The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1865-11-07
Gov. Marvin to the Colored People OF
Florida.

Gov. Marvin recently addressed II
large crowd Of negroes at Marianna,
Fla. He told them that they had
fought no battles that the blood of
no man was on their hands that it
had been a white mans war that it
had unintentionaly resulted in the
abolition of slavery, and that nobody
but God was to be thanked for it.
He further said
If you ask me the question, whe-
ther the white man of the North Or
the man of the South is your friend,
I will answer you by saying that I
hope and believe both of thm are !;
but if it comes to question of certain
ty as to which of the two is your better
friend, shall answer plainly and tell
you, the white man of the South. I
was born in the North, raised and
educated there, but L have spent the
last thirty years Of my life in the
South, and consider myself capable
of Judging between the two people,
particularly in reference to yourselves.
L know the Northern man, or Yankee,
as you call him, from the crown of
his head to the sole OF his foot, and I
tell you to-day as your friend, that the
Southern white man, with whom you
were raised, and who is acquainted
with your habits and customs, is the
best friend you have got,
Now, after you shall have found
your freedom, and driven by stern
necessity to do something for your
selves, the questian is, what is the
best for you to do? Ny advice is to
remain OH the plantation where you
. have been accustomed to work, with
your former owners if they VIII make
a contract with YOU Make the best
contract you can with them, and
show them that you are willing to
work better, how that you are com
pensated for your work, than you ever
have done before. BE faithful, be
honest, be interested in the affairs of
the plantation; see that the mules are
well fed, that the hogs get good at
tention, and that the things entrusted
to You be not neglected.
If you wish to be esteemed as ladies
and gentlemen, you must conduct
yourselves accordingly. Call your old
master, master, and your old mistress,
mistress. 1t is right You should; it
is proper, it is polite You do not
mean by calling them SO that You
belong to them, but that you wish to
be respectful and polite, and to give
no cause for offence, but rather desire
to please. / don't say that you 2nusl
call them master or mistress; but !
say it is civil and polite to DO it, and
you must, therefore, do it. l have
known many white servants, and
there are thousands in the North,
where Was raised and it is so in
England, too, who call those who
employ them, master and mistress.
1t is Il term of respect and Difference,
and they call them thus because this
is SO. There they, as said before,
are white servants, and they till the
land, feed the stock, and do other
work that is done here, and they are
respected, and all Of them find en-
ployment, as you may do ii you
conduct yourselves properly.
But you must not think, because
you axe It's Tree us lhc Wnltc people,
that you are their equal, because you
are not. You will have to do great
many things you cannot DO before
you begin to be as great as they. You
will have to be able to write book,
build railroad, a steam engine, Il
steamboat, and thousands of other
things you know nothing Of. They
are far ahead of yOuand it is foolish
for you to think they are not superior
to you and will ever be; but they will
help you rise if you try to raise your
selves, and you must try, and make
fast friends Of them, and not, by bad
behavior towards them, make them
hate you.
The Draci1oot Will ~ o+ ,,i1o yo,, oDa