ey will be by the south, the union will be
complete without either north or south or sectional or party lines.

"First, there must be recognized in every part of this country,
without respect to race or color or condition, the equality of
rights and privileges between man and man. This fundamental
principle is now ingrafted upon our constitution. It can never be
erased. There it stands; and although, from time to time, parties
and men may refuse to observe the spirit of that great provision
in the constitution, there it will stand, and in time--and I trust
a not far distant time--it will be recognized by every man and
woman and child in this broad land, white or black, north or south.
It is not safe for it to be otherwise. A right plainly given by
the constitution and the laws, withheld or denied, is an uneasy
grievance which will never rest. And, therefore, the time is not
far distant, when those now strongly actuated by the prejudices
and feelings of race will recognize this important doctrine. They
will feel that it is for their own safety and for their own good.
Blacks and whites are spread all over the south. They cannot be
separated without the fiat of the Almighty, and such a fiat has
never been issued except once, when the Israelites marched out from
slavery in Egypt, and it took them about forty years to travel a
short way.

"One-third of the population of the south is of the negro race,
and two-thirds of the white race. Whatever may have been thought
of the wisdom of the policy of emancipation, it was the logical
result of the war, has been finally adopted, and will never be
changed. It is idle to discuss schemes to separate these races
except by voluntary and individual movement, but they will live
and increase, generation after generation, the common occupants of
the new south. What is needed above all else is to secure the
harmonious living and working of these two elements, to secure to
both the peaceful enjoyment of their rights and privileges. As long
as any portion or race or class of the people of the new south are
deprived of the rights which the constitution and law confer upon
them, there will be unrest and danger. All history teaches us that
those who suffer a wrong will sooner or later find means to correct
and avenge it.

"There is another condition that the new south must find out. The
honorable gentleman who preceded me (Senator Brown) has found it
out already. The system of