Free Negroes. 55 



The Republican"^ Government had many enemies In New 

 York, where the democratic party was exceedingly strong. 

 The above-mentioned measure furnished them a welcome 

 means to work on the lower classes, especially on the very 

 numerous Irish element, favourably inclined towards the de- 

 mocrats because they hated the negroes. The cause of this 

 hatred was envy and jealousy. The now free negroes arrived 

 in great numbers in New York, and became rivals to the low 

 Irish, who until then had furnished most house servants, hotel 

 v/aiters, &c. They were highly indignant that the negroes 

 should have the same rights as themselves, that they should be 

 permitted to ride in the same cars as the white people, and no 

 longer be looked upon a,s biped cattle. 



New York was then utterly void of soldiers. All militia 

 regiments had been sent to Pennsylvania to resist the invasion. 

 The police force was not numerous, and the forts were garri- 

 soned only by a few hundred men. The opportunity for the 

 bad designs of -the enemies of the Government was very favour- 

 able, and they were not slow in using it. 



I have not seen the Irish at home, and cannot judge about 

 them in general, I have become acquainted with well-educated 

 Irish gentlemen and ladies, and found them most intelligent 

 and agreeable people, but the low Irish rabble of New York 

 are the most degraded and brutish set of human beings I 

 know; I shudder to think of them, and in my opinion they 

 stand far beneath the negroes. They may, in many respects, 

 be more highly gifted and talented than those, but their 

 behaviour is always meaner and rougher ; and the negroes 

 have besides the great advantage over the Irish, that they are 

 sober ; a drunken negro is a rarity, whilst drunkenness is the 

 prevailing state amongst the American descendants of Erin. 



When the draft commenced on Saturday, July ii, in New 

 York, everything seemed to pass off with unexpected quiet ; 

 but on Sunday mischief was brewing, and on Monday, the 13th, 

 a storm broke loose, which only found its parallell in the events 

 taking place during the reign of the Commune in Paris. 



I The position of the ' Democrats ' in America corresponded to that 

 of ttie.' ' Conservatives ' in Germany ; tlieir extremest Democrats were 

 called Copperheads, and were in favour of secession and slavery. 



