New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-05-31


freedom.
We have few things to say to you,
and though many of you may know
them already, and be well aware of
their Importance, we believe you will
not despise the faithful and loving
counsel of your friends. Let the word
of brotherly exhortation sink deep into
your hearts as we remind you of some
of the duties which are called for at
your hands, all Of them important, and
few of them new, or enforced by new
motives, in this your state Of freedom.
Your duty to your Heavenly Father
is to show your love and gratitude to
him for the blessing of liberty and for
all his mercies by doing his will as il
is set forth in his own blessed book,
the Bible, and taught you by his Holy
Spirit.
Your duty to Christ is, accepting
him as your redeemer, to believe in,
love, and obey him, in whom, if you
are his sincere disciples, you have a
redemption infinitely more blessed
than your redemption from outward
slavery; even redemption, through his
blood, from the guilt and bondage of
sin, and translation into the liberty of
the children of God.
Your duty to your country and its
rulers is to obey the laws, to be sub
ect to those in authority, to maintain
order, to fulfill your bargains, to be
honest and strictly truthful, avoiding
all deceit in word or deed, to labor dill
gently as freemen for your own sup
port and that of your wives and chill
dren, and for the welfare of that great
nation of which you now more COM
pletely form part, and to show, as
you may be admitted either at once or
by degrees to all the rights and duties
Of citizenship, that you are as capable
as the white man of properly using and
fulfilling them.
AS witnesses in courts of justice, be
true and careful.
AS voters, be honest and wise; never
to be bribed with money or warped by
interest, by favor, or by fear.
And if admitted to Office fill the
office, whatever it may be, respectfully
in the sight of men, but faithfully in
the sight of him who seeth the heart.
Your duty to yourselves is, with the
held of the Lord, TO keep yourselves
strictly temperate, pure, and chaste,
and to avail yourselves of every OPP
portunity of acquiring that knowledge
of God and ef Christ which is life
eternal, and that useful learning
whereby you will increase your power
of rising in the scale of society, and
of being made blessing to all around
you to an extent which some of you
may be hardly able to suppose posi-
BILE.
Your duty to your families is to
bring them up in the fear and love of
God, to give them a good education,
even if it be at considerable sacrifice
to yourselves, and to teach them the
love Of their country, and to mind their
high calling as Christians and as Amer
lean citizens.
We know that in your strength you
can not fulfill all these duties. You
have need, like ourselves and like
other men, to watch and pray that you
CAboI nOI AhlO bChA PbdJAOus anu W yOus
as well as to us, in the great love and
goodness of our Heavenly Father, is
the Holy Spirit offered to deliver from
temptation and to lead in the way OF
righteousness. Possibly some of you
may have said to yourselves while you
were yet slaves, "0h! how easy would
it be to do right and to fulfill our du-
ties if we were but free;'' and it may
be that you often find, even now that
you are free, duty still hard and temp
tation still strong, and sin still allur-
ing. Be not discouraged by this ex-
perience give not up the struggle
but let this feeling of your own help
lessness and tendency to evil bring
you to the mercy-seat and make you
more feryent in prayer, that, through
Christ strengthening you. you may
do that which Of yourselves you could
not do.
| We would here offer a few practical
hints to such of you as still reside or
or near the plantations of those who
were formerly regarded by law as your
owners. Many of you have, we be-
lieve, continued in their employ al
| free laborers, and conducting your
selves with diligence and integrity
have been treated in return with fair.
ness and with confidence by your EN-
ployers-a result which we can no
doubt has largely benefited both par
ties. There may be other cases Of ,
very different character. Those VIII,
have heretofore exercised unrestrainet
power may have found it difficult Il
adapt themselves to theiFnew position
and some of you may have been treated
unjustly and Oppressiyely. Even IN
der such circumstances It is far bette
and far wiser TO suffer wrong, and TAX
it patiently, than to render evil 70
evil. We do not say that you are Il
give up the independence and tn
rights secured to you by law; but il
maintaining or asserting them let
ever be with meekness and gentleness
You may often by this conduct s
soften the hearts Of others as to brinI
about a change in their behavior to
ward you and may thus experience
the fulfllment oflthe truth, (" When
mans ways please the Lord, he maket
even his enemies to be at peaee wit
; him." And should trials and disap
t pointments still attend yon how cheer
: ing is the assurance that z All thing
work together for goodrto them tbs
/, love Cod 90 ng
5 In conclusion, we would expires
our trust that through the bles