THE NEGRO-HIS NATURE AND DESTINY.* All minds are now turned upon the negro. What is he? and what is to become of him? Are the white man and the negro to have the same civil and social status in this country? Are they to amalgamate? We see no reason why they should not, provided they are of the same species and are equal by nature, like the several branches of the Caucasian family, English, Irish, Welsh, Scotch, Germans, Dutch, French, Spaniards, Italians, Swiss, Poles, Hungarians, Danes, Swedes, Russians, Americansall mingle bloods and unite on terms of social and civil equality; and this is found to be both physiologically and socially advantageous. Why not place the negro in the same category? Our present inquiry has no relation to onesided politics. We are fast reaching a pointif, indeed, we have not reached it already-when we must meet this question upon its own merits. We accept the teaching that "God hath made of one blood all nations of men." The negro and the white man may be of the same generic race, the same human family. But different species may be deduced from the same parent genus, and the species may become so dissimilar as to make a reunion into one and the same species abnormal and even fatal to their continuance. There are doubtless wise, providential designs in this, as related to the human family, but we have to do at present only with the fact. the also, like his head, narrow and long. This shape in the female, according to Vrolik and Weber, is a type of degradation, "as it approaches that of the quadrumana in the more vertical direction of the iliac bones and their less width, in the smaller breadth of sacrum, and in the consequent less extent of the hips." The shoulder-blades of the negro are broader and shorter than those of the white man; his muscles have longer tendons and shorter bellies; his legs project more outward and forward; his hands and his feet are flatter; and his heel-bone, instead of being arched, is in a straight line with the other bones of the foot, and projects more behind. As the weight of his body thus rests nearer the centre of his foot, his movement is less elastic and active, more mechanical and indolent, than that of the white man. Like other animal races, negroes seldom have a fetid breath, but they exhale odorous excretions from the skin. Their skin is thin, soft, oily, and also differs further, not only in the pigment underlying the transparent cuticle, but in the greater number of cutaneous glands. These are doubtless among the causes that enable them to endure so well the tropical climates. Their hair is curled, twisted, harsh, wiry, and is said by microscopists to have imbricated, projecting scales, and to be sometimes capable of being felted like wool. They have less sensiWe are now to show that the white man and bility than the whites, are not so subject to negro are of a different species. The terms nervous affections, and realize less pain under negro and African are not synonymous. The surgical operations, or injuries inflicted upon negro occupies only about one half of Africa. their bodies. Medical authorities say of them: The inhabitants of Northern Africa, Egyptians, "The effects of opium and other narcotics apAbyssinians, Nubians, Moors, Carthagenians, pear rather in the digestive, circulatory, and whether ancient or modern, as also the Hotten-respiratory functions than in the cerebral and tots of the South, are not and never have been negroes. The term negro is not a national appellation, for negroes have never had in Africa a proper nationality. They have existed in clans and hordes. The term indicates a particular type or species of the human family, known by certain distinctive physical and mental characteristics, some of which we proceed to notice. The skull of the negro is narrower, longer, and much thicker and more solid than that of the white man; his jaws and lower posterior skull are more prominent; and in some cases the sphenoid does not reach the parietal bones, but the coronal suture joins the margin of the temporals. In connection with these peculiarities of the head are a reduced forehead, a broad retreating chin, a large development of the lower part of the face; small, thick, projecting ears; a wide, longitudinal opening of the cavity of the nose, and a large action of the muscles of the lower jaw. The pelvis of the negro is * From an American publication. nervous system; they are little subject to yellowfever, and more to yaws and other cutaneous affections; they are generally very torpid under disease." The disposition of the negro is generally kind, genial, generous, affectionate. Unlike the Indian, he shuns the forest, loves society, is attached to the white man, looks to him for guidance, and clings to him for safety and support. He is very susceptible to kindness, patient of sufferings, and devoted to his friends. He is fond of cheer, mirth, and drollery; satisfied with the present, so long as he has the means to eat, drink, and be merry; improvident and thoughtless of the future, yet susceptible to religion, as addressed to his sympathies and instincts, and readily moulded to any faith in accordance with these. He is fond of music, and is easily wrapt in ecstasies under its more rude, impassioned strains. He is constitutionally indolent, but may be trained to industrious habits, and may become a skilful artisan, trafficker, mechanic, or farmer. Under proper training, he makes a good servant, true, faithful, fond of his master, and proud of his relation to him. As a master, he is apt to be unreasonable, tyrannical, and cruel. The most oppressive masters are those who were once themselves slaves. Though kind to their friends, they are cruel to their enemies, and set little value on human life. Negroes were known to the Egyptians more than two thousand years before Christ, and the representation of them upon their monuments accords precisely with their present type. They are known to have existed for thousands of years in Central and Southern Africa, as they now do, in a debased, savage state, preying upon, enslaving, and devouring one another. They are cannibals. They have never risen, and seem never to have aspired, to civilization. They worship idols and fetishes, have sacred songs and festivals, and sometimes sacrifice human victims to their gods. They live in fear of ghosts and apparitions, and in apprehension of being turned into a gorilla, or other beast, reptile, or fish when they die. And thus, for thousands of years, through all the mutations of time, the rise and fall of empires, the advance of sciences and civilizations, they have remained the same degraded and miserable savages. Not a book, not a science, not a statute law, not a single step towards civilization has marked their long, sad history! What say we of all this? That the men who instituted and prosecuted the slave-trade were philanthropists, and merit praise? No. Their motive was money, not the negro's welfare. Let them receive merited condemnation. But He who makes the wrath of man to praise Him has made it an occasion of great good to the enslaved. They are here an elevated people, and enjoy a paradise of blessings compared with their brethren in Africa. They are industrious and useful farmers, mechanics, and household servants; they have ample supply of their necessities, both in health and sickness, and many of them enjoy the hopes and blessings of the gospel. They are generally contented and happy, and, under wise State regulations and suitable care, may steadily improve. What, then, is our duty respecting them? To throw them back into their savage state, or to hold them in perpetual bondage? Neither of these. There is a more excellent way. Immediate, universal, unconditional emancipation would be their inevitable abandonment to returning savagedom. No man with a decent head on his shoulders can doubt this. On the other hand, perpetual and inevitable servitude, in its present form, does not comport with our aspirations for the universal elevation and freedom of our race. The medium course is here, undoubtedly, the safest and best. The relation of master and slaves should be sundered no faster than they are prepared for self-care, or a way provided for their improved condition. Emancipation under any other circumstanees is a monstrous injustice and cruelty to the slaves. Slavery may be a great evil, but a greater evil will come in its place, when not removed in the right way. To the whites, no less than to the blacks, may the precipitate abolition of slavery prove disastrous. A sentinel, guarding our way and obstructing our passage, may be an evil; but his instant removal may be the signal for an influx of evils, which shall too late make us wish, a thousand times, that the stern sentinel were again back in his place. Let us look the fearful problem in the face. Here are four millions of slaves; our inferiors, and dependent upon us, they are especially entitled to our consideration and care. One of these four things must be done: First, we must emancipate them at once, at all hazards, and abandon them to their fate, irrespective of consequences; or, secondly, we must take them, as we do the Irish and other Europeans, into our social and civil status, and intermarry with them; or, thirdly, we must permit them to become our masters-at least in the Gulf States, and thus reverse the present system from black to white slavery; or, fourthly, we must retain our power over them, and by humane and wise means seek their gradual elevation and freedom, and their ultimate position as a civilized Christian nation, either in their native Africa or in some portion of America, or in both. Only a visionary dreamer, or a man reckless of all obligations to God and to his fellowcreatures, would for a moment advocate the first. Objections to the second are no less insurmountable. Mulattoes, so called from the mule, the product of two species, are generally, like mules, unproductive; and the offspring of the mixed bloods never continue productive without a return, on the one side or the other, to the original pure white or black blood. It is not so with the different branches of the Caucasian family. On the contrary, health and productiveness are increased by the crossing. In the mingling of the white and black bloods, the one or the other must ultimately yield; for they will not permanently unite in one and the same species. The advantage is here on the side of the negroes; for with them "the potency and vigour in both sexes is excessive." The effect of amalgamation, on a broad scale, must therefore ultimately be the virtual extinction of the white race in the more Southern States. For the third alternative, the commutation of black slavery for white slavery, none but a frantic fanatic will contend. The fourth alternative is the one we advocate. We have no expectation that fighting, although we trust it will put down the rebellion and restore the Union, can of itself do much towards improving the condition of the negro. That cannot be done without peaceful, prolonged, self-sacrificing endeavours; a mutual understanding and sympathy between the North and South; and es pecially by the free consent and effective action of the States in which slavery exists. It is becoming common to speak lightly of the destiny of the slaves. If we can only crush the rebellion and restore and perpetuate the Union, no matter, we are told, what becomes of the negroes. But this will not do. There is a God in heaven, who cares no less for the humble and oppressed than for the more favoured of his people. As we deal mercifully and justly towards those in our power, so will He deal towards us. He will recompense us according to our righteousness. With the merciful he will show himself merciful. A people larger than were the people of the United States, at the time of the Revolution, just emerging from unrecorded ages of barbarism and civilization, is a spectacle of profoundest interest. Let us make their case our own; let us do unto others as we would that they should do unto us; let us give them, at least, a full and fair chance. As peace and union and the reign of good feeling shall return among us, which we trust will be ere long, only let Great Britain and the United States combine to plant and protect the institutions of a Christian civilization in Africa, aided by large colonies of our trained, ingenious, industrial negroes, and in due time a nation may be seen rising upon those vast, fertile plains and mountains, that will inaugurate a new era, and open an inviting asylum to the negro race for all future time. THE WAY TO WEALTH. The way to wealth, observes an old author, is open to all who are industrious and frugal, both with respect to their money and time; for time well employed is certain to bring money, as money well spent is certain of gaining more. Lay down a regular estimate of your time, and what you must do in every particular hour and every particular day, and you will in one month acquire habits of punctuality which will be astonishing even to yourself, and which will gain for you a character of accuracy that cannot fail to raise your credit, the prize that all aim at, though but few obtain. A punctual man is sure to be respected, and he is almost sure of thriving and becoming rich, for punctuality comprehends. industry and foresight, two of the most powerful instruments of procuring wealth. On the same subject, Dr. Franklin says: Remember this" the good paymaster is lord of another man's purse;" he that is known to pay punctually, and exactly to the time he promises, may at any time and on any occasion raise all the money his friends can spare. This is sometimes of great use. After industry and frugality, nothing contributes more to the raising of a young man in the world than punctuality and justice in all his dealings; therefore never keep borrowed money an hour beyond the time you promised, lest a disappointment shut up your friends' purse for ever. Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into. To prevent this, keep an exact account, for some time, both of your expenses and your income. If you take the pains at first to mention particulars, it will have this good effect-you will discover how wonderfully small trifling expenses mount up to large sums, and will discern what might have been and may for the future be saved, without occasioning any great inconvenience. In short, the way to wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words-industry and frugality; that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality nothing will do, and with them everything. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary expenses excepted) will certainly become rich, if that Being who governs the world, to whom all should look for a blessing on their honest endeavours, doth not, in His wise providence, otherwise determine. OUR PARIS CORRESPONDENT. MY DEAR C Rigolo is vanquished! What is the fall of Richmond in comparison ! 66 Rigolo!" you exclaim; "and who is Rigolo?" Fie, not to know Rigolo, the last Parisian hero, the mulet immontable, whose success in throwing off every adventurer from his back has made us forget the encyclical, Mdlle. Theresa, &c., &c., and filled, for the last month, the Cirque Napoléon with enthusiastic spectators. A hundred francs were offered to anyone who could succeed in going three times round the circus on the mule's back without being thrown off. A hundred francs! Fancy if there were "amateurs" and roars of laughter when Rigolo sent them, one after the other, over his head into the dust. But Rigolo's triumphs, like human glory in general, were but ephemeral, and he has allowed himself to be vanquished by a gamin de Paris, who carried off the hundred francs, and, with them, Rigolo's reputation; and the place of Parisian idol is, for the moment, vacant. It is true that the present warm weather, after our long winter, makes us care little for Paris amusements, and we shall soon abandon again the capital to our country cousins. Many families are already gone, and others on the eve of departure. The Emperor will start in May for Algiers; and it is thought that the Empress and her son will make a short sojourn at Nice during his Majesty's absence, though nothing is yet decided.' En attendant, their Majesties, as usual, honour the races every Sunday afternoon with their presence. Those at La Marche become more and more frequented, particularly by the demi-monde, the fashionable lorettes, who show off more and more their impudence and splendid dress, quaffing the most costly wines, and disdainfully flinging away half-empty bottles on the grass; while parties of boys, still in their teens, aping men, may be seen in groups drinking as much champagne in an hour as ought to be taken in a week, all under the pretence of imitating Epsom. The death of Mr. Cobden caused great sensation here: the papers were unanimous in their regret for the loss of your great citizen. The Presse appeared in black borders; and one of its editors, Monsieur de Girardin, could not refrain from exclaiming, in the poignancy of his grief, and in his great love for England, "Blind Death! instead of taking away Lord Temple Palmerston who is eighty-one, and who loves England, has carried off Richard Cobden who was only sixty-one, and who loved France!" There may be great good taste in M. de Girardin's remark, but one must allow that it is not a pleasant one for your eminent Premier. The Emperor has ordered a bust of Cobden to be placed in the museum at Versailles; and the vice-president, during a sitting of the Corps Législatif, pronounced a panegyric on him, in the name of the House and of France. Apropos of the Corps Législatif, Mr. E. Ollivier has all but passed over to the Government side. Monsieur Thiers has made two speeches, as he alone can make here. His first, in defence of Parliamentary Government, was admirable; and the last, against the convention of the 15th of September, made Government pronounce their intentions with respect to the Pope, who is to be defended should the Italians attack him. The question of obligatory gratuitous instruction has met with a complete defeat in the House: seventeen members alone voted for it. It is really charming to see with what unanimity our deputies vote together, and what a cordial understanding there is between them and their imperial master: most assuredly we are in a second golden age. I wonder why we want deputies at all, in such a happy state of things! The late election of Monsieur Prevost Paradol, as academician, was not quite so agreeable to Napoleon III. as the votes of his servile deputies. Had the Academy picked all France they could not have found a man more disagreeable to his Majesty, Prevost Paradol being a staunch Orleanist and possessing a pen particu larly biting to his Majesty. It is laughable to see how enraged the journalists who adore the present state of things are at the success of this young and clever writer, who is only thirty-six and whose talent no one contests. It is quite a political affair, and has been a regular party struggle. At the reception of the new acade mician, who, according to the custom, will make a speech, M. Guizot is to reply, which will be a great treat to those who are fortunate enough to get a ticket of entrance. The opening of the great new theatre, GrandThéâtre Parisian, at a franc and half a franc, took place a little while ago in one of the most populous quarters in Paris. The stage is as large as that of the New Opera House (sixteen metres wide), and never was there a more laughable first representation of a very dark drama. In the midst of a very tragical scene, a shrill whistle, at a critical moment, made the whole audience burst out laughing. It was the whistle from a train entering the Lyon station, close by. "Sing louder," screamed the public to a young actress, who was already shouting enough to break her voice. "Louder!" echoed she, interrupting her song, "I should like to see you at it, in my place." Then followed such a tumult of laughter and applause, that the tympan of one's ears risked a great chance of being rent. But the finale out-did all : |