Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-04-22
Rev. &. f. LOrd-Lecturc at Chester
on the Is Possibilities of the
African Race"

a very high degree OF pleasure In nsten-
ing to lecture prepared and delivered
by Rev. G. E. Lord in the Congregational
Church, and Notwithstanding the I'M
favorable weather, the house was well
filled, and the lecturer had one of the
most intelligent and appreciative audi
ences. More than ordinary interest is at
tached to this lecture from the fact that
it was written by request, expressly for
delivery before the American Congress,
and was delivered in the Hall of Repre-
sentatives January Oath, 1860. The pa
pers in Washington refer to the lecture
in the highest terms, and several of the
most distinguished persons sojourning in
the city, and who were present as atten-
tive listeners, at the close of its delivery,
came forward and congratulated Mr..
Lord upon the able, mastery and elo-
queat manner in which the subject was
treated. The subject 1.-THE Possibilities
of the African Race" is one in which
every person in these United States is in
terested, and inst and satisfactory settle
ment of the subject is all that either the
white or black race desire.
By adopting Mr.. Lords suggestions,
the country would have quick and easy
solution of this mooted question. The
address was one unbroken course of the
severest logical reasoning, proceeding
with the precision and certainty of a
mathematical demonstration, to prove the
error of those mistaken philanthropists.
who, while endeayoring to elevate the
standard of the negro race, have at the
same time succeeded to certain extent
in lowering their social and moral status.
Its style was as rigid as its thought, and
though of the finest and choicest language,
the force of the argument was never once
The address was listened to with the
closest attention, and received the warm
est commentator. We are not able to
give only brief and imperfect abstract
of the lecture.
A question having the most intimate
relation to the highest civil, social and
moral interest of the country is-What
should most appropriately be done for the
colored race? What is the most suitable
sphere for it to work in2 How best can
the African carry out the great end OF
God in their creation How in the no
blest way may it achieve their destiny,
and attain unto the highest consumma-
ton of those excellcncies that can best be
developed under the race distinctions that
mark their existence in our land These
questions bring us to consider in what
respect God has made the black race to
differ from the white. And why it is that
we see SO often ovcrruled the highest OWLS,
for ultimately the noblest blessings. That
there may be great differences, and yet,
upon the whole, no natural inferiority, Is
evident The speaker claimed that the
black race should, equally with the white
race, have their natural, civil and social
rights, the same liberty to avail themselves
of the proceeds of their labor, the same
same elective franchise, the same privi-
lege of worshiping God, the same right to
travel from one part OF the country TO
another, and the same blessing of popular
education fhe fact of difference in
color should not be made the ground OF
oppression under any form. Might does
not make right of itself, and power never
should give IMMUNITY to wrong. Ihe
speaker said that the war, rs well as a
common humanity and Christianity, has
decided and placed the decision iii the
constitution itself, that the black race
do have rights that the white race are
bound to- respect" and that freedom
| 'shall be the oirthright of the African !,
Just as truly as it i. that of the Anglo
Saxon, or the Celt race" The speaker
said that up to the confusion of tongues,
about the year of the world 1862, accord
ing to the Septuagint, or from four to five
centuries after the deluge, there was a
common country, language, race and color
But when miraculously that great event
was brought about, that resulted in the
dispersions of the postdiluvians over the
earth, then the result was, that by natu-
raj and supernatural influences, com
mencing at that memorable epoch when
God confounded the language, of the
building of Babel, new and most extra
ordinary change did take place, for the
wise end of peopling the earth, and intro
ducing race peculiarities so marked as to
create civilization as distinct as the diff
| ferences existed of tongue, color and
country. And it is worthy of netiee that
| these race peculiarities can, to a great ex-
tent, be dated to that early age of the
earth when Nimrod called the mighty
hunter) attempted to draw the worship OF
the people away from the trnc God.
While we remember that the unity of the
human race is evident from a common
parentage, it is also with equal clearness
made known to us the diversity of tie
human race. And that this is as marked
an interposition Of Almighty power as that
which once created the first family In
touching upon the subject of amalgama-
ton, the speaker defined it to be synony-
nous with deterioration, and further
claimed that, at the present time, race
distinctions can exist without a war OF
determination, even when a superior race
has trodden down an inferior race, and
cited, as an instance, the oppression of the
Greeks by the Turks ;-and the Jews
scattered over the world have not lost
their race traits, or become 30 blended
with other nations as to destroy their
wide individuality
And it cannot be denyed that the
African race, (which, since 1776, has in.
creased from half million to four millions,
has not improved, and do not show 3
i 0F0at ndVnMNa IN nsw$l;~sk;n,,