West-Jersey pioneer., 1868-01-17
FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

Grosscups hall was crowded to its comfort
able capacity, for the purpose of listening to
this celebrated sable orator A large number
of our reputable citizens. identified with both
of the political parties, were present, all evil
IDENTIFY disposed to give Mr.. Douglass a fair
and patient hearing, and to judge for them
selves whether he was really the strong man
which he was represented. II is of course
well understood that many of the people of
Bridgeton are strongly opposed to the ideas
represented by Mr.. Douglass, but in spite of
the accerbity of feeling which always identi-
fes itself with a political question, SO far as
we could learn, there was not the first disturb
ion with the address, and even the rougher
and less scrupuous ''street audience ap.
peared to feel that the reputation of the city
was dependent upon their department Mr.
Douglass is man of large though graceful
build, massive bushy head, full in FORM
though not portly, Malay skin, eyes toler-
ably full, forehead well balanced, features
regular, plainly though neatly dressed, a
pleasing voice, which was under the most ad-
mirable control, and an entire appearance
which possessed enough of the Caucasian to
ally him with the white, and enough of the
African to Enthusiastically connect him with the
black 1t may be proper to add that he is
entirely a self made man. bred in the most
complete slavery till near his manhood, when
he escaped, and in the midst of servile occupa-
tions in the north and Canada. found opportu-
nifty to culture his mind, until he became one
of the orators of the nation. His speech was
upon the danger of the Republic" md while
expressing forcibly his own ideas of tn ese
things, yet was so moderate in tone and cour-
teous in expression, that there were none, we
Judge, however much they might differ with
him in sentiment, that were offended with his
mode of presentation. His style was remark
ably chaste, and strong. Tue old Anglo
Saxon words received as full an expression
from his utterances of them as it has been
common to hear from our best speakers. He
was introduced in a few appropriate remarks
by Jas. Reeves, ESQ.,, and proceeded to say
that he had been before the public for the last
a
then in that of fugitive slave, but that then
10y the results of the war, and the magn anmi
ty of the nation, he stood before them free
citizen of the United States His remarks, he
said, would be in the forms of criticisms, made
in no unfriendly spirit, upon our Constitution.
| He would examine some criticisms made by
our enemies, and then make such of his own
as had occurred to him, and which he deemed
worthy of the attention of the intelligent audi
euce before him. He alluded to the usua
| platitudes of public speakers upon the Consti-
tuition, and asserted that while they had the
effect of increasing the wholesome reverence
for national institutions necessary to their
preservation by the people. yet there was
| danger in accepting them without examination,
because if we once believed that instrument
incapable of improvement, we at once shut
down all chances of obtaining the advantages
/ in legislation which the increasing intelli-
gence of the people both discovered and war
ranted. The constitution he insisted was a
human instrument, made under circumstances
of great embarrassment, both of ideas and
circumstances, and although marvel at the
was capable of beneficial changes now. Thai
it was not perfect in itself he argued, from the
fact that it had been found necessary to amend
it in several instances already, and in his
| Judgment, there were other features still re-
naming that could be prof tably changed
Our condition at the time of its adoption was
| anomalous, as we were just emancipated from
the colonial dependence upon England, and
possessed an almost unlimited reverence for
her style of laws, and at the same time were
determined to try. the experiment of free
| government, as free as we at that time deemed
possible. Our enemies, or those in other lands
who were opposed to our Republican, Demo
cratic forms, he stated, criticised us strongly
and called our institutions failures. Failures
because they did not secure US entirely against
their own disruption, and because, while they
provided a system of checks and balances
| they did not provide for cohesive attraction
of all the people to their centre. He argued
the first point from the fact that at the break :
ing out of the war the man who occupied the
presidential chair declared that while the
Southern states had no right to go out of the
Union, yet he found no power in the Constitu-
tion delegated to his trust by which he could
coerce State. President Lincoln, he asserted
was compelled to act upon doubtful construc
tions Of that instrument in defending our
| II had A.
or a bad man in the chair of the president, the
preser walton of the Union would have been an
| imp ossibility. A system of government which
was depend ent for its existence upon such an
incidental fact, they argued was not sufficient
ly good to be worthy of the adoption of an in
telligent people. Its want of cohesion was
argued by these opponents from the fact that
large bodies had evinced in the most unmistak
able forms, their desire to escape from it as
shown in the late rebellion, and also from the
fact that gaeat many of our own people de
manded stronger and more central power
Mr.. Douglass did not believe these criticisms
altogether just. but still there was justice
enough in them to make them worthy of oul
serious consideration, and also to inspire us tt
SO change our constitution as that these evils
might be averted. In order to make our gov
ernment so strong as to defy traitors ther,
must be deep sentiment among the people,
of adherence to treason This, he asserted
did not exist amoug US now. In despite o
all the horrors of the war, of the m iseres o
Andersonville, and the terrible burden o
public debt, there was a most demoralizet
public sentiment in this matter. The peopl,
of the North were willing to behold both whit,
and black men who were loyal to the country
, killed without mercy during the war, ant
killed without mercy after the war, by mel
who avowedly hated our government, and asl
z l. " n eor;oro ocooun< of +ha ,oor xvbo AL :.