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VINDICATION OF THE POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRZ ^lON. 
 
 \ 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 r ' 
 
 OF KANSAS, 
 
 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 FEBRUARY 16, 1864, 
 
 ON THE SPECIAL ORDER, BEING SENATE BILL No. 45, 
 
 TO SET APART A PORTION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS 
 
 FOR THE USE OF PERSONS OF AFRICAN DESCENT. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 GIBSON BROTHERS, PRINTERS. 
 
 1864. 
 
1 
 
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 •OS- 
 
VINDICATION OF THE POLICY OP THE ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF KANSAS, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, February 16, 1864, 
 
 ON THE SPECIAL ORDER, BEING SENATE BILL NO. 45, 
 
 TO SET APART A PORTION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR THE USE OF PERSONS 
 
 OF AFRICAN DESCENT. 
 
 Mr. President : The present war of slavery against freedom, 
 first opened upon the plains of a State which I have the honor in 
 part to represent ; there the black flag of piracy was first dis- 
 played ; for years the relentless war of despotism against liberty 
 was waged with varied success, in disregard of the rules of civi- 
 lized warfare. As an American, I must say with profound humility 
 and shame for my country, this unnatural and malignant war had 
 the support of two administrations, which expended influence and 
 treasure without stint, to corrupt the young settlements therein, 
 and to fasten the corroding leprosy of this baleful institution on a 
 free and independent people. In that contest against venial offi- 
 cials and a corrupt institution, we learned that slavery was " the 
 sum of all villainies." And it was then we learned that the 
 colored man possessed the qualities of the soldier. 
 
 Guided by this experience, and the knowledge thus obtained, 
 immediately on the fall of Sumter I commenced urging in public 
 speeches and writings the necessity of an emancipation proclamation , 
 and the arming of the blacks. I commenced this work as a poineer 
 confident that the public sentiment of the country would finally 
 endorse the proposition . Even at that early hour in my intercourse 
 with the President of the United States, I found him anxiously 
 weighing the grave necessities I was urging, and with mind and 
 will self-poised, ready to hurl these reserved forces on the rebel- 
 lion, at the juncture when public sentiment in the loyal States 
 would sustain the act ; for it must not be forgotten that such stu- 
 
4 
 
 pendniis irieasiires required a political and moral preparation in the 
 ])ul)]ic mind to justify such strides in tlie advance, else the whole 
 fabric of northern society might have been shaken by a counter 
 revolution. Their adoption required in advance the education of 
 the loyal people of the fi^e States to the necessity and wisdom of 
 such measures. For generations the public mind had been taught 
 to regard slavery as a thing sacred to the several States holding 
 slaves ; a thing too sacred to be critici-sed or touched by the 
 stranger, while behind this blind of sacred right the traitor 
 plotted his treason at his leisure, ])lanncd his schemes of rebellion, 
 nni] hatched the political brood of vipers who have at last* fastened 
 on the fair foi m of oiir republic, trusting, by their devilish skill 
 aiiil power, to strangle and slay the fairest .form of civil govern- 
 ment tlie world lias yet seen.- It was, theref'o]-e, no mean task to 
 er.idicate the teachings of many years, and bring the public mind 
 up to t!ie safe condition of support to measures such as proposed 
 in the proclamations of emancipation, and arming the men of color 
 iu aid of those measures. 
 
 Here, in this city, in April, 1861, after delivering a speech in 
 favor of those two pi'opositions, I was notified by many friends if 
 1 insisted upon it it would crush our party, and was warned that 
 my life was in danger from the knife of the assassin. Even in 
 my own State I was obliged to keep from public view, for months, 
 tlie first colored troops we raised therein. And I here express 
 the opinion that had either of these measures been adopted at that 
 date, a counter revolution would have been inaugurated in the 
 house of our own friends. It is well known to the truly able 
 Senator from Ohio, that when the proclamations were issued they 
 came near throwing into the hands of the opponents of the Gov- 
 ernment the political power of the country, which at that date 
 would have been equal to the withdrawal of our armies from the 
 field, the triumph of the rebellion, the overthrow of liberty, the 
 disgrace and ruin of her defenders, while the hopes and liberal 
 aspirations of earth's crushed millions Avould have been extin- 
 guished for generations to come, for the courts of Europe would 
 have acknowledged the Confederacy, and rejoiced in the decline of 
 pure republicanism. 
 
 In my opinion, when the history of this Administration comes 
 to be written, the proudest page therein will be the record of the 
 fact that Mr. Lincoln had the self-possession, the wisdom, and 
 sagacity to restrain himself and friends from issuing the emanci- 
 pation proclamations and arming the blacks until public sentiment 
 was well nigh ripe to sustain him. To have acted thus before the 
 22d of September, would have been to have acted too soon. It 
 would have imperilled the political power of the Government, a 
 matter we could not aiford to loose then any more than now. 
 
 From the establishment of this r.ation to the present time, the 
 Hand of an all-wise Providence has been seen in directing our 
 destinies. In doing this He has always furnished proper instru- 
 
.fJS 
 
 ments. In founding the country He put forward a man of singular 
 ability in mind and body, a type of the aristocratic age, to lead 
 our armies and direct our deliberations. In this, the second great 
 struggle for life and liberty, lio has raised up in the economy of 
 His Providence a type of the republican age, a man of the people, 
 uniting prudence and firmness, wisdom and simplicity, integrity 
 and sagacity, generosity and elasticity of spirit, in a singular 
 degree, with that practical knowledge of men and things which 
 places him, head and shoulders, above his peers for all the pur- 
 poses of government. In the midst of such a storm, with him as 
 the pilot, the ship of state has thus far passed through the break- 
 ers which have threatened her on either hand ; and posterity will 
 admit to his honor that the most dangerous acts, and yet the most 
 beneficent of his Administration, were the acts of September 22, 
 1862, and Janua^ry 1, 1863. 
 
 The proclamations of these dates are not valuable because they 
 freed the slaves at -'the time of their issue! They did no such 
 thing. They reached no slaves within the lines of the enemy ; 
 and all the slaves of disloyal masters, who were within our lines, 
 were free under the law. The country Avas complaining for lack 
 of a policy, and none were more loud in their complaints than the 
 Senator from Ohio. The proclamations were intended to supply 
 that want of the country — a policy. By following this policy we 
 know that this fearful, wasting struggle, will result in a perma- 
 nent peace, to us, and those who come after us ; that the cause 
 of the rebellion is to be forever removed from the land, so that, 
 on the close of the war, or soon after, the stars and stripes shall 
 float over the heads of none but freemen. 
 
 The proclamations of Fremofit and Hunter amounted to noth- 
 ing, except as indications of tlic course o!" p;il>lic sentiment 
 and tlie rapid ripening of opinion. Had they not been modified 
 they would have been inoperative in freeing the :d:jvo. As a mat- 
 ter of, course they furnished no general policy : tlicy were but 
 unauthorized efforts to do out of ])lace and time what their supc-. 
 riors were carefully matui'ing and preparing to <lo at the proper 
 time. Let it not be forgotten that Mr. Lincoln ha^! !ad two great 
 bodies of loyal men to carry with him in all his war measures — 
 the party that elected him, and that which sup{)v)tted Julge 
 Douglass and Messrs. Bell and Everett. The first ha.; clamored 
 for action in the direction of the most radical measurer.. This I 
 know, for 1 have aided to swell that cry. The latter, lollowing 
 reluctantly at first, actuated, not by party zeal, but from a love 
 of country and liberty, have iollowed Mr. Lincoln's lea.l when 
 he has not gone too fast; and his wisdom and prudence liave 
 been shown in not breaking with them by going too fast, but 
 in carrying them along with him and his measures. 
 
 The policy controlling the conduct of the war has been an- 
 nounced in the several proclamations of the President, and has 
 been accepted by the loyal men of the country, together with that 
 
much-dreaded measure— the arming of the blacks. This policy is 
 being pressed forward with vigor and^ energy ; and surely it is 
 higli tihie to arm our blacks in the defence of republican liberty 
 when the chief Imperialist of Europe has dared to export from 
 Egypt Ethiopian soldiers, and plant them on our southern bor- 
 ders, to aid him in his contest with the republicans of Mexico. 
 Such a step, by such a man, is a note of warning to the people pf 
 this country, calling for prudential measures, yet measures in 
 liarmony with international peace. This is a time for careful and 
 profound reflection on the movements of the armed millions that 
 now crowd earth's surface, and our prayer to Almighty God is 
 that no more such come this way, while duty requires us to arm^ 
 to the teeth all who are capable of bearing arms in the defence of 
 liberty and right. 
 
 Another step remains to be taken under the wise and beneficent 
 policy of the Administration. The colored man is to be freed. 
 To place this beyond question or doubt we snust guard against 
 his being re-enslaved upon the reconstruction of the Union. This 
 can only be done by an amendment of the Constitution, " declar- 
 ing that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for 
 crime, shall be permitted in the land." 
 
 The black man freed, and his re-enslavement rendered impos- 
 sible by fundamental law, then comes the last step in the pro- 
 gramme to answer safely, correctly, and forever, the question : 
 What is olir duty as legislators legislating for posterity? What is 
 our duty toward this disfranchised race ? Uneducated, depend- 
 ent, they look to us as helpless infancy, requiring direction, pro- 
 tection, and to a great extent subsistence, and at this time instruc- 
 tion how to obtain it. Emancipation leaves them in the midst 
 of unfriendly influences, and an unfriendly people, who, being 
 forced to accept the emancijoation of their slaves, will by all 
 means in their power seek to undo what you and your armies 
 have done. It is proposed by some to settle them down on the 
 old estates of tlie South ; this in view of the well-knovv^n temper 
 of the Southern masses, is of doubtful propriety, and will, in my 
 opinion, result in a second civil commotion in the course of a few 
 generations ; nor will justice to the black man permit us to hide 
 from our eyes the fact that his quiet requires removal from the 
 scene of his former servitude and degradation. I cannot do better 
 than recite here the sentiment of the report of the committee on 
 this bill — that the nation should make a reasonable eftbrt to se- 
 cure for the millions of freed men proper homes in a habitable and 
 desirable country on our south-western border, where climate and 
 country will be congenial to the wants of our people of color, and 
 where, by acquiring an undisputed title to the soil, and an inde- 
 pendent local organization, they may enjoy the privileges of re- 
 publican civilization, and there concentrate their whole strength 
 for mutual improvement. 
 
 In exercising our judgment as legislators without prejudice or 
 
jsC 
 
 passion, and regarding the best interests of both races, we are free 
 to say, that it appears good policy for us to concentrate, by every 
 prudent means consistent with their free choice, the barge mass of 
 our freed men in the country named in this bill. 
 
 By this act we solve the question, What shall be done withthe 
 negro ? which has troubled the dreams of anti-emancipationists, 
 and, I have no doubt, actually retarded the work of emancipation 
 heretofore. 
 
 The Territorial Committee very properly have declared that 
 a strong desire for a title to the soil is a marked characteristic of 
 the people of our country ; and it is reasonable that the man of 
 color should partake of this feeling. We presume that it will not 
 be disputed that a quiet title thereto is indispensable to the proper 
 development and improvement of any country, whether in posses- 
 sion of whites or blacks ; and that an unsettled title is the worst 
 form of agitation that can afflict any family or race in time of 
 peace— a condition to be deprecated, to be avoided. Wisely your 
 committee express the fear that this will be the fate and future 
 of the freed men if they remain in the older States once slave, for 
 the majority race, by the aid of courts and laws, will keep their 
 rights and interests unsettled in each of those States, unless by 
 fundamental enactment the Government of those States should be 
 placed in the hands of colored men. This would be impossible if 
 attempted, hence the immediate wants of the country, as well as 
 common equity, impose upon the Government in its attempts to 
 quiet the disturbed social structure of the South, the necessity of 
 founding a community, where the men of color will be the ma- 
 jority race, possessing undisputed sovereignty over their own af- 
 fairs, and all the rights which spring from eminent domain. 
 
 Observation and experience teach us that the black nian cannot 
 hold his ground against the grasping cupidity of the white so long 
 as the theatre of competition is confined to northern latitudes. 
 Experience further teaches that the man of color is safe from the 
 cupidity of the white man when the tropical climate becomes his 
 ally and protection . When he has reached the point of the tropical 
 or semi-tropical lands, the vigor of his constitution makes him lord 
 of the soil, so that the destiny of the whole tropical belt, in our 
 opinion, is to p.ass under the future empire of the educated and 
 civilized children of our freed men. 
 
 Mr. President, with these convictions, it appears to me expedient 
 that we make an earnest effort to secure a country of sufficient 
 capacity for the accomodation of four millions of persons, should 
 so many wish to go thereto ; for be it understood that we leave to 
 all the right of choice to go, or stay in the older States ; yet, while 
 doing, this, we cannot refrain from expressing the conviction m the 
 most formal and solemn manner that it is the duty of the man of 
 color to remove with his family and efi'ects to the land indicated 
 in this bill, and to induce his people to accompany liim, having in 
 his mind the noble purpose to concentrate his race in that locality 
 
8 
 
 with the view of gaining the support, protection, and power that 
 niimhers will afford. 
 
 While we admit that there is now a large measure of sympathy 
 for the colored race developed in the public mind by the antago- 
 nism of this war, and the struggles over him and his interests 
 between the contending sections of the white race, yet on the close 
 of the war, when human passions return to their former course, 
 the anger of the white man is stilled, the passions and affections 
 involved by this armed antagonism sink to repose, and the public 
 mind returns to the various channels of business, commerce, and 
 self-interest, the known cupidity of our race will again assert its 
 sway and hold in abeyance the now well developed sympathy for 
 the colored man produced by this rebellion. Especially will this 
 be true in the States once slave, for there the white population will 
 regard the negro as an enemy and treat him accordingly. 
 
 Can we expect the white man to be less selfish toward the 
 man of color than he is toward his own race — look at the conduct 
 of your own people toward one another ; do not oppression, fraud 
 and wrong curse the land ; are not the weak and unprotected 
 borne down ; will the man who tramples in the dust the rights of 
 his own kindred and race be less exacting, less oppressive with 
 the man or race of men to whom he is disposed to credit much of 
 the disquiet of his country? The supposition is preposterous. 
 Let us then form our own judgment by the heartlessness of the 
 general mass of our people, and not by the philanthrophy of the 
 few ; for, in my opinion, what has been the history of the two 
 races in the past will be their history, to a great extent, in the 
 future, if they remain associated in this country as majority and 
 minority races. 
 
 This question, sir, after all, is a question of majorities — to re- 
 main such through all coming time; for the prejudice, unfortunate 
 as it may appear to some, which the white race entertains to a 
 legal and honorable amalgation of the African with the people 
 of this country, will preserve a dividing line between them as 
 long as the world stands ; nor should Senators hide from their 
 eyes the fact, that without this legal and honorable admixture of 
 the African blood with that of our race the former can attain to 
 neither social nor political equality. I give it here, as my opinion, 
 that the individual politician, or political party, that comes before 
 the country on the platform of amalgamation, either expressed or 
 implied, Avill be crushed as by an avalanche. Then the freedom 
 we achieve for them is not such freedom as their long-suffering, 
 their universal loyalty and important services in tliis rebellion 
 demand at our hands. 
 
 With this social and political inequality, is it to be expected 
 that they can develop to that point to which they are capable? 
 Is it for us to leave such a mass of disfranchised labor to the 
 caprice and cupidity of the capitalists of the ruling race, many 
 of whom are as heartless as the slave-master. To leave such an 
 
Sf -7 
 tJ J 
 
 element in our social structure is to present the strong temptation 
 to introduce an aristocracy as dangerous to our republican form 
 of government as that we are now struggling to subdue. 
 
 Unless you can assure them social and political equality, I sub- 
 rait that it is a duty we owe ourselves and our children after us, 
 to separate them from us, and place them in a position to govern 
 and care for themselves. Give them a country of their own ; 
 give them homes ; actual title to the soil ; give them the rights 
 and franchises springing from the actual dominion of the country 
 where they reside. Exercise over them for the time being a ter- 
 ritorial government, selecting officers whose every pulsation will be 
 in sympathy with them. Thrown upon their own resources, thus 
 educated and elevated, by having a country they can claim as their 
 own, all the circumstances reminding them of their sLavery and 
 degradation being absent, they, in my opinion, would soon 
 demonstrate to the world capacity for self-improvement and self- 
 government that will exceed the most sanguine expectations of 
 their friends. 
 
 My second reason is, we can thus plant at the door of Mexico, 
 which is a semi-tropical country, four millions of good citizens, 
 who can step in at any time, when invited to strengthen the 
 hands of that republic. 
 
 The place of the black man in the older States will soon be 
 filled up by foreign immigrants, who, in filling the vacuum^ will 
 give no shock to the sensibilities of a kindred race, or endanger 
 the future peace of the country in the process of naturalization, 
 which will incorporate them into the mass of our people without 
 reducing tlie blood or changing the mutual status. In this way 
 do we avoid all the disastrous consequences which must follow 
 from that repugnance to legal amalgamation with the African 
 almost universal among the people of the North and Northwest. 
 Therefore policy of the highest order requires that we establish on 
 our southern border an independent, self-sustaining and self-re- 
 liant people, loving liberty, and ready to protect it, Avhose 
 first elfort to illustrate the principles they have derived from us 
 may perchance be a combination to expel the imperial eagles 
 from lands once consecrated to republican liberty. 
 
 Shall we extend to colored men the opportunity of voluntarily 
 separating from us? That conceded, all obstacles to this humane 
 design at once vanish. I do not propose to remove them at the 
 expense of the Government. They must go as other emigrants 
 do, at their own expense. The sum required for the journey can 
 easily be brought within the-limits of their resources. 
 
 First of all, therefore, the land of their destination, their land of 
 promise,. I think I may say, must be easy of access. They should be 
 able to move there, as did many of our ancestors when seeking 
 their western homes, in wagons, overland, taking their Avives and 
 children, their household furniture and their agricultural imple- 
 ments with them. The country should be adjacent to the 
 
10 
 
 sea coast and traversed by navigable streams, so that colonies or 
 companies may be able to reach it in a body, should emigration 
 in large numbers be desirable. 
 
 Such a location, Mr, President, is the country selected by the 
 provisions of this bill. It is bounded upon the south by the Gulf 
 of Mexico, on the east by the Colorado Kiver, on the west by the 
 Rio Grande, on the north by almost impassable mountains, 
 securing them from the inroads of hostile Indians. Through Kan- 
 sas, or southwestern Missouri and the Indian country, it can be 
 reached over the best natural roads in the world ; through friendly 
 and sympathizing communities. From Louisiana the way is 
 direct by the Red River or the Gulf. In respect to location no 
 territory on the face of the globe is more desirable for the habita- 
 tion of the black man. 
 
 Now permit me for a moment to refer to the resources of this 
 section and its natural adaptation to the requirements of the 
 colored man. First and foremost the climate is congenial to his 
 nature. The soilis universally arable, and produces bountifully 
 with moderate cultivation. The surface is fine, deep prairie, yet 
 supplied with timber adequate to the wants of the settler, present- 
 ing no obstacle to the opening up of farms. Such is the dwelling 
 place to which your committee desire to invite the emancipated 
 colored man. It is believed that the President of the United States, 
 were he authorized, could, by proper exertion on his part, obtain 
 title to the greater portion of this territory on the most reasonable 
 terms. 
 
 In this connection I call the attention of the Senate to the fol- 
 lowing extracts from Brannan's Texas, 1857, page 22, which the 
 Committee on Territories have appended to their report on this 
 bill : 
 
 "I have, for convenience, divided the State by certain arbitrary designations, as fol- 
 lows, namely : northern counties, western counties, &c. 
 
 " Western Texas is an extensive country, and has many varieties of soil and produc- 
 tions. Excepting on the bottom-lands of the rivers and Avater-courses, the people are 
 mostly engaged in stock-raising, many of them exclusively, and others in connection 
 with tarming. The region below 30° and west of the Rio Grande is very subject to long 
 droughts during the summer ; still the crops ou the bottom-land seldom tail, no portion 
 is sickly, but all is favorable to man and beast. The jjrincipal grass on the prairies is the 
 far-famed mesquit, deservedly renowned for its universal abundance and nutritious quali- 
 ties. During all the winter season, and after it has become sere and yellow, cattle and 
 horses will cat it with the same avidity and benefit as when green. Of late years large 
 quantities have been cured and baled for distant markets. I would advise emigrants who 
 want good, cheap lands, with plenty of mesquit prairie for stock range, to p'lirchase on 
 the Nueces, Rio Frio, or some of their branches. This is a desirable part of western 
 lexas, and has as many natural advantages as can be asked by .any reasonable man. 
 Land sells from Si 50 to S2 per acre. The timber on the streams is' pecan, hackberry, 
 several kinds of oak, and mulberry ; on the prairies are much live-oak and mesquit 
 timber. There are many other portions of the West where the land is better adapted for 
 raising cotton, but none that will so well suit the emigrant of moder.ate capital, and fill 
 the measure, of his utmost expectations and desires." 
 
 Of the upper portion of this Territory Cordova says, page 49 : 
 
 "The valley of the Rio Grande is in the vicinity of 32° north latitude, and for one 
 hundred miles is capable of sustaining a large and prosperous population. It grows fine 
 wheat, corn, fruits, and a variety of vegetables, all of the best quality, and is proverbial 
 
11 
 
 for producing excellent grapes, from -which a native wine of very good quality is made. 
 There are between fifteen and twenty thousand American's and Mexicans already in the 
 neighborhood of El Paso, and the valley is highly cultivated for many miles, beautiful 
 gardens, with fine apricots, peaches, plums, and various other fruits, abounding." 
 
 • In Moore's Description of Texas^ P^-ge 8, lie says : 
 
 " In the western countries the prairies are beautifully diversified with small groves of 
 timber; most of the prairies of this level region, however, are entirely open, and resemble 
 broad, grassy lakes. The soil of the prairies is remarkably uniform in its character 
 throughout the whole country, consisting generally of a black vegetable mold, varying 
 from four inches to four feet in depth, resting on beds of sandy or clayey loam. This 
 soil differs but little in fertility from the soil of the bottom-lands, and is covered with a 
 dense mass of grass, affording an inexhaustible supply of pasturage to the cattle of the 
 southern planters. There is probably no class of men upon the globe who can live more 
 independently or Avith less care than the herdsmen of Texas. Their herds of cattle feed 
 out upon the prairies or in ihe wooded bottoms during the whole year, and require almost 
 as little attention as the wild deer." * * * * * * 
 
 " Many of the Texan farmers own several thousand head of cattle, and derive from them 
 a very large income.'' 
 
 Again, on page 13, he says : 
 
 " The ordinary crop of cotton in the level and undulating regions is from a bale to a 
 bale and a half to the acre ; of maize, from forty to sixty bushels ; of potatoes, from four 
 to eight hundred bushels. Two crops of maize and potatoes are frequently raised the 
 same year ; both the common potato and yam, or sweet potato thrive well." * * * 
 "The few attempts that have been made to cultivate sugar, tobacco, and silk, prove that 
 these productions can be raised with great facility, and will, within a short period, be- 
 come the staples of the country. It is found that the sugar-cane attains a larger size in 
 Texas than in Louisiana ; and, as the climate is milder, a larger portion of the plant 
 matures ; consequently the product of sugar to the acre is considerably greater in the 
 former country." 
 
 Some of US, were it possible, would be glad to set aside South 
 Carolina or Florida, as the future home of the colored man. I 
 have frequently gone so far, myself, as to say that I hoped the 
 time would come when the foot print of the white man should not 
 be found on the soil of South Carolina. But to-day, we are de- 
 liberating for the good of the colored man and the peace of future 
 generations. I think we can afford under present circumstances 
 to sacrifice all feeling to such a noble end. 
 
 We may slay all the male traitors of South Carolina, and yet, 
 at the close of the rebellion, to their wives and children, being in 
 occupation and holding the fee of the land, amnesty and pardon 
 must necessarily extend. If we should succeed in settling the 
 black man upon some portion of those States he would be perse- 
 cuted and oppressed so that his life would be a burden to himself, 
 and his title to his home held by an uncertain.tenure. It is a well 
 founded presumption that the slave holder and the members of his 
 family will always hate the person who has been released from 
 their service against their consent, and will continue to persecute 
 him to the latest generation. 
 
 It is not possible to re-educate a whole population like that of 
 the South, or change their prejudices as to their former slaves. 
 The idea of depopulating an entire State to make a place for new 
 inhabitants is not likely to gain much favor. It is a question of 
 morality whether it should be done. 
 
 The same objections -would hold in respect to Florida as to South 
 
12 
 
 Carolina. In addition^its unsettled sections are densely wooded, 
 and a large proportion of the territory is waste, untillable 
 land. The opening up of a farm would he a work of time and 
 money. What we need for the immediate necessities of this people 
 is a locality that will come as near yielding a spontaneous support 
 as can he obtained, and especially one where the herds of stock 
 may support themselves all winter by grazing, as well as during 
 the summer months. In Florida, settlements would be widely 
 separated from necessity, but on the territory of the Rio Grande 
 they would be compact. In South Carolina, Florida, and the 
 States once slave, the colored people would be among those who 
 would despise them. On the territory of the Eio Grande they 
 would have friendly Indians upon the north-east, and on the east 
 Texas, which consulted, and consenting in the settlement, would 
 become their friend and protector. On the Avest Mexico, whose 
 inhabitants would give the colored man a friendly welcome, asso- 
 ciate with him as an equal, and if he desired it, would grant him 
 the privilege of citizenship. There would be marrying and giving 
 in marriage. The institution of matrimony would be honored and 
 respected among them. The blur of illegitimacy would be forever 
 wiped away from their posterity. This people would stand before 
 the world a respected community and an honored commonwealth. 
 
 Neither South Carolina nor Florida are adapted to grazing, 
 while the territory of the Rio Grande is eminently so. If 1 may 
 be allowed the expression, I would call it the elysium of stock. 
 If you had seen, as I have, during the months I was stationed 
 there, the immense droves of cattle, horses, and sheep subsisting 
 throughout the whole year, troubling the owner no more than 
 the wild deer, you would acknowledge that my statements are 
 unexaggerated. 
 
 The subject of expense has been mooted by the distinguished Sen- 
 ator from Masachusetts. I respectfully submit to him and to the 
 Senate what detriment is likely to follow to the public treasury from 
 vesting in the Government a title to land, the only claimants to large 
 bodies of which will be traitors. In doing this great act of justice 
 to the colored man the question of expense should not be raised. 
 But in my opinion, Mr. President, the policy proposed, if adopted 
 promptly and heartily, will, instead of a public burden, prove 
 highly remunerative to the country. In a few years this territory 
 of the Rio Grande would far outstrip any State in this nation in 
 the production of sugar, cotton, rice, the cereals, and the herds 
 of stock. A country teeming with such an abundance of the prime 
 essentials to human sustenance would soon refund any amount 
 paid by the Government. 
 
 The chief portion of the expense of emigration must be paid by 
 the colored man himself. And what greater incentive to industry 
 and_ economy can he have than the prospect of a removal to a 
 section, which seems to me especially designed by nature for his 
 country and his home. If properly encouraged by the people and 
 
IS 
 
 by Congress he will not ask the hand of public or private charity to 
 pay the cost of his transportation thither. From the clay the 
 well-assured hope of such a destination is held out to him will 
 date those stimulating efforts at elevation and culture which must 
 precede the independence of his race. 
 
 The last section of the bill under consideration provides i'or 
 placing the great work in the hands of the Commissioner of Emi- 
 gration. This gentleman has been engaged upon the subject 
 for fifteen or twenty years, laboring assiduously, and I believe 
 with considerable success, in moulding public opinion to the 
 absolute necessity of a separation of the two races. lie is a man of 
 ability, of integrity, a Christian whose sympathies are with the 
 race pro})osed to be benefited by the bill. In my opinion, no one 
 can be found to whom the important duty may be more safely 
 intrusted. 
 
 This bill also provides for diverting the funds already appro- 
 priated for colonization purposes abroad to the present object. 
 That fund was originally six hundred thousand dollars. But 
 little of it has been expended. It is believed that this amount 
 will be ample to carry out the provisions of this bill. 
 
 We devote immense tracts of land and millions of money to a 
 few thousand savages, who are not producers in any sense, but 
 consumers of the nation's wealth. It is true they have a claim 
 on us as the original owners of the country; but have the negroes 
 no claim? Have not they and their fathers for centuries toiled to 
 build up our country and our country's wealth without pay or 
 reward? I trust the Senate will now admit this claim, and per- 
 mit us to pay, by this poor boon, a debt which has accumulated 
 through generations past. 
 
 The country set apart by the provisions of the bill is to furnish 
 homes to four millions of civilized beings, who, in a few years, will 
 become extensive producers, and I here venture to repeat the as- 
 sertion which I have made heretofore, that the territory of the Rio 
 Grande, settled as proposed, will, in a few years, outstrip, in the 
 production of cotton and sugar, any of the old States, and will 
 amply remunerate us for any present outlay. 
 
 By the theory of the bill, the removal of our colored people must 
 needs be slow, as the movement into their own country would be 
 at their own control. As they thus gradually withdraw, on the 
 close of the war and the establishment of peace, their places v^'ill 
 be surely supplied by the numerous immigrants from foreign lands 
 crowding in almost countless millions to our shores, and thus the 
 much dreaded shock to the labor market and the business of the 
 country Avill be avoided. I wish this point to engage the attention 
 of the Senate. During the last decade the increase of our pop- 
 ulation by foreign immigration alone has been 2,707,624 persons, 
 mostly in the j)rime of life, and largely of the class that sup- 
 plies our labor, and it is confidently believed that this amount 
 will be trebled during the decade we are now in. Nor would I be 
 
u 
 
 surprised to see that number exceeded on the rendering of the 
 next census. It is likewise known to you that when our army 
 comes to be disbanded, a sudden and excessive supply of labor 
 will be thrown upon the country, more than will be necessary to 
 fill up the vacuum cr^eated by the migration of the blacks. 
 
 Such are the provisions of the bill and the policy it foreshadows. 
 The success of that policy of course depends npon the crushing 
 out of the rebellion, which we trust will soon be accomplished. 
 
 I have no doubt about the advantages that will accrue to the 
 political party to which I belong, should it pass. It must occur 
 to the mind of every Senator that it will remove, at one stroke, 
 one of the irritating elements which at times has distracted our 
 own party and given political power to our opponents. 
 
 I have a higher opinion of the capabilities of the African race 
 than most of my countrymen. Their servile relation has caused 
 us to underrate and undervalue them as a general rule ; but what 
 are the facts ? They are faithful, confiding, affectionate, indus- 
 trious, given to neatness, and generally religious, eminently 
 domestic in their habits, and strongly attached to their home. 
 These qualities are sufficient guarantees that when admitted to 
 rights of landholders and rulers in that land, they have adhesive- 
 ness enough to form a community of j)ower, and ambition enough 
 to secure for that community the polish of a high civilization. 
 Extend to them that substantial freedom toSvhich they are so 
 justly entitled; grant them power; the privilege of selecting their 
 own rulers ; of framing their own laws, and I venture the opi- 
 nion that the day will soon come when we will be proud of our 
 proteges. 
 
 Reared in the Democratic school, I was taught to revere the 
 memory and respect the opinions of Mr. Jeiferson on this im- 
 portant subject, which employed much of the most serious reflec- 
 tions of that profound statesman. He says, in the first volume 
 of his writings, p. 49 : 
 
 "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than 
 that these people are to be free ; nor is it less certain that the two 
 races, equally free, cannot live in the same Government. Nature, 
 habit, opinion, have drawn indelible lines of distinction between 
 them. It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipa- 
 tion and deportation, peaceably, and in slow degree, as that evil 
 will wear off insensibly, and their place be pari passu filled up 
 by free white labor." 
 
 Time has exploded his deportation plan. We have neither the 
 ability nor inclination to adopt it. I have endorsed his position, 
 that the two races cannot live equally free in the same State, but 
 have failed to discover why we cannot give them the same freedom 
 we ourselves enjoy under the national Government, through a 
 territorial organization, in a territory where they constitute the 
 majority, leaving the question of admission to a higher position 
 therein to time and to those who come after us. 
 
15 
 
 The last census shows that, at the commencement of the rebel- 
 lion, there were in the State of Missouri 114,931 slaves ^n Ar- 
 kansas, 111,115 ; in Louisiana, 331,726 ; and in Texas, iw^,.>(j(j, 
 making, in the aggregate, 740,338. 
 
 It is safe to say that one-tenth of the slaves of Missouri, six-tenths 
 of those of Louisiana, three-fourths of those of Arkansas, and all 
 those of Texas, reinforced by at least one hundred thousand who 
 have been transferred to the west side of the river from Mississi|)})i 
 andtheother States, making in all about 600,000, are nowinEastern 
 Texas, and will at once, with but little expense to themselves or 
 trouble to us, seek the new Jerusalem. 
 
 The foundations for the contemplated community may be laid 
 deep and strong by a single order issued in just nineteen words, 
 viz.: "Withdraw the white troops from Western Texas, and 
 supply their places by colored regiments, giving transportation 
 to their families." 
 
 It was demonstrated by the discussion last Saturday that the 
 families of these soldiers are self-sustaining. They can select 
 land, open up farms, while their husbands and fathers are fight- 
 ing your battles and their own. The pay of the soldier will aid 
 them in this praiseworthy effort for independence. 
 
 At the close of the war, we should adopt the same policy in 
 mustering out of the service our gallant regiments as was follow- 
 ed at the close of the war with Mexico, in respect to the troops in 
 California. Muster out the colored regiments West of the Colorado 
 if they desire it, allowing them transportation pay to the place 
 of enrollment. This method, allowing half of them to be men of 
 family, with four to a family, would give five hundred thousand 
 settlers. 
 
 If I could direct the jjolicy of the Government, I would tender 
 homes to the colored soldiers West of the Colorado, and to the 
 white soldiers the confiscated estates of traitors east of that line, 
 mustering them out at such points contiguous to their contempla- 
 ted homes as they might designate. What greater incentive to 
 fidelity to the interests of their country could be placed before 
 them. 
 
 My sanguine temperament may mislead me, but I am clear in 
 the conviction that as soon as this settlement is a fixed fact the 
 colored race from Canada to the Gulf will be attracted to it. 
 Every avenue to it will soon be crowded by emigrants hastening 
 thither in every kind of vehicle from a wheelbarrow to a mail 
 coach. 
 
 Should the Senate adopt this bill, I can tell the man of color 
 that the hour of his deliverance from the bondage of Egypt has 
 come, and that unless he removes he is doomed to sink into a 
 hopeless minority in the older States for all coming time. The 
 last census tells the story of his future. 
 
 The increase of population to this country by foreign immigration 
 alone exceeds the increase of the slave and free people of color in 
 
16 
 
 the same period nearly three to one ; that of the former being 
 2,70^ "24, and that of the latter but 796,947. 
 
 lo.. can infer from this the chances of changing the relation 
 of the races by force of numbers. We must ever remain the ma- 
 jority race, and consequently the rulers ; they the minority race, 
 with no hope of relief in the older States. The colored man must 
 change his latitute to hold his ground. Wisdom, policy, and a 
 military necessity suggest that he change it at once. 
 
 I submit the bill, confident that the importance of its provisions 
 will challenge the serious attention of every Senator. Our gallant 
 army in the field, with the proclamations of the President and 
 laws in aid thereof, insures freedom to the slave, while the pro- 
 posed amendment to the Constitution which will no doubt be 
 passed by this Congress and sanctioned by three-fourths of the 
 States, secures the colored man from re-enslavement, and this 
 plan extends to him substantial freedom. 
 
 Thus that question Avhich has disturbed the peace of the nation 
 during my entire life will be fully settled. Then the republic can 
 commence her career anew, freed from all her clogs. With the 
 shades that dim her lights removed, she will stand forth before 
 the world a guide to the nations, with power sufficient to com- 
 mand the respect of men, and virtue sufficient to secure the ap- 
 proval of the Divine Ruler. 
 
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