, 1864-01-19
A Picture Drawn by a Negro.


We have seen no more mastery picture
of the borrid character Of the rebellion than
the following passages from the speech of
audience In the Cooper Institute, New York:
We are now ;wading deep in the third year
ofcontlict with q fierce and sangulnary re-
belllon, one which, at the beginning Of It, we
were hopefully assured by one ct our most
easacious and trusted political prophets,
would be ended in less than ninety days;
rebellion Whichrfn It's worst features, stands
alone among rebelltons solitary and CHASTITY
horror, without parallel in the history of any
nation, ancient or modern arebcllion q inspired
By noloTe otliherty and BY no hatred ofoppres-
sion, as most other rebeliions hnyr been, and
therefore utterly indcfcnsible npon my moral
or eocih grounds; d rebellion which openly
and shamclesely sets at defiance the worlds
light to darkness, from intelligence to igno-
rance, from the ever-increasing prospects and
blessings Of q high and glorious civilization
to tic cold and w1thering blasts of d naked
barbarism; D rebellion which, even at this
unfinished stage Of it, connts the number Of
its slain not by thousands or tens OF thou-
sands, but By hundreds of thousands; rebel
lion which IN the destruction Of human life
and property has rivalted the earthquake,
the whtrlWind and the pestilence that walketh
In darkness and wnsteth at noonday- It has
pluulcu lEpuy III q 1ullHQ0 QfAIku1l0uESs
thronged our streets with the weeds Of
mourning, filed our land with mere stumps
Of men, ridgcd our soil with 20O, 600 rudcly-
formed graves, and mantled 1t all over with
the shadow Of death. A rebellion which,
while it has arrested the wheels Of peaceful
industry, and checked the aow Of commerce,
has piled up debt, heavier than mountain
Of gold, to weigh down the necks Of our
clildren's children. There Is no end to the
mischiets Wrought. It has brought ruin at
home, and contempt abroad; cooled our
friends, heated our enemies, and endangered
onr existence as nation. =.
Now, for what Is all this dcso1atfon, ruin,
shame, suffering and sorrows Can anybody
want the answers Can any body be ignorant
Of the answers It has been given d thou
snnd times from this and other platforms.
We all know 1t is s1ayery. Less than half
million Of Southern slayehold olders-holding In
bondage four millions Of slaves finding
themselves outyotcd in the effort to ret pos
session Of the United States Government, in
order to serve the intercsts of slaverY, have
madly resorted to the sword-haye underta-
ken to accomplish by bullets what they
failed to accomplish BY ballots. This is the
answer.
Whence came the guilty ambition equal to
this atrocious crime. A peculiar education
was necessary to this bold wickedness, Here
all is plain again. Slavery-the peculiar In
stitution-ie aptly lifted to produce just such
patriots, Tho first plunder and then seek to
wards labor with stripes ana chsins!- which
r lbs the slave ofhi6 manhood, md the master
of all just consider alton for the rights Of his
fellow-maIl-has prepared the characters.
mule and female-that figure in this rebellion
and tor nll its cold -blooded and he1l1sh afro
cities. In all the most horrid details Of tor
ture, starvation and murder, in the treatment
Of our prisoners, I behold the features Of the
monster IN whose presence WIS born, and
that Is Slavery. From no source less foul and
wicked could such d rebellion come. need
not dwell here. The country knows the sto-
this rebelIion-inaugu guratcd and carried on for
cause 80 uuspeakab1y guilty aud distinguish
ed By barbarities which would extort cry Of
shame from the painted sayage-is qnite
enough for the whole lifetime Of any
one nation-though that lifetime should
ought not to want repetition of ft-nor can
We wisely risk possible repetition Of It.
Looking at the mntter from no higher ground
than patriotism-sett1ng aside the hig gh con-
siderations Of Justice, liberty, progress and
ciyilization--the American people should re-
solve TINT this shall be the last slaveholding
rebellion that shall eycr curse this continent.
Let the war cost much or cost 1ftt1e-let It
be long or short-the work now begun
should suf1er no pause, no abatement, until
1t Is done and done forever
The hour is one Of hope as well as danger.
But whatever mny come to pass, one thing is
clear. The principles involved in the con-
test, the necessities Of both sections Of the
country, the obvious requirements Of the age,
md every suggestion OF enlightened policy
demand the utter e1tirpatlon Of slavery from
chieement of the entire colorcd population.
Of the country Elsewhere We may find peace,
but it will be hollow and deceitful peace.
Elsewhere We may find prosperity, but 1t will