I asked one of the party what this Legislature, if thus called together, would do with the negroes? “Take ’em under the control of the Legislater, as free niggers always have been in this State. Let it have authority to fix their wages, and prevent vagrancy. It always got along with ’em well enough before.” “Are you not mistaken about its always having had this power?” “What!” exclaimed the astonished functionary. “Why, I was born and raised hyar, and lived hyar all my life; Do you suppose I don’t know?” “Apparently not, sir; for you seem to be ignorant of the fact that _free negroes in North Carolina were voters from the formation of the State Government_ down to 1835.” “It isn’t so, stranger.” “Excuse me; but your own State records will show it;[2] and, if I must say so, he is a very ignorant citizen to be talking about ways and means of reorganization, who doesn’t know so simple and recent a fact in the history of his State.” The Cracker scratched his head in great bewilderment. “Well, stranger, you don’t mean to say that the Government at Washington is going to make us let niggers vote?” “I mean to say that it is at least possible.” “Well, why not have the decency to let us have a vote on it ourselves, and say whether _we’ll_ let niggers vote?” “In other words, you mean this: Less than a generation ago you held a convention, which robbed certain classes of your citizens of rights they had enjoyed, undisputed, from the organization of your State down to that hour. Now, you propose to let the robbers hold an election to decide whether they will return the stolen property or not.” “Stranger,” exclaimed another of the group, with great emphasis, “is the Government at Washington, because it has whipped us, going to make us let niggers vote?” “Possibly it will. At any rate a strong party favors it.” “Then I wouldn’t live under the Government. I’d emigrate, sir. Yes, sir, I’d leave this Government _and go north_!” And the man, true to his States’-Rights training, seemed to imagine that going north was going under another Government, and spoke of it as one might speak of emigrating to China. Meantime, the younger citizens of Beaufort (of Caucasian descent) had found better amusement than talking to the strangers in the sand bank of a street. One of them wagered a quarter (fractional currency) that he could whip another. The party thus challenged evinced his faith in his own muscle by risking a corresponding quarter on it. The set-to was at once arranged, in the back-yard of the house in front of which we were standing, and several side bets, ranging from five to as high as fifteen cents, were speedily put up by spectators.