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(titlepage)
BY
(epigraph)
Thus the threat of the possibility of a "renewal of St. Domingo massacres" is continually used by the advocates of the Southern cause, as if it were alone sufficient to condemn, beyond appeal, the policy of President Lincoln--nay, to place him altogether outside the pale of the sympathies of a Christian community.
It is our purpose in the present little paper, to consider solely this
latter argument (if argument it can be called) against the North, and to
inquire whether there really exist any plausible grounds whatever, for
anticipating that the Emancipation Proclamation will lead to a
"carnival of crime," or that the negro will display "the
ferocity of a tiger" when delivered from the lash of his oppressors.
If we should succeed in showing that such fears have not been justified by
any single symptom during the convulsions of the last two years, and that
the negroes, far from revealing the "ferocity of the tiger,"
are displaying the peculiarly Christian virtues of placability and
patience, in a manner hardly to be paralleled in the annals of the
Caucasian race--we may then perhaps be permitted to set aside for the
future, as superfluous and impertinent, this oft-recurring argument,
this Red Flag, which, as in a Spanish bull-fight, the
toreadors
and picadors of the Senate and the Press
persist in brandishing in our eyes, to confuse our sight and exasperate our
feelings.
By this practical test also we believe that we shall arrive at a
conclusion very different from that in which these friends of the South
would desire
to land us--the conclusion, namely, that the real danger to the white
population lies in attempting to re-solder the fetters of the
slaves, and not in completing the work of their liberation.
Those very "St. Domingo massacres" which are perpetually held
up before us as warnings against emancipation, are, in fact,
the strongest arguments in favour of its speedy and final completion,
inasmuch as they only took place, when, after eight years of peaceful
and industrious freedom enjoyed by the negroes, Buonaparte sent an
army to reduce them once more into
slavery.* If the North should be
finally driven back, and the South enabled, by European countenance and
aid, to "found its commonwealth on the corner-stone of
slavery," then, indeed, may come the danger of similar
scenes of reckless fury and despair. As yet, and in the event of the final
triumph of the North, no such catastrophe need be dreaded. The transition
___________________* In February 1794, the French
Conventional Assembly passed a decree abolishing slavery throughout the
colonies of France. From that moment, the disturbances which had hitherto
taken place in St. Domingo ceased. "After the public act of
emancipation," says Polverel, "the negroes remained quiet, and
continued to work on all the plantations." When Santhona, a former
Governor, returned to the colony, in 1796, he was astonished at the state
of prosperity in which he found it. As General La Croix wrote, in his
"Memoirs for a History of St. Domingo (Paris, 1819),"
"The colony succeeded as by enchantment." But in 1802, in spite
of the remonstrances of General Vincent, Buonaparte sent an army to St.
Domingo to restore slavery, and then, and not till then, a scene of horrors
followed, ending in the expulsion of the French, and the loss of all their
property by the planters.
Page 6
from slavery to freedom may yet be accomplished without the horrors of a slave insurrection, added to those of a sanguinary war. Free and honest industry may supersede throughout the Southern States the hopeless toil of the wretch under the lash, and, by the mercy of God, the whole moral pestilence of slavery may be cleared away for ever from the land without the intervention of such a hurricane of blood and ruin as the virulence of the evil has led us to anticipate.
The grounds of such hopes for the solution of the great problem of negro
emancipation are briefly these:--
The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States
marked the turn of the tide of Southern influence. Up to this period the
slave interest had been paramount in the republic; but
the vox populi, which, assuredly, in this
case at least, was also the vox Dei, then
pronounced against the whole slave system the sentence, "Hitherto
shalt thou come, but no further." The principle of
non-extension, which the election of Lincoln proved to be paramount
in the State, was understood by the slaveholders to involve the eventual
starving out of their institution, which requires perpetual new fields for
slave labour, and the secession of the Confederate States was the immediate
result. Though the people of the North, indignant both at the rupture of
their idolised union and the unconstitutional means by which it was
accomplished, at once proclaimed war against the Confederates, they did not
at first advance one step beyond the principle with which
they had started--the non-extension of slavery, even as they had voted, on the eve of the election of President Lincoln, an amendment of the Constitution whereby it was forbidden ever to abolish the servitude of negroes in the States of the republic.
But "the stars in their courses fought against" slavery. The
force of circumstances soon brought forward emancipation as
the principle which must supersede non-extension in the
policy of the North. In the beginning of 1862, the President asked the
Congress to vote the sums needful to indemnify the slaveholders in loyal
States who might consent to emancipate their slaves; and the first step was
accomplished when the 3,000 slaves then existing in the district of
Columbia were enfranchised, at the cost of a million dollars, with 100,000
dollars further granted to aid them to emigrate at their choice. These
3,000 emancipated slaves showed the first example of the use they intended
to make of their freedom by conducting themselves with perfect steadiness;
agreeing to remain with their old masters for wages, and declining
altogether the 100,000 dollars for emigration.
The next step of the Congress was to forbid slavery for ever in the vast
districts of the West not yet formed into States, and denominated the
"Territories of the Republic." Only a few hundred slaves as yet
existing in those districts were actually freed by this act, but the land
thus redeemed from the approaching tide was of enormous importance. Before
the war, the free
domain of America occupied about one-third of the republic; at present, it occupies three-fourths of the whole area.
The conquest of New Orleans and Lower Louisiana was the next great
event. The population of the conquered province amounted to about 300,000
persons, of whom 100,000 were slaves. The slaveowners were already in
distress, notwithstanding their repudiation of their debts to the merchants
of New York. Cotton and sugar were nearly unsaleable, and they were shut in
by the enemy North and South. The strong arm by which alone the slaves
could be kept in chains was paralysed, and the negroes escaped by thousands
into the woods, quietly camping themselves and their families, and even
planting Indian corn for their future use. The mere approach of the
Federals had dissolved their fetters as by magic, and yet there was no
attempt to retaliate on their ancient tyrants--no plantations were
devastated, no houses sacked, no whites massacred, save one single overseer
killed by a slave he had cruelly flogged. On other plantations, again, the
negroes, instead of escaping to the woods, offered to work for their
masters for wages; the masters agreed to give them from five to twelve
dollars a month, and the slaves were thereupon peacefully and thoroughly
transformed into industrious labourers. Those who had cause of complaint
against their employers, sued them in the courts of law. A poor woman,
among others, reclaimed from her brutal master her children and his, whom
he had destined for slavery. The slave markets re-
mained closed for months. In December, 1862, General Butler being superseded in the command by General Banks, the old slaveholders made violent efforts to recover their property; but in February, 1863, the matter was placed on a new basis: every negro was allowed to choose between the service of Government and labour on the plantations. If he chose the latter, wages were to be paid to him, and he was exempted from corporal punishment.
While these events were taking place in New Orleans, the whole question
of abolition had assumed a new phase. On the 22nd September, 1862,
President Lincoln published his famous decree, announcing that in all such
States as should continue in rebellion on the 1st January, 1863, the slaves
should be held emancipated. We are not concerned at present in criticising
the conduct of the Federal Government, else might we point out how in this
action, viewed in its purely political light, the President was but
reclaiming lawful subjects of his States from rebels who had forfeited all
such civil rights as might have been supposed to guarantee their security
in such "property."*
But our task is simply to
___________________Des
Sécessionistes
reprochent à M. Lincoln de ne pas avoir décrété
l'abolition pure et simple de l'esclavage, aussi bien dans les
états restés fidèles que dans les états
insurgés.... Mais si le Président est autorisé en
vertu de la guerre à prendre de violentes mesures de salut public
dans les états rebelles, il doit avant toutes choses respecter la
loi dans les états où la constitution est encore en honneur.
D'ailleurs, M. Lincoln a toujours professé que
l'émancipation graduelle des esclaves est
préférable à un affranchissement immédiat, et
c'est en désespoir de cause qu'il a proclamé
l'abolition dans les états rebelles.--Revue des
Deux Mondes, 707.
Page 10
detail the actual results of the step--and of these the first were some additional cruelties on the part of the Confederates. The negro soldiers found in a railway train at Murfreesboro were coolly shot without trial; and on the banks of the River Cumberland another band of slaves, captured in a Federal steamer, were flogged almost to death, and left bound to trees to die of hunger.
But other results were to follow of another kind. The negroes, of whom
one regiment had already been formed at Port Royal in May, 1862, began to
join more and more numerously the Federal standard, insomuch that in March,
1863, 6,000 had enlisted. These soldiers, who have to bear the brunt of war
under double disadvantages (capture meaning for them inevitable death, and
probably torture), have shown admirable courage and constancy. At the end
of January, a corps of them ascended the St. Mary river, far above the
point where the white Federal troops were stopped, defeated an equal body
of Confederates, and marched back to Port Royal, bringing with them the
chains and scourges of the planters as trophies, and a band of rescued
negroes, who instantly joined their ranks. General Saxton and Colonel
Higginson, who commanded these brave fellows, bore testimony to their
entire devotion, saying that they should not have ventured with white
troops to attempt such an exploit. In Louisiana, the three negro regiments
conducted themselves with equal courage, defending the
railway of Opelousus, and engaging the enemy on the shores of the bayous of Lafourche and Téche.*
Events are passing so rapidly that it is impossible to judge the number
of negroes who have, on the whole, profited as yet, by the events of the
last two years; but two months ago 80,000 of them possessed their new
certificates of emancipation, and to these must be added 400,000 of
Louisiana and the adjoining States, who no longer labour save for
remunerative wages.+
We shall now examine the results of the inquiries instituted by various
societies, and by private individuals, into the conduct of the negroes who
have been thus emancipated.
The "Report of a Committee of the New York Yearly Meeting of
Friends upon the Condition and Wants of the Coloured Refugees,"
contains the following statements regarding those in the neighbourhood of
Washington and Fort Monroe:
"The present shelter of the refugees in Washington is called Camp
Barker. This place is the general receptacle of the sick of about 6,000
refugees in and around Washington. The
___________________* General Niel Dow reports
from
New Orleans that he has a battalion of negroes in his division as
artillerists who, in every respect, are equal to the whites. "Almost
all were marked more or less, and some were covered with scars from head to
foot. The escaped slaves from one plantation were all branded on the
forehead in letters one and a half inches long, occupying the whole front
with the initials of their master's name, 'W.M.' Some had
iron collars riveted round their necks; some had shackles, and some had
been handcuffed."
___________________+ Revue des Deux
Mondes, April 1, 1863.
Page 12
Government gives employment to all the able-bodied men at wages from 12 to 25 dollars a month, and all have rations. The sick in hospital were in a miserable condition.... In Alexandria, on the 12th October, 1862, there were 1,230 refugees quartered in twenty-five houses, one of which had been a slave-pen. All the able-bodied men and women not obliged to take care of the children are at work; the men earn about twenty dollars a month. In the locality called Fishtown, the coloured people were in the worst condition. Upon the whole we regarded the condition of the refugees about Alexandria as very far from what it ought to be; but they expressed, almost without exception, a preference for their present condition, with freedom, to a more favourable one in slavery.
"At Fort Monroe and vicinity are 6,054 refugees, and considerable
numbers more at Yorktown, Suffolk, and Portsmouth. The Government gives
employment to all the able-bodied men. Our interview with General
Dix was agreeable, and we have no doubt of his desire to make these people
comfortable. The general industry was acknowledged, and was borne out by
the fact that about 25,000 dollars was still due to them. The men are said
to work well. They are kept at work all day, and sometimes called on to
work at night; and we were informed that they were treated very roughly. We
inquired of many refugees in Crany Island why they left their masters.
Generally, the latter question seemed to excite surprise and incredulity,
but the answer was nearly the same in all cases,--they came away
for their freedom. We called at Fort Norfolk, where were 632 persons. Altogether they presented a miserable appearance. They were quartered chiefly in a large warehouse, formerly used to store guano, and having no chimneys. They said in substance, 'We will endure this suffering in patience for the sake of the prospect of freedom. We pray the good Lord for all Union men constantly.' C.B. Wilder (a gentleman who, for eight or nine months, has laboured among these people) 'had no doubt that if they had a fair chance of work, and were paid their wages regularly, they would not only support themselves, but all the women and children.'"
Again; the following facts and opinions have been elicited by questions
addressed to seven officials who have charge of the negroes within the
Federal lines in the South, by the Emancipation League:
"General Saxton estimates the number of contrabands in 'the
Department of the South,' at about 18,000. In the State of South
Carolina alone there are now within our lines not less than 12,000
contrabands. The number at Key West, Saint Augustine, Fernandina and other
points in Florida is about 6,000, according to the best estimates we can
now make....
"In answer to your second question, I will say, that after having
lived on the plantations for nearly eight months, with good opportunities
for observing the conduct of the negroes as free labourers, it is my
personal conviction that the negroes in this department, almost without
excep-
tion, would readily become industrious and productive labourers under any liberal system which should offer a fair and reasonably certain compensation proportioned to the work actually done.
"I came to this department without any knowledge of the negro
character, prepared to meet a race of savages not only thirsting for
'the horrors of a servile insurrection,' but quite ready to
tear me limb from limb unless I could succeed in making myself agreeable to
them. I have since found them, as a very general rule, gentle and ready to
obey reasonable orders--almost too gentle in many cases to stand up
for their own rights."--E.W. HOOPER, Captain and
Aid-de-Camp to Gen. Saxton.--Beaufort, Jan. 6, 1863.
"Never knew a people more docile and confiding, and easily managed
and kept at work; having had no serious case needing punishment for
months."--C.B. WILDER, Fortress Monroe, Dec. 30, 1862.
"They are willing to work; more so than the working class of
whites would be, with the same inducements for labour. I have never found
them vindictive or revengeful."--O.BROWN, Craig's Island,
Dec. 31, 1862.
"Their docility, subordination and kindred virtues are
remarkable--without a parallel in the history of the race.
"They make no threats. They seem to wish well to their masters,
but fear that it will not be well with them in the next world, however they
fare here."--SAMUEL SAWYER, Chaplain 47th Regiment, Helena,
Arkansas, Jan. 2, 1863.
"The public service would, last summer, at Cairo, have been put to
serious inconvenience if we could not have obtained the labour of the
'contrabands.' They were more obedient, did more work, were of
temperate habits, and were less disposed to absent themselves than the
white labourers.
"On the gun-boats and transports, contrabands were in
demand, and I saw many who appeared to be highly valued by the officers of
the boats. Their work was very severe, and such as they had been entirely
unaccustomed to.
"They were not provided for as they ought to have been,
particularly in the way of clothing. Notwithstanding all this, I never
heard of one who voluntarily returned to slavery. Few complained of
ill-treatment by their masters, or expressed feelings of revenge
towards them. They appeared to regret leaving their relations and homes,
and would have gladly returned if assured of freedom."--GEORGE
D. WISE, St. Louis, Dec. 27, 1862.
"They are the most docile, forbearing, affectionate, and
subordinate to authority of all the races of men. Their attachments are
very strong, and they are remarkably imitative and
teachable."--CHARLES FITCH, Chaplain 24th Ind. Vols.; J.G.
FARMAN, Chaplain 3rd Mo. Vol. Ind., Helena, Jan. 1, 1863.
"They pray for the success of the Union army, and that their
masters may lay down their arms; but there is no mention made of a spirit
of revenge."--D.B. NICHOLS, Superintendent of Contrabands,
Washington, D.C., Dec. 16.
"They are naturally very docile and kind, and remarkably
submissive to whatever they think to be reasonable and just.
"I never heard the negroes here express a desire to be revenged
upon their masters. But they make no secret of their wish never to see
their masters again."--RICHARD SOUL, Jun., General
Superintendent of 2nd Division, Pope's Plantation, St. Helena's
Island, Jan. 12, 1863.
Again, the following statements were made by Mr. J. McIlwin, giving
reminiscences of his visit to South Carolina, to the Port Royal Relief
Committee:--
"The successful bombardment by our fleet, under Commodore Dupont,
of the two rebel forts at Port Royal, put our forces in possession of all,
or nearly all, that rich and fertile portion of the Palmetto State known as
the Sea Islands. At the approach of our soldiers, the planters fled to the
main, carrying with them all the property they could, including as many of
their slaves, especially their house servants, as they could induce or
compel to accompany them.
They left behind them, however, nearly 10,000 of their plantation
slaves, a large proportion of whom were aged, infirm, and children. They
left, also, considerable stores of corn, and still more considerable
quantities of cotton. Of the latter, most was ungathered and on the stalk.
The negroes showed themselves so loyal and friendly, and, in all respects,
so well disposed, that our Government concluded to employ them, at wages,
in harvesting cotton and baling it for market.
The wages that were promised, though moderate, were nominally--that is, in the intentions of the Government--all-sufficient; but when they were disbursed in store goods, at exorbitant rates, by selfish and sordid agents, they amounted to but a meagre pittance. Some of these cotton agents were honourable and upright men; others were base and unscrupulous. Nevertheless, the blacks worked industriously, and were content. As the results of their labour, upwards of 1,000,000 pounds of this valuable article was shipped to New York, there to be sold for the benefit of the national treasury. The result of my inquiries it is my business now to state.
"As to the experiment of working the negroes by wages, and
cultivating the land by free-labour, I have to say that the
enterprise has thus far, in all respects, been entirely successful. This is
a fact beyond the reach of cavil, and will not be denied by any honest man
having information sufficient to justify an opinion. It does not rest on
the testimony of any one man, or set of men, but on
figures--arithmetical figures and statistical tables--which have
been submitted to the world, and which challenge scrutiny. I allude
particularly to Mr. Peirce's late report, which, it is to be
presumed, most persons here have read.
"The success of the experiment is seen in the fact, that 14,000
acres of cotton, corn, and other provisions, are now in an advanced and
satisfactory state of cultivation, needing little more than a few weeks of
ordinary fair weather to ensure a liberal harvest.
"The success of this experiment is further seen in the contentment
and happiness of the people. Wherever you go you meet cheerful and happy
faces. Their words corroborate the language of their looks. 'Oh yes,
massa, dese is good times.' 'Neber saw sich good times
afore.' 'Too good to last, massa; too good to last.'
These are samples of the expressions we heard wherever we went. And yet
these people have been, and are still, working for very scanty wages. Until
this time their pay has been almost wholly in promises; but they are
content. They have their freedom, they have their food and clothes, and,
what they value more than anything else, they have kind and sympathising
friends. There is but one alloy to their happiness, that is, their fear of
'de sesesh.' They can't divest themselves of a dread of
their old masters' return. But for this, these black people would be,
what their former owners falsely declared them to be, 'the happiest
peasantry in the world.'
"The success of this enterprise is further proved by the industry,
sobriety, and susceptibility to control of these people. Every day of the
week, except Sunday, they were to be seen busily engaged at work. Idlers
and loafers there may have been, and doubtless were, but they never fell
under my observation. Mr. Wickliffe said at the anti-emancipation
meeting, lately held in New York, that at Port Royal, he had understood the
negroes would not work, and that for every man was needed a special driver.
If Mr. Wickliffe had said that black was white, or that two and two did
not make four, his assertion would not have been more directly contrary to the truth.
"The blacks are very tractable. A threat of the law operates like
magic. A superintendent told me that a driver on one of his plantations was
unruly. He reasoned with him, but the driver was obstinate. At last he
said, 'If you don't go to work I will speak to the Provost
Marshal and have you arrested.' The effect was instant. The man was
both overawed and flattered--flattered because he had now risen to
the dignity of being subject to law. He was not to be handed to the
overseer for a hundred lashes, but he was to be arrested! The
law, potent with all ignorant people, is trebly powerful with these. They
are especially tractable under the management of Northern people. There is
a universal feeling of admiration for, and gratitude to, the
Northerners."
Other letters in American journals give the following
accounts:--
The following are extracts from a letter published in the Alton
Telegraph, and dated October 13, 1862. Speaking of the refugees whom
he had lately seen at Lawrence (Kansas), the writer says:
"As I learned that all the children of this school had, within a
few months, been rescued from slavery, I expected to see a motley, lawless
group of little, ragged, dirty children, something like those gathered up
at the Five Points, in New York. But not a bit of it! Not a bit of
it! For cleanliness, neatness, order, general good behaviour, and
apparent comfort, I have seldom seen a Sunday-school that excelled
it. Many of the
little girls had neat straw bonnets, of the latest fashion, ornamented with a profusion of flowers and ribbons, and with such regard to colours, too, as might repulse every suspicion of disloyalty. 'Why,' said I to the superintendent, 'it must have cost the citizens a good deal of money to dress up all these children in this style.' 'Not a cent, not a cent, Sir!' said he. 'Every one of these is dressed at the expense of their parents, from the proceeds of their own earnings since they have been here.'
* * * * * * * *
"Most of them (the negroes), in and about this town and vicinity,
have emigrated from Missouri and Arkansas within a few months. Although
they amount to many hundreds, not one, that I could learn of, has been a
public expense. They readily get employment, and fair wages, which enables
them at once to make themselves and families comfortable. A benevolent
gentleman, on whom they are accustomed to call on their first entry into
the place, usually tells them where they can get employment, and further,
inquires into their circumstances; and if he finds they need a shovel, an
axe, or a pair of shoes, he gives them an order on a store for such
articles, and states in the order, that if the bearer does not pay for them
in a reasonable length of time, he will. This gentleman told me that he had
recently called at the store, to learn the state of his account, and he
found of five or six hundred dollars charged to him on these orders within
a few months, all but eight dollars had been paid by the contrabands
themselves."
[Correspondence of the "Evening Post."]
"PORT ROYAL, March 20, 1863.
"There are at this time within our lines in South Carolina about
12,000 coloured people, as absolutely free men and women as the same
population of whites in any military department where martial law is
strictly enforced.
"I want to repeat that these people are absolutely and entirely
free. There is no attempt made to control them, either by special laws, or
by any coercion, other than that to which all men and women submit in a
civilized state. If I should add that, nevertheless, they have murdered no
white men, have injured no white women or children, that they have burned
no houses, destroyed no property; that crimes against the person are almost
unknown, crimes against property not more frequent than in any equal
population of ignorant whites; that the only murder committed by a black
man since the islands have been ours, was an act for the exact parallel of
which a Congressman, now a general in the Union armies, was held justified
by a jury, and by a large part of the public, especially in the slave
States--if I should add all this, I am aware that my story would seem
to many ignorant people absurd and impossible. But I should, nevertheless,
have told the simple truth.
"The planters have always persuaded us that their four millions of
slaves were a dangerous class; and the precautions they took, and their
evident apprehensions in regard to this population, prove that they were in
earnest. As slaves, then, they
were dangerous to the community--so every slaveholder told you; as free men they have proved themselves peaceable, law-abiding, and useful. As slaves, special laws, cruel punishments, and disgraceful guards were required--in the opinion of the slaveholders--to keep them from murder and rapine; but our experience in these Sea Islands shows that as freemen these same people are so harmless, so kind, so ready to submit to all laws and to all proper guidance, so averse from violence, that in all parts of the island ladies are stationed as teachers, and move about among them unguarded, unarmed, and unharmed."
"HILTON HEAD, March 24, 1863.
"To the Editor of the 'Boston Journal.'
"The steamer 'Boston' arrived this morning from
Jacksonville, Florida. The First South Carolina had been reinforced.
Several skirmishes had taken place. The naval officers who witness the
deportment of the regiment give it high praise. When the citizens of the
town found that a regiment of negroes had possession of the place, they
were highly indignant. They denounced it as an outrage. They would not have
cared if white troops had surprised them, but to wake up in the morning and
find their old servants up in arms, with knapsack, cartridge-box,
and musket, was galling to human nature. They were, without doubt, terribly
frightened. They thought of St. Domingo; they imagined blood, outrage, and
death in the most appalling shape. Perhaps remembrances of former days came
back; perhaps the
ghosts of the dead returned--they who had died at the whipping-tree, hung up by the thumbs, with backs gory, who had been hunted down by hounds in the swamp, torn in pieces by bull-dogs. No wonder there was consternation, wringing of hands, and hysterics among the women of Jacksonville, when they found themselves at the mercy of runaway armed slaves, with power to cut their throats, to commit all imaginable outrages on property and person.
"Mark how that power has been exercised! Notice the terrible
vindictiveness of the runaway slaves! Not a hair of a woman's head
harmed. The deportment of the soldiers is as correct as that of the white
regiments. There is no St. Domingo for this continent. Last Sunday I hear a
negro pray in public. It was in a large church. There were colonels,
majors, captains, lieutenants, ladies refined, intelligent, from the North,
civilians, and a great crowd of coloured people. Thanks were given for
freedom, heartfelt and earnest. God's best blessings were invoked
upon President Lincoln for making the negroes free. Then came the following
supplication:--'I pray Thee, O Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt
not forget my old master. I pray Thee, O Lord God, for Jesus' sake,
that Thou wilt bless him. O Lord, make him give his heart to Thee. Make him
also throw down his gun, and come out for the Union! O Lord, make him see
that he has done wrong.'
"I give it verbatim, but the pen
cannot record the earnestness of the suppliant. Such is the revenge of the
freedmen!"
Such are, in brief, the results of all inquiries into the conduct of the
negroes who have been emancipated since the beginning of the war.
EMILY FAITHFULL, Printer and Publisher in Ordinary to her Majesty, Victoria Press, 83A, Farringdon Street, E.C.