Year: 1866

The Reciprocity Treaty.


lNEw YoRK, ,Februaryl7.-TheP Posts Wash
ington special says that the Committee on
Ways and Means has entirely failed to con-
clude an agreement with the Canadians in
relation to the Reciprocity Treaty. The
propositions submitted by the delegation
from Canada has been rejected, and counter
propositions from the Committee were re-
jected by the Canadians.


Interview with the President.


WASHINGTON, February IA delegation
consisting of representatives of the colored
people of various States called this morning
at the Executive Mansion and had an inter-
view with the President for the purpose of
expressing their views on the questions now
being considered touching upon their
general interest and of ascertaining the
ideas of the President in the same connec-
ton. George T. Downing, representative
for six New England States, first addressed
the President stating the benefit which
would aerue from the conferring of rights
and privileges of the citizens of the United
States upon the colored people. He asked
for the right of suffrage not only in this
District but throughout the land. Fred.
Douglass next spoke and said they were not
here to enlighten the President as to his
duty, but to show respect and to present in
brief the condition of the colored race The
amendment abolishing slavery he desired
should be enforced. He said the colored
race were subject to government, to taxa
ton, to draft, and to bear the burdens Of
State and they desired to be endowed with
the right of exercising some of the privi-
leges Of the citizens of the Government.


The President replied that he would make
no speech, the best way was to talk plainly
and distinctly. If he had not given evil
dence in his past course of his friendship
for the colored race, there was nothing
now he could do to that end. He had said
and he repeated it here, that if the colored
man could find no Moses to lead him out of
bondage he would be that Moses and lead
them to the land of promise and liberty,
but he was not willing under circumstances
to adopt policy which would lead to she'd
ding of their blood and sacrifice their lives.
He believed if the policy, which some are
persisting in at present, was carried out it
would result in great danger to the colored
man. He said: Suppose colored men
now in the South could by magic word be
enfranchised tomorrow. What good would
result to him then? He expressed the
grounds on which he was opposed to slave
ry, and said it had now been abolished and
national guarantee given in regard to it
that could not be revoked. He stated evil
results which would accrue by forcing
principle of the exteI sion of suffrage upon
people of either this District or those States
in opposition to an expressed will of a ma
jority.


say that if have not given evidence
that am friend of humanity and especial
ly the friend of the colered man in my past
conduct, there is nothing that can do that
| would repeat. All that possessed, life,
liberty and property, have been put in con-
nection with tnat question, whenI had
every inducement held out to take the other
course, by adopting which, l would have
accomplished, perhaps, all that the most
ambitious might have desired. If ! know
myself and the feelings of my own heart,
they have been for the colored man. I have
owned slaves, and bought slaves, but never,
never sold one. ! might say, however,
that practically, so far as my connection
with slaves has gone, | have been their
slave instead of their being mine. Some
have even followed me here.While others are
receiving and enjoying my property with
my consent. For the colored race my
means, my time, my all have been periled,
and now at this late day, after giving evil
denee that it is tangible, that it is practical,
/ am free to say, that do not like to be ar
raigned by some who can get up handsome
ly rounded periods, and deal in rhetoric, and
talk about abstract ideas of liberty, who
never perilled life, liberty or property.
This kind of theoretical hollow friendship
amounts to very little, while say that
am friend to the colored race. do not
want to adopt policy that will end in q
contest between the races, which if persist
ed in will result in the determination Of one
or the other, God forbid that should be en-
gagged in such work now. '4S-