The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1866-02-16

CHE u. Aort|lol,lllk .gost.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY IS, 1866.
FRED. DOUGLASS LECTURE.
THE ASSASSINATION AND IT'S LESSONS.


at the First Presbyterian Church, OH
Four-and-a-halfs street, Washington, on
the Assassination and its Lessons, de-
livered on Tuesday evening. for the
benefit Of the National Home Associa-
ton for Colored Orphans, drew an Inn
nlense audience. Every seat in the
spacious edifice was filled, and chairs
were called into requisition to fill every
available foot of space on the floor.
Many others were unable toobtain seats.
I Chief Justice Chase presided, and
Judge Kelley and Judge Wilmot, well
known as the author of the WilmOt
proviso, occupied seats near the speaker.
| On entering the room, Mr.. Douglass
was greeted with loud and long con-
tinued applause. After the reading Of a
chapter by Rev. DR.. Sunderland, and
prayer by Rev. DR.. Nadal, Chief Justice
/ Chase rose to introduce the speaker. He
| said that many years ago, in one of the
counties of Maryland. a young mana
slave--felt stirring within him the ire
pressible desire for freedom. He fed
| from slavery to free state; then, self
en- franchised, he became self-educated
Suffering much, he progressed In intel
lectual culture until he took his place
among the most intelligent in the land
He comes before you tonight to plead
the cause of his down-trodden race. The
slave, SELF nfranchised-the man, self
educated-has taken rank as one of the
| foremost orators of the nation. His name
Is Fred. Douglass. 1t is known through
out the country, and | now introduce
him to you.
Mr.. Douglass stepped forward, and
was received with enthusiastic demon
STATIONS of applause. He spoke sub
stantially as follows:
He expressed his sincere thanks, first
to Chief Justice Chase, for the kind and
complimentary introduction he had
been pleased to give him to this refined
and intellectual audience. He was here
to speak about the assassination and its
lessons, and desired to declare ut the out
set that he did not wish to be under
stood to assume the office Of teacher, as
might be inferred from the title of his
lecture. 70 those who knew him he
need not disclaim this; they knew well
the distance to be travelled from the
corn-field to DIR. Sunderland's pulpit.
Mankind were indebted for the pro-
gress they have made in civilization to
two kinds of teachers-great men and
great events. There were some minds
able to discover in the most occult be-
ginninga grand result, but most men
were taught by events. From them are
learned those principles without which
no nation can be permanently prosper
GUS or great. The masses are always
engaged chiefly in the struggle for exist
ence, and have little time to give to
theories. A few can comprehend
rule and the reasons therefor, but the
many require illustrations before they
can be instructed. Long before our land
was rent with civil war, and i'm the face
of sixty years of unbroken prosperity, a
few good and clear minded men, rang
ing themselves beside the down-trodden
and oppressed, and looking up from that
lOwly position to the source of eternal
justice, foresaw and warned us of all
the evils that came upon us but they
| mother who saw her child placed upon
the auction block anointed the eyes of
the few. and they saw and warned us
that there must come a day of retribu-
ton; but nothing short of the thunders
of Sumter could open the eyes of the
masses TO the dangers of fostering
privileged class in a republic.
The past year has witnessed two great
events. The first was the downfall of
the rebellion. Unlike most rebellions,
this was undertaken not to assert any
great right, or to redress any great
wrong, but to maintain the ascendancy
of a privileged class, and to hold q race
in perpetual bondage When this rebel
lion fell, it was fondly hoped that the
South would be instructed by the war,
and, that with the death Of slavery,
would be settled all the questions per-
tanning thereto-that they would be set
tied forever, because settled in accord
ance with the principles of eternal JUS
tice.
The other event was something I'M
precedented in our history; it was the
Inauguration of new crime-a stranger
to our latitude. We had heard of IL
| among the monarchs of Europe, where
men were goaded to desperation by ty-
ranny, but had never dreamed that in
this land of free ballots, crime so mon
strous as the assassination of our Chief
Magistrate could be possible. But we
were mistaken. We had fend among
us, whose presence had not been taken
| into account.
A new year had lately dawned upon
us. We had hoped much upon it, but
there was reason for grave apprehen-
sion. There was reason to fear that IL
might witness something worse than
| even assassination, and this crime which
we had cause to dread was nothing less
than the abandonment of all the ad-
vantages won by the Wharf.-The freeing of
| the American bondman. Oh! when
will the American people learn rightly
the lessons of their own history? Many
shocks have fallen upon them, chief
among which was the assassination.
Had the question of settling the status
of the negro been submitted to them on
the morning after that event, there is
no doubt as to what they would have
done. They would have put away from
among them every vestige of slavery.
1t was not necessary that he should
call attention to the effect of that afro
cious crime; the recollection of it was
fresh i'm every mind. 1t was as If some
strong CONFUSION of nature had occur
red. Had city been swallowed up by
an earthquake, had the graves opened
and the sheeted dead walked forth in
our streets, it could not have produced a
more profound sensation than did this
startling event. The calamity was 40
sudden, and so out of joint with the
sense of security prevailing among us.
that few of us could believe the dreadful
news to be true. AS at no time before.
the loyal people were rejoicing in VIC
tory; Richmond had fallen: Lee. the
patrician, commanding an army COM
posed of the elite of the South, had sur
rendered to Grant, the plebeian viii.
mington and Mobile were in our hands.
South Carolina had received from Sher.
| man the ehastisement she mer;ted. and