Wilmington journal., 1867-04-05
Freed,men's Meeting a. Columbia. > =.
speech OF Genersi Wade Hampton

I
Taeccpt the invitation III the same KIND spirit
with Which il WAS giveu. There have been
few incidents Of Il public character that
have gratiiied me more than tins mark ol
confidence from the c0l0rcd people OF THIS
! district, amongst whom my lie h;tS pccn
passed and it gives me pleasure 10 say
| that from them | haze always been treated
with kindness and respect Nor has thclf
conduct towards me changed Ill the Sh9ht-
est degree since the change III our relative
Dogitions ] am, therefore, justified Ill call
ing you my friends, and | hope that as my
! conduct to You has made ypu look upon me
as your friend, so my advice ami actions Ill
! the; future Will but CUnllIm yOtl Ill that ne
; lief. You may not know, perhaps. that L
was the first Southern man who addressed
= colore.i audience after the close OF the war.
This / did nearly two years ago, III the
lower part Of this district, and the advice
[ gave them | shall repeat now. Again last
fail, III all address 20 many Of my old sol
der, in Pickens district, i touched upon
the duty Of the whites towards The colored
people and | shall read to you what |
said OIL that occasion. There is one other
point OH which there 5hculd be 10 ml8un-
derbtandlng as 10 our position, no loop on
which 10 hang u possible niscOnstruction
as to our views, aud that IS, the abolition Of
slavery. :
The deed has boen done, and |, for one, do
honestly declare that I never wish to sec 1t
revoked. Nor do [ believe that the people
Of the South would Eow remand the negro
to slavery, if they had the power to do SO
unaucstioned. Under our paterluI care,
from Il mere handful, he grew to be mighty
host.
He came 10 us II heathen-we made him
Christian. Idle, vicious, savage i'll his
own country, in ours he became industrious,
gentle civilized. Let his history as Il slave
be compared hereafter with that which he
will make for himself as a freeman, and by
the result of that comparison we are willing
to be Judged. y great responsibility is lift
cd from our shoulders by his emancipation,
and we willingly commit his destiny to his
own hands, hoping thatjhe may prove him.
self worthy Of the new position in which he
has been placed. AS slave, he WAS faith
ful to US ; as u freeman, let us treat him as
a friend. Deal with him frankly, justly,
! kindly, and my word for it, he will recip
rocate your kindness, clinging to his old
home, his own country, and his former
masters If you wish to see him contented,
| industrious, useful, aid him in his efforts to
elevate himself III the scale OF civilization,
and thus fit him not only to enjoy the bles-
sings of freedom, but to appreciate its du
| ties.
| [ mention these things to you to let you
! see that [ have held out but one language
in reference to your people since your free
! dom, and to give the assurance. ii you need
any, of my sincerity in all the advice [ shall
offer to you to-day. [ regard the invitation
you have extended to us to-day, to offer
such advice. as honorable alike to us and to
yourselves. 1t is Il tit answer and a strong
rebuke to those who so pCrslStently mlsrep-
resent the feelings OF the whites and the
blacks of the South towards each other. -
It is honorable to us. rs it shows that yon
| look upon US as your friends friends with
whom you wish to act and from whom yOu
are willing to seek counsel. 1t is hOnora-
| ble to you, a3 it proves that You cherish no
ill-will towards your former masters, that
you confide in their honesty, and that you
look upon them as your natural and life
long friends. Your own orator of the day,
who has just addressed you, has spoken
wisely and kindly on this topic, and the ad-
vice he has given Won ] approve of heartily.
Why should Wr not be friends Are You
not Southern Ant.4, as We are Is tins not
your home us well as ours Does not that
glorious Southern sun above us shine alike
for both of Us ? Did not this soil give birth
to all of us ? And will we not all alike,
when our troubles and trials are over, sleep
in the same soil in which we first drew
which is inscribed, ''United We stand, di-
vidcd we fall. That motto is full Of signi-
ticance and truth, for your welfare is
inseparably linked with that of the whites
Of the South. IL we are unjustly taxed,
you will have to pay your share If we are
oppressed, you will suffer if VIC are ruined,
you will be destroyed Your prosperity
depends entirely on that Of your country,
and whatever fate awaits the white people
Of the South will be yours. | have said
that if an unjust tax is laid upon the South,
you will have to pay your share OF it. Let
me prove it to you. Many Of you are Ia
borers on plantations, working for por-
ton of the crop. Well, suppose you get
one, or two, OF three bales of cotton, as
Your years wages. Now, before you can
sell this cotton, for which you have worked
hard a whole year, you have to pay Il tax
Of twelve dollars bale for every bale you
have made. There is Il case III which un-
Just taxation falls as hard, OF harder, on
you than it docs on us. Suppose Congress
| was to tax the wheat of Ohio the lumber
oi Maine, the iron of Pennsylvania, or the
, factories of Massachusetts, in the same way;
would not the people Of these States com.
plain bitterly? Would they not send mon
to Congress who would use every effort tC
. have this nlrst tax removed? So you must
+ do, for every blow that is struck at the
South falls on 3ou us we'll rs on us. want
, to make You feel that you arc Southern
men, with alI your hopes, your feelings
and your interests identified with tho
: South, for that is the true position for YOU
! to occupy.
: Now, let lis consider, for IL few moments
the subject which has brought you together
S to-day-thc military bill just passed by
E Congress. You must bear III mind that {
: great many persons, amongst whom is the
q President Of the United States, think thai
V this bill is unconstitutional that Congress
t had no authority to pass it. Now, the only
? way by which that question can be settled
0 is by decision Of the Supreme Court O.
s the United States. That court will declare
J. the bill either constitutional or unconstitu
j. tional. If constitutional, you will by it al
G be allowed to vote. How will you vote
[ Whom will You select to make the new law
q which arc to govern the State Will yol
y choose men who are ignorant OF all litw, al
2 science of government, to make your law
). and TO frame your government Will yol
j. place Ill Office these strangers who have
- t{orl-oI 1,nrn fo ,,l1Inlpl what !ittln ic Iof