at, people?" cried the Rev. Jeremiah.

"You cannot help believing," continued Mr. Hotchkiss, "that your former
masters would force the chains of slavery on you if they could; all they
lack is the opportunity; and if you are not careful, they will find an
opportunity, or make one. Slavery was profitable to them once, and it
would be profitable again. There is one fact you should never forget,"
said the speaker, warming up a little. "It is a most stupendous fact,
namely: that every dollar's worth of property in all this Southern land
has been earned by the labour of your hands and by the sweat of your
brows. It has been earned by you, not once, but many times over. You
have earned every dollar that has ever circulated here. The lands, the
houses, the stock, and all the farm improvements are a part of the
fruits of negro labour; and when right and justice prevail, this
property, or a very large part of it, will be yours."

This statement was received with demonstrations of approval, one of the
audience exclaiming: "You sho' is talkin' now, boss!"

"But how are right and justice to prevail? Only by the constant and
continued success of the party of which the martyred Lincoln was the
leader. The mission of that party has not yet been fulfilled. First, it
made you freemen. Then it went a step further, and made you citizens and
voters. Should you sustain it by your votes, it will take still another
step, and give you an opportunity to reap some of the fruits of your
toil, as well as the toil of the unfortunates who pined away and died or
who were starved under the infamous system of slavery."

"Ain't it de trufe!" exclaimed the Rev. Jeremiah fervently.

"We have met here to-night to organise a Union League," continued Mr.
Hotchkiss. "The object of this league is to bring about a unity of
purpose and action among its members, to give them opportunities to
confer together, and to secure a clear understanding. No one knows what
will happen. Your former masters are jealous of your rights; they will
try by every means in their power to take these rights away from you.
They will employ both force and fraud, and the only way for you to meet
and overcome this danger is to organise. Ten men who understand one
another and act together are more powerful than a hundred who act as
individuals. You must be as wise as serpents, but not as harmless as
doves. Your rights have been bought for you by the blood of thousands of
martyrs, and yo