New-York daily tribune., 1865-09-14
TO THE COLORED PEOPLE OF
NORTH CAROLINA.


ask for the Right of Suffrage, and that am
among those invited by you to be present and
counsel you. Being under an old and impera-
tive engagement to be OH that day i'll Minnesota,
cannot be with you in North Carolina; and,
having no address to which i may send you a
letter, am obliged to respond thus publicly to
your invitation. Let me, therefore, urge and
entreat you to
l. Be hopeful. Great reforms are seldom
completed in a moment. Old wrongs and
abuses yield slowly to the advances of Justice
and Humanity. / have for thirty years ar
IDENTIFY wished, but. till very recently, dared
not to hope, that | might live to see ours free
country. now see it, and bless God for the
wisdom and benefcence-so infinitely tran
scendng all human preconception-whereby
the weakness, infatuation, incapacity, disloy-
atty. treachery and general unworthiness OF
men, have been made to subserve the Divine
purpose. But for Northern subserviency, so
enormous that they were justified in expecting
to be aided by it in the field as well as in the
cabinet, the Shareholders would never have re-
yolted But for inbecility in high places and
incapacity, if not treason also, in the direction
of our armies, the Rebellion would have been
speedily suppressed without seriously affecting
your cOndition-poSsibly, with new concessions
and guarantees to Slavery. Looking back at
the momentous history, the stupendous trans
formations, of the last five years, we must
reverently say. This is the Lords doing and
it is marvellous in our eyes" Let us unwaver-
inglv trust that the great work will be prose-
| cuted to its legitimate and logical consumma-
ton.
III. Be patient. We may not win full re-
cognition of your rights directly; but the effort
will never be abandoned until its success Is as.
sured And we are no longer resisted BY
vast, tenacious pecuniary interest-an all but
{ omnpotent "vested right" Slavery the tree
whereof negro-hate and White prejudice o
color are branches, has been cut down. There
is still vitality in the roots but the branches
{ are bound to wither and decay. Yet this Is not
e the work of day; and we must " learn to labor
and [if need bel to rGh"
III. Be PEACEFUL DO not be seduced nor
! provoked to resist lawful authority with law
~ less violence Better suffer wrong in silence,
!. or be worsted in invoking the protection Of the
laws. You see what the Shareholders have in
., CURED by resisting authority by force. Let
'i nothing tempt or swerye you from the ways oi
peace If you are oppressed and abused, ap'
Is peal to Congress, which will soon have been
u clothed by the pending Constitutional Amend
h, ment with power to redress your more ilagrani
= wrongs. Whichever among You resists the law
gives a signal advantage to your enemies. Bet
y ter suffer and trust.
". BE daigent. am not exhorting you to
$ steadfast industry. You have had enough o
that. Not being fools, you knon that you have
L to work hard for all you get, and probably fol
something more. There cannot be a hundred
! of You who do not know that you are to WORK
out your own pecuniary salvation or miscrably
perish. But you must be equally diligent in
u educating yourselves and your children, and
must not grudge working an extra hour per day,
c if needed, to provide yourselves with books and
+ teachers 1t is indispensable that you all, OF
a
: education at the earliest moment, and that you
each keep on acquiring useful knowledge at
every opportunity to the last day of your lives.
Your alleged ignorance is now one Of the chief
Ipretexts for denying you the Right of Suffrage.
V. Respect yOurselres. Refuse to minister TO
others vicious appetites, no matter what is the
temptation. Stand quietly and respectfully
aoof from all Whites who see fit to regard you
as interiors merely because Of your color. Keep
away, or get away, from all cities, unless you
are sure Of making money rapidly and virtuously
therein. Hold no voluntary relations to negro
haters, and bestow 10 patronage on them
though this compel you to 90 without comforts
you might otherwise enjoy. Trade with and
I patronize your friends, but, above all, each
other Encourage your brethren who embark
1 in trade or in any branch Of mechanical or other
useful industry, though at some personal incon-
yenience; keep out ofdebt; work, if possible for
men whom you esteem and trust; and each of
> you become land-holders so soon as YOU can
without running in debt. Few know chow
much land there is in an acrc;" and North
Carolnans understand this less than most
others. you each had cabin and four acres
of land you need nevermore, after next harvest.
3 look for work; while those who want helm
would come looking for you and offering you
: fair, living wages. Finally
VI. Stay rhere you belong. 1t may by.and
by be we'll to migrate, but not now. North