Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-02-21
The President tosthe Negroes.

f. The President to the Negroes. a..
| A.few days ago, we published aparagraph
stating that, q. deputation of colored mel
waited on President johnson, asking him tt
interfere. in their behalf- The following is's
full report Of the Presidents reply:
!. SIN reply to some of your inquiries
to make. a speech about this matter, for it il
always best to talk plainly and distinctly
about such questions will SAY" that if i
have not given ev;dence.in my former course
that am friend of humanity, and to that
portion of it,whieh, constitutes the colored
population, Lean give no evidence hero. Ey--
erythipg that I have had, both as regards life
and property, has been periled in this cause,
and / feel and think that l understard--not
to be egotistic-what should be the true di-
rection Of this question, and what course of
policy would result in the aneioration and
ultimate elevation, not only of the colored;
but OF the great mass of the people of the
United States: say; that'if have not Civ
en- evidence that I am q friend Of humanity,
and especially the friend of the colorcd rnaIi,
in my pastcondnct, there is nothing thatd
can do more that would. repeat, -thatall
that Lpossessed-life, liberty, and property
have been put up in connection, when l had
every inducement held out to take the other
course; by adopting which I would have ac-
complished, perhaps, all that the most ambi-
,tious could have desired. III know myself
and the feelings of my own heart, they have
been for the colored men. 1-"have owned
slaves and bought slaves, but Inever sold one
L might say, however, that, practically, So far
as my connection with slaves has gone, l
haye been their slave. instead Of their being
mine. Some have even followed me here,
while others are occupying and enjoying my
property with my consent. For the coored
race, my means, my time, my ell, have been
periIed; and now, ct this late day, after Civ
ing evidence that is tangible, that is 'practi:'
cal, am free to say to you that lido not like
to be arraigued by some who Can get up
,handsomely-rounded periods ard deal in
,rhetorical talk about abstraet>id idea of liber-
ty, who never periied life, liberty, or proper
ty. This kind of theoretical, hollow, un-.
practical friendship amounts to but very lit,
tie. While say thatI am friend to the
colored man, l do not want TO adopt policy
that ! believe will cad in a contest between
the races, which, if persisted in, win result
in the determination of one. or the other: God
forbid that I shouldbe engaged in such
work - .f
Now, it is best to talk practically and in-s
common sense way Yes, have said, and l
repeat here, that if the colored mai in the
United States could find mo other Moses, or
any Moses that would be more able and eff
cent. than myself I would be his Moses 10
lead him from bondage to freedom; shat I
would pass him from land where he had
lived in slavery to aland-ifi it we're in our
reach-of freedom. Yes, would be willing
to pass with him throughout the Red Seasand
the Land of Promise to,the land of liberty.
But am not wiling, under either eircum
stance, to adopta policy which believe will
only result in the sacrifice of his life and the
shedding of his blood. I think know what
I.say. / feel what say, and / feel well as
sursd thatif the policy urged by some be
persisted in, it will result in great injury to
well oIored man There! E!
hand mplis6ing an end; and the e bafioss ifs'
accomplishing another attbe ballotbo These
things all do very we'll, and sometimes have
forcible application. We talk about, justice.
We talk about right. We say that the white
man has been in the wrong in keeping the
black man in slavery as long as he Las. That
is all true. Again, VIC talk about the Declar'
alton Of Independence and equality before
the law. You understand all that, and know
how to appreciate it. But now let us look
each other in the face let US go to the great
mass OF colored people throughout the slave
States let US tako the condition in which
they are at the present time-and it is bad
enough, we all know-and suppose you could
saw 10 every one, YOU shall vote tomorrow,
how would it>ameliorate their condition at
this time? Now, let US get closer up to this
subject and talk about it. What relations
have the colored man and the white man oc-
cupied in the South heretofore? opposed
slavery upon two grounds: First, it was o
great monopoly, enabling those who control
led and owned it to constitute on aristocracy;
the few to derive great profits, and
rule the. many with an iron roc, as-it we're.
And that is one great objection to itin gov.
ernmett-its being a monopoly. i was op-
posed to it, secondly, upon the abstract prir-
ciple Of slavery. Hease, in getting clear Of a
monopoly, we we're lifting clear OF slavery
at The same Time. So You see there weie
two right ends accomplished in the accom-
pIishment of the one.
Mr. Douglass-Mr. President, do you
wish ,i -, 80 -t-s> - sA-
The. Prcsident-I am not quite through
ret. Slavery has been abolished great
national guaranty has been giycu-one that
cannot be revoked. I was getting at the re-
lation that subsisted between the white man
md the colored man. A very small portion
of white men, compared with the whole nun. /
bcr Of such, owned the coered people OF the
South. l might instance the st tie of Ten,
nessee in illustration. There were twenty
seven non-slaveholders to one slaveholdeT.
and tet the slave power controlled that Slate.
Let us talk aboutithis matter as it is. Al
:souch the colored manIwaa in slavery there,
and owned as propertyin in the sense and in
th,;lansuage,of that locality and of that COM 4
munity, yet in comparing his condition. and
his. position there with the. noa Shareholder,
he usually estimated his Importance just 10.
to the number of slaves that his
master owned, with the non Shareholder,
Have you ever lived upon plsntation2
/. Mr.. Douglass have, your EScellency.
The President-When you would look over
and SEQ q man who had large family strug-
Cling hard upon poorer pioce of land, you
thoughts great deal less of him than you
did of. your master.2
Mr.. Douglass-Not |. -
80 The. President-Well,' know such was
the case with large majority of you i'll
those sections. Where such-is the case, We
know there is an enmity; we know there is