“Ladies and Gentlemen:—Let us now look at the white man in the same periods. In 1647 they had, capable of bearing arms, only 300 all told! Their pursuits were agriculture and commerce. They had a system of government, and written laws. The rights of nations and the rights of individuals were well defined. Their religion was founded upon the Bible. They were cold and calculating, and knew the value and uses of money. They also knew that land was better than money! They therefore made every effort to obtain it. The white man bought it of his red brother, and paid him little or nothing. He bought furs, too, at his own prices. “We find him again in 1774 numbering 181,000. Their improvement, in numbers, wealth, and the arts and sciences, has been going steadily onward. The forests fell before the woodsman—the game, and those in pursuit of it, also continued to retreat, till both had nearly disappeared. Thus one of the occupations of the red man, like Othello’s, ‘was gone.’ “The land of the red man became cultivated—‘the wilderness blossomed as the rose.’ The white man built cities, towns, villages; he built churches, established colleges, academies, common schools, and other institutions of learning. “Yes, you made canals, railroads, and your electric telegraph transmits news almost with the speed of thought. This is wonderful! The red man can yet scarcely comprehend it. Your commerce has extended over the world. Your ships are on every sea—your steamers on every river. In two hundred years your population has increased from six thousand to three millions. “Allow me to ask, what price did the red man receive for this broad domain? The public documents testify thus:—‘By these presents we do for ourselves and heirs and successors, ratify, confirm, grant, and submit, unto our most Sovereign Lord King George, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, &c., defender of the faith, &c., all the land lying between, &c.;’ here follows an indefinite description of the premises, including lakes, rivers, &c., and never paying a cent for it! “Ladies and Gentlemen:—You see from this that your forefathers wronged the red man and took advantage of his ignorance. This you will now acknowledge. The red man has a long history of wrongs and griefs; though unrecorded by the hand of man, they are written in the Great Book of Remembrance kept by the Great Spirit, and He will inquire into this at your hands by and by, and He will do justice to his red children. “I have not instituted these comparisons to represent the red man as an inferior, and you as a superior being. No. These results are owing to circumstances in the rise and fall of nations. And you must also bear in mind that the Great God in heaven, whom you profess to worship and adore, governs and directs the affairs of nations as well as individuals. The powerful nations that fall, and the weak that rise, do it alike at His bidding.