Annual Address.BY REV. GEO. C. ROWE.LIVE, LEARN, LABOR, LOVE.To the President, Faculty, Students and Friends of Claffin University.LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I greet you. My heart is filled with varying emotions--pride, joy, gratitude, as I stand before you to-day. Pride in the opportunities here afforded, and the afforded, and the apparent progress on every hand. Joy in the facilities for development of the abilities of head, heart and handfor the rising generation of my race; and gratitude to Almighty God for what He was wrought for us in the past quarter of a century.

My motto for a number of years has been composed of four words: Live, Learn, Labor, Love; and they crystallize themselves into a poem of rare beauty and power, which has often proven to me an inspiration. It is:"Live in the light of the truth that has found thee, Live as the ocean lives, sparkling and broad;Live for the thousands who perish around thee;Live for thy country, eternity, God.Live in the Past with its eloquent history;Live in the Present, it soon will have fled;Live in the Future, enshrouded in mystery,Live while you live, 'ere you sleep with the dead.Learn to look up when temptations assail thee,Learn to do right, whomsoever may laugh;Learn to distrust the delights that regale thee,Learn of guilt's chalice, oh! never to quaff.00034Learn to distrust each unhallowed emotion,Learn to thyself to be loyal and just;Learn to make duty the shrine of devotion,Learn not in man but thy Saviour to trust.Labor for that which is highest and purest,Labor for that which is noblest and best,Labor for Him, who of friends is the surest,Labor till death brings thy guerdon of rest,Labor in earnest, thy work is around thee,Labor unceasingly on to the end;-Labor is worship, and Angels surround thee,Labor to help thee, and fly to defend.Love 'mid aspersion, neglect and disaster,Love in the sunshine, but more in the storm;Love above all thine Exemplar and Master,Love Him with constancy, tender and warm,Love not of sorrow her vesture to borrow,Love in the dayspring of heaven to roam;Love not self nor sin, and in earth's glad to-morrow,Love Everlasting shall welcome thee home."From these four words I wish to speak to-day.We will consider,I.--Live.

Goethe, the great German poet and philosopher once said: "In den ganzen, guten, schonen, resolut zu Leben:" In the complete, the good, the beautiful, resolve to live. That is the true idea of life. There are few complete lives. Lives of men and women who are fully developed. We find many lives which have accomplished large development along certain lines, which on other lines are dwarfed, narrow, contracted, predjudiced, small. We need full rounded men, whose lives are good and beautiful and therefore complete. Men who live to make the most of life for themselves and for others; because "no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."

Education is the development of the whole man. To develop one to his best estate requires effort and expenditure; 00045protracted effort; expenditure of time and money--expenditure of physical, mental, spiritual energy--life force. The development thus secured imposes a corresponding responsibility. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required, and to whom men have committed much of him they will ask the more." This, then, is the law. Education is a trust; a liability; which must be faithfully discharged. Upon the possessor a high privilege has been bestowed, but with that privilege a corresponding duty is exacted; the sum of which may be resolved into the words: Render an account of thy stewardship.

It is a matter of cause and effect. Education is a cause. The leading out and directing of one's power and capabilities is an effect. The more complete the education, the more efficient the cause--the mightier the effect; for effects match causes, and vice versa. No one can dispute the fact that the young men and young women who have an education, are responsible for the proper use of that education. We have a right to expect and demand of them results in the enlightenment of others, equal to the degree in which they have been enlightened. Those who do not produce such results in the enlightenment of others, are negligent of their opportunities and when the final account is made up, will be forced to pay the penalty. Education disciplines the mind. It quickens discernment. If we desire to impress deeply and powerfully the minds of others with a certain truth we must feel the power and beauty of that truth ourselves. See a thing clearly yourself, and you can make others see it.

We are all truth seekers. Not for the purpose of hoarding, as a miser hoards his gold, but for the purpose of enlightening our own minds, that in turn we may enlighten the minds of others; and we find that the brighter the lamp of truth and knowledge shines in our own intellects and hearts, the more beneficial and effectual is the influence of our lives on others. The Wise Man said in the days gone by: "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet yet tendeth to poverty." Nowhere is the truth of this statement more apparent, than in the realm of intellectual pursuit. Moses scattered the seed of wisdom which he 00056had gathered in the schools of the arts and sciences of Egypt; in the college of meditation in Midian, in the university of communion with God in the Wilderness, among the Children of Israel, and the more he scattered, the greater became his store.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in His life upon earth, set us a perfect example. He scattered the truth broadcast through the world, touching the world's mind and the world's heart at every point--the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the bond, the free,--yet it does not detract from His divine dignity nor His peerless wisdom. Indeed, the more He scattered, the more apparent His exhaustless wisdom became.

As a servant of Christ, the Apostle Paul scattered the results of his intellectual training and spiritual gift, among the ignorant, illiterate and superstitious heathen of the East--and according to the world's thought he was burying himself, being ostracised, outside of the best society, the intellectual circles, but it was this very isolation that made Paul what he was,-an independent, fearless thinker, a peerless teacher, a man in the highest sense. There are many things worse than not being identified with the elite, the upper social ten; for the claims of society upon this class are so great and exacting, that much valuable time is lost in acceding to its demands; and peaceful meditation among them is largely a lost art. Few who give time and attention to the select few, ever rise to prominence in science, art, literature, philanthropy or patriotism. The law is: Give time and attention to the best things, and you shall receive an abundant increase of the best things. Withhold from these, and you impoverish yourself. And the thought is not, give only to those who are congenial, but as your Father in Heaven gives to all men alike, causing His sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and sending rain upon the just and the unjust. If it were not for this large benevolence on His part, there are many who would live and walk in a sunless and rainless world. In imitation of His broad benevolence, be kind to all you chance to meet, and help especially those who need it most. Thus you shall become enlarged in intellect, in heart, in soul, and be the power which God intended you to become. This was Paul's manner 00067of life, and by scattering he was greatly increased in wisdom, grace and ability.

There were many eminent men and minds in the days of Moses, who devoted their intellectual development to society and self. Where are they to-day? The temple of their grandeur has not left a stone; but Moses lives, and his devotion to the interest of humanity is his imperishable monument.

Many lived while Christ was on the earth--men known as kings, emperors, princes, rulers, but to-day the best of them can claim but a page in history, and others have passed into oblivion; while the character of Christ, the man of sorrows, who went about doing good, who ate with Publicans and sinners, who had not where to lay his head, shines forth with a hallowed radiance which illuminates the world.

Great and mighty men lived in the days of the Apostle Paul, but their names are forgotten to-day, while Paul the man of and for the people, lives to instruct by burning words and shining example. He scattered, they withheld; he is remembered, they are forgotten; he lives, they are dead, in all of the hideous import of that word.

These are illustrations of true greatness and completeness of life and character, which have been, to some extent, exemplified in every generation. And in our day it is dependent on the same characteristics.

But these are examples of men, and of the one who was God as well as man. As many of the educators and students, as well as promoters and well-wishers of education present are of the opposite sex, I will cite examples, which should prove to you, ladies, an inspiration. The century just closing has produced many noble examples.

Florence Nightingale was born in 1823. She was highly educated, brilliantly accomplished, and well connected. Society expected her to become a leading light, but she was possessed of higher aspirations, and with independence of character enough to strike out on new lines. She refused to be governed by the dictates of society; to acquiesce in its interpretation of propriety, to be hampered by its restrictions and limitations. Her master passion, early developed, was to alleviate human suffering. In order to fit herself for her 00078life work, she devoted ten years of her life to preparation under the Sisters of Charity, and in the Nurses' training school in Paris. Her motto was: "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and in addition to her ten years of training, she visited and inspected all of the hospitals, civil and military of Europe. The battle of Alma was fought in Sept. 1854,and many thousands were slain. In addition, hundreds of the wounded were crowded into hospitals on the banks of the Bosphoros. On account of the unhealthful condition of these hospitals the death rate became frightful. At this crisis Florence Nightingale offered her services and was accepted. On the 21st of October, '54, she started with her crops of trained nurses, and reached Constantinope, Nov. 4th. Great was her devoting to the sufferers. All the world wondered! A woman, beautiful, educated, highly accomplished with a fair amount of wealth, which insured luxury and ease,--standing for 20 hours at a time in the offensive wards of an over-crowded hospital, amidst the sick, the dying and the dead, counting not her life dear that she might relieve that suffering; and by kindly touch and soothing words, win the unfortunate ones back to life. She used her great knowledge in providing for better sanitary conditions in and around the hospitals, removing infectious causes and mitigating the effects. While thus employed she was prostrated with fever, but refused to leave her post of duty. As a result, after a protracted season of work of this kind she returned to her home in England, a confirmed invalid, but with the ardor of her nature not a whit abated, and from her sick room has gone out from time to time, manuscripts on the art of nursing which have continued to bless the world.

Now, all this knowledge, this diving gift, might have been lost to the world, by giving precedence to the claims of society, but she scattered the seed; and by scattering, increased her own knowledge and experience. Thousands of great women have lived, acted their part on the narrow stage of society, and have passed into oblivion since 1823, the year of her birth, but she acted upon the broad stage of Devotion to the cause of Humanity, and hers is "One of the few, the immortal names which were not born to die."

Two years previous to her birth, in 1821, there was born, of poor parents, in the Swedish city of Stockholm, a little girl. There was nothing very remarkable about her, and she was treated by her parents as were the other members of their large family. But as she grew into youth, it was noticed that she could imitate the birds with her voice, and sing with wonderful sweetness. A rich and benevolent lady became interested in her, and undertook her education and training. She was put in training. with the masters of music in her native city and soon began to delight great audiences. But she was not satisfied with present attainments, and was in consequence put in training with the most famous mater of music in Paris, (Monsieur Gracia,) where, after four years of patient practice and close application she completed to her satisfaction her musical education. She then began her career as a great singer. Thousands listened, entranced, to her almost heavenly voice. She came to this country in 1853, and sang in Castle Garden. Her share of the proceeds for that first concert amounted to $10,000. She gave it all away in charity. A servant girl in purchasing a cheap ticket for $3, said; "Here is a half a month's wages, but I must hear Jenny Lind sing." The girl who was overheard by the great singer was rewarded for her frank speech with a twenty-dollar gold piece. She earned much, and gave much. Her endowment of schools and hospitals amounted to $200,000. She might have forgotten her early days of poverty and struggle, and given her time to the society of the rich and great, to the neglect of the suffering and needy; but she chose the good part which will not be taken away from her. Many great singers have lived, enjoyed the pleasures of sin and society for a season, since 1821, and we of to-day would ask, should we hear their names--Who were they? What did they accomplish? And the answer would come back: They lived, they acted their little part, and they died. Here the record ends. We cannot go beyond that. But Jenny Lind not only lives in history, she also lives in human hearts, a most lasting memorial!

There is another, who illustrates this great principle. She fell on sleep in Ohio about three years since. Her good works were many. Wherever there was good work to be done 000910she might be found. She was deeply interested in temperance reforms, and devoted much of her time and attention to that work. She was rich, and influential, yet she would leave her beautiful home in Ohio, and travel to distant cities to preside over meetings of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In that most trying of positions, the first Lady of the Land,she never once faltered, but there scattered temperance principles, and instead of losing respect as many prophesied, she was exalted the more. She had courage to banish the wine cup from her own table and thus set a shining example to the women of her land. She visited schools established for the uplifting of our people, and met the students as she might have met her own sons and daughters. It was my privilege to meet and converse with her at Hampton Institute in 1878. She was a true lady. In conversing with Mrs. Lucy B. Hayes, one could not fail to be impressed with her lack of self-consciousness. One felt at ease as when conversing with a mother. And so, during her entire visit there, she was the same genial and lovable lady--kind without condescension. Educated, refined, accomplished and wealthy, yet unselfish and unprejudiced. She will live. Time has no power over the memory of such a woman. From her life a lesson can be learned: It is: If you would raise up and benefit others, show that you respect all that is worthy in them. By looking down on those whom you seek to help, you repel them and demean yourself. The time is bound to come when they will look down on you. The one despised to-day may change places with us to-morrow. Seek to expunge from your character the patronizing and the supercilious, and cultivate that disposition which can see God's image in every Christian, and in some degree in every human creature, and seek to do good to them because you love Him. So shall you live, an honor to yourself and to the human race, a blessing to the world.

There were many others whom I might mention,--North, South, East, West.--Women of the Anglo Saxon race, and women of the Negro race, who by earnest work and Godly lives are doing much to transform humanity. Live then, enlarged, noble lives, complete, good, beautiful. In the words of Walter Taylor Fields:

"Be strong, but not in self, Go whenceThe breathings of OmnipotenceShall sweep the nerve-strings, full and long:And from their impulse shall ariseThose deep, celestial harmonies,That comfort and make strong.And patience, too, must come, and restWithin thy striving throbbing breast,That thinks to-morrow all too long.Thus filling out in breadth and lengthThe perfect character--for strengthUnbridled is not strong.Yes, Right must win, since God is just;Our hardest lesson is to trust;But His great plan stills moves along.To-day is but the chrysalis,That holds to-morrow, feeling this,Be patient and be strong."

11.-Learn.The ability to learn is man's noblest faculty. It implies a a choice. There is much in this world, which it is best not be learn, much that is desirable. Every man must choose for himself what to learn, what not to learn. To learn, requires attention, patience, purpose. It pays to learn the art of right doing. It is one of the fine arts. Indeed it is the finest art. Like all fine arts it is acquired only by patient continuance. It makes men manly. It exalts womanhood. It promotes independence. It enables one to go forward in spite of jeers and sneers and frowns, and respect his own conscience.

Education, as we know, is the leading out of the powers and capabilities in the man or the woman. It is the cultivation of self-dependence; the acquiring of ability to do. One might devour all of the text books in the lands, and yet, should not such a diet increase his ability to do, he is still uneducated. There are many book-learned people who lack ability to apply that learning to the practical affairs of every-day life; therefore they are useless. Education can only be profitable 001112as it can be made practical. David's smooth stone killed Goliath because he knew how to shoot it; and he knew how because he had learned how. Many of those present are engaged in, or expect to engage in the work of instructing. It is a noble work. The most careful preparation is necessary.

Do you understand what you read?" is just as important a question as when Philip propounded it to the Eunuch. A clear understanding is necessary in order to impart truth to others. If your pupils fail, some of the responsibility rests with you. The giant Ignorance, is to be met, and the little Davids under your instruction must be thoroughly taught the art of slinging the smooth stone of knowledge with such accuracy, that he shall receive his death blow at the first shot, leaving naught to be done but the cutting off of his head with his own sword.

The giant Superstition and Falsehood is to be met, and David must meet him in open combat. He must be so instructed in the art of slinging the smooth stone of truth that the giant shall fall with his face in the dust, the fatal indenture in his forehead.

The giant Intemperance is to be met, and David must be qualified to meet him without fear, with the war cry upon his lips-"God, Home and Native Land.--Thou comest to me with the demijohn, the decanter, the flask and the wine glass, but I come in the name of the Good, the True, the Beautiful,--the Good All-Father, in the name of Home, the true Friend of infancy, childhood and youth; of this, our favored land, which I trust will one day be free from ignorance, superstition, vice and prejudice, and from the blighting curse of the Rum-Fiend!" and then, rushing forward, deliver with unerring aim the smooth stone of Gospel Temperance truth.

Your work is to instruct; to assist others in learning the important lessons of life. If faithful, you will be called to larger fields of usefulness;--for the greatest things have not been done by the greatest people, but by the most faithful people. If you neglect to do your best work, if you hide your talent in the earth, you hinder the advancement of others and shut the door of promotion against yourself.

These lessons, set before us to learn every day, many seem trifling; but they make up life; for life is a school and we are all students in it. Influences may be set at work in your life and in mine, supported by an earnest purpose, which, like a mighty anthem shall swell and expand, increasing in volume and sweetness, as it makes its way adown the years,--drawing men, through the power of that Christian education which has been emphasied in us, to recognize the beauty of knowledge and wisdom, "whose ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."

In the words of Massey:"Then youth flame earnest, still aspireWith energies immortal;To many a haven of desire,Your yearning opes a portal;And though age wearies by the wayAnd hearts break in the furrow,We sow the golden seed to-dayThe harvest comes to-morrow."

III.-LABOR.Labor is honorable. It wears no badge of dishonor. The industrious man in any department of labor is to be honored. It develops manhood; and true manhood is God-like.

I am deeply interested in the Industrial features of this school. These various departments of industry tend to make the men more manly, and the young women more womanly. From the machine shops and from thorough mechanical training, our people are debarred in a large measure, by the prejudice of the Brother-in-white; but here, our boys are learning; and doors for the exercise of the knowledge here acquired are bound to open. As ability is shown it is sure to be respected. There is no argument more potent than real ability in conquering prejudice. Those officers, who were sent by the Chief Priests to take Christ, although they were prejudiced against Him, respected His wisdom too much to insult Him by arresting Him, and returned to the Chief Priests saying: "Never man spake like this man." And we often hear the remark made of some of our leading men: "Oh he 001314is not like the rest, he's different!" I tell you, the day is coming when, as a rule, our men will be acknowledged to be "different!" The exception will simply prove the rule.

Some years ago, in the printing office, I was setting up an article by Dr. Blyden. It was deep and scholarly, and I was not then certain of his nationality, yet labored under the impression that he was an African. To satisfy myself I asked a prominent white gentleman in the office: " Who is Doctor Blyden that wrote this most excellent article? Is he a colored man? He answered: "No, indeed, he's a white man." About a year later I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Blyden, and came to the conclusion that when a Negro becomes great and learned, he's white! for our Anglo Saxon brother delights in claiming everything that amounts to anything! But to be serious-it has been said that "there is no sex in mind," and it is equally certain that there is no color in mind.

If any one present desires to be thought white, the unfailing recipe is to labor and acquire ability in the avocations of life which compares favorably with the better element of the Anglo Saxon race, and which reaches far above a large proportion of that race, for there are many inferior people intellectually, morally and spiritually, in that race as well as in our own, and you will find that your character and ability especially with the class whose respect is worth having, will be recognized.

The Wise Man said, years ago, "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall," and we find that what was true in the day and generation of the Wise Man is true to-day. A wrong pride is here meant. But he might have added: Self-contempt goes before degradation, and a cringing spirit before debasement. The right sort of pride is desirable. It must be cultivated. That is, pride in good character; pride in self-reliance; pride in earnest and honest work. Be proud then, of yourselves, and of your power to do independent work. Education leads forth all of your powers and capabilities. It establishes confidence in your own abilities. Creates self-dependence. The Black man's education for 250 years was all in the opposite direction: The smaller his confidence in himself, and the greater his dependence on his 001415master, the more he was appreciated. The tendency of this teaching was toward dependence and servility. This impress of 250 years makes it difficult for him to rise to the full stature of manhood, in thought, in feeling, in aspiration! To feel that he is just as good as any other man so long as he is honest, industrious, upright and self-respecting! The education which he requires is that which shall touch the inner man. I am glad that so many of our schools aim at this: Hampton, Atlanta, Claflin, Allen, Livingston, Avery, Georgia State, and many others. Accretive growth will not do. There is too much of this veneering. What he needs is development from within. This can only come by being forced to rely upon himself.

The tendency is to seek only such employment as has been followed by members of the race. To many of the higher avocations he feels that he has no right to aspire. This idea comes from the fact that for years he has been taught the doctrine of inferiority. It is necessary to uproot this idea in order to secure the best advancement.

In the schools of to-day, he must not only be drilled in self-respect and a knowledge of books, but he must be taught self-reliance and race integrity--race pride. He must be taught to think well of himself and of his people. It makes my heart burn with indignation, when I see young people who are educated, as they call it, cringing, ashamed of themselves and their race. Ashamed to recognize familiar acquaintances in certain places.

Hon. Fred Douglass once said, that when he was in Europe he spent a large portion of his time in London and in Paris. In those places he met quite a large number of Americans, some of them known to him, and some whose acquaintance he could not recall. In almost every case they greeted him cordially, yes, heartily; invited him to dine, and offered many other tokens of friendship and esteem. But on his return to Washington, he met and recognized some of these very persons who had been so cordial abroad, and something on the other side of the street would call their attention until they had passed him. It struck him as a little strange.

Yet this is seen among our people to some extent. Persons 001516sociable at church, at entertainment or at home; with one another, are sometimes ashamed to recognize each other on the street. Persons who act in this way leave themselves open to the suspicion that they would do, under cover of darkness and secrecy, many things that they would be ashamed ashamed to have the world know. As a rule they are not trustworthy. A culprit is always a coward, you know. They remind me of an anecdote my father used to tell: In a farming district in Connecticut, lived a bashful country maiden, and near by lived an awkward country swain, who had a warm place in his heart for little Maria. To him she was promised the land, seen at a distance, and they say: "Distance lends enchantment," for he could not muster up courage to ask to be her escort. One Sunday night however, fortune was favorable, and he obtained permission to accompany her home. Little was said until they came to the narrow lane leading up to the farmer's house--her home--when they were forced to come nearer together. Then she found her voice, and gave expression to the thought which had filled her mind on the homeward walk. "John, she faltered, please don't tell any one that you came home with me to-night," and John blurted out, most gallantly. "No Maria, I won't, for I'm just as much ashamed of it as you are!" And toward such persons as I have mentioned, I heartily agree with John. A person who will sneak along the street and pretend that he does not see when he does see, is worthy of the most hearty contempt.

The lack of race pride is one of the great stones of stumbling in the way of the best progress of our people. This, however, can be, and is being in a degree remedied by our schools. The presence of colored professors and teachers, associated with white professors and teachers in schools like Claflin, Clarke and Atlanta Universities; Beach, Avery and Hampton Institutes; and schools like Georgia State and Livingstone Colleges, Allen University and Haines Industrial School, which are manned entirely by colored professors and teachers, are creating aspirations on the part of students which could not otherwise be expected. I can, if worthy and competent, 001617reach the highest position in the school from which I graduate, is no small incentive.

The Southern Cities and States are assisting us nobly in this regard. The public colored schools for the most part throughout the Southern States, are taught by colored teachers. There are 18,000 of these teachers in the United States, who are drilling an army of 1,240,000 pupils. There are 66 academies and high schools, and seven colleges with colored presidents. These colleges and high schools for our race, together with the many, headed by able white men, are in a large measure supported by our Northern friends, who thus clasp hands with the people of the South in their endeavor to undo the effects of the "sum of all villianies"--human slavery. The American Missionary Association is expending more than $1,000, a day, or about $400,000 a year in this work of enlightening and uplifting. The Freedman's Aid Society, and many other benevolent societies, of all denominations, are expending large sums in this work, and the people are showing their appreciation, by grasping and improving these opportunities, and by devising plans for self-help.

We look with gratitude to Governor Claflin, Mr. Slater, Mr. Daniel Hand and his partner, Mr. Geo. W. Williams, whose integrity rendered it possible for Mr. Hand to give more than $1,000,000 and to the numerous other benefactors of our cause, who have given thousands, yes, millions, for wiping out the degrading influences of involuntary servitude. We rejoice in the provisions which the various Southern States have made in progressive public school systems, and in laying out large sums of money in this direction. But we know that the work is just begun. More money, and more schools, and longer terms are needed; and we, as a people, must give more largely ourselves for the establishment and maintenance of school work. Progress has been made, but a great wave of enthusiasm for self-help in the race, added to what is being done, will greatly accelerate that progress.

I have said that the public schools for the most part, in the Southern Cities and States, are taught by colored teachers, who have been trained for the work. That is true; but the City of Charleston is a notable exception. There the colored 001718teacher is debarred. Such a course instills into the minds of the children the idea of inferiority, and crushes out aspirations for positions of trust and usefulness. A fair proportion of teachers of their own race in the large and excellent public schools of that city, with the knowledge that others may aspire to, and secure positions therein, if competent, would serve as an incentive, and many a bright pupil would become brighter and more active because of the possibilities before him.

The fact that the city colored schools of Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta and Athens in Georgia, are manned, and ably manned in every department by colored teachers; together with the fact that the schools for colored people, in every Southern State, almost without exception, are taught by competent colored teachers, added to the fact that the schools of Columbia, the capital of the commonwealth are thus provided for, speakes volumes against the policy of Charleston. Can it be possible that Charleston, the Eden of the South, is least in progress among the cities of the South? We trust that this matter will be considered, and speedily re-adjusted by our honored Board of Education.

The knowledge that those of our race cannot aspire to these positions, leads many of our young people to think meanly of themselves and of their race. A man, to be a man in the highest sense, must be conscious of manhood; conscious of his ability to do, to overcome obstacles, to succeed!

History is ever reproducing itself. The present is but a bright reflection of the past, we can trace our own history in the history of ancient Rome, or Rome as a Republic. Industrious, frugal and economical at first; wealthy, indolent, arrogant and wasteful in the second stage; rapidly decaying in the third era. Such, in a word, is the history of the rise, progress and fall of the greatest of ancient empires. Their leadership of the world was not due to accident, but to the superior quality of man the early Republic bred. Yet how soon obligarchy, based on slavery sapped the energy of this wonderful race. What was the trouble? It was simply this: The aristocracy was too high, the people too low for anything but a mere show of Republican form of government. A lazy, corrupt, servile populace were the successors of the stout 001819old Roman Plebs, while the later Roman noble had lost the courage, the honesty, and the capacity of the old Patrician. So to-day: The tendency to crush down the poorer classes, withholding from some guaranteed political rights, is bound to react to the detriment of the whole people. 'Tis true there is great material prosperity for the moneyed class, but there is grinding poverty for the poor man--hence the industrial unrest of to-day. The question comes up all over this broad land: Who shall become possessors of the soil and accumulate wealth therefrom? The few or the man? In Rome it was the few who monopolized the soils of the then known world, and the result was, ruin to the state. Are we sure that we are not hastening on to the same results in this country? The country is advancing or retrograding, not in proportion to its increase of wealth, but in proportion to its increase in the manliness and independence of its citizens!

If our plantations, mines, railroads, manufactories and phosphate industries, breed a race of masters owning them, and a race of serf-like servants working them, the country is a loser in that which is worth more to a Republic than wealth. What has this to do with our subject? It simply means that the city, state, or country, which will not recognize worth, character, intelligence and ability wherever it exist, which closes avenues of advancement, honor and usefulness against any of its deserving citizens, is retarding its own progress, and tarnishing its law glory. The world is old. Therefore I do not speak unadvisedly. I simply repeat the clear testimony of history!

The aim of this and every other school in this broad land, then, should be to develop the best qualities--character and manhood. To this end our young people should seek independence and competence; they should seek not only to establish themselves in Public confidence, by upright character; but also to establish themselves in homes of their own--which is the right sort of independence--having neither poverty nor riches,--for poverty foster dependence of character and spirit, and wealth breeds arrogant pride, which goes before destruction and a fall.

Seek, then, homes of your own. Be proud of yourselves 001920be proud of the best qualities in your people. Encourage them everywhere to buy land and cultivate it intelligently, which course will do more to raise up, and make better the general condition of our people than millions of dollars in charity, making them strong, brave, independent, manly!

Intelligence and character will be the foundation stone of the best society of the future--not who or what was your father or your mother? But who and what are you? What can you do? What are you doing? On this foundation we must build. Those who build on this foundation, like the man whose house was founded upon a rock, will have builded surely and safely. The words of Plato to the Fathers of Athens, nearly 400 years B.C., are true to-day. He said: "Nothing is more shameful to a man than a claim to esteem, not on his own merits, but on the fame of his ancestors. The glory of the fathers is doubtless to their children a most precious treasure, but to enjoy it without transmission to the next generation, and without addition, is the extreme of ignominy." These words are living truth. Those of to-day who depend for advancement and prestige on the wealth, freedom, standing and condition of their parents, will find, when it is too late, that they have built upon a foundation as unstable as shifting sand.

There is no royal road to advancment and true honor, save one--Intelligence and upright character. Secure these, and they will prove stepping stones to the best, the highest things life has to offer and more, they will prove rounds in that ladder, which set up on the earth, reaches within the crystal palace, our Father's house above. In the words of the poet:"We are living, we are dwellingIn a grand and awful time.In an age on ages telling,To be living is sublime."Oh, let all the soul within youFor the truth's sake go abroad.Strike! let every nerve and sinew,Tell on ages, tell for God!"

IV.-LOVE.While we seek to live broad and noble lives, learn to do right and be useful; labor for that which is highest and best; there is a higher ground still which we must strive to reach. It is summed up in the words--love to God and man. The world is gradually coming up to this standard, as the great missionary and benevolent enterprises of our day abundantly prove.

Our people are taking an advanced stand in this love-life; as is proven by their numerous churches and benevolent societies, all of which point to mutual helpfulness. Their methods, in a large measure, are crude and defective, and their wisdom in conducting some of their enterprises may be questioned; but the great principle is there the same; and with greater enlightenment, which is coming every day, the time is not far distant when they will astonish the world.

There is a future before the race; a great and useful future--a future, fraught with results which shall touch every phase of the world's life, and bring men into sweeter harmony with each other and with God. The race is destined to become great because of its childlikeness. "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." "All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword." The greatness of the race is based upon that which is now most despised, their meekness, childlikeness, simplicity and tenderness of heart. In settling the great problem of arbitration for the world, when men shall learn war no more, God will use largely the spirit of the race under oppression, injustice, and great wrong, as an illustration which the broad-minded and large-hearted of the earth will grasp and wield to the betterment of humanity. The great of the earth have been meek and non-resentful Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John, and He who spake as never man spake, and lived as never man lived, and died as never man died, but only as a God could live and speak and die, was great in the patient endurance of wrong; and in that meekness and lowliness of heart which when it reviled is reviles not again, when it suffers threatens not, but commits its cause to Him who overrules all things for good to them that love Him. Our Brother-in-white 002122may despise us because we are the little child, and may feel that, being a child, we have no rights which the man-brother is bound to respect; but he should bear in mind that the child will grow, is growing, and when the elder brother, perhaps, is feeble with age, he who was the little child, may be working in the prime, strength and vigor of full manhood.

Mr. Thomas Nelson Page, in the North American Review, for April, claims that the Negro has made no progress, "not possessing the faculties and qualities which can raise his above the condition of slavery." And this astounding assertion is made in the face of facts as apparent as the sunshine. In 1865, the entire taxable property of the race amounted to about $12,000,000 while to-day he pays taxes on $264,000.000 worth of property. This fact, together with the further evidence of progress that there are not 18,000 colored teachers, where in '65 there were few, if any; and 1,240,000 boys and girls, young men and young women enrolled as pupils, sets Mr. Page down as--well, to say the least--a Page of errors!

We are accorded the place of one who has done nothing; while history records the fact that the civilization of the present day, owes no small debt to ancient Egypt, and other portions of Africa, the home of our ancestors. But we will not complain; for, in bringing the races of the earth to a higher method of settling wrongs, disagreements and difficulties, under the hand of God, the little child shall lead them! Where can you find a more beautiful picture than that of the enslaved one, looking out for the Master's interests, and taking care of the master's family, while that master was on the field of battle, fighting to perpetuate his thraldom?

There is a great furture before the Negro, therefore there is great future before Claflin University, and every other school where he is being educated, or with which he may be identified; and while Claflin and other schools for the race are dependent upon him for their very existence, the greatness of these schools will also depend in small measure upon the conception which they have of the Negro's capacity, and the thoroughness with which they meet his intellectual needs. Many theories as to his lack of intellectual capacity have been 002223advanced and exploded; and men are beginning to recognize and admit that he is as capable as any other man of receiving, digesting, and practically using the highest culture. All he lacks is the opportunity. Give him a white man's chance to acquire, and a white man's chance to use his acquirements, and then, in the battle of life, if he does not prove himself the equal of any other man, declare his incapacity, but do not make this assertion without giving him a fair hearing. Do not say that he is not capable, until his capacity has been fully tested. Do not take for granted that he does not aspire to the highest knowledge, the richest culture, and an equal place until you have proven it by giving him a chance to decide for himself.

The little child thinks, and some of his thoughts are "long, long thoughts," thoughts which reach far ahead into the future, some of his thoughts are deep and broad and high, and have to do with science, art, philosophy and literature, some of his thoughts are limited only by the universe of God, for he is a religious being, and lives largely in the realm of the spiritual. He is visionary and imaginative. He sees the vision and has faith in it, and the promised good shall be realized. Our fathers saw, afar off, the day which we now enjoy, but they saw it clearly! They announced to their children the coming day, and it has come! They were the heralds of a now era. When this wonderful, imaginative, fore-casting power shall be subdued, brought to obey laws, set to use, then shall the race give to the world great poets, orators, philosophers, religious thinkers.

It will never prove a race of warriors, for its mission is one of Peace and good will. When the era of great soldiers has passed away, when these great soldiers, the days of war and carnage, of strife, lawlessness, and multitudinous lynchings have gone by, and the world shall look upon them as representative of the semi-barbaric,--when there shall be a true realization of the meaning of the triumphs of peace--of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,--then the Negro shall take his place in the front rank of the nations of the earth! God bless the great Anglo Saxon race, and the work that it is doing for our race and for humanity. God bless 002324the Mongol, the Malay and the Indian, but last and all the time, God bless the great Negro race, its aspiring men and women and boys and girls, and make them a blessing to the world!

All honor to Governor Tillman for his manly and patriotic course in regard to the lynching outrages in this state; all honor to the News and Courier for that noble editorial against mob law, which appeared in that paper about four weeks since; all honor to every man in this commonwealth and in this broad land, whether they agree as to methods or not, who raise their voices and exert their influence against every form of lawlessness and injustice. We ask not that the criminal shall go free, we simply ask that no man shall be condemned without a fair and impartial trial before a court of justice. There may be satisfaction in taking the law into one's own hands; there may be glory for some in Civil and International strife, wars which desolate lands, ruin homes, and cause the bitter wail and broken hearts of a million wives and mothers and orphan children, but such glory is bought at too dear a price. There is a more excellent way; and the spirit and influence of my race shall play no mean part in leading the world into that way. In the words of Lowell:"Humanity sweeps onward, where to-day the martyr stands,On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands.Far in front the cross stands ready, and the crackling fagots burn And the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe returnTo gather up the scattered ashes into History's golden urn."

To conclude: In the complete, the good, the beautiful, resolve to live. Live in the noblest way, and with the highest and broadest purposes. Live for humanity. Learn all of the useful lessons of life, and also learn to reject and discard whatever cannot promote true manhood and womanhood. Labor to make yourself and the world a little richer because you live. Take pride in honest work, and never despise an industrious man. Work is honorable. Work, then, till the sun goes down. And last, love God "with all thy soul and mind and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." And we might add, love yourself as your neighbor. That is, while 002425you seek and rejoice in your neighbor's prosperity, seek and rejoice in your own prosperity. You know what I mean: Your interests and the interests of your race are identical. Your race is yourself. Love your race, all identified with it; at least as well as you love the members of any other race. The Anglo Saxon errs the other way. He loves his race better than he loves any body else. The Negro loves every body else more than himself. But he is coming right, and I thank God for it.

President Garfield once said: "The world's history is a divine poem of which every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains have been pealing along down the centuries, and though there have been mingled the discords of waring cannons and dying men, yet to the Christian philosopher and historian--the humble listener--there has been a divine melody running through the song which speaks of hope and the halcyon days to come." And I would say, that many golden words will be set in order by men of this race, such as faith in God, simple, implicit, childlike. Hope in the overthrow of evil and the final triumph of righteousness; Love, broad and deep for all humanity! And all these words combined shall produce a soul-inspiring canto of peace, justice, brotherhood!

And now, Mr. President and friends, allow me to congratulate you, and thank you for this opportunity of speaking a word, and for your courtesy and hospitality. The education of my people means a great deal to me, and I rejoice in every effort which may promote that object. Let us stand firm. Hold aloft the standard. Have high ideals and seek to work up to them; holding it a precious privilege to have a part in building character and manhood. I like the high conception of duty shown by the color-sergeant in one of the colored regiments in the late war. The Colonel, who for some reason could not accompany his regiment to the front, presented the colors to the sergeant with this charge: "Color-guard, protect, defend, die for, but never surrender this flag." The sergeant replied, as he received it: "Colonel, I'll bring back these colors to you in honor, or report to God the reason why!" A few days after, he fell at Port Hudson, and his dying 002526blood crimsoned its folds, but in failing to restore the flag to the hand which had committed to him the trust--he Reported to God the reason why! In the battle of life let us do likewise.

I have woven the incident into a poem which I will repeat in closing:THE REASON WHY.It is the eve of battle,The soldiers are in line,The roll of drum and bugle's blastMarshal that army fine.The hour is fraught with mystery--A hush pervades that throng,And each one thinks of home and friends,And says at heart. "How long?"The Colonel rides before his men,His thoughtful brow is bare;He calls the color-sergeant,And tenders to his care.The nation's pride, the dear old flag--The loved red, white and blue,And says, with earnest tones and grave:"I trust this now to you."Yes, color-bearer, take in chargeYour country's flag to-day,And to the conflict bear it--The thickest of the fray."Bear it with lofty courage,And to it faithful be;This flag has inspired thousands,And led to victory."Take it and never leave it,Tis a solemn charge to thee;Bring back to me this banner,This ensign of the free!"002627"Colonel," the color-sergeant said,Holding the flag on high;I'll bring it back or else reportTo God the reason why!"Away to the front he bears it;Cheered on by comrades brave,Anxious to liberate his race,Bring freedom to the slave.They charge upon Port Hudson.Where, sheltered by a wall,The foeman cut them down like grass,They bravely charge--but fail.Yes, on that field, where thousandsUnheeding the tumult lie,He left the flag, reportingTo God the reason why.Another bears that flag along,Holding it proud and high:But the sergeant has reportedTo God the reason whyOh, Christian soldier, going forthTo battle for the Lord,Be filled with manly courage,And proudly bear God's word.It is the standard of your King,Who rules the earth and sky;You must win, through it, the vict'ryOr tell Christ the reason why.The war will soon be ended:In the dust you soon will lie;Go forth and conquer, or reportTo God the reason why.