s.s affect airs as soon as they become tolerably well to do, and refuse to send their little ones to any but white schools. In Windsor there are two public colored schools, but the negroes of that place choose to refuse to allow their children to attend these inst.i.tutions, and sent them to the schools for whites. They were not admitted, and two of the black residents, named Jones and Green, tested the question at law, to try whether the trustees or teachers had a right to exclude their children. It was decided that the trustees had such power, when separate schools were provided for colored persons.

"That property is seriously depreciated in all neighborhoods in which the negroes settle is a well known fact. Mr. S. S. Macdonnel, a resident of Windsor, and a gentleman of high social and political position, is the owner of a large amount of real estate in that place. The Bowyer farm, a large tract of land belonging to him, was part.i.tioned into lots some few years since, and sold at auction. Some of the lots were bid in by negroes of means, among others, by a mulatto named De Baptiste, residing in Detroit. As soon as the white purchasers found that negroes were among the buyers, they threw up their lots, and since then the value of the property has been much depressed. In several instances Mr.

Macdonnel paid premiums to the negroes to give up their purchases, where they had happened to buy in the midst of white citizens. At a subsequent sale of another property, cut up into very fine building lots, by the same gentleman, one of the conditions of sale announced was, that no bid should be received from colored persons. De Baptiste attended and bid in a lot. When his bid was refused, he endeavored to break up the auction in a row, by the aid of other negroes, and failing in this, brought an action at law against Mr. Macdonnel. This Mr. M. prepared to defend, but it was never pressed to a trial. These incidents, together with the attempt of the Windsor negroes to force their children into the schools for whites, ill.u.s.trate the impudent a.s.sumption of the black, as soon as he becomes independent, and the deeply seated antipathy of the whites in Canada to their dark skinned neighbors. At the same time it is observable that the 'free negro' in Canada--that is, the black who was free in the States--endeavors to hold his head above the 'fugitive,' and has a profound contempt for the escaped slave.

"As I desired to obtain the views of intelligent Canadians upon the important questions before me, I requested a prominent and wealthy citizen of Windsor to favor me with a written statement of his observations on the effect of the negro immigration and received the following hastily prepared and brief communication, in reply. The opinions expressed are from one of the most accomplished gentlemen in the Province, and are worthy of serious consideration, although the public position he occupies renders it proper that I should not make public use of his name:--

"'WINDSOR, Dec. 23, 1859.

"'MY DEAR SIR--In reply to your request, I beg to say that I would cheerfully give you my views at length upon the important topics discussed at our interview, did not my pressing engagements just now occupy too much of my time to make it possible that I should do more than hastily sketch down such thoughts as occur to me in the few moments I can devote to the subject.

"'The constant immigration of fugitives from slavery into the two western counties of the Province of Canada, Kent and Ess.e.x, has become a matter for serious consideration to the landed proprietors in those counties, both as it effects the value and salability of real estate, and as rendering the locality an undesirable place of abode.

"'It is certain that ever since large numbers of fugitive slaves have, by means of the organization known here and in the States as "the Underground Railroad," and of such a.s.sociations as the Dawn and Elgin Inst.i.tutes and the Refugee Home Society, been annually introduced into these two counties, no settlers from the old country, from the States, or from the eastern part of Canada, have taken up lands there. And there is every reason to a.s.sign the fact of there being a large colored population, and that population constantly on the increase, as the chief cause why these counties do not draw a portion at least of the many seeking Western homes.

"'Kent and Ess.e.x have been justly styled "the Garden of Upper Canada." The soil in most parts of the counties cannot be excelled in richness and fertility, and the climate is mild and delightful.

There are thousands of acres open for sale at a moderate price, but it now seldom happens that a lot of wild land is taken up by a new comer. The farmer who has achieved the clearing of the land that years ago was settled upon may wish to extend his possessions for the sake of his sons who are growing up, by the acquisition of an adjoining or neighboring piece of wild land; but seldom or never is the uncleared forest intruded upon now by the encampment of emigrant families.

"'It may be broadly a.s.serted, first, in general, that the existence of a large colored population in Kent and Ess.e.x has prevented many white settlers from locating there who otherwise would have made a home in one of those counties; and, secondly, that in particular instances it constantly occurs that the sale of a lot of land is injuriously affected by reason of the near settlement of colored people.

"'Next, as to the general feeling of the gentry and farmers who live in the midst of this population: All regard it with dissatisfaction, and with a foreboding--an uncomfortable antic.i.p.ation for the future, as they behold the annual inpouring of a people with whom they have few or no sympathies in common, many of whose characteristics are obnoxious and bad, and who have to make a commencement here, in the development of their better nature, should they possess any, from perhaps the lowest point to which the human mind can be degraded, intellectually and morally.

"'There is undoubtedly hardly a well thinking person whose heart is not touched with a feeling of pity for the unfortunates who present themselves as paupers, in the name of liberty, to become denizens of our country. And it would, doubtless, be a great moral spectacle to witness these escaped slaves, as they are sometimes pictured by professional philanthropists, rendering themselves happy in their freedom, acquiring property, surrounding themselves with the comforts, if not the elegancies of life, and advancing themselves intellectually, socially and politically. But, alas for human nature! If the negro is really fitted by the Creator to enjoy freedom as we enjoy it, the habits of mind and of action, however baneful they may be, that have been long exercised, are not to be suddenly broken or changed; and the slave who was idle, and lying, and thievish in the South, will not obtain opposite qualities forthwith by crossing the line that makes him free.

"'This is not said in a spirit of malevolence toward the colored people that are here and are brought here, but as presenting their case as it really is, and as explaining the position in which residents of these counties are placed, or will be placed, if this continuous flow from the slave States is poured in by means of the organizations and societies formed for that purpose in many of the Northern States of America, and fostered and aided by many indiscreet men in our own country.

"'The main argument in favor of the free school system is, that it is a benefit to all to be surrounded by an intelligent and moral community, and for such a benefit every property holder should be glad to contribute his quota. Is there, then, any need of asking the question, if the people of these counties desire the sort of population that comes to them from the Southern States?

"'What is the condition of the negroes on their arrival here? What their progress in the acquisition of property and knowledge, and their conduct as citizens?

"'There are very few indeed who arrive here with sufficient means at once to acquire a farm, or to enter into business of any kind. The great ma.s.s of them may be called paupers, claiming aid from the societies through whose agency they are brought out. Some of these societies hold large tracts of land, which they sub-divide and sell to new comers upon long time, but with conditions as to clearing, residence, etc., that are difficult of observance. I believe there is much trouble in carrying out this plan, arising in some measure from the peculiarities of negro character--a want of constancy or steadiness of purpose, as well as from a feeling of distrust as to their having the land secured to them. If the land is not purchased from any of these societies, a parcel of ten or fifteen colored families get together and purchase and settle upon some other spot.

"While there are instances of colored men acc.u.mulating property here, the great ma.s.s of them fail even in securing a living without charity or crime. They have but little forethought for the future, and care only to live lazily in the present. The criminal records of the county show that nine-tenths of the offenses are committed by the colored population, and I think the experience of every citizen who resides near a settlement will testify to their depredating habits.

"'I have given you thus hurriedly and disconnectedly my views on these subjects. They are important enough to demand more time and consideration in their discussion, but I believe the opinions I have advanced you will find shared in by a large proportion of the residents of the Province. I am, my dear sir, faithfully yours.'

"In addition to the testimony of the writer of the above communication, my views upon the subject under examination were confirmed by the valuable opinion of the Hon. Colonel Prince, the representative of the county in the Provincial Parliament for a long term of years. Colonel Prince has bestowed much consideration upon the negro question, and he has practical experience of the condition and conduct of the colored population. In June, 1858, in the course of a debate in the Legislative Council, Col. Prince was reported to have spoken as follows:

"'In the county of Ess.e.x the greatest curse that befell them was the swarm of blacks that infested that county. They were perfectly inundated with them. Some of the finest farmers of the county of Kent had actually left their beautiful farms, so as not to be near this terrible nuisance.

If they looked over the criminal calendars of the country they would see that the majority of names were those of colored people. They were a useless, worthless, thriftless set of people, too lazy and indolent to work, and too proud to be taught. . . . . Were the blacks to swarm the country and annoy 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 Col.

Prince. But there was no use in trying to get the white man to live with them. It was a thing they would not do. There was a great sympathy always expressed for the black man who escaped from the slave life; but he had lived with them twenty-five years, and had come to the conclusion that the black man was born for servitude, and was not fit for any thing else. He might listen to the morbid philanthropy of honorable gentlemen in favor of the negro; but they might as well try to change the spots of the leopard as to change the character of the blacks. They would still retain their idle and thievish propensities.'

"While Col. Prince claims that he was very inaccurately reported, and that he never said one word in favor of slavery, which he professes to abhor with a holy horror, he yet adheres to the opinion that the colored race is not fit to live and mix in freedom with the whites. He deplores deeply the action of such of his countrymen as improperly interfere in the affairs of the States, and condemns the lawless running off of slaves from the South, and the attempts to raise servile insurrection in the slaveholding States. As a const.i.tutional British gentleman, he reveres the laws, and believes that where they are bad, or where the const.i.tution of a country is unwise, the remedy lies in the power of the people by legal means. He sees the evil effect, morally and socially, of the influx of fugitive slaves into Canada, and would shut them out if he could. He knows that the negroes form an enormous portion of the criminals of his county, and the county of Kent, and he is doubly annoyed that men who come from servitude to freedom should abuse their privileges as the negroes do. He admits that every distinct attempt to make a settlement of negroes self-supporting and prosperous, has failed, and he believes that the negro is not yet fit for self-government, and requires over him a guiding, if not a master's hand.

Col. Prince is a gentleman of the old school--hale, hearty and whole-souled--and does not fear to express the sentiments he entertains.

"The lessons taught by an examination into the action of the Canadian abolitionists, and of the condition and prospects of the fugitive slaves in the Province, should be made useful to the American people. The history of the past proves that Great Britain would gladly destroy the Union of the States, which makes the American republic a leading power among nations. As in days past she sought to accomplish this object through the instrumentality of traitors and of the foes of the Union, so now she seeks aid in her designs from the republican abolition enemies of the confederacy in our own States. The intrigues of the British emissaries in Canada should stay the hand of every man who fancies that in helping to rob the South of its slaves he is performing an act of humanity; for they should teach him that he is but helping on the designs of those who look eagerly to the slavery agitation and the sectional pa.s.sions engendered thereby, to accomplish a disruption of the Union, and encompa.s.s the failure of our experiment of free government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Let our merchants and our farmers carefully consider these facts, and then reflect upon what they are required by the abolition agitators to do. To what end are the systematized negro stealing of the North, the attempts to incite insurrection at the South, and their natural results, a dissolution of the Union, to lead? Are we to render New York and the other free States subject to the same deplorable evils as afflict the western counties of Canada? Are our Northern farmers willing to have the value of their lands depreciated, and to subject their crops and stock to constant depredations by inviting here the same cla.s.s of neighbors that at present deplete whole Canadian towns.h.i.+ps of their sheep? Unless we desire to accomplish such results, why, under a mistaken idea of charity to the negro, do we take him from a life of usefulness and content at the South to plant him in freedom and suffering at the North?

Why do we consent to help forward, directly or indirectly, an agitation that can only incite a disruption of the Union and bring upon us the very evils we deplore?"