Various

“ The paramount duty of the nation, and especially of the churches, to the emancipated slaves, is to fit them for their new position as citizens, and their true destiny as men and Christians in America, and as missionaries to Africa. Anything short of this is less than our whole duty. The blacks are all religious in their way, and nearly all are connected with churches. In the matter of outward profession and inward emotion, the quantity is all that could be asked. It is in the quality alone that a change is needed. ”

“ That is good advice for any poor man, black or white. This picture of the signing of the Emancipation Act can commemorate all of which it is capable, only if the privilege of freedom be embraced as the opportunity of manly toil, and the occasion of all patient effort to become the equal of other men, not in external advantages and rights half so much as in capacity and character. ”

“ The stairways of education are laid from the first story—yes, from the sub-cellar up through the basement, flight after flight, to the top floor. But stairways do not turn, end for end, to tumble people up. The paths of honest industry and thrift are open; but they are all up-hill, and never slide their travelers down into competence and respectability. There is a chance to get up, but the freedman must do his own climbing, after all. ”

“ Overlooking the rich, populous, and somewhat unwholesome low-lands, breathing the pure mountain air, is situated Talladega, seeming to have been Providentially placed as a city of refuge for the colored people of Alabama. The beauty of the surrounding landscape is a perpetual inspiration to teachers and students. The location [109] of the college, in a quiet country village of two thousand inhabitants, invites the young people from the cities, and less favored localities, to an atmosphere as pure and healthful morally as it is physically. ”

“ To try to prepare the way for the enlightenment of these darkened minds has been the highest privilege of my life. I do not forget the blessedness of leading my own children and other young people to Jesus, but in the offices of mother and teacher, this work has come to me as a matter of course, while the other is the realization of one of my earliest and most fondly cherished desires. ”

“ This nation long oppressed the black man, and the dread penalty came at length, whose mementoes are in a million of soldiers’ graves, in broken homes and hearts, North and South, and in the disturbance of all commercial and industrial interests, under which the whole land still trembles. If we persevere in our wrongs and neglects of the red man, have we any hope that we shall escape similar retributions? ”

“ Sunday Afternoon says: “It costs the United States about $1,700 a year to support a soldier fighting the Indians. It costs the American Board about half as much to support a missionary preaching to them. Would it not be cheaper to send more missionaries and fewer soldiers?” ”

“ Looking up the table, our hearts ached, as one face after another brought up the old slave days. Some there were who had risen above every discouragement, and in the face of poverty, low wages and many another hindrance, had proved themselves men, gladly denying themselves the comforts of life, that their children’s days might be brighter than their own. ”

“ Many an experiment has failed because entered upon half-heartedly, and tried on too small a scale to succeed. The height of wisdom is to find the true line on which caution and courage meet. It has been the purpose of the Association to do its part in the evangelization of Africa, by missionaries of African descent, and to begin in that effort so soon as our schools should begin to furnish those qualified for such important work. ”

“ Some little Sabbath-school girls in Crete, Ill., sent us a box of bedding and clothing, which has been a great help in my work; also, my friends at Romeo, Mich., sent a box of clothing, toys, books, and material for my sewing-school, all of which has been a God-send to me, as I find some very destitute families. The city does nothing for the poor colored people, so my opportunity is all the greater for doing good.
I find many who cannot read and who are very glad to hear the Bible read. ”

“ Cheap labor, whether by machine or by man-power, has always been resisted by those whom it has displaced. But it always pushes the more intelligent laborers up and not down. It has been so in California. Men are now foremen who were only fruit-pickers, and engineers who were only miners before Chinese labor came in. ”

“ The only decided and comprehensive effort by the general Government, for the civilization of the Indians, is the peace policy inaugurated by General Grant, the results of which, in spite of all obstacles and opposition, have been unmistakably and increasingly advantageous. ”

“ There is no man in the country whom corrupt contractors have more learned to fear and to hate; and, in my opinion, they are the men who are fanning this flame of excitement, and who are exerting all their influence to turn the administration of Indian affairs over to the War Department. They are pinched by the present policy, and desire change. ”

“ Gifts of all kinds, from a little girl’s pet chicken, to a fine eighteen dollar plow from a merchant of the town, and from an old auntie’s half-peck of potatoes to a fine cow and calf from one of the deacons of the college church, and varying in amounts from five cents to fifty dollars, have been given. Our most intelligent citizens say that no other enterprise for the benefit of the colored people has ever aroused so much interest among them as the Agricultural Department.
In the Girls’ Industrial School, sixteen young women are earning, wholly or in part, their board and tuition ”

“ The agents—representing all denominations, and, therefore, not committing the government to sectarianism—have most directly and heartily co-operated with the religious efforts of the different churches for the evangelization of the Indians. As the only possibility of civilizing the Indians lies in their Christian enlightenment, the work of the religious societies, under the fostering care of the government, gives the highest promise of success.
On the other hand, the policy of extermination has been tried from the beginning. ”

“ The fruit to be gathered in was from among the older students of the school, who were not already professing Christians. This was what would be expected by those who know their faithful, Christian teachers. All teachers know the thrilling interest that clusters around the conversion of young persons under their tuition. So, as I have heard our teachers talk of this scholarly young man, and that promising young woman, coming over to the Lord’s side, I knew very well what a burden of prayer and effort was lifted from their hearts and hands. ”

“ He has low ideas of religion, labor, women and virtue. —— He does not assimilate with the American people, and is unchanged by contact. He does not mean to stay, and will not even contribute his dead body to our national welfare. He cannot be made into a soldier, or even a juryman. —— He is proud of Confucius, and vainly boasts of China as the central nation of the world. ”

“ But it is said that the question of the blessing conferred on the colored race depends on their conduct. What they most need is, what Burns calls ‘the glorious privilege of being independent.’ What this requires is, the willingness to labor, and the prudence and self-denial to save the fruits of labor. My young colored friends, let this, then, be among your good resolutions: I will work, and I will save, to the end that I may become independent. ”

“ We doubt if anywhere else in the South the Church and School are both so strong and so closely united as here. The Congregational Church of Talladega was organized in 1868. There are at present one hundred and forty-nine members, with a Sabbath-school of three hundred. Of course the larger part are students, but a goodly number are citizens, heads of families, having good homes, and being comparatively prosperous. Not only the members of this church, but of the other churches in the village, are thoroughly interested in whatever affects the college. ”

“ Now there is scarcely a preacher who, besides reading and writing, has not pursued to some extent the course of studies prescribed to candidates for the ministry.
—It is pleasant to note how the freedmen are rising to the dignity of self-support in their religious, as well as their material interests. A missionary of the American Sunday-school Union, in North Carolina, having recently organized three new Sunday-schools among freedmen, writes, that at the close of one of his meetings “an aged negro, of nearly seventy years, came forward with his pennies to buy a primer for his grandson. ”

“ The missionary and those who send her do not lack for prayers from the colored people. I have a Mothers’ Meeting once a week, where I endeavor to teach them from the Bible their duties as mothers and wives; also a sewing-school, where we teach the girls how to cut and make garments, which they buy, when finished, at a low price. I have had so much to do in this part of the work, that one of the teachers has kindly assisted me. ”

“ One young man, having failed to collect any funds from his summer school in Georgia, started with his most advanced pupil on foot, their satchels upon their backs. Walking, riding in chance carts, and helped on by railroad conductors, who were evidently influenced to surprising kindness by the spirit of the Master, they reached this place. Incited by the enthusiasm of this young man, three more have followed him from his distant field of labor. ”

“ He says the white people wanted it, because (1) the man’s politics suit them, (2) he is ignorant, and (3) he gets drunk. The colored members of his church know nothing of Bible religion, and are like their priest. On a recent Communion Sunday seven of them were seen returning to their homes drunk—three just able to stagger on, and four “being hauled out in a cart, not able to sit up.” The writer says such churches cannot save these people, and mere secular instruction will not cure such evils. The Christian school is the only hope. ”

“ But modern warfare puts another aspect on this contest with the Indians, making it vastly more costly in men and money. It is believed that not a single Indian has been killed by our army, at less than an average expense of a million of dollars, and of the lives of one or more white men. The War Department and the army are the natural representatives of this policy, and if the Indians are transferred to their care, the peace policy will be overthrown, and we fear that of extermination substituted in its place. ”

“ They walked about one hundred miles, and are now paying their way in school by labor on the college farm.
Both have begun earnest Christian lives, and are soon to unite with the church.
All the young men of the college are organized into a battalion of cadets for physical culture. Their government is conducted by means of this organization, its officers being held responsible for the conduct of the members, and being expected to set an example of manliness and courteous deportment. We find this to be one of the most potent factors of their moral as well as physical development. ”

“ I endeavor to visit them at such hours as not to interfere with their work, and often read and explain the Bible to a woman while she proceeds with her sewing or ironing; however, some insist on laying aside work, saying, “We must give our whole attention to the word of God when we do have a chance to hear it”; and it is quite affecting to have them thank the kind heavenly Father for sending some one to teach them ways they knew not of, and pray to become better women for having received the instruction. ”

“ Forsyth, Ga.—On February 1st, the school building of the colored people of Forsyth was dedicated and set apart for the work for which it was intended. For months these people have been struggling to raise money to build the house. They had, as a fund to start with, about two hundred dollars, which the colored Baptist Church had collected. Subscription lists were opened and the colored people and their white friends contributed as they could. Contrary to the expectation of many, their success was such that the building was framed and rapidly pushed forward. ”

“ At length, to the relief of us all, the great doors opened, and the eager old children could contain themselves no longer, and almost broke ranks and ran; husbands and wives apart, evidently fearing, as they hurried to their seats, there would not be room for all. ”

“ He had attended another church, but said he “didn’t like there, for they had some crossness, and good Christians is peaceable; they can’t help being peaceable”;—a good lesson for all who bear the Christian name.
Our Sunday-school averages about 130, and the truth seems to be gaining a firmer hold in the minds of some of the older pupils. The day-school is prospering. One of the little ones of the primary department, a bright little fellow, was yesterday laid in his grave. ”

“ As a class, the agents selected by the religious societies have been far more trustworthy and efficient than their predecessors, being themselves honest in their dealings with the Indian, and defending them from the frauds of ring speculators, and the temptations of the liquor dealers. (2) The progress of the Indians in their industrial, educational and moral advancement has been very marked, as is shown by a tabulated and comparative statement of facts, prepared by the Board of Indian Commissioners, and recently published. ”

“ One of the professors, with the approval of the Association, immediately proceeded to lay the matter before friends in the North; and the teachers gathered from all sources whatever they could secure, with which to begin the work. About three thousand dollars have already been received, and work in the following branches begun:
A printing press was secured, with which to bring our wants before the people of the North, and our influence to bear upon the intelligent colored people. Six students have learned a useful trade, and by its means are paying their way in school. ”

“ The wisdom of its efforts is attested by the commendations of those, both in the South and North, who are most competent to judge, and also by the more convincing fact, that it can point to 100,000 scholars in schools taught by its former pupils, to the education it has given to many colored ministers, and to the missionaries, born in slavery, trained in its schools, and now sent to Africa. ”

“ No Christian Church can discharge its duty to them by merely denominationalizing them into its ranks, leaving the essentials of character and Christian manhood unchanged. The Congregational Churches of this country certainly will not be satisfied with this low aim.
But these Congregational Churches are, by the nature of the case, compelled to work in methods differing from those of other denominations. ”

“ It requires no little resolution, after working hard all day, to walk a mile or two and study two or three hours. A stranger came a few weeks ago, wishing, as he said, “to cultivate his brain.” There was evidently need of it, and we were glad to learn that his recent conversion had awakened him to the importance of knowing how to read for himself. He also expressed a wish to come here to church, as he had become acquainted with one of our members, who, as he said, “seemed to be a good, civil sort of Christian,” and he thought he would come and see what kind of meetings produced that effect. ”