The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-01-25
ADDRESS BEFORE THE Y. M. c. A.

| TIE MURAL AND lNIIllLECIUAL CULIUlsE
OF THE NEGRO-A STERLING ADDRESS
BY GEN. JOHNSTON, OF AIABAMA-REs-
oLUTIoNs-ETC
The large Lecture Room OF tile First Pres
byterian Church was well filled on last Fri
day night. with an apprecative audience,
drawn tlither to hear the address of Gen. G..
d. Johnston, of Alabama, on the Moral
and Intellectual Development of the Colored
Race" After singing and all earnest pray
err by Rev. VIM. E. Baker, Capt. r. D..
Ransom briefly and in complimentary terms
introduced the speaker.
Gen. Johnston is a man perhaps thirty
five years OF aGe-tall. straight and athletic,
OF commanding appearance and military
bearing. His voice is rich and resonant, his
gestures frequent and Notwithstanding
the easy grace of Il cultured gentleman with
the firm distinctness Of an accomplished ora
tor. lie speaks deliberately and emphatical.
ly, and claims the closest attention OF the
listener from the commencement to the con-
clusion OF his remarks. There is an earnest
ness and raight-forwardness about him that
impresses an audience at once, and inspires
respect for the man and confidence in all
he may say. His subject on this occasion
was very delicate one to deal with be-
fore Southern people, but he approached it
with the fearlessness OF one who has faith
in the cause he advocates, and an abiding
confidence in its ultimate triumph. There
was nc phase of it which he did not face bold
ly, aggressively, and it, in pursuit of the truth,
! he touched the sensibilities of many, they
| must have been candid enough to acknowl-
edge the business of his words.
He commenced his address by saying that
it was mete and proper that the great work
Of developing the moral and intellectual fac
'hlries of the negro should begin in Virginia
"a State lovedand revered all over the land.
1t had commenced in Virginia. The mem.
bers of the State Convention of the Y. NJ.
c. A., which met last week in Petersburg, had
passed resolutions pledging themselves to
the work. whilst in Richmond resolutions
even more pronounced had been unanimous
~ adopted, and grand effort is being made
to carry out. In spirit and In truth, their pur-
pose.
The speaker said that nothing could have
induced him to enter upon such field had
he not thought it had been providentially in
Heated to him that he should-had not the
solemn conviction been forced upon him that
it was Gods desire. The work was one Of
grand and overshadowing proportions, it
appealed as Christian duty to all. 1t was
question which challenged the profoundest at
i.enltion Of the people of the South, but it was
i responsibility which they had not properly
cousidered-an obligation which they would
willingly, aye, gladly throw off. He, him.
self, had us many prejudiccs to overcome as
any one ever dared to have, and he knew also
that in many Instances the overtures that
had been made had been rebuffed, but still
the subject stares us in the face rs q solemn
tact which cannot be ignored. Every inter-
est OF the white race in the South is indisso
Iubiy interviewer with the moral and intel
lectual culture Of the negro. As a problem
of political, social and industrial economy,
not and must not be disregarded Here are
4.000,0 900 human beings, constituting nearly
one-third OF our population; endo wed with
full legal citizenship, composing our labor,
associated intimately in our families in the
capacity of servants, and having, in many
cases, the care and custody of our children, and
yet they are growing up in 4 moral wilderness.
1t is criminal in the people of the South to
ignore the responsibility which must attach to
them. They have not ignored it altogether.
They have endeavored, in many instances, to
raise the colored race, but have been too Of
ten thwarted by agencies which it would
be unbecoming to mention.
As strong as this argument is, said he, 1t is
from no such standpoint that address you
tonight. 1t is as question of Christian duty
sublime, self-sacriffcing, sacred duty-duty to
the black race, duty to yourself as Christian.
duty to your God. No one can deny the
claim Of the negro on the white race
They were our faithful servants; they built
up the fortunes OF the South. They were
faithful to us during the dark days of the
war. know, and you know how they act
cd, and it was the universal opiaion that no
population OH the face OF the earth could
lave been truer to us than were they. AS a
&C e they are far below the Caucasian. God
msace them so. They are not responsible for
it, They cannot remedy it. They have been
true to you, and when we consider the in.
tluenc.'s IS. which in many instances, have been
brought to operate upon them, it is remark
able that they have been so fait hful. In my
own State, they are working hand in hand
with the white men, helping to uild up the
country They have souls which Christ died
to save. Some may sneer at the id, "a of theil
having souls. They have them just as much
as you. They have souls and are res p0nsible
| to God for their actions. With souls to lose
and souls to save, dependent for salvation
upon the truth Of the gospel, it behoov IS you
who have been more blessed than they
to endeavor to inculcate the great ;es
sons taught by Christ There is no fol eigr
arm to intervene in their behalf, and if lyot
do not work for them they must 60 unle. arm
ed. Here in the South we have great ii ielt
before us. and the Master has said ego a nc
work to-day" Every year hundreds a Ut
thousands of dollars are sent to China, Jap ur
and the Isles of the Sea to spread the gosp Ell
1t is right, and God is blessing the work, bA
we must not neglect this race which lies d
our every threshold, and to whom the bealn
ties Of the Christian religion must be pointe 1
| out. was, said the speaker, born in the
South and reared there. Every throb of my
heart beats responsive to her interest, my
blood was shed for her, and my whole life is
bound up in her welfare. claim right,
therefore. to speak plainly, and feel it my
duty to speak candidly. and though I say il
with regret, still must say it, the church Of
the South has not done it's duty to the color
ed race. 1t has been retarded in its work by
sectarian influences, but it should have gone
ON. 1t makes no difference what the Difficult.
ties or what the obstacles may be, If you car
ny forward the standard of God, He will re
ward you; but He will also hold you to 9
rigid accountability for any derelictions. Ir