Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1865-03-31
PRESIDENT LINCoLMsVIEWs ON ARMINe SLAVES


At Washington on Friday rebel flag
| captured at Anderson by the 140th In
! diana Volunteers, was presented TO Gov
| ernor Morton in front Of the National
| Hotel A large crowd was in attendance
| Governor Morton made a brief speech, in
| which he congratulated his auditors on
! the speedy end Of the rebelli n. and con-
| cluded by introducing President Lincoln,
| whose purity and patriotism were con-
fessed, he said, by all, even among the
most violent agitatOrs. Applause.]
His administration would be recog-
! nized as the most important epoch of his
| tory. 1t had struck the blow to slavery
| [applause and built up the Republic
with power it never before possessed
IF he had done nothing more than put
his name to the Emancipation Proclama-
tion, that alone would have made his
name immortal. [Applausel
THE PRESIDENTS SPEECH.
The president addressed the assembly
substantially as follows:
FELLOW CITIZENS 1t will be but
very few words that / shall undertake to
say | was born in Kentucky, raised in
Indiana. and lived in Illinois. Zap
plause And now am here, where it is
my business to care equally for the good
people Ofall the States. l am glad to sec
an Indiana regiment on this day able to
present the captured flag to the Governor
of Indiana [Appausc. I am not dis
posed in saying this to make a distinction
between the States, for all have done
equally well. [ApplSuse. ..
There are but Jew views or aspects of
this great war upon which | have not
said or written something whereby my
own opinion might be known. But there
is one-the recent attempt Of our erring
brethren, as they are sometimes called,
laughter, to employ the negro to fight
for them. | have neither written nor
made a speech on that subject, because
that was their business, not mine; and if
[ had a wish upon the subject, had not
the power to introduce it or make it ef-
fective.
The great question with them was
whether the negro, being put in the army,
will fight for them. / do not know,
and therefore cannot decide laugh
ter They ought to know better than
we [ have i'll my lifetime heard many
arguments why the negroes ought to be
slaves but if they would fight Tor those
who would keep them in slavery it will
be better argument than any | have yet
heard. Laug hIer and applause. He
who will fight for that ought to be a
slave. [Applause.]
They have concluded at last to take
one out of four of the slaves, and put
them In the army; and that one out OF
the four who will fight to keep the 9TH
ers in slavery ought to be a slave himself,
unless he is killed in fight. Al
plause While | have often said that
all men ought to be free, yet would al
low those colOred persons to be slaves
who want to be; and next to them those
white persons who argue in favor of max
ing other people slaves. [AppIause.1
am in favor Of giving an opportunity
to such white men TO try 1t on Tor them
selves. CApplause-1 | will say one thing
| in regard to the negro being employed to
| fight for them. l do know he cannot
| fight and stay at home and bake bread
too. Laughter and applause And as
one is about as important as the other,
then do not care which they do. Re-
newed applause.
am rather in favor Of allowing them
to try them as soldiers. Applause
| They lack one vote of doing that, and
wish l could send my vote over the river
+, so that might cast it in favor of allow
! ing the negro to fight Applause. But
| they cannot fight and work both. We
must now see the bottom of the enemys
resources. They will stand out as long as
they can; and if the negro will fight for
them they must allow him to fight.
They have drawn upon their last branch
of resource Iapplausel and we can now
see the bottom. Applause. | am glad
to sec the ehl 50 near at hand. APP
pIausc ave said now more than
intended, and will therefore bid you good
| bVc