The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1866-02-15

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what course OF policy would result ID
1.-THE amelioration and ultimate eleva
ton, not only of tho colorcd, but Of th,
great mass of people of tile UniteC
Estates. say that if 1 have not giver
evidence that,I am friend of humani
ty, and especially friend of the col
cred, in my past conduct, there is no
thing that i canldo that would. | re
peat that all that | possess, life, liber
ty, and prosperity, have been put il
Jeopardy when Ihad every inducement
held out to take the other course; by
adoptingwhich, 1woud have accom-
plished, perhaps, all that the most am
bilious might have desired. FL know
myself, and tho feelings, of my own
heart, they have been for the colored
man. L have owned slaves and bought
slaves, but 1 never sold one. i might
say, however, that practically, SO fai
as my connection with slaves has gone
| have been their slave instead of their
being mine. Some have even follow
ed me here, while others are occupying
and enjoying my property .Nith ny
consent For the colored race my means
my time, my all haye been periled.-
And now, at this late day, after Civ.
ing evidence that is ngible, that is
practical, Tam free to sag that I do not
like to be qraigaed By some .clo can gel
up handsomely rounded periods, and deal
inrhet6ric md tdlk about abstract ideas
Of liberty, Tho ,nererSperHied life, liberty
or PROPERTY This kind of theoretical
felio@'friepdship amounts to- but very
little. 61ir NV -...ll r,;larN
While I say Chat I am 10 friend to
the colorsS iace,,I do not want to
adopt a policy that I.beliepe witl end. IN a
contest betGeen The, races, iFhichn6 per-
sisted in, ,tM result in the erterminati0n
Of the one or The otkcr. God forbid that
| should be engaged in such work.
Now, tits always best to talk 5practic-
ally, and in comm sense way.
have said and 1 repeat here, that if
the coloredmen in the United States
could find no idothcr, Moses, nor
any Moses that would be more a.
bic and efficient than myself, |
would be- their Moses to lie I'd
them from bondage. TO freedom; that l
would pass them from the land where
they had lived in slavery, 10 a land, ii
ii was in'' oar reach, Of .frecdom;, ]
would bo willingito pass them through
thed Red Seatos the land of promisc--
to the land ofliberty.} biosa T '
But / am not willing, under either
circumstance, to adopt q policy which
| believe will only result in a sacrifice
Of his life and the shedding ofhis blood
I think Iknow what say 1 feel what
l say, and i feelwcll assured that, il
the policy urged by some be persisted
! in, it win resut,in great injury to the
white as well as to the colored man. 2
There is I? great deal of talk about
the swordiin one hand accomplishing
an end, and tho ballot accomplishing
another at the balloJ, box. These things
are all very well, and sometimes have
a forcible application. We talk about
liustice; 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 has. That is alLtrue. 81
Again, wc talk about the Declara.
tion of Independence, equally before
the law. You understand all that, ant
know how appropriate it is, But now
lotus look each other in the face. Let
us go to the great mass. of colored mer
throughout tho slave States. Let u!
take tho condition in which they are a
the present time (and it is bad enough
we all know, and suppose, by somt
magic touch, you could say to every
one, "You shall vote tomorrow" how
much would that ameloratc their con
dition at this timer Now, let us get
closer up 10 the subject and talk about
it; r.e5 ..fio ads ar|la.lfaa '"
Whatrelation has the colorcd MAJ
to tho white man heretofore occupied
in the South? l opposed slavery Oh
two grounds; First, it was great mo
nopoly, enabling those who controlled
it to constitute an aristocracy--enabl
ing'the few to derive great profits, and
rule the many with an iron rod, as i
were, and that is one great objection
to it In q Government, its being mo
ncpoly. | was opposed to it, secondly
upon the abstract principle.
In getting clear of monopoly, ",
were getting clear Of slavery at tn,
same time. SO you see, there wcr'
two ends accomplished in the accom-
lplishment of the one. .-.
Mr.. Douglass.--Mr. President, d,
you wish
The PRESIDENT am not quite thro
yet. Slavery has been abolished. 4
great National guarantee has beel
given, one that cannot be revoked. /.
was getting at the relation that existet
between the white man and tho coloret
man. A very small proportion o
white persons, compared with tn
whole number of such, owned tho col
ored people of the South. l might in
stance the State Of Tennessee in illus
! tration. There were twenty seven non
J shareholders, and yet the slave. .powe
controlled that State. faJ 8HIt&,
| Although the colorcd man was il
slavery there, and owned as propert,
in the sense and in the language 0
that locality and of that community
yet in comparing his condition and po
sition' with the non STAKEHOLDER, h
usually estimated his Importance jus
in proportion to the number of slave
that his master owned with tho non