--The New York
Times gives the following report of a lecture on the war by the notorious
Fred. Douglas:
Mr. Douglass, in commencing, said that at the time he proposed to speak, the victories of
Fort Henry and
Roanoke Island had not been fought, and even those victories had not removed the somewhat sombre view which he took of the war. This war had developed our patience.
[Laughter.] He was not here to find fault with the
Government; that was dangerous.
[Laughter.] Such as it was, it was our only bulwark, and he was for standing by the
Government.
[Applause.] He would not find fault with
Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, or Big Bethel, but he meant to call attention to the uncertainty and vacillation and hesitation in grappling with the great question of the war — Slavery.
The great question was, ‘"What shall be done with the slaves after they are emancipated?"’ He appeared as one who had studied Slavery on both sides of
Mason and
Dixon's line.
He considered himself an American citizen.
He was born on the most sacred part of the soil.
[Laughter and applause.] There was nothing in the behavior of the colored race in the
United States in this crisis, that should prevent him from being proud of being a colored citizen of the
United States.
[Applause.] They had traitors of all other nations in Fort Lafayette as cold as
Slone--[laughter]--but they had no black man charged with disloyalty during this war. Yet, black men were good enough to fight by the side of
Washington and
Jackson, and were not good enough to fight beside
McClellan and
Hallack.
[Laughter.] But, he would not complain — he only threw out these hints.
[Laughter.] The question was simply whether free institutions and liberty should stand or fall.
Any peace without emancipation would be a hollow peace.
Even that rhinoceros-hided place.
Washington had by a species of adumbration, come to realize this truth.
[Laughter.] What had slavery done forms, that it had any claim upon us that we should spare it?
Tens of thousands of American citizens were now taking their first lessons in anti-slavery.
He held up in a indecorous vein the tenderness of many who, like the New York
Herald, would hang a rebel and confiscate all his property — except his slaves.
Slavery had kept our army quiet for seven months, and displaced good and loyal men by incompetent and disloyal ones.
The question was. What shall be done with the 4,000,000 slaves if emancipated?
We might ask what shall be done with the 350,000 slaveholders?
His plan was, after the slaves were emancipated to let them alone, do nothing with them.
[Laughter.] Let them take care of themselves as others do. [Applause.] The other day a man approached him, evidently taking him for an Indian, and the following seems took places:
Stranger —
Halles, come from way back, oh?
Fred stood quiet, and looked as much like an Indian as he could.
Stranger — Come from way back?
Indian, oh?
Fred — Not nigger.
The stranger fell back as if he had been shot.
[Laughter.]
