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what I believe will benefit the negro without any sort of consideration as to the effect it may have in future upon sections or parties. The fate of the negro in the future and his position must be for a long time that of a laborer, my object is to assist him in becoming a useful citizen and profitable laborer - I want him to become an intelligent, educated free laborer, trained to a proper sense of honesty and virtue and then be made a thrifty prosperous man. This must be accomplished or he will become the tool of the demagogue and as soon as he becomes the latter he will become turbulent and ungovernable and be wiped from the face of this continent. As to negroes not being witnesses in court I have given you my reason. I confess I do not see as many objections to that as to voting, because it will not bring them under as many baneful influences, though it will bring them under some. I would be willing to try the experiment of letting them be witnesses though I think they had better wait longer, yet in deference to the opinions of others, I would go that far and see how it works, if it operate no prejudice to the negro then I would go farther and try more and so proceed cautiously, until finally he could be invested with every privilege of a citizen, as soon as he was fitted to be one - I see it stated by a member of Congress in his place that the colored people are the only minority