i, 
612 The Fall of the Confederacy. 
potent than the fear of the lash. We admit that the negro is 
disposed to idleness ; that is to say, he will not labour after 
his wants and aspirations are satisfied, and sometimes he 
will forsake the path of duty for the path of idleness. 
Does that prove him to be other than man? No; for it is 
evidence of his humanity. 
The other charges against the negro were that he is 
devoid of moral sense, and is a savage when not a slave. 
The negro was said to be predisposed to theft. Well, 
there are police and prisons in Europe, and there is a disease 
called kleptomania. When we inquire into the facts we 
find that thieving did not prevail amongst the coloured popu- 
lation so muchas it did amongst the white population. 
Nor was this due to the restraints of slavery, for the criminal 
returns show that the free coloured population of the States 
yielded less than the average number of criminals. As to 
social morality, all observers agree that the negroes were 
fond and faithful in their domestic relations. When we 
reflect how crime and vice are fostered by ignorance, that 
the negroes were kept in a state of ignorance, that the sense 
of responsibility was deadened by the condition of slavery, 
there can be no doubt that they are not devoid of moral 
sense, and are, in this respect, the equals of their white 
brethren. 
But the war was a crucial test, and demonstrated the fit- 
ness of the negro for social and political freedom. The white 
men were in the camp; the negroes were left at home. The 
property of their masters, the lives and honour of the women 
and children, were in their power. It was a period of intense 
excitement. Howdid thenegroes comport themselves? They 
were neither negligent nor faithless. They were guiltless of 
outrage, either on life or property. They were not incited 
by the revolution to commit any offences. They were not 
guilty of the excesses that have disgraced European revo- 
lutions. When in the armies of the North they fought as 
bravely as white men. Whilst in the South, and before 
they were liberated, their conduct was prudent and 
admirable. If they had been guilty of any excesses the 
cause of negro emancipation would have been hindered. 
But they were patient and dutiful until the last. Read the 
story of the French revolution, and then read the story of 
the negro emancipation revolution in America. Does the 
negro suffer by the comparison ? 
Is Christianity a cunningly-devised fable? To those 
who are Christians we would address the question, How 
