Year: 1874

The Rev. DR.. HartzeIl on Caste.


The Rev. J. c. Har:zel!. of New Orleans.
editor OF the Southwestern Christian Adco-
cate OF that city. preached q sermon yester-
day evening at the First Methodist Church,
having for his subject the condition of at
fairs m the South. The preacher. having
been introduced by the Rev. Mr. Thomas,
announced as his text the first verse of the
fourth chapter Of Hosea:


The Lord had controversy with tie inhabitants
OF the land.


In opening. the preacher said that God
mad 20 do with nations as well as with in.
d!v!dual mar. It wa. feature OF the Cos.
pei to point out and suggest remedies tor
national as well as individual sins. It was
not the duty OF minister 70 engage in pol
itics; at the same time ne should not hesi-
tate to poln: out the origin ami possible
consequences and means Of coLquering
SIN nationa! in It's magnitude. In speaking
o. the South. he could do sc not as poll
tician or citizen, bu. as minister. He
saw IN the troubles of the South something
more than mere political issues, and 1t was
plaln to him that in this matter the Lord
had a controversy with the American peo-
pie. It seemed to him that He had had
special controversy with the whole nation
SHINE the beginning on account of slavery.


Inc speaker drew brlet history of the
commencement. progress and end of Ameri-
can slavery. from the time that Columbus
enslaved the Indians down to the act of
emancipation. dwelling with especial force
upon the excision of the eleven colonies un-
der the pressure Of Georgia and South
Carolina of the clause condemnatory of
slavery. He urged that upon this pivotal
act turned the destiny of the nation. In
listening to the dictates of these two colo.
MES the eleven showed how great towards
men may become in the face of an over.
bearing adversary. II the trainers of the
constitution could have looked forward into
the future and seen the work of the curse
of slavery. ending as it did in the horrors
OF civil war. they could never have allowed
the excision Of that clause. From the time
OF the Constitutional Convention there was
NO doubt hopes were entertained that
slavery would be short lived. In this, az in
every other case, sin proved that it only
wanted to get a foothold to insure it's long
live.


But slavery was now gone. Sins, like
virtues. never wen. alone, but begat other
sins. The sin oegotten by slavery was
caste. What stamped the dislike in America
to the negro was nothing other than.& The
credence still! granted to the misrepresenta-
tons OF the race invented by the slavehold-
ers as a means OF ensuring its endowment.
y
political one. so. also, was that of caste. 1t
was sin, because of one blood God created
all nations, and when we sighted the black
man we insulted God.


It tostered that domineering crime which
made devils of angels long before the crea-
ton OF man. IL was constant assertion
that slavery was right because if the ne
gro was not able to take care OF himself,
slavery was his tit condition. The preacher
called the attention of the audience to
three facts: First that the South thought
that the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments to the constitution were ab-
surdities; second. that there was a time
when severa. non slavery States did not be-
iieve in them: third, that if the three
amendments were brought before the ma
tiOnal body to-day, the fourteenth and tif-
teenth might receive Its Endorsement, but
the thirteenth would hardly pass.


The special controversy of the Lord with
the American people OF to-day was caste
just as in 1854 it was slavery. 1t would be
remembered that in that year all the slave
holders asked for slavery was that it should
oe let alone. Just so in 1874 the nation
asked that cast be let alone. The question
of the casting out or cher!shing OF the sin of
caste was before the people to day. People
said that it was small matter whether a





street cars. or to political position. but the
question had deeper meaning.


There was 10 question that the South was
putting on it's Old habits of vengeance. This
talk OF a war OF races was a myth. The
talk OF the negroes arising was mere tabri-
cation. The negroes were anything but
bloodthirsty people. They hardly knew
what hatred was. On the other hand the
recent utterances Of jefferson Davis and
others showed that the South still held
tenaciOusiy to the idea that the natural
relations Of the white and the negro were
master and slave, and that the freedom of
the latter was the result of the war rather
than an act of common justice. The pres
ent condition of the negro down South was
a proof of his ability to succeed. 1t looked
in the South as if in ten years the country
would be ahead Of what it ever was before.


The speaker stated that men and women
who went South, and were not imbued with
Southern ideas. were 0stracised. Every
thing showed that there was present in the
South the same spirit which in former time
led to acts OF cruelty and oppression to the
negro and his friends. And, as in former
times, the object was to secure the per.
petuity of slavery. So to-day the idea was
to bring the negro as nearly back to slavery
as possible. When the South said that it
wanted white men in its Legislatures it
meant men who were hostile to the United
States Even the religious papers were
imbued with the same sentiments.


The speaker did not 90 into the question
Of the Louisiana election Of 1872, but re-
ferred 20 the recent troubles in Louisiana
as the fault of the old rebel population of
the State. 1t had been said that the South
has been oppressed. This sentiment has
been very common in the North. He would
tell the audience that there never had been
such piece Of magnanimity as that dis
played by the United States to the South
since the end of the rebellion. All they
asked the vanquisheG States to do was to
reconstruct themselves on the basis of per-
sonal freedom. This they refused to do,
because they could not do it the way they
wanted. The speaker held that, if the men
Of the North said to those of the South that
the black man shouid be treated equally by
them, there would at once be an end of the
troubles which were marring the progress
and prospects of the country.
The next Presidential election would not
be settled on q question Of finance, or any
other than the passage of the civil rights
bill. The immediate duty Of the nation to
the South was the defense of the rights of
the poorest of the poor, even though he
were the blackest Of the black. Every one
should try to win away the South from
their folly-to win them away from their
sinful hatred of the black-and the best
way for them to do this was for them to
Danish caste from among themselves. The
speaker closed with brilliant description
of the beauties and natural advantages of
the South.-Chicayo Tribune.