white man to just ideas of education, and more toward bringing the two
races to an acknowledgment of each other's rights and duties, than all
other institutions or influences in the country."

When the war closed there were 4,000,000 slaves set free in this
country, absolutely poor, absolutely ignorant. The black race doubles
itself in twenty years; and it is supposed that there are now about
8,000,000 Negro people. Of these, 3,000,000 may have learned to read and
write; there must be 5,000,000 still in illiterate and superstitious
darkness. That they are still trying hard to learn, will be accentuated
by the perusal of a specimen of letters to us from locations less
favored than others:

"Sir Deare Bretterin I will Rite you A few lines to let you no our
condison, we has had greatiel sickness her for the last few month.
But we hant had no Deth in the time of it, and we wont to no
somthing A Bout our School her at ------ for ef we can geet the
teacher we can have a good School now, for the is good many pepel
wating on us, now. we wode Be hapa to her from you all and then we
Can tell the Pepel what to Penon, and ef you Plese Rite to us A
Bout the Deed that we sent to you for we hant never hern from it
yeat unly By Rev. ------ and i woude Be glad to her from you A Bout
it

so Rite soon yours truly in Crist"

* * * * *

The American Missionary Association, which is the authorized and
recognized servant of the Congregational Churches, reporting to them