The national Republican., 1866-08-10
A SENATOR ON THE STATE OF
THE COUNTRY.

National Association for the Educauon oil
Preachers and Teachers for Freedmen" 1t
appears from the report that after prayers
the President of the association, Rev. DR..
BAxvARp addressed the meeting upon the
non-difference between colors Of skin, and
then STATED the object Of the National As
sociation, which was, in BRIEF the education
and elevation, both morally and socially, Of
the colored race, and he hoped that one OF
the results Of the meeting would be the rails
ing Of funds to carry out its purpose"
"Rev. j. w. Parker, of Boston, who was
next introduced, apologized for the absence
of the teachers and some u the scholars OF
the Institute, who had been advertised to be
present He regretted their absence the
more because he wished to demonstrate that
the colored people could be educated and
made more eloquent than the toh,tes, and the
reason was their warmth of heart and depth
of feeling He then alluded to some Of the
Southern schools where the negro had gained
the prizes in advance Of the white, and be-
lieyed that it was evidence that they were
destined to become the leaders Of civilization
an their midst.
"Rev. L. A. Grimes, Of Boston, then briefly
addressed the meeting, after which Hon.
Henry Wilson was introduced, and received
with enthusiastic cheering
A full report Of Senator Wilson's speech
is given, and it is aided:
." Long continued applause followed the.
speech, after which the president announced
that Maj. Gen. Butler and Senator Pomeroy,
Of Kansas, had been in the Temple during
the address, and suggested that the audience
would be happy to hear from them. Loud
calls were made by the assembly for both,
but they elected no response, and the au-
diepce retired
1t thus appears that the hopes of DR..
BASvARD in regard to funds were disap-
pointed; that spondulics were lost sight of
in the cloud Of politics that loomed up when
Senator WILSON, the principal speaker of
the occasion, (which was evidently provided
to afford him an opportunity to discourse on
"the state Of the country,') took the plat
form. If the absent colored men who are
more eloquent than the whites" had been
present we presume they would have at
least done something to promote the legti-
mate object Of the meeting-"the raising Of
funds" The Senator from Massachusetts,,
after eulogising the "holy cause Of the asso-
ciation,' proceeded to descant upon 'the
state Of the country" He boasted of the
achievements of Congress in securing the
defeat of the rebellion, the abolition Of
slavery, the passage Of the Freedmen's Bu
roau bill and the civil rights bill, but he did
not offer to subscribe to the funds needed
'to carry out the purpose of the association
he was addressing. We are not sure that
the hint given by the president of the SO.
ciety at the beginning Of the meeting was
intended to draw from the members of Con-
gress who might be present some part
of the extra four thousand dollars they had
voted to each Of themselves, but Senator
WILSON certainly had an opportunity to dis
gorge a portion Of that spoil for the benefit
of the class from whom he was trying to in
crease his political capital. But this is o
little consequence. The Boston audiences
know Senator WILSON well enough not tC
expect much from him except words.
There are, however, one or two points in
Mr.. Wilson's speech which are significant
enough to call for word Of comment. He
shows how the rebellion is crushed and sla.
very abolished in the South, and then says:
But slavery was wrung from them by the
hand Of war, by power and by power alone
And now the work you could not do in that
thirty years Of appeal the work that even
war has not done, you have got to do. You
have got to teach the slaveholding comlnu
mites of the rebel States to change then
heart, conscience and reason, so that they
will recognize the black men as brethren, as
Gountrymen. who have equal rights before
the laws of the country with themselves"
Here is the old spirit of Purtanism, undi
luted II is the spirit that has produced the
witch burnings and the inquisitorial torturel
of history. Mr.. WILSON is not content will
the triumphs of the field and the legislativ,
arena, but he now demands the jurisdiction
of the "heart, conscience and reason" O
those whom he proposes to restore, in some
fashion of his own, to membership in the
Union of States. This assumption of power
over the "heart, conscience and reason
this an-thou-ativeness has
always led to bad results in this world, a.
any student Of history may testify, and i
Mr.. WILSON means. to make popularity fo
hiIhseii py PrathiB apout yFeeuoW He shoui'
not in the same breath ally himself to tn,
despotism which attempts to control th'
"heart, conscience and reason That sor
of radicalism has had no brilliant successes
for centuries past, and never will again whil
the world stands. This is the platform o
the fesh-pot party for the next campaign
Political acts, on either side, oaths of ale
glance and test oaths 60 for nothing tn
"heart, conscience and reason" of the "slave
holding communities" must be placed unde
the surveillance and subjected to the manip
ulation Of the Massachusetts, Senator and hi
confreres.
And why should Senator WILSON deman'
the custody Of the "heart, conscience, ant
reason" Of the communities lately in rebel
liong He had just before, in his speech
said, exultantly, the following:
"And where is slavery to-day? 1t is utterl,
snnihilated- to powder-and th'
bondsmen of the country stand up to-da,
secured 10 their civil rights by the laws O