The national leader., 1889-04-27

GO every HAL alike IL Is supreme law.
By this lucid exposition we at once
see the imperfect imitation of a con
stitutiOn that existed III the United
States prior to the rebellion. 1t was
never the expression or the creation of
the deliberate reason and will OF the
whole people, and, as the result proves,
for this impertection the nation was
plunged into War and Was almost torn
asnnder.
The American constitution was lie
in spirit and letter. How could it have
been otherwise when the hree depart
ments of the government were under
the control of the slave power for al
most three-quarters of a century? The
citizenship which is now enjoyed by the
negro should not be considered favor
or concession, but simply as an inalien-
able and legal right, which. through a
vlllainous conspiracy he was che,ted
out of. At no time in our history have
the words Of certain eminent writer
seemed more lifting and appropriate, in
which he says:
God, who made the liberation of the
negro The condition on which alone we
could succeed in this war, has now ii
His providence brought about POSI-
tion of things under which it would
seem that full recognition of that
negro's right as citizen becomes in
dispensable to stability of government
In peace.
While the negro is not ignorant of
these facts, the country cannot boast of
more loyal class in her population
than the negro who fully proves the
truth of r. d. Owens words, in which
he claims that
Experience among freedmen justifles
the conclusion that the African amo ng
us lacks no essential aptitude for civil
lization, yields willingly to It's re-
straints and enters with alacrity upon his
duties. His personal rights as freed
man once recognized in law and as
sured in practice there is little reason
to doubt that the negro will become a
useful member in the great Industrial
family of nations.
Instead of calmly submitting to gross
injustice and belittllng ostracism, 1
would advise the race to aeitate, agi-
tale, agitate. Speak out calmly and
dispasslonately in demanding your civil
as wei! as political rights. AS
CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC
you are in duty bound to take an in
teYest in all bis affairs, besides you
should be ever ready TO assist In all
works of moral, intellectual, Or sclen-
ti1c nature; you should guard against
doing anything that would be hin.
drance to the advancement and pros
perity of the community. | would
therefore eXhOrt you to study the his
tory of your country and make your
selves familiar with the working of the
complex machinery of the government,
both in state and nation.
If We turn to the
INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES OF THE
NEGRO,
what could have been expected of a
race, who, for over two centuries, were
taught to regard themselves the prop
erty of masters, like oxen and horses.
rather than responsible human beings,
deprived of the rights of protecting
their persons, denied the right of legal
marriage, their children taken from
them, animal pleasures and obscene
lndulgences encouraged and sometimes
forced upon them.
Thus trained, how could the negro
develop those higher qualities or traits
Of character, of moral integrity and
religious purity, so essential to the hap
piness and peace of mind of all good
citizens? He was not permitted TO
learn to read Gods holy word; his in
struction was of an oral kind and con-
sisted of imperfect and and in many
instances falsided tradition and heather
superstition. This was the sort of
instruction impaired by men who were
untitled In every respect both as to
morals and education, while the only
enjoyments allowed the negro were
eating and drinking and merrymaking
after their peculiar fashion of those
accursed days. 1t is no fault Of the
negro if he was and still is ignorant.
1t was the effect of conditions then
existing. In contrasting the percentage
of the illiteracy of the two races, 1t IS
but fair to consider their points of
departure respectively. The negro, for
generation OH generation, was doomed
to toll from early morn until dusky eve
on the cotton, tobacco, rice, and sugar
plantations, while on the other hand
the whites, during the same period,
enjoyed untrammeled liberty. unlimited
opportunity, the most approved and
perfectly equipped educational advan-
tages. contact and intercourse with
enlightened society. Yet, in spite of
this overwhelming disparity, we point
with pride to the remarkable mental
development of the race. Numberless
scholars maintaining their alma matters
in the republic of letters.
Since the conversion of the slave
pens into school houses. and the auc-
tion blocks into pulpits, the negro's
ability to master the three Rs has
hoop p,1puuoo+iopo hIv dom0nstra not