Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS. 81
charged with seeking the dismemberment of the
British Empire, I believe Mr. Gladstone is as firm
a friend to the union between England and Ireland
as any man in the United Kingdom, but he
is for the rule of justice instead of the rule of the
bayonet, the rule of love instead of the rule of
hate, the rule of trust and confidence instead of
the rule of doubt and suspicion. I wanted to see
this famous statesman and orator while in London.
It has been my good fortune to hear many
of the best speakers in this country and in England.
I have heard Webster, Everett, Sumner,
Phillips, and other great American orators, living
and dead. I have also heard Sir Robert Peel,
Richard Cobden, George Thompson, John Bright,
Lord Brougham, O'Connell, and other great
speakers in England, and I felt it would be something
to hear the peer of any of the greatest of
them. Well, the opportunity was afforded me; I
heard Mr. Gladstone, under the most favorable
conditions. It was on an occasion of his motion
in Parliament to reject the infamous Coercion
bill. For weeks the bill had been debated, and
Mr. Gladstone had borne his full share in that debate,
and I was anxious to know what he could say
further. The tide of public opinion set strongly
against him, and the passage of the bill was
already assured. The press of the country, for
the most part, had kept up a steady fire upon