New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-05-15
THE COLORED RACE
Their Past and Present Condition, and Fu-
tare Prospects in the United States.
SPEECH OF HON. C. c. PACKARD

publican Club, held at their hall on Monda,
evening last, the ninth instant. the follow
ing able address was delivered by the Hon
C. C. Packard, State Senator from Algier
and PlaqGemines.
At the conclusion of the speech, whicl
was frequently interrupted by loud and con
tinued applause, a vote of thanks was ten
dered to the speaker. The address was a
follows:
desire to congratulate you tonight upol
the great and the final triumph OF equait
and liberty OF the people over aristocrac.
and despotism. To-day the true principle
of American liberty. as desired by the sign
ers of the immortal Declaration of indie
pendence, are the cardinal provisions OF GU
national constitution.
Almost one hundred years ago, the repre-
sentatiyes Of the then feeble American col
onies, with courage that had never befor,
been surpassed. puG their signatures to ;
, declaration OF what they then believed to bt
the rights OF the American people. This Ii
q portluu OF the language of the declaration
ave hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain in
alenab!e rights; that among these are life,
liberty ana the pursuit of happiness; that
to secure these rights governments are Ill
stituted, deriving their just powers from the
consent Of the governed" The language is,
"that all men are created equal,n and en-
dowed Dy their Creator with certain rights
that are inalienabe, which means those
rights that our Creator hath endowed
MS with, and which man can not de-
prive us of, Except as a punish
mentI for crime), and among those rights
are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;
and to secure these ri hts governments are
instituted deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed. Now, how
can the consent of the governed be obtained
without first comforting upon all, who were
created equal, the right Of manhood suffrage?
This great right had never been secured
throughout the Union until the faal rati-
fication Ut the fifteenth a. ticle of the consti-
tutional amendment, and that amendment
is but the final completion of what the
trainers of the immortal Declaration of In
dependence intended on the fourth of July,
1776. The language of the fifteenth amend
ment is that 1.-THE right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of race, color orprevious
condition of servitude." 1t will be seen
that, in order to obtain the consent of the
governed, the right of the governed to vote
must be forever secured. Is it possible to
have a government deriving its powers
from ihe consent of the governed with
out first comforting upon the people gov
erned the right to vote? Until such
right had been conferred and secured
the words republican government" would
have been q misnOmer, and our boast of
the immortal Declaration of Independence
would have been but mockery; ana the pur-
poses Of our fathers, the signers of that
declaration, whose names are inscribed
upon the book OF time SO indelibly as never
to be etfaced by the waves of unending ages
yet to roll by, would have been most
treacherous!y dlsregarded. It was for the
maintenance of these great fundamental
truths that the early champions OF liberty
dared to grid on the habiliments OF war
and march forth against the superior forces
of England under. the reiga OF George III.
Although the defense was most nobiy and
manfully maintained for over six years by
our fathers. yet the full purposes of that in
spired declaration have not been permitted
to have their full force and effect till the
present year of 1S70-not from the lack of
effort OF the signers-never should there be
jewel plucked from the diadems that have
set or ever will set upon their broWs.
Had no, the declaration been uttered,
and had it not been recognized as the
cornerstone of this gseat American
republic; and had it not been set like a rock
in mld-oceen, it would have long ago washed
away by the mountain waves of sordid ava
rice, that have dashed its sides with tempes-
tuous fury for almost century; and to-day
we should have had no fixed ana unalterable
standard. coming down from our fathers by
which to judge the true qualities of justice
and equal rights, which should exist in all
republics. The declaration" has been shed.
ding forth its glorious rays of equality and
freedom, and although for almost one hun
dred years the dark clouds of bondage were
growing thicker and thicker over the colored
race of this country, and thereby shutting
out those rays; yet, like the rays of that
great source OF light, the sun, they were sure
to be felt throughout the land, as soon as
The winds of justice had waited away the
clouds that for time INTERVIEWED. To-day,
The true sunshine of freedom, equality
aud justice fail upon the people of
Dur glorious Union, all alike and |
with the respondent "bow OF prom |
lse" DER arching the entire land, stretch |
ing from ocean to ocean. known as the |
fifteenth amendment" can we not rest as |
5ured that most glorious future is reach |
ing out its strong arms to elevate. and its |
generous means to enlighten race that has |
Ong been bound down under the dark |
clouds Of ignorance an6bondage? Can we |
not hope even that before many generations
'hall have passed, to find the African race
u this country standing along side of any
,ther race in the world, in advancement in
he arts and sciences, in intelligence and |
literature? 1t only depends upon their own
,xertions. These most glorious attain
nents are now within their grasp. The
lation has protfered the great bond of free
lOm and equality, sealed by the blood of its
,atriots, in which the nation is bound to |
ender to the black race the same rights as
o the white. The black race is only re-
Iuired "to seek and they shall find" "knock
nd it shall be opened unto them"
Had these great rights been secured in
he original draft of the Federal constitu-
ion, as the signers of the declaration in
ended, then what national calamites
you'd have been saved? at what stage of
would the progress of our com
ION country have reached at this time? |
tut, alas! the temper of certain few of
be thirteen original States were such as to
revent the adoption OF what is known to
e the great Introduction clause" offered
Y that great and Illustrated patriot,
homas Jefferson, in his great plan for the
overnment of what was then known to be
re Western territoryt and which comprised
hat is now known to be the old slave
tates of the South mostly. The old rules
the confederation requiring the vote of a
laj ority of all tle States to sustain pro-
osition caused this proposition to fail by
ne State being divided, one State not vot-
lg, and three States voting against, thus
reventing the Introduction of slavery in all
lis territory after the year 1900.
Had this great provision been adopted. as
X out of eleven Of the States desired, then
avery would have received its death blow
venty years ago; but it so happened, one
Ii Whitney, III seventeen hundred and
nety.two, attempted, and afterward sue
eded, in inventing the machine known as
e "cotton gin." while he was sojourning
the State of Georgia. After this inven-
On the growing of cotton became very
'oftable, which had tendency to clinch