been peopled with millions of victims; whole tribes of men have been destroyed; nations on the threshold of civilization reduced to barbarism; and generation upon generation of our sires brutalized! No, my remarks, at best, are discordant; and I avoid collateral themes in order to preserve as much unity as possible, while endeavoring to set forth the worth and value of the English language.
And this is our language. But notice here the marks of distinctive providence. Our sad and cruel servitude has been passed among men who speak this tongue; and so we have been permitted, as the Israelites of old, to borrow "every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold."[1] But now, on the other hand, as to that portion of our race whose lot has been cast among other sections of the European family; what advantages, what compensation have they reaped which can compare with our riches and our gain? Where do we find among them a Bill of Rights, the right of trial by Jury, or, an act of Habeas Corpus? Where do they know clearly and distinctly the theory of Free Speech, of a Free Press, of Constitutional Government?—where are they blessed with such a noble heritage as the English Bible, and all the vast wealth, both religious and political, of the literature of England and America? It is not in Cuba, nor in Porto Pico. Not in Guadaloupe, not in Martinique. Even in Brazil these ideas are but struggling for life; and their continued existence is doubtful. Time is yet to show whether either the white or black race
