The New York herald., 1879-12-03
THE MEMORY OF JOHN BROWN.

CELEBRATION OF THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS ExEcUTIoN-NEGRo ORATORS on THE
PLATFORM.
meeting was held yesterday afternoon and even-
ing at the church of the Rev. Henry Highland et
in Twenty sixth street. Seventh avenue. in COM
memoration of the twentieth anniversary of the
death of John Brown. Among the gentlemen who
signed this call for the meeting many well
known workers in the old anti-slavery cause, and a
portrait of Ossawattome Brown wreathed with laurel
was placed conspicuously the platform. The
assemblage rather meagre and consisted OF prob
ably two hundred colored people and few whites.
The Rev. Mr.. Garnet presided. number of inter-
esting letters were read. among them one from Mr..
George T. Downing. the we'll known colored
and resiaurateur Of Washington. in which the prn-
ciple of martyrology that animated the assemblage
quantity but succintly set forth. After regret
ting his inability to be present and take part III the
proceedings. which virtually of canonization,
Mr.. Downing says:- Mss
i sSas ashes pss sa &
sympathy and II this is it is de-
b % a s ns Ss nspS
% % To s e % oH S and %
being taken to be exeeaod His spirit PRO
There was also a poem in similar vein by the
Rev. George W.. Bungay. of which the following
specimen stanzas-
Hail to the memory
OF brave ,s. old Captain Brown,i
Ho golden orowni
The scagold was the stair
G ood angels met him there.
An escort band Of love-
His body's in the ground,
Enlbatted heroes found
How liberty is sf'
The first speech of the evening made by Mr..
J. X. H. Wilcox. "This day twenty years ago." he
murderers die not that ho was murderer but be.
cause he had broken the forms of law that their
spirit might live. In the crowd who witnessed that
execution .nere was not one who had the nerve
or the courage to and say, Spare this
man because of the spirit which animates
mon swept up the Valley of the Shenandoah" Mr..
H. M. Powell. who was the editor Of the old A,.ti-
Slavery Staada'd followed. declaring that .'in form
slavery had been abolished in essence and spirit
it still exists 1t abolished merely as military
necessity" He spoke of tho Kansas exodus saying
frequent outrages which are committed in
the South. Though much has been achieved
there Is something yet to do, in proof of which
he referred to the fact that recently colored mon
were refused the right to see Edwin Booth act
movement in South Carolina in favor Of an educa-
tonal test for the exercise Of the suffrage. he said
of the colored people under the forms OF law, i'm
stead OF by Ku-Kluxism and violence. Mr. Powell
also referred to the of the effort naugurated
by Miss Kate Field for saving the Old John Brown
homestead. and this brought Mr. Sinclair Tousey to
his feet response.
The closing speech Of the evening was by N. Il.
Mitchell. of Mobile. Ala Mr.. Mitchells speech was
remarkable effort Of negro oratory, The dis
cussing overything, especially the principles of lib
erty in loud voice and from behind pair OF green
spectacles. The orator alluded to Abraham Lincoln
asr as o ss 'ps' eos s
his alleged quotations from from the former into
he began; but tried again and got the
quotation right. Sometimes when he dealt with
his subject in homely way he was almost eloquent.
nu
song of John Brown in their hearts. Whenever
oppression shows itself they git up and git. Tho
children OF Israel stad in Egypt till the Egyptians
would give them more straw, but at last when it
got too hard for them the good Lord came down and
said, Let my people CO." With this. rather
orator rung the Changes the phrase until the
tire assemblage convused with laughter. ''The
great trouble , with H. our people down south is. he
with the doctrine of forty acres and mule For
years" he said. 'they kept np and then he rung
the changes this phrase with oddty Of gesture
and intonation that was irresistible.
COMING MAN.
"The South is just where it in 1865" he said:
he colored population could still carry ever South.
State If they had protection. It has been long
time since the South polled the whole vote it pos
sesses; but there is . lamb among the wolves--tho
man who once rode a horse. the man who is to ba
the coming man-General U. s. Grant; and when he
comes will poll 1t again. Up here in the North
you can talk niceoh. nice; but go down South
and what will happen Go down SOUTH, ho
cried energetically aud then addressing Mr. Powell
he said. '.just you go down and you'll find
yourself bulldozed and Ku-Kluxed. When citizen
in South Carolina or Louisiana has the same
protection o citizen OF Massachusetts, then we
shall have republican government indeed. The
Congress visiting committees the speaker referred
to having gone down South and spied it out and
he said he thought that some of the bulldozers
drank champagne with republican Congressman, 30
that the statesmen old not get sober for three days
after they got back to Washington. In conclusion.
the orator remarked that in consequence Of his
speech he might get bulldozed himself when he weut
back to Alabama, and before returning thought
1t would be better to let the thing blow over little.