The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1870-06-10

while I stand here in the far South,
far away from the scenes Of my
childhood, and surrounded by one
that is strange in itscharacter; stand
ing in the presence of that flag re
deemed by struggles such as no men
have endured before; standing in its
presence to-day; standing here as Il
Northern man; standing here with q
heart that beats for all this nation, I
am prepared 70 shake hands with ray
heart OF hearts with every man in
this republic that can uncover his
head and make bare his heart, and
shake hands under that aag,and rec
ognize its authority, and promise
to make obedience to its laws the
rule of his life Applause. Istand
here to-day, also, and say, and |
want it recorded, that, having passed
with these men who marched under
that banner through four long years
of war; having spent days in prison
waiting for the order Of execution; /;
having witnessed the heroic daring
of the men who fought under our
flag; surrounded by men with whom
I prayed; surrounded by men to
whom administered the sacred sac
rament-having witnessed all this,
and remembering the record OF those
four long dreary years Of war, the
man in the Republic who has heart
that is not IN keeping with the spirit
of the flag of our country, let his
voice be silent and let him be no
more heard. 1 have no use for him.
I have nc sympathy for him. There
is nothing in my heart that beats in
unison with his.-May God forgive
his heart.
may be charged with coming
here to proclaim our victory and to
fling my sentiments and opinions in
the face of our Southern brethren.
l come here for no such purpose.
/ stand beneath the flag of our eoun-
try here to-day ready to embrace in
open communion and fellowship ev-
eryman in the Southern land who will
pledge himself to honor that flag and
to be loyal to the government and
the country over which it floats.
When | utter this sentiment ! utter
the sentiments of thirty million OF
freeman. The sentiments that / ut
ter here are outside Of my manu-
script. said to my friends when !
left nv home that | would venture
to say nothing down here in Georgia
that was not contained in my manU-
script. But when l come here and
stand in the presence Of the men
who suffered and died, and whose
graves are around us on every side,
/ am constra ned to utter the senG-
ments that burn in my heart, senti-
ments that ] am sure are but the
echo of every loyal heart in the land.
And how, my colored friends, let
me say a word to you. thank you
in the name of these brave hearts
that when some were trying to es-
cape from these dreadful prison walls
YOU gave them bread and succor.
+ Applause. Their way was dark,
their chance almost hopeless, yet
you were their friends, and piloted
them through. l want to say to you
that while all is not as bright with
YOU as we could wish, though the
dav seem dark and the light afar of,
vet God will undertake to pilot you
through the wilderness. We are
bound for Canaan. Applause. And
we are not bound alone; The Lord
is with us, and the promised land is
right before us. Do your duty. Be
diIigent. Not only learn to read
and write, but learn to read your
Bible and the history of the country
and stand up and be men. You are
enfranchised. The shackles are off,
and we stand here to-day in this
grand and glorious presence, freemen
one and all.
Governor, am proud OF your
constituency. 1t is a glorious one.
Colored men, l ask you to be true
to your noble record of the past. /
thank you for your loyalty and de-
votion during the struggle. God
bless the loyal men of Georgia.
come to you to-day from the
North, and say that the North and
the South and the East and the West
will gather about this glorious ban
ner. And when the final reveille
shall break up the bivouac Of the
dead, may we all have the counter
sign and pass the sentinel and enter
the city of the living God Applause
The forcible and earnest eloquence
of the speaker aroused the feelings
and the enthusiasm Of his hearers,
and his remarks were interrupted by
frequent and continued expressions
of app obation, after which the audi
ence Joined in singing the "Star
Spangled Banner" accompanied by
tho hand.