CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. HOWE. 601 



ress of civilization, should the ideas now gen- 

 erally prevalent about amalgamation gain 

 sufficient ascendency to exert a practical in- 

 fluence upon the management of the affairs 

 of the nation, that I beg leave to urge a few 

 more considerations upon that point. 



In the first place let me insist upon the fact 

 that the population arising from the amalga- 

 mation of two races is always degenerate, 

 that it loses the excellences of both primitive 

 stocks to retain the vices or defects of both, 

 and never to enjoy the physical vigor of 

 either. In order clearly to appreciate the 

 tendencies of amalgamation, it is indispensable 

 to discriminate correctly between the differ- 

 ences distinguishing one race from another 

 and those existing between different nation- 

 alities of the same race. For while the mix- 

 ture of nationalities of the same race has 

 always proved beneficial as far as we are 

 taught by history, the mixture of races has 

 produced a very different result. We need 

 only look at the inhabitants of Central Amer- 

 ica, where the white, the negro, and the In- 

 dian races are more or less blended, to see the 

 baneful effects of such an amalgamation. The 

 condition of the Indians on the borders of 

 civilization in the United States and in Can- 



