National Republican., 1888-06-01
LINCOLN REMEMBERED.
Address of Hon. John II. Smyth at the
Decoration Ceremonies,

Decoration ceremonies
At the decoration ceremonies at the Lin
coin statue last Wednesday afternoon in
honor uf Abraham Lincoln the following
address was delivered by Hon. John IL,
Smyth, oX-miuister resident and consul gen
cral to Liberia;
LADIES ASp GENTLEMEN. Yuu1uvc extcndol
me the invitation TO he present with You on
this Decoration day for the purpose of making
you an address. This high consideration Is
nprrCciatcd, although since my acceptance
more ;hun once have been prompted to de.
cline the honor for the reason that ! needed
more time than could spare to prepare suit.
able uttoranccs for such Il day as this and at
Ilc base of such group as you here beh9ld.
lut my declinatiun might have had the effect
ui giving TO some the impression that was
wanting in gratitude for services rendered my
race by Lincoln. the central figure, or on a.
count uf an absence of the sentiment of loyalty
to my race typdcl Ivy the figure at the base
by the iCoo,uCO whose hearts are to-day loyal
to am ungrateiu nation for the liteo which
their brothers and fathers yielded their own,
For these reasons, though unproparel,
deemed II my duty TO stand IN this presence,
and to thank you for this display of race dc
Nutiun
A. work Of art, nest to the rccumbont
figure of the dying TcculnsCh, this group Is,
perhaps. more instinct with the genius of the
true artist triumphant than any other In the
city.
liz this opinion am not the sole shnrer.
| the merits and dement's IF sculpture, claim
| for this group the first place as Il piece of
| high art. The monument was made ana
placed here for the purpo;SIe of recalling to the
minds of observers the life and character OF
| "a man, take him for all IN all" who stands
second alone to George Washington, ana IN
| the forefront with the first bcncfactors OF the
| human race Of this or any other age of the
| history of civilization.
Throughout the north and east and west
| this day language Of richest p'.i most schol-
Ia h,'Y nt In
| merits of Abraham Lincoln, the ircnt OF the
| uninni The friend Of the oppressed negro.
/ II Is said of WilhCrforcC that he asccnded to
| heaven bearing the broken fctters of S000)Q
| slaves, and II may be said of Abraham Lin
| coin that he carried to heaven with hin the
| broken shacklcs of 500O,OO liberated men,
| women, and children.
| But had the learning of a philosopher, the
| eloqucncc of Henry Clay or Samuel Rlngold
| Ward could | throw around you spell by
| the use of periods such as n Webster alone
| was master of, ! should not attempt to say
| anything more In eulogy of the first Of Ameri.
| can statesmen and philanthropists and Re
| publicans. The figure beside Lincoln of the
| negro grateful is Of more concern TO us now
| than that of Lincoln himself.
To-day we stand at a distance IN time of
| twenty.tmee years from the close OF the iratr-
| cidal war. And yet notwithstanding the
loyal and heroic relation the negro bore to
| that struggle, the influence of which has cX.
tended all over the civilized world, we, the
survivors Of our brothers IN arms, are, as to
1
rights, civil liberty, in a worse condition In
the United states, than the allen white man
and woman who landed yesterday at Castle
| Garden, New York.
To-day our memories are fresh with rccol.
| lection of the great religious assemblies that
met Il few days ago and adjourned without
| completing the work for which they were con.
| vOkcd, because they were as IA majority too
| Goddess, too unchristian to recognize the
| Christian brotherhood of the race of mcn--a
| portion of whom, 1s6,00O assisted In making
| q
| states probability by their loyalty, sacrifice,
and courage upon the fiel1 of bloody fraternal
| strife.
A week ago the sun refused to shine upon
| the largest and perhaps most august assem-
| blage of prelates and laymen surrounding the
| prince of the church, who laid the cornerstone
| of university so catholic that the seekers Of
| knowledge of every creed under the sun will
| be invited TO and welcomed within its classic
precincts, but within its confines no space
| exists for the negro.
| A few weeks ago the women of America,
the white women assembled within sight Of
| capitol, In national convention, and invited
from India to participate with them to discuss
| the grievances of their SEX but the sister in
black was absent, her wrongs We're not CON
| sidercd nor voiced.
| have no apology to make for these refer
| ences. The heroic Union dead with II leader.
ship of Lincoln, Grant, Loveloy, stevens. and
sumner, are buried-their Christian, work is
ended and loving and loyal hearts hold their
| memories dear and weave garlands, which
they place upon their grave to-day-but If the
cause for which they all heroically wrought,
| the preservation of the Union and the com.
plete emancipation of the negro, Is to fail,
then their lives and their deaths are failures
The dead cannot know, and If they know,
cannot right the wrongs, the injustces under
which 100000 men and women, as much
American as any other in this broad land, suf-
fer at this moment.
| rishmen claim that they are wrongcd in tho
denial 20 Ireland of self government, "homa
rule" by the government of the most Chris.
tian sovereign lady in the world, and United
diplomatic etiquette and the comfy that
| should subsist between sovereign states as &c
interfere in British affairs to the extent of ut
terng words of eensure ,; OF the consseryatiyt
because lrlshmen come here to "clank theii
| chains
Unoflending men and pure women are mur
| dcred and outraged throughout the south il, and
| the courts, local and United States, take ne
cognizance OF the matter, and Congress fail
to find time TO make Investigation of outrage'
| against negroes, and the President has nc
constitutional authority to protect life, lib
erty, and the property of the blacks.
| While we remember the heroism of the mar
| tyred dead let the active sentiment of charity
be extended the living. Religion, law, and
politics should be ccaseless In efforts to banisl
brutality and fraud from the cabin of th'
negro in the south, should insist that either
rights are accorded the survivors of the Negro
defenders.
We deceive ourselves If we can heartily
enter into the indiscriminate decoration o
the graves of white as well as black soldiers
when the survivors of the former are
Indifferent 10 the tagrant and inexcusablt
Injustice that attaches to the ermine of tn,
highest judicial body in the land, which
blackens all the lesser courts of the nation
when the rights of the negro are In question
Women, of the race, you are here to-day e
perform the pleasing and sacred duty of, Civ
recollection you cherish for brothers ant
fathers who fought the battle bravely,
who gave their spirits out" that all who veal
should he free in this land, who gave theil
lives that your chastity under the law shoult
be as sacred and inviolate as that of womel
| of another race.
God bless the sentiment which animate
YOU and God condemn, reprobate, and punsl
that other sentiment which treats you as In
| feriors IN virtues, and which withlods from
you and yours the rights and lmmunitles freel,
accorded others.
We, your fathers, brothers, and lovers, hay,
entered every avenue we have been permitted
to entor-mech echanicQl, industrial, professional
martial, and religious-occupied by whit,
men, and have borne ourselves not unworth
iy aIld yoq yourselves haze from the tSo sqrrS9 @
you have had us ,nobly and as well as tn
white women of this nation, and the men. o
the race esteem, honor, and loyc You for .wha
you have done and the promise you give o
your future; and at the base of this mOnu
ment, which represents the libcrator and tn
liberated, and there over the graves of on
dead heroes, we pledge you our lives and hon
ors TO protect and defend you TO the end o
life by every effort which wemay legtimatol
put forth as freemen TO that end.
For our dead we can neither do anything no
say anything which can add to or detract from
the mpGrislablC halo of heroic light whicl
surrounds and wreaths their sacred memories
ilut for the living, for ourselves, by our
selves much may he done to amcliorate ou
condition. BE true and loyal to the cause o
the race, our sclfrespcct imposes this duty
God enlolns y upon us as = race, Just Is W.
show true allegiance to- Him in working ol
our individual lines.
We can by our manly and womanly charac
ter, by earnest endeaNur, by patient endur
ance, by unshaken fidelity 20 one another, b.
true allegiance IN the future rs in the past. Il