"Moreover, the production of good tobacco requires much care, which extends over about a year from the time the seed is planted. Some parts of the work demand a measure of judgment such as intelligent negroes readily acquire. They are, indeed, better fitted for the task than white men, for they are commonly more interested in their task than whites of the labouring class. The result was that, before the period of the revolution, slavery was firmly established in the tobacco planting colonies of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina; it was already the foundation of their only considerable industry.... This industry (cotton), even more than that of raising tobacco, called for abundant labour which could be absolutely commanded and severely tasked in the season of extreme heats. For this work the negro proved to be the only fit man, for, while the whites can do the work, they prefer other employment. Thus it came about that the power of slavery in this country became rooted in its soil. The facts show that, based on an ample foundation of experience, the judgment of the Southern people was to the effect that this creature of the tropics was a better labourer in their fields than the men of their own race. "Much has been said about the dislike of the white man for work in association with negroes. The failure of the whites to have a larger share in the agriculture of the South has been attributed to this cause. This seems to be clearly an error. The dislike to the association of races in labour is, in the slaveholding States, less than in the North. There can be no question that, if the Southern folk could have made white labourers profitable, they would have preferred to employ them, for the reason that the plantations would have required less fixed capital for their operation. The fact was, and is, that the negro is there a better labouring man in the field than the white. Under the conditions he is more enduring, more contented and more trustworthy than the men of our own race." The negroes have many qualities such as are sure to heighten their value in the eyes of employers and business men. On the whole, they are a contented race when fairly used. We can hardly think of them as becoming political agitators. They know too well where their interest lies to favour strikes, and so become the victims of those who professionally foment them. It would also seem that they generally contract a kind of affection for those who employ them and who use them well. Complaint is made of more crime showing itself among negroes in certain centres; but when it is considered that only a generation ago the whole race was in bondage, the wonder is that so little crime has been manifest. Provide good schools and an industrial training, and the coloured folk will prove to be a law-abiding race. CHAPTER VII THE BEGINNING OF A LIFE WORK