The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-09-05
Henry A, Wise on the Destruction
Of Slavery.
The following is a remarkable pas
sage from late speech of Henry A.
y}r;oo.

The following is remarkable pas
sage from a late speech Of Henry A
Wise: q.
Slavery was a weakness if not q
wickedness-a wickedness because a
weakness-to which / am not willing
ever to expose my descendants, forfear
of a humiliation like that to which
have been subjected. | praise God
daily for nay deHverance from both its
NE g-r-d-o-m and its n-i-g-gre-d-O-m
very significant words which are of
very different meanings, illustrated by
the scenes and events OF the passing
hsur. But the emancipation of the me-
gro in the South has been sudden,
shocking, harsh and inhluman in the
extreme, to both master and servant,
TO both races, white and blacll-wan-
tonly cruel to the white master, and
crushing to the black freedman. He is
now freedman, but without a friend.
But he is a freedman. | ana now free
of responsibility for his care and com
fort, and, / repeat, / am content.
honor the negro for his exemplary con-
duct during the conflict, and will try
my best to befriend him. He must III
justice be allowed q large margin of
indulgence for his sudden douche of
liberty, not of license OF insolence; but
no one shall insult Or Cypress him
without my remonstrance and resist
ance. lie must be encouraged to work,
and be paid his fair wages, and be dealt
by justly; but | cannot swear to sup
port and abide the means whereby he
and his quondam master have both
been wronged. The Freedmen's Bu-
reau now has the responsibility Of his
fate, and that is worse to the negro
than whisky or new white settlements
ever were to the Indians! The negro,
like the Indian, left to himself, Will
pass away, unless wisdom and charity
combined shall be allowed to overrule
the worst passions which trade in hui
man misery and misfortune.
And cannot consent to be held re-
sponsible and liable to punishment for
not only the acts of my sovereign State
but the acts of God. The late civil
war was not only declared by sovereign
States against each other, but it was
sent by God himself to stretch out a
drawn sword over another tbreshing
floor than that of 0rnan. He is, fear,
an inidel who doesn't see that the fire
and sword of this war were sent from
Heaven. God knew that he could be
torn away from our black idol of sla-
very only by fire and blood, and the
drawn sword of the destroying angel of
war. He sent them, and we ought to
praise the Most. High that he did not
send worse plaques, like those of Egypt,
against whatever weakness or wicked
ness we chung TO like Pharoah. But Il
appeal to Christian charity, and to ev-
cry known law, whether individual cit
liens and persons ought to be vindict-
lively punished by man or government
for the acts Of sovereign States and the
Inevitable interposition of Divine Prov
idence 2 He will, surely kick against
the prichs VINO taxes vengeance on me
for the acts Of God! I can only turn
my pursuers to the old book of the
wrath OF the law, where they will learn
that while God often used the heather
to punish his chosen people for their
disobedience, yet, if the heather did
his own will even, In a heathenish way. |
he never failed in turn to punish the
very instrumentalities of his own spe-
cial Providence. / abide, therefore,
the order of Providence, and ask par
don of God, and God only, in respect
to slavery, and the war for its extinc-
ton.