Year: 1866

vote by NONRESIDENT party of extreme
| opinions would be disastrous.


In white communities where the number
| Of free persons Of African descent is COM


paratively very small, and very superior TO
! the average Of their race il is not surprising,
| though it is lar from general, that they
should be invested with this great privilege,


now demanded for all Of them, everywhere.


Nor, if any State sees fit of its own accord


to offer this inducement to the settlement of


the black race in its bodies, can anything be
said against It's legal right to do so. That


any State, left to itself, will ever bestow suf-


frage on mass Of slaves Of different race,


suddenly set free by paramount authority,
and nearly equal IN number to the best Of
It's inhabitants, is an event that will hardly


be witnessed IN this world. That in any
State where slavery never existed, or where
it has long ceased to exist, white race, both
cultivated and predominant, will ever give
suffrage of its own accord TO a black race
resident with il, equal to itself in number,
and greatly ben sath il in civilization, is an
event contrary TO the common judgment Of
mankind, and wholly improbable in itself
Nor, if the relative position Of the parties
was exactly reversed, would the result be
different; because the instincts Of mankind
are more permanent by far than the caprices
of enthusiasm, and wiser by far than the ex-
treme conclusions Of delusive theories or of
party spirit. Secured in the great gift of
freedom, protected in the great rights of per-
son and the rights Of property, four millions
Of slaves will have received-if God con-
tinues TO smile on our endeayors-an install
ment Of blessings infinitely rich. Let these
blessings be enjoyed and approved, not
wasted and risled in the agitation of de-
mands which have no foundation in reason,
in experience, or in public necessity, and
which are attended with many perils, and
no hope Of true Success.


There are as / have said before, consid-
erations founded upon the universal loyalty
of this unfortunate race, and their uniform
kindness to our people when in trouble and
danger during the war, which, added to their
helplessness, appeal to the American people
most powerfully in their behalf. And GER
tainly there has been no shOrtcoming, on the
part Of the people or the public authorities
in attempting all that seemed to promise
them advantage, with how much wisdom
and success in most instances, or with how
much TO be deI lored, cShdemned, or even
punished in others, | shall not now inquire.
The great danger Of this people is, that they
will gradually waste away in the struggle
they have now 10 make in competition with
the stronger race for the means of existence;
a danger in the face of which exorbitant
and unprecedented claims in their behalf
are as melancholy as they are preposterous.
There are, however, alleviations of this dam
ger, possibly effsctual securities against it.
The most obvious one is to secure for them
the sympathy and compassion of the strong
er race, especially in the region where most
Of them dwell. Another is their proper ed
ucation, not for a futile econtest for equal par
ticipation with the white race in the ulti-
mate sovereignty, but for securing the means
of comfortable existence and acquiring the
habits advantages, and virtues of a free,
well ordered, ard steadily advancing civili-
zation. IT, by any means, the whole black
race could be thinly distributed over the
United States, in the ratio of its whole ag-
gregate to that Of the white race-that is,
about one black TO seven or eight whites-a
third alienation Of the most threatening diff
iculty might be considered well and secur-
ed, wherefore anything tending in that di-
rection is important.


On the other hand, if these two races
could be separated territorially from each
other, and each be enabled to develop itself
freely, without disturbance from the pres
sure Of the other, solution the most be-
neficent of all would be obtained. In this
light, as well as many others, the American
colonies of free blacks on the west coast of
Africa deserve to be ranked among the high
est enterprises of modern times And |
may be allowed, on this occasion, to reiter-
ate what / have taught so long-that
powerful and civilized State within the
topics has been the one crying ne
cessity of the human race from the
dawn of history; and that for us, and
for the black race, the creation of such a
State from the american descendants Of that
race is the highest form in which that great
necessity can he supplied. Out of these
various suggestions, looking in all direc-
tions, we may hopefully conclude that the
difficulties Of the case will not be found TO
exceed its resources, if we will address our
selves to whatever duties lie before us, with
candor, and patience, and wisdom, and zeal,
trusting in God. The oldest living oppo-
nents Of the terrible system Of hereditary
slavery, which once prevailed everywhere
amongst us, after their best hopes had been
often defeated, and the system of slavery
had been app5 rently established without
present remedy over so many States, have at
last, from an unexpected quarter and in an
unexpected way, seen its sudden and total
overthrow, and now rejoice in the hope of
its early and complete legal extinction.
Confusion, disorder, and misery must not
be the final result Of this sublime retribu-
ton. Extravaganza, anarchy, and violence
cannot be the method by which its blessings


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