The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-06-02
FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
Speech of Justice Chase at
Charleston.
His Views on the Federal Rela-
tons of Seeded States and
Negro Suffrage.

QeuVeQ an ADDRESS al ZiOu \cOlOTcu) CuuTcu,
before an assemblage of between five and six
thousand colored people, and about five hum
dred whites. On his entrance into the church,
arm in arm with Major General GILMORE, the
whole audience rose and received him with
tremendous cheering. The Chief Justice was
TON, and on rising was again greeted with
hearty cheering.
MIR. CHAsE's SPEECH.
After it had subsidized the Chief Justice spoke
as follows:
MY FR1ENDs-I shall comply with the invi-
tation of General Saxton only to address you
very few words. 1t is true that have always
been the friend of freedom. l have always de-
sired to see every man, of whatever complex
ion, protected in the enjoyment of all his natu-
raj rights; and to see every man clothed with
every legitimate means for the protection OF
those rights No man, probably, in this coun-
try, deplored this war more than myself; per-
haps no man would have made greater sacrl-
fees to avert it. l did not wish to see even
the great good of emancipation effected at such
terrible cost. believed that it would come
some time; l believed that, by wise and just
administration of the Federal government, it
might be fastened; but never desired 10 see
such q struggle as that through which we nave
passed. l never desired to see those seas OF
blood, and those vast gulfs in which the treas
ures of the country have been sunk, even for
that highest good. which, as we all hoped,
could have been obtained by other and gentler
means But, in the providence of God, war
came: and as a means of carrying that war
through to successful issue, felt it was the
duty of the general government to respect its
natural allies and knew that the whole col
ored population of the South was loyal Great
said and felt that if we would succeed in
this struggle we must strike the letters from
the bondmen. Such was my counsel in the
Cabinet and when that honored man-whose
death this nation mourns, in common with
all the lovers offreedem throughout the world
when that hOnored man made up his mind
to say that all men in this land shall be free,
none gave it a more hearty sanction or more
emphatic Amen than myself. Then when
that other question arose" Shall we put
arms into the hands of the black man ?"-I
never doubted the proper answer. If we
make them freemen, ard the defence of their
freedom is the defence of this nation, whose
duty is it to bear arms, if not theirs Whose
duty it is to take part in the struggle now for
freedom as well as for Union, If not their
duty? And how can we expect to succeed if
we do not avail ourselves of that natural
strength which in this struggle is created for
us BY the circumstances under which it is
waged? When the government, therefore,
made up its mind to call the black man into
the field, felt that it had not done 1t one mo-
ment too soon, but great many days TOO late
But now the cOlOred man has borne his full
proper share in the great struggle. If any
body has made sacrifices he has made Them
If anybody has suffered extreme i'll he has sutf
cred it and the victory being won, and free
dom and Union being secured, who has bet
ter right than he to participate in the fruits of
both 1t is simply because think it just and
right that 1 advocate it. believe that the
AZ xr-nna Nfs ItyrII
sists in doing justice. l believe in the truth of
that passage of Scripture which says that he
that walketh uprightly, walketh surely. That
man or that nation linking his or its action
with truth and justice, relying upon the prov
idence of Almighty God, is sure to issue safely
and triumphantly 1t may be that great strug-
giles have to be gone through, great trials to
be made. great martyrdoms to be endured.
This war has seen multitudes of martyrs-last
and noblest of them ALL that great martyr, our
beloved President. struck down by the hand
of the assassin. So martyrdom may yet be
needed; but out of all your trials the issue is
sure.
| have said the victory is won. The armies
of the rebellion are disbanded, peace re-
turns, and peace brings with it its duties.
A great race numbering four millions 10 sud
denly brought into freedom. All the world is
looking to see whether the prophecies OF the
enemies of that race will be fulfilled or falsi-
tell. They soy that you will be disorderly,
shiftless lazy: that you will starve rather than
work: that wages cannot tempt you to work (;
that YOU will become thievish vagabonds. So
your enemies say; so, too, great many people
that are not your enemies seriously fear. 1t is
for you to show whether it shall be so or not.
You need not in the meantime be particularly
anxious what people say about you. Show
that you will be honest, temperate, industrious
and faithful in your emplOyments; that you
are ready to do honest work for honest wages
be economical, lay up portion OF every days
or every months earnings in some savings
bank for yourselves and families for rainy
day. Do everything in your power to increase
the products of the country; doing this with
all your might you will save yourselves and re-
feet credit upon those who have been your
friends God forbid that before I die shall
be obliged to hang my head and say, eX-
pected great deal of this people, believed
them to be honest, industrious and orderly,
and find l have been mistaken that they
allowed miserable prejudces to grow up among
them: that they permitted themselves to be
controlled by vindctiveness OF feeling; that
they were unwilling to labor for their living.
For, after ALL labor must be the cardinal law
of our lives. l was myself. Western boy,
and in the log cabins of the West we Jared just
as roughly as most of you have Jared. We
had very little capital, nothing to go upon but
our own good will, patient hearts and free
school education, which, thank God, this
country gave to all her white children, and Is
now going to give to all the blacks who Will
take it.
Well, upon such capital we went to work,
and We came to something. You can do the
same thing if you will 60 to work in the same
way. But if you spend your time in fretting
because this or that white man has better
time than you have or more advantages, and
take short cuts to what you may think success,
you will, in the end, be very sadly disappoint-
ed. Take things patiently and labor faithfully;
the result win be glorious. Let the soldier
fight well, let hepreacher preach we'll let the
carpenter shove his plane with all his might,
and the planter put in and gather in as much
corn or cotton as he can-working for fair
wages, and, as he gets able, to hire others,
paying them fair wages, too. Act thus, and
have no tears for your future,
Now. as TO the elective franchise. Major
Delany has said that he heard me say in the
Hall Of the House of Representatives at Wash
iugton that knew no reason why the hand
that laid down the bayonet might not take up
the ballot. If he bad listened to me twenty