E 453 .069 Copy 1 SPEECH OF HON. J. R. DOOLITTLE, OF WISCONSIN, ON H03IESTEADS FOR IVHITE 3IEN IN THE TEMPERATE ZONE— HOME- STEADS FOR BLACK MEN IN THE TROPICS— WHITE IMMIGRA- TION TO AND BLACK E3IIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES — A CONTINENTAL, POLICY, EMBRACING ALL CLIMES AND RACES, BRINGING FREE-* DOM AND HOMES TO ALL: DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 11, 18G2. WASHINGTON: PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 1862. \ SPEECH. The Senate having under consideration the bill (S. No. lol) to confiscate the property and free tlie slaves of rebels, the pending question was on the motion of Mr. WilleyIo anielid the tliiid section so as to make it read: Tliat it shall be the duty of the President of the United Stales to make provision i'or the transportation, coloniza- tion, and settlement in some tropical country, beyond the limits of the United States, of such persons of the African race made free hy the provisions of this act, and also of all other persons of the African race who are now free in any of the United States as may be willing to emigrate, or who may be hereafter manumitted either by the voluntary act of individuals or by State authority for the purpose of being so transportetl, colonized, and settled, having tirst obtained the consent of the Government of said country to their pro- tection and settlement within the same, with all the rights and privileges of freemen ; and the sum of $5,000,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be applied by the President in carrying into effect the provisions of this section — Mr. DOOLlTTLEsaid: Mr. President, before proceeding to tlie question upon which I design [ submitting some remarks, I slmll now do what I i iiave never done before in the Senate, and what 1 trust I shall never have occasion to do again — refer to a matter personal to myself. Some time , ago, when the bill for emancipating the slaves I in this District was pending liere, the honorable Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Davis] moved an | amendment to appropriate $100,000 to colonize out of the limits of the United States all persons set free by the act. To that amendment I moved tlie following: .and Ic it further enacted, That the sum of ,«1 00,000, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, shallhe expended under the direction of the President of the United Suites to aid in the colonization and settlement, with their own consent, of free people of color from said Dir-lriet in the republics of Ilayli and Liberia, or elsewhere. I did sn to extend ils benefit to all free persons of color within the District: fir.st, because I would not confine it to those only who would be liber- ated under the act; and second — which was the more material point with me — because I would make that colonization voluntary, with their oxen consent, and not compulsory. On that occasion, I made the following remark, which I read from the Globe: " The question being upon the amendment to the amend- ment, "Mr. DooLiTTLE said: Mr. President, believing, as T do, that all men have a natural right to their liberty, and that Congress has exclusive legislative power in the District of Columbia, I am readv to give my vole to put an end to sla- very here forever. But, sir, I cannot support the amend- ment proposed to this bill by the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Davis] unless my amendment to it shall be adopted, and then I will give it my hearty support." This remark, that I would not support the amendment to the bill unless mine was adopted, was misapprehended, I have no doubt, by some of the reporters in the gallery who are permitted to take notes of our proceedings; and the New York Times, a journal of wide circulation and great influence, by mistake reported me assaying j that I would not vote for the bill iise// unless my ! amendment were adopted. I said no such thing, \ and I thought no such thing. That I thought it much wiser to join colonization with emancipa- tion is true. 1 "thought so then; I think so still, ! and will endeavor to demonstrate it before I close. .This report of the Times has been quoted exten- sively by the press in my own State, and as it bears upon a question on which our people feel I a deep interest, it has, without intending it, done injustice to my position. I 'While on this subject I will say a word also as to the course of the Chicago Tribune. This pro- fessed Republican journal has a wider circulation than any other in'the Northwest. It circulates all over my Stale and wields a powerful influence there. Hundreds of copies are daily sold in my own town, to my friends. In giving the account of the vote on that bill it stated that I voted against the bill for emancipation in this District. This is an entire mistake. I will say further, sir, that 1 am at a loss to account for the tone and. conduct of that journal of late in some respects. One of its editors, as postmaster at Chicago, is receiving the patronage of the l)est office in the gift of a Re- publican Administration in the State of Illinois; annual patronage to the amount of perhaps five or six thousand dollars. I can very well uiider.stand how an unfriendly newspaper may be led to attack, misrepresent, and depreciate the standing, posi- tion, and action of its political opponents; bull do not understand Irow it is that a Republican jour- nal receiving its support mainly from Republicans and from their Administration can, ujion any con- siderations of principle, gratitude, friendship, or policy, intentionally or carelessly make such mis- representations of the friends of the Administra- tion as go into that journal. I do not refer to my- self alone; I refer to men abler than myself; to men liigh in position and in the confidence of the Administration. Nor should 1 mention this if it was the first case in which that journal had mis- stated my position here as a Senator. If for any reason that journal supposes that by such a course it can influence my action here, or if the editor of a certain other professed Republican journal in my own State, whose name 1 will not speak, for it is not fit to be simken in this Senate, su|iposes that lie can intimidate me, or, baser still, levy black mail upon me to gain his silence or his sup- port, or to change my action or restrain the free utterance of my convictions here or elsewhere, they do not know the man witli whom they deal. I know the great power and influence of the press. Itis great for good', and great for evil, too. ±So man who would leave the legacy of a good name to liis children can be insensible to its at- tacks. To every public man, in trying times like these, it is grateful to the heart to know that his course is approved by his countrymen, at least that it is not misrepresented by the press of his own political friends- Sir, I have no money with which to purcha.se its favors, to pension correspondents, or pny fov tel- egraphic dispatches — (hose purchased encomiums so often and so unworthily bestowed, by which great men and lieroes are manufactured here, sometimes of very small and very poor material; and if I had the gold of California, I would not humilintc myself to make the purchase. And I now say, once for all, 1 ask nothing of the press but the truth, and I take all the responsibil- ity of my opinions, my action, and my votes. Mr. President, I come now to tiie issue made •with me by the honorable Senator from New Hampshire', [Mr. IIalk,] in his speech yesterday on the subject of the possible colonization of the increase of the colored jiopulation of the United States. He more than once denounced coloni- zation as a thing impossible, impracticable, and absurd, one of " the most absurd ideas that ever cnu-red into the head of man or woman." Among other things he said: "Tbn arcat lawsot"iiatiiru aiiclof Piovulcnce will go on. •One of tliu laws of the condition of this class is, tliai tliey increase faster tlian the whites. Tliey liave increased They arc to-day vastly cxceediriR in nunibfrthe whole Uni- ted States when they bade defiance to the power of the niij;litlc-st kingdom of tlie earth. They are hero, and despite all vonr puny eflbrts they will remain here. Tliey will in- crease. They will increase probably in about the ratio that they have iHcrcased. It will bother the wisest philosophy, it will set at naucht even the philanthropy and wisdom of my friend from Wisconsin [.Mr. Doolittli;] to meet it with any schemes looking to colonization in Central .America, South America, or elsewhere." He admitted that it might elevate the condition of a few, but stoutly denic'd that it could remove, in any possible deg'ree, this black population, or materially retard their increase. I stated yesterday that, as the Senator from New Hamiisliire was coming down to facts and figures, I desired to meet hirn. I then thought I might not occupy more than ten minutes in reply to him on this subject; but as my honorable friend from New York, [Mr. Hahris,] to whom the floor would be assigned to-day, is detained by sickness, I will ask the indulgence of the Senate while I shall state the facts and figures a little more in detail than I expected to do last even- ing. Mr. President, I regret exceedingly that the honorable Senator from New HampsJiire, after the usual motion made by him on Friday to ad- journ over Saturday until Monday, is not now present in the Senate. I should be glad if he were here, especially after giving him notice last even- ing as I did, that as he was coming down to his- tory, geography, and arithmetic, i desired to ci- pher with him a little on this question. It is not very often that I have an opportunity to meet that honorable gentleman ujion equal terms. In the matter of rhetoric, figures of speech, wit and humor; in that magnetic power of voice and man- ner which can change at once from the grave and serious to the humorous and joyous; which al- most at the Siime moment can dissolve us in tears and convulse us with laughter; in that power of declamation which he knows so well how to use, to influence the minds and move the passions of mankind, 1 am by no means the equal of the honorable Senator from New Hamjishire. I yield to his great superiority at once. Hut, sir, when we come down to facts and figures, when 1 can bring him to the blacklward, v.-hen i can be per- mitted to open the book of history, take down the map of the world, and look at geograpdiy and cli- mate and men and races, tiieii I feel that I can meet the honorable Senator from New Hamp- shire on equal terms. As I have him there now, I propose to cipher at the blackboard, even in his absence, as I gave him notice last eviiiiiig I would cipher with him on this question to-day. It is my purpose to confine myself to the great issue be- tween us: is the colonization of a number equal to or greater than I he annual increase of the colored population to tropical countries, first of all, A THING POSSIBLE.' I propose to look into the tables and sec what that annual increase is. 1 have before me a table carefully prepared by the chii-f of tlio Census Bu- reau. In looking into that you will find what I have briefly al)slracted, showing the rate percent, of increase, in columns, during each decade pre- ceding the year mentioned in the column of years, as follows: ^H o o w o C."- o o rt „ ~ °' III ill ? c > a V '^ CJ o ai i« a* o (J o t> ncrea cent tal tion S -^ "" ^ 1800 35.68 27.97 82.23 35.02 1810 36.18 33.40 72.00 36.45 1850 34.11 28 79 2") . 23 33.13 IKiO 34.03 30.61 36.^7 33.49 1840 34.72 2.i.81 20.87 32.67 1850 37.74 28.82 12.46 35.87 1860 38.12 23.38 10.97 35.58 In the decade ending in 1800, tliat is for the ten years between 1790 and 1800, the increase of whites was 35. 68 per cent.; the increase of slaves 27.97 per cent.; the increase of free colored per- sons 82.28 per cent.; the total increase of popu- lation 35.02 per cent. During that period manu- missions were very extensive. From 1800 to 1810, the increase of whites was 3G.18 per cent., of slaves 33.40 per cent., (but during most of this period -the slave trade wi'nt on, and we also ac- quired Louisiana with its slaves,) and of the free colored people 72 per cent.; total increase 36.45 per cent. From 1810 to 1820, the increase of the whites was 34.11 per cent., of slaves 28.79 percent., (we acquired Florida about 1819, with its slaves,) and of the free colored 25.23 percent.; total, 33.13 per cent. From 1820 to 1830, the increase of the whites was 34.03 per cent., of the slaves 30.61 per cent., and of the free colored 30.87 per cent.; to- tal, 33.49 per cent. For the decade ending in 1840, the increase of the whites was 34.72 per cent., of the slaves but 23.81 per cont.,of the free colored 20.87 per cent.; total, 32.67 per cent. For the decade ending in 1850, the increase of whites was 37.74 per cent., of slaves 28.82 per cent., (but during this period Texas was annexed with its slaves, increasing the rate per cent.,) that of free colored but 12.46 per cent,; total, 35.87 per cent. For the decade ending in 1860, which has just closed, the increase of whites was 33.12 per cent., of slaves 23.33 per cent., of free colored 10.97 per cent.; total, 35.58 per cent. The only increase, tlierefore, of the slave population during the last decade of ten -years has been 23.38 per cent., or a little more than 2.3 per cent, per annum. The increase of the free colored population during the same period of ten years is 10.97 per cent., being at the rate of alittle overone per cent. per annum, while the increase of the slave population is 2.3 percent., almost 2.4 percent.; makmg theannual increase of four millions of slaves, 93,520. That would be the increase for the last year of the de- cade, taking the number of slaves to be, in round numbers, four millions. Now, Mr. President, six steamships of a large class, or indeed one single monster ship like the Great Eastern, carrying 12,000 passengers, would take " a number" equal to all the increase of the slaves in eight trips per annum to Liberia. This would give about six weeks for the round trip, to go to Africa and return. Yes, sir; eight trips only of that one ship, or of the six large class steamers I have supposed, would take away the whole increase. It", instead of going to Africa, those trips should be made from New York to the island of San Domingo, which could easily be done semi- monthly, she alone would carry more than three times the number of the annual increase of the 4,000,000 of .slaves. The six steamships would do the same. If instead of being shipped from New York to San Domingo, they should, in the progress of events, go from the city of New Orleans to Vera Cruz, Yucatan or Honduras, or from South Caro- lina and Georgia to San Domingo, or nearer still, when, in the progress of events, the island of Cuba shall become, as it may, like Hayti, the home of the tropical race, those trips could be made every week, and this one ship orthose six large steam- ships, making weekly trips, could carry from the United States 624,000 persons annually. I beg to call the attention of Senators to these figures. I would that the Senator from New Hampshire was here at the blackboard with us now. The ciphers show this result, that that one ship alone, or the six ships supposed, could carry seven times the increase of this population in the United States every year. The first year they would carry the increase of 93,520; and in addition to that 520,500, leaving but 3,480,000 of slaves in the United States. The second year these same trips would carry lh(! increase, which would then only be 81,362, and besides the increase, would carry 542,638, leaving but 2,937,362. The third year these same trips could carry the increase, which would then be reduced to only 68,667, and 556,333 besides, leaving only 2,382,929. The fourth year these same trips would carry the increase, which would then be but 55,636, and also carry 568,314, leav- ing within the United States but ], 814, 605. The fifth year these same trips would carry' the in- crease, then reduced to 42,411, and besides the in- crease could carry 571,589, leaving but 1,243,194. The sixth year the same trips could carry the increase, then reduced to only 29,061, and besides the increase, carry 594,939, leaving but 648,255m the United States. The seventh year— yes, sir, the seventh year — this single ship, or these six steamships of large class which I have supposed, making weekly trips, could carry not only the increase, then reduced down to 15,150, but be- sides the increase could carry 608,850, leaving less than 40,000 of the slave population within the United States. This calculation has been made upon the as- sumption that colonization commenced at the end of the last decade when tlie census was taken. I will also avail myself of the following care- fully prepared tables working out this problem upon two other suppositions, made by Mr. Robert Patterson, of Piiiladelpliia: " In the tables following I have assumed as the annual number to be deported, 150,000 and 350,000, and allowing for the natural increase of the pop- ulation remaining, from year to year, I have cal- culated the progressive decrease of the slaves. It will be seen that, by an annual deportation of 150,000, miscellaneously selected, the last rem- nant of the slave population would be removed by the year 1907. At the larger rate of 350,000^ 6 the removal would be complete in 1877. The ag- gregate numlier removed by the first supposition would be 6,470,000, distributed over a period of forty-five years; by the second it would be 4,920,000 in fifteen years: Tabic s/ioii'inj the progressive decrease of the slave popula- tion of the United Stales, assumiti!; that 150,UUO of xtis- cellaneous selection are deported annually, beginning u-ith the year 1862. Year- Population. Year. Population. 1862 4,181,000 188.") 2,513.000 1863 4,12."i,000 1886 2,-419,000 1864 4,068,000 1887 2,;)24,O00 1865 4.0II>).000 1888 2,226,000 1866 3.'.M9,000 1889 2,126.000 1867 ;i;8.87,U00 1890 2.023,000 1868 3,82.'>,000 1891 1,919,000 1869 .'Uno.OOO 1892 1.812,000 1870 3,695,000 1893 1.698,ii00 1871 3,627,000 1894 I,,'i86.000 1872 3,i>:.9,000 1895 1 ,472,000 1873 3,489,000 189(i 1,355,000 1874 3,417,000 1897 1,235,000 1875 3,344;000 1898 1,113,000 1876 3.269.000 1899 98«,0O0 1877 3.l92;o()0 1900 860,000 1878 3,113,000 1901 7.W,000 1879 3.03;!,000 1902 596,000 1880 2,951,000 1903 459,000 1881 2^867,000 1904 320,000 1682 2^782,000 1905 177,000 1883 2,694,000 1906 30,000 1884 2,604,000 1907 Tabic showing the progressive decrease of the slave popula- tion of the United States, assuming that 3.50,000 of mis- cellaneous selection are deported annually, beginning with the year 1862. Year. Population. Year. Population. 1862 -1.181.000 1870 1,963,000 1863 3.82.5.000 1871 1,6.')7,000 1864 3.66,3.000 1872 1 ;345,O0O 1865 3.395.000 1873 1 .025,000 1866 3.122.000 1874 698.000 1867 2.842,000 1875 363.000 1868 2„")5.5,ii00 1876 21,000 1869 1,263.000 1877 0" Mr. President, I wish I had the Senator at the 'blackboard with me. These figures tell llie story, and they answer all his high-sounding declama- tion about the impossibility of colonizing the an- nual increase of this rare front the United States to Jhc West Indies, Central or South America, or ever, to Africa. 'I 'had occasion some two or three sessions since to Bdk another Senator to work out a problem at the blackboard — I refer to Mason, of Virginia. He iind been denouncing, in terms both loud and deep,itihe imnii-nse loss Virginia sustained by the csc«f)e'0f fuiritive slaves, lie said Virginia lost ■every -year §100,000. But what did the ciphers show ? fUpon Iheassumption that she liad five hun- ■dred thousand slaves, valued then at §800 each, their value would be §400,000,000, »ipon which a loss of ipilOO.OOO, or of the four thousundlli part, would be only a quarter of a mill on a dollar, or one fortieth of one per cent. The ivsult of this ciphering v.'as stated; the loss was so small, so in- significant, so utterly contemptible, that I do not •remember to have heard the los.s of properly in sieves escaping from Virginia ever m<'ntioned n2:nin here until after the beginning of this rebel- lion. But-to retunn, sir; let us look at tlie possibility of ■colonization in another point of view. The declaration is so often made that all the navies of the world could not accomplish it, I will work out another problem. The tonnage of the United States in sailing vessels is six million five hundred and nilieteen thousand one hundred and seventy- one tons, and the steam tonnage is eight hundred and thirty thousand eight hundred and eighty-five tons. I have before me a table prepared at the State Department, to which I refer for authority ; luit I will not now take lime to read it. It shows, I repeat, that our whole tonnage is seven millions three hundred and fifty thousand and sixty tons. The lasv on the subject of carrying passengers provides that there sliall not be carried upon ves- sels — " A greater number of passerifjers than in the proportion of one to every two tons ofsiich vessfl, not incluclin;i otiil- (iren under l\\o. age of one year in the computation ; and that two cliililren over one and under eight years of age sliall l)c computed as one passenger." If we were to rate the capacity of the tonnage of the United States, according to this law, to carry passengers, making this reduction on ac- count of children under eight years of age, one sin- gle trip of all the vessels of the United States would lake the whole of thi's population. This is, of course, an extreme case. 1 put it as such, simply to show the immense carrying capacity of our mer- cantile marine. But, Mr. President, there is another problem that I propose to examine on the blackboard. These tables, from which I have read, demon- strate that the free negro population of the Uni- ted States docs not increase one half as fast as the slave population. With all the manumissions added, with all tliT fugitives that escape to the free States, with all that, I repeat the ijiiportant fact — I really wish that Senator was here to cipher with it — that thr, increase of (lie free colored popu- lation in not one /ta//'of the increase per cent, of the slave population. From 1840 to 1850, as I have already stated, it was but 12.46 per cent., or at the rateof 1.25 per cent, annually. In the decade from 1850 to I860, it was but 10.97 per cent., or a little less than 1.1 per cent, annually. 1 shall not go into any long statement of the reasons which pro- duce this great diflTerence between the amount of increase of the free colored and the slave popula- tion. It is enough to say that in a state of free- dom, from motives of prudence, or from other cause, they do not marry as early; and for some reasons there may be more deaths among their children. In slavery, where thf increase of off- spring is an increase of wealth, the master, from self-interest, does all in his power both toencour- age and protect it. On this point I will refer loan address made not long since by a gentleman now of this city, for- merly of Maine, George M. Weslon, Esq. His work on the progress of slavery in th.e United Slates, I believe, contains more facts, more statis- tics, and gives more information than any other book I have ever seen on the subject. I refer to his statements in that ad dress, there lore, with great confidence in their accuracy. I have derived many facts and figures and valuable suggestions from it, and 1 feel called upon to give him my thanks, : while I freely avail myself of them. He says, speaking of this difference in the increase of free colored and slaves: " It is by no means to be assunie0 will not only balance all the col- ored emigration of free persons, but also the number of such persons reduced to slavery by kidnapping, or by those mod- ern laws of some of the States under which tree persons are occasionally sold into the condition of servitude. "There remains, then, to be deducted from the increase of the free colored, in order to deutrmine their natural increase, the number gained by manumissions. These amounted, in 18.50, by the census of that year, to 1,467, and in 1860, by the census of that year, to 3,010. liy averaging those numbers, we have for the whole decade 22,380 as the sum total of manumissions, which reduces the gain of the free colored population by natural increase to 22,939, which is five and two fifths percent. This is between one fourth and one filth of the natural increase of the slaves, which was quite twenty-four and one half per cent., namely, twcn- fy-tliree and one half per cent., as exhibited by the census, Snd one per cent, lost by escapes and manumissions. "This small natural increase of the free colored race, as compared with either the slave or the white population, has, of course, always been known to statists. It is easily demonstrated as a matter of actual figures, and the causes of it are not obscure; but neither the fact itself nor the le- gitimate inferences from it have been sufliciently insisted upon, or attracted the attention they deserve." But there is another grave matter bearing upon the subject of this increase. If in New England where most favored by law and by public senti- ment, his natural increase is so small, how would it be in those States where the conflict of race, or, if you please, caste and prejudice, is so strong.' Wiiat would be his increase there in a state of freedom .'' Jeiferson declared it impossible for the two races in large numbers to remain together witliout conflict, equally free. Such is the opin- ion of all southern men, slaveholders and non- slaveliolders. The Senators from Kentucky and Virginia tell us that it would lead to a conflict of race, and probably to the destruction of the weaker race. I do not justify this conflict; I speak of facts existing. We inust,as statesmen, deal with things as they are, and not assume them to be as we would have them. I am dealing with facts and not fancies, and would address myself to men who think and not dream — to wise men, and not mere poets or orators. Senators, we are compelled to regard, as facts bearing upon what will or will not occur, or what should or should not be done, the feelings and the prejudices of mankind. Ay, sir, these prejudices are facts, stubborn, ugly facts, which cannot be ignored. From that "irrepressible conflict" — call it what you will — of race, caste, or prejudice, is it not altogether probable that there would be little, if any, increase to the colored population in the United States if they were all now as free as they are in New England ? On the other hand, Mr. Weston says: " It is slavery, and nothing else, which multiplies the negro in the United States. There are no maids, and no widows, among slaves. From the time that the capacity to bear children begins with their women, to the time wiien it ends, it is in full activity, and as if the natural passion stimulating that function, (unrestrained as it is in the case of the slave by moral or prudential considerations,) was not sufiicient for the avarice of masters, who see an increase of their wealth in an increase of their human stock, it is further stimulated by rewards and promises of reward." Now, Mr. President, here is precisely the point where 1 should like to bring the Senator to the blackboard again. Let us suppose that the slaves were all emancipated, and that they were placed under as good circumstances as they now are in New England, or Wisconsin, or any of the States where they are accepted with the most favor and with the least objection, do not these census re- turns, with their inexorable logicof figures, show that, like the Indian race, they dwindle and dwarf in the presence of the white man ; that under most fiivorable conditions their increase would not ex- ceed ten per cent, in a decade, or one per cent, annually. One per cent, upon four millions is but forty thousand. If the annual increase would be only forty thousand, where is the Senator's posi- tion now.' That Senator, the .chairman of the Committee on Naval Afl*airs of the Senate of the United States, denouncing colonization as the most absurd idea that ever entered the head of man or woman, a thing not to be tliought of for a mo. \ B ment, because it is beyond the power of all plii- lanlliropy and all legishvlion and of our Navy to carry away the future increase of this population in the United States, wliich, with emancipation, v/ould fall at once from twenty-three to ten per cent, per decade, from ninety-three thousand five hundred annual increase to forty thousand ! Sir, two first-class steamers from the city of Nesv Or- leans, and two from Charleston, or rather Port Royal — for Charleston as a commercial city may be among the things that were, and l]eaufort be- come Uie future emporium of that State — these four steamers, making their trips to the West Indies and to tiie countries just across the Gulf, would carry the whole increase of this population from the United States twice told. It being now de- monstrated that the colonization of more than the annual increase is a possible thing, I next inquire, IS IT PRACTICABLE? Here is another problem in figures applied to history, to which I would call the attention of the Senator from New Hampshire. Previous to 1850, the annual importation of slaves by the slave trade from Africa into America, including Cuba, was from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thou- sand; and since that time, when by the armed forces of Great Britain, the slave trade to Brazil was broken up, the annual importation of slaves into Cuba now, from ISoO to 1860, has been at the rate of fifty thousand every year. The num- ber annually stolen from Africa, brought by vio- lence three thousand miles across the sea to Cuba and sold there, in spite of treaties, in spite of the 'fleets of Great Britain, France, and the United States, is ten thousand more than the whole in- crease of the colored population of the United States would be if they wen; now emancipated. If, in spite of treaties, if under the ban of piracy, with the halter on their necks, moved by base cupidity alone, a few obscure and outlawed men, in face of the armed ships of the three greatest commercial Powers of the world, can bring fifty thousand slaves three thousand miles to Cuba, cannot a great nation, in the inten^sts of freedom, humanity, and the glory of all mankind, colonize annually forty thousand men in the bcsland rich- est countries in the world, lying almost at its feet.' But, Mr. President, it may be said that these are mere arithmetical problems, built u|i on sup- positions, on figures only. I propose, sir, to call tile attention of the Senate for a short time to some facts that have transpired in relation to the great voluntary migrations of the liuman family. I shall not dwell upon llie migration of the people of I.srael to the land of Canaan, by which from three to four millions of people were talcen out at one time from the land of Egypt, their house of bond- age, to Palestine. Myfrieiid [Mr. Wilmot] shakes his head. Has he ever gone into the figures.' Mr. WILMOT. No, sir. There were about six hundred thousand; that was all. Mr. DOOLITTLE. That my friend /ipropriation bill now pending pro- poses to appropriate |,1, 700. 000, and the additional estimates of the Secretary of the Interior are about $1,500,000 more, making in all $3,200,000— the expenditure of one half the amount which wo make for the Indian race would open the way and organize a system. It would lay the foundations for a great, free, voluntary, and, in great measure, aself-sustainingcolonization for these people from this country, which would talce them to countries better adapted to them, to which they will go by hundreds of thousands, for the same reason that the Irish and the Germans and other people of Europe come to the United States — to seek a bet- ter home, where they can make more money and enjoy better privileges and make more rapid ad- vancement for themselves and for their children. Besides, Mr. President, looking at this as an economical question, it is not only not necessary to expend any very large sums of money, but I think I could show that even a large amount ex- pended in this way might be made to subserve the agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing in- terests of the country. The judicious expenditure of one, two, three, or five millions of dollars by the Government of the United States in planting colonics all along the Gulf of Mexico and the Ca- ribbean sea, in Vera Cruz, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, the Balize, Venezuela, as well as in Hayti and San Domingo, and all the islands of the Gulf and the Caribbean sea, would be a great and valuable investment, bringing rich returns to the people of the United States in the commerce it would build up there. Our commerce with the single republic of Hayti now stands, I believe, twenty-first in the whole list of our commercial relations with the civilized Powers of the earth. The republic of Hayti offers to thesi; people, if they are unable to pay the expense of their own emigration, to bear that expense for them; and it offers to give them employment, and offers to give them homesteads; over two thousand have ac- cepted these offers, and have voluntarily, upon their own account, gone there. San Domingo alone, it is estimated, is capable, if it should be populated as the island of Barbadoes is, of holding thirty millions of these peo|ile. There is no mis- take about it. If my friend u'ho shakes his head in doubt [Mr. Wilmot] will go to the figures he will see it. I shall not take time now to go to the blackboard again, but if he will cipher it out he will find it so. If the island of San Domingo was no more thickly populated than is Porto Rico to the square mile, it would take the whole of our present colored population. But, sir, that island is but a speck on the map compared with those immense regions waiting for them, and which it would seem as if the Almighty had reserved for them. I wish to call the atten- tion of the Senate to some facts bearing on this, for my attention, perhaps, has been more drawn to it than that of some other Senators. Take down the map. Here is Mexico, which stands ready to form a treaty with us to-day, by which she will give homesteads in any of her States to these peo- ple, if they will go there. Down the coast, near Tampico, they have gone out from New Orleans, on their own account, and have built up a flour- ishing colony. See, there lies Yucatan, which comes up as a peninsula right into the Gulf of Mexico. There is the small island of Cozumel, about twenty miles square, which we could prob- ably purchase, make it a coaling station for the United States and a good harbor for us, and a depot for carrying out a system of colonization in the Mexican States. Mexico is cajiable of receiv- ing, and willing to receive, any amount of this population. Besides, sir, coming nearer home, right adjoining Texas there lies Tamaulipas. As the rebels recede before our advancing armies, they may flee with many of their slaves into Texas, perhaps. From Texas they have only to cross a river to get into Mexico. Look along down the Gulf. Vera Cruz has nearly six hundred miles of coast where the col- ony below Tampico, to which I have referred, al- ready exists. Then there is Tehuantepec, with a hundred miles of coast and a route across from the Gulf to the Pacific ocean. Then there is Ta- basco, with two hundred miles of coast; Yucatan, with probably more than one thousand; Balize, Guatemala, with five hundred miles of coast and the beautiful Gulf of Honduras. I beg to say in relation to Guatemala, that the president of that State offers to give his own hacienda to these peo- ple if they go there, and further, jih^dges his in- fluence for legislation in their fovor, giving home- steads to all who choose to go there, in a country where the cotton plant is almost perennial, and to which no country on the face of the earth is su- perior in the production of coffee, sugar, cotton 12 cochineal, and the other valuable tropical produc- tions. Tlien there are Honduras and the Bay Isl- ands, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and New Granada, including the provinces of Chiriqui, Veraguas, Cariha^'riiM, Santa Martha, and Rio Hacha. There, lo), is the beautiful valley of the Alagda- lena river, just across the Gulf of Mexico, invit- ing these people to come toils bosom by millions upon millions, capable of sustaining them and giv- ing them successful employment. There is Ve- nezuela, too, with a thousand miles of coast below the Caribbean sea. I saw the other day our min- ister lately returned from Venezuela, I conversed with him in relation to that country, and on this very sul>iect. He informed me that for a thou- sand miles on that coast is a rich and fertile coun- try, indent I'd with beautiful bays and harbors, and capable of producing, in coffee, cottoti, and sugar, more than almost any othercountry in the world. It stands tii-day,I believe, only fourth in the pro- duction of coffee. Mr. President, some would force on at once the emancipation of this whole population, and at the same time and in the same breath scout all ideas ofaidingthem incolonizationoremigration. Upon the other hand, there are others wlio would force the colonization of every free negro from the slave States, and who scout all attempts even to con- sider the question of emancipation at all. I have no sympathy with the idea of banrshing any peo- ple; but 1 do favor the ideas both of emancipation and colonization. Each will aid the other, and each is to the other the best practical means to aid it. Sir, I would inscribe high upon the banner which 1 would follow, " &generoiis homestead policy for both races, black and white. Homesteads for free white men in all the temperate territories of the United States homesteads for free colored men in the tropics and the islands of the Gulf of Mex- ico and the Caribbean sea." I would, by treaty arrangemeiU.s with those States, endeavor to build up, as we could very easily do, free commercial relations, placing upon the manufacturesand pro- ductions which we export to those countries but light duties, obtaining, perhaps, in consideration of the aid Vw'egive them, by planting colonies of our people among them, a provision that for a given number of years, say five years or ten years, col- onists from this country should be permitted to receive from the United States, free of all duties, all our productions and our manufactures, tlius lay- ing the foundations for another market for all the ■, productions of the Mississippi valley and the man- / ufactures of the East, in exchange for the sugar and cotlee of those countries. Such a commerce, once begun, would of itself make the colonization of this people free, volun- tary, and self-sustaining. Our ships would go loaded witii emigrants, and return loaded with tropical prodiK-tions. I believe that in so doing we may be instrumental, under the providence of Almighty God, in laying the foundation of an empire there, a great republic to be composed of these people and their descendants, and of the people alrt ady there who stand ready and willing and anxious to receive them as a part of them- selves, wliich after a few generations will contain a hundred millions of human beings; a republic which shall be in the tropics what this Republic is in the temperate zone of the North American continent; a republic which, if it shall grow up under our protection, will be a support against for- eign intervention, and feel bound to us by interest, gratitude, and friendship forever. Although not a part of our territorial dominion, they will be within our commercial dominion. Sir, when we can have free commercial relations with a nation which immediately adjoins us, where we will send all our products and manufactures, with light duties upon them, and receive tiieirs in return, it is a practical annexation for all commercial pur- poses to the Government of the United States. It is as good and better for us than if we should own the sovereignty of the territory, and be at the ex- pense and trouble of governing it. Sir, although all our political relations were sev- ered with Great Britain by the Revolution, are we not to-day still her best commercial customer.' If the tie v/hicli binds Canada to Great Britain were severed to-morrow, and if she should unite her destinies with the United States, would not Can- ada still cotitinue to be one of the best customers of Great Britain ? Sir, those rich countries lying at our feet, just below the mouth of the Mississippi, although outside of our territorial jurisdiction, if filled u|) with emigrants from the United States, would be practically of us. They would remain ourcustomers and our producers forever. I believe that to build up the comitiercial interests of this country, its agricultural interests, its manufactur- ing interests, the expenditure of a comparatively small sum of money each year in the negotiation of treaties, in opening up the way, in, perhaps, estal)lishing lines of steamships between the Uni- ted States and the countries just upon our border, would be not only wise,but that it would be repaid in the end ten, if not a hundred fold. Besides, sir, the expenditure of money for the purpose of en- larging our commerce with -foreign countries is clearly COKSTITITIOXAL. It is within the express grants of power, and is sanctioned by the long established precedents of expending money in the removal of Indians. In seeking for the constitutional power to com- pensate for the value of slaves emancipated within the States there is more difTiculty. Ijut I believe that will be avoided when the States having slaves coiTie to act upon the question of their emancipa- tion by following the examples of Pennsylvania and other States, making that emancipation pro- spective and gradual, and thus avoid the question of compensation, leaving the whole amount to be expended in aid of their colonization, and in that manner this Government can most elTcctually aid the States in the great work of emancipation. At the risk of apparent repetition, I repeat, I would have that colonization voluntary. If com- pulsory, it is slavery still. Besides, sir, I would iiave the most enterprising, the most intelligent and aspiring among that people lead the way. I have been addressed by many of that class on this subject. They thank me for frankly speaking out the truth, and forstatingthc true relation in which they stand to the Caucasian race here in this country. They thank me for what I have done 13 in my amendment to the bill emancipating slaves [. in this District, that I was not only for giving: them emancipation and freedom, but wasforgiv- i in<^ them aid to go to a country in which tiiey '■' could aspire to and hope to attain a position ofi; social, civil, and political equality which they never hope to have in this country, even in New England. Mr. President, I will repeat again,in order that I may not be misunderstood nor misreported either, I am opposed to compulsory colonization. I.look upon that as a species of slavery itself, as adding one wrong to another. I believe, also, that if made compulsory, colonization would be far less effective in producing the good results of which I have spoken than if it were made volun- tary, and far less beneficial to the colored race. Mr. President, my views on this subject are not the growth of a day or a year. They have been the result of many years of earnest thought on ' the subject, in all its bearings. It is the great problem of America. 1 agree with the Senator from New Hampshire in that. It is the great prob- lem presented to the American statesman, and a problem which he must meet, which he cannot avoid. It may have been forced upon me, more especially within the last five years, because of my position upon the Committee on Indian Af- fairs; it has been a constant, everj^-day duty to con- 1 sider in that committee the best mode in which we of the Caucasian race here on this continent j shall deal with the Indian race to save even its j remnants from destruction. Sir, wherever we look ! we behold that race dwindling at the presence of \ the white man, as the snows are melted and dis- ; appear in spring time. This Government has been engaged in one continued struggle; it has ex- pended millions upon millions to preserve the In- dian race, to provide for its support, to take care of it, to prevent the selfishness and cupidity and often criminal misconduct of the white man to- wards it. Upon this subject I have had put into ray hands, niul I will ask the Secretary to read a letter from Keokuk, the chief of the Sac Indians in Kansas, to the Great Father, the President of the United States in Washington, to which I ask the attention of the Senate, as to a statement as eloquent as it is simple, giving the condition of his tribe, and his hopes "and his fears as to the future. The Secretary read, as follows: Keokuk, Chief of the Sac Tndians, in Kansas, to the Great Father, the President, at Washington : I am a chief; my fallier was a chief before me. He is dead. lie Ion? had th<* care of our people. It now devolves upon me. Their welfare is very dear to me. I look over our waning numbers with pain and melancholy forebod- ings. I look for the causes of this decay, and seek a rem- edy ; hut so far I have sought in vain. As a last hope I appeal to you. It is well known that in I83-J tlie f ac Indians made war upon the whites, and were defeated. .Mter the war we made a trentv with our Great Father. 'I'liat treaty we have faitlifully kept. So has our Great Father. We do not com- plain of' \\\m. We complain to him. He jravc us a plenty of land in Kansas, tweniv miles wide by thirty-four Ions, and much money— $81,000 a year forlen years, and, S'T 1,000 per year ever since. And now our land is to be sold to pay unjust claims, amounting to >1.50.000 more. All this is more moncv than I know how to speak, but it would be all thesameif'Uvveremoreorif it were less. The Great Father intended it to refresh us like a spring, and make us grow and increase. But it runs li.iouL'h tiie hands of agents and traders, and is absorbed as a sandy plain ab- sorbs the water from the mountain. We were not refreshed. We complained. The asents were dismissed and new ones appointed. It was all the same. My people lived in tem- porarv dwellings, in wigwams and tents. They died Irom diseases brought on bv exposure and want. We have lived in Kansas eighteen years. We have had nine agents, all alike. They are agents for themselves, not for us. My people do not number one half that came liere after the war. The agents are supercilious and proud. They treat us like dog^. Mv people are discouraged and drink too much. Thev have lost their self-respect. Tiie agents do not listen to the chiefs and head men in council. They listen onlv to the traders. When some new plan is devised to get the' Indians' money a council is called. If the chiefs and head men do not approve, they then take some weak- minded Indian and make him a chief, and so do as they please.- They bribe him. In this manner they divide the Indians and make them act against each other. If the Great Father In his wisdom could send us a better plan we shiuld be glad. We want a change. We want all the traders to go away. We do not want any agent with such powers as he now" has. We want our chiefs and head men in council to decide many things. Now they decide nothing. The most trifling choice is denied us. We lir.ve our preference for a blacksmith. This has never been granted us, and is not now. We think it best to dispense with a gunsmith ; this we are not allowed to do. We need a wagon and plow maker, but are not allowed to employ one. U e are anxious to commence farming, but we cannot corurol our own means. We are like a flv in a spider's web. The agents and traders have our feet entangled and we cannot get out. We are living poor and in poverty, with adomain of over four hundred thousand acres of land, and an annual inconi« of .«71,000 per vear. Let us have a voice in its management. The results can- not be worse. Thev may be better. We cannot live any poorer. We cannot die any faster. We cannot snlfer any more. .\s things now are we are prevented from making any effort. We have faculties like white men ; we have ; ambition also. Our faculties are not exercised ; our ambi- ■ tion is not gratified. The agents and traders call my people ; ill names; they disparage our name and nation. -We are conscious of tliis, and manv weak-minded Indians lose their ! pride of character and of race. I am proud of my name. I I am proud of my race. I am no longer the enemy of the i white man. I belong to one of many tribes over wliich the i Great Fatherrules. We arefriends. Our people are friends. I We wish to be treated as friends and equals by the white ! man, and not as enemies and dogs. [l Our goods can be sent to us and distributed under the su- 4 pervision of the Indian council. ''] A man can be employed to fit our boys and young men ! with pants and shirts, suitable to the change which we an- ' ticipate preparatorv to school and work. i: There are manv tilings which we need, to change our i condition, which our Great Father will think of better than III. I am done. II Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. President, I allowed the whole of this paper to be read, not as a part of my speech, but that it may go upon the record. I ma}' desire to use it upon another occasion upon another subject. It discloses the samefacts \yhich appear in the statement of the Bishop of Minne- sota in relation to the Indians of that State, and in the statements of all who give any information to the President or the Department of the Inte- rior or to the Committee on Indian Aftairs. This performance of my public duties liereniay have forced upon my mind the consideration of the question of the relations which these different races bear to each other. For five years past upon the Committee on Indian Affairs, my attention has been constantly drawn to the question of liie deal- j ings of the whites with the Indians. As cognate i to'that, my mind has been forced to study the re- !' lationswebeartothe African racoalso. I have seen il some of the slave States passing laws to banish all ,i„f;^R«RY OF CONGRESS 011 899 223 4