With regard to marrying your daughters, I believe the feeling in opposition to such unions is quite as strong among the colored class, as it is among white people. While the prejudice exists, such instances must be exceedingly rare, because the consequence is degradation in society. Believe me, you may safely trust to any thing that depends on the pride and selfishness of unregenerated human nature.
Perhaps, a hundred years hence, some negro Rothschild may come from Hayti, with his seventy _million_ of pounds, and persuade some white woman to _sacrifice_ herself to him.--Stranger things than this do happen every year.--But before that century has passed away, I apprehend there will be a sufficient number of well-informed and elegant colored women in the world, to meet the demands of colored patricians. Let the sons and daughters of Africa _both_ be educated, and then they will be fit for each other. They will not be forced to make war upon their white neighbors for wives: nor will they, if they have intelligent women of their own, see any thing so very desirable in the project. Shall we keep this class of people in everlasting degradation, for fear one of their descendants _may_ marry our great-great-great-great-grandchild?
While the prejudice exists, such unions cannot take place; and when the prejudice is melted away, they will cease to be a degradation, and of course cease to be an evil.
My third and greatest objection to the Colonization Society is, that its members write and speak, both in public and private, as if the prejudice against skins darker colored than our own, was a fixed and unalterable law of our nature, which cannot possibly be changed. The very _existence_ of the Society is owing to this prejudice: for if we could make all the colored people white, or if they could be viewed as impartially as if they were white, what would be left for the Colonization Society to do? Under such circumstances, they would have a fair chance to rise in their moral and intellectual character, and we should be glad to have them remain among us, to give their energies for our money, as the Irish, the Dutch, and people from all parts of the world are now doing.
I am aware that some of the Colonizationists make large professions on this subject; but nevertheless we are constantly told by this Society, that people of color must be removed, not only because they are in our way, but because they _must_ always be in a state of degradation here--that they never _can_ have all the rights and privileges of citizens--and all this is because the _prejudice_ is so great.