The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-12-16
HENRY WARD BEECuER.
His Address in Ihc Hail of tho House
Mt Washington.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Il.


Mt Washington.
WASHINGTON, Dec. II.
An immense audience, numbering
several thousand, assembled at the hall
of the House OF Representatives to-
night, to hear the address of Rev. Hen
~ Ward Beecher in aid of the Ameri-
can Freedmen's Aid Commission
Chief Justice Chase presided, and Rev.
Highland Barnett, the well known col
ored minister, made the opening pray
er. In the midst of his invocation, a
miserable thing in the garb of a wo-
man, screamed out in loud voice
You impudent niger, TO preach to a
white audience" She then retreated,
and was taken in charge by the police.
Mr.. Beecher's address was one of his
finest efforts, devoted 10 a Viudication
OF the natural rights of mankind, and
full OF telling hits at the political here
sizes of the present day. He commenced
by saying that two great periods of
American history had transpired, and
we now stood upon a third, The char
acter OF this third period upon which
we are entering would depend upon the
presidents which we followed-those
of the first historic period, or those
OF the second. The first period
closed with the formation Of this
Union. The second period, beginning
shortly after the adoption of our consti-
tuition, embraced the history of the
birth of ideas and institution radical
and antagonistic to our own. The con-
hict of these two great elements, and
the victory at last of American institu-
tons and American principles over
their intestine foes, completed the sec
ond period. If he was 10 characterize
Z hE Raj Of q
Sixteenth century to the settlement of
NewEnglnnd,h he should call il the period
of the formation of faith in man. There
had always been faith enough in men,
but very little in man; faith enough in
some men, not in all men; faith enough
in classics, but not in mankind; in wise
men, kings, princes, poets, scholars,
genius, artists, rich men, expert men
in short particular men. But mankind
had to take its chances tho best way it
could. For the common people there
had always been, from the beginning,
some small pity, but n great deal more
contempt. They were deemed of very
little worth; and worse, they were
deemed incapable for themost par. of be-
coming worthy. The great mass of the
common people had been trented since
the world began, until within n recent
historic period, as il they were in one
respect absolute animals. The differ
ence between the human race and the
inferior animals, consisted in the diff
ference of elasticity. You could pull
the man out but not the monkey. Take
the lowest rank in human society and
educate them and we would begin to
feel that we were drawing
on a thread that had no end. The diff
ference between the animal kingdom
and the human kingdom WINS that the
former could not be educated while the
InffnF Rn1nIH oil
sizes was that in time past the man of
men had been treated as if like the ami
mai, they not only We're of very little
worth, but were incapable of becoming
so. The present was bad enough, but
the future was taken away from them
by unfaith in mankind. The priests
and the eclesiastic alone believe in man,
but they believed that man was good
enough for little else than to be saved
hereafter. In all controversies, since
controversies became rational and NOR
nj, whatever may have, in the first in
stance, prompted them, the victory had
nlways been registered on that line of
opinion entertained by man respecting
man and the degree of the growth of
faith in him. The most precious, criti-
cal and peculiar thing which our fifth
ers brought to this country was faith in
man. They believed that all mon come
from God had been and were the OBJ
jects of his love and care. They got
their idea out of the New Testament
"a very good place out OF which to Get
ideas. They measured man, starting
from this religious standpoint, and
measured him not by any human
throne, but by Gods throne; not bv
what he could have ON earth by the
sacred powers which education might
develops not by those which favorable
circumstances had developed 1t was
man in the ideal in which they had
ialth. In this view of man, nothing
hut wtckedneSS was mean or vulgar,
Our fathers believed that it was not
only safe to educate mon, hut that Il
was the only safety among men. Others
thought that men We're TO lie governed
by external forces. Our fathers deyel-
oped u better idea-that men were to be
governed by internal forces developed,
All the world had Thought that men
were dangerous and should be COM
pressed; that they were safe only as
their liberty, power and Knowledge
were taken from them; but our fathers
thought differently, and experience had
taught the correctness of their view.
AIr. Beecher proceeded TO speak of the
natural advantages of-the south over
the North, showing that the superiority
OF tho latter was owing to her faith in
man and not in men. These views of
the doctrine of man, ho said, had led
the why to our original civil institu-
lions, to u democratic genius that would
never be erndicated. He used the word
democratic because he did not know
what other word to use; IL was a good
word until II was smitten with the lep-
rosy; II would be good word again
when it got we'll, and it would get we'll
pretty soon, because according to Lhe
Mosaic Medicinal Organic Law, il would
now have to go out from among the
people and stand alone until it got well
The speaker proceeded to dilate in elo-
quent terms upon our duty to the col
ored man. as he had now been declared
to be freedman, and closed amid great
applause. nE