The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1867-05-10
Southern OratOry.

reconstruction meetings in the South,
of late, at nearly every one of which
negroes have taken part, aud In many
of them prominent part. And this
without respect to party. The me-
groes have quite naturally taken part
in the Radical meetings. but their
influence and power have been sought
with a, idty, and acknowledged with
wonderful suavity by the Conscrva-
tives.
The telegraph has given us general
occounts Of these meetings, but the
detailed accounts oil them, published
in Southern journals, and in the cor.
respondence Of some Northern pa
pcrs, are exceedingly interesting
rhe accounts Of the Conservative
meetings, in especial, are rich and
racy. The negro orators at these
meetings have had discussions With
the great men among the whites, and
in almost every instance that has
come under our notice, the white
speakers have come out second best
in the argument. The black man at
the South is very rapidly demonstra.
ting his superiority to the white ex
rebel and present Conservative.
This cap only be regarded as a
very remarkable fact. The white
orators have always until very re-
Gently had every possible advantage
over the black orators. The former
have been the ruling classes, the
aristocracy of the land. They have
not only had advantages Of wealth,
of social position, of education, but
they have had all the advantages of
liberty, whilst the poor blacks have
been compelled to live all the time
under the unspcakable ills of slavery.
rhe whites have had their coaches,
their fine horses, their luxuries-all
that wealth could purchase or taste
desire. The poor negroes have been
Ill fed, i'll clothed, not educated at
all, and very frequently wallopped
for stupidity, lazincss, and general
uglincss.
That under these circumstances
the negroes should suddenly demon.
strate to candid world their superi.
ority rs orators to their old oppress.
ors and wallopers, is, we say, most
remarkable tact. Why only few
aaS;s E'sG oily test 'GlfP OF Sratoria aGSi,1
power known amongst men--its in.
lluence over the assemLlage who
hears 1.-THE negro was almost in
iinitcly the superior No victor,
was ever more decided. judge
Douglas never more completely van.
quishcd an opponent in debate. Nc
overscer ever wallopped a slave more
etfectually than this black man used
up his competitor. Many other in.
stances of a like nature have been
shown.
Now if the South (the oil white
South, we speak of, just here has
been by itself supposed to be superb
or to the North in any one thing it
has been in thisvery thing of oratory.
Upon that it has claimed to take the
ribbons always. But 1t turns out
when put upon the same stand with
the negroes, thoii boasted speakers
are seen to be decidedly and con.
fessedly inferior. The fact is, we
suspect, tho whites have become en-
ervated and detcriorated by luxury,
until their intellectual power is below
that of the negro. At any rate, If
the negro bes stupid as he has been
charged with, the ex rebel white,
being now eonfessedly more stupid in
that very thing heretofore consider
ed his forte, must lie by all odds the
stupidest human being upon the face
of the earth Hence, reconstruction
upon the just basis OF universal sur
frage ought not to be long delayed.
The original white Union men of the
South do not Object at all to the ne.
groes, do not object TO the other class
ofwhites voting and we see no reason
why the principle should not be put
in practice at once, 1t is very clear
that, II tho ballot is TO be taken from
the "inferior race" you will have to
go outside OF tie Black race, down
South, to find it. So much has free
discussion already done to straighten
up matters, and remove narrow pref.
udices. =
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Good Sense
Gov. Brown. of GeorDia- tal;es a