48 / 288
L E C T U E E I I .
LAW STUDENTS AND LAWYERS.
I.
We are about to enter upon an experiment,
and that its conditions and hazards may be ap
preciated, I propose to make them the subjects
of my present discourse.
You purpose to become practical lawyers, and
you come to us to aid you in acquiring such a
mastery of the law that you can enter favorably
upon its practice.
Under any circumstances the undertaking is a
serious one, and doubly so in your position. You
are of that race—are its representatives—which
has labored in physical and mental servitude, and
suffered from political and social degradation from
the planting of civilization on this continent. I
do not care to speculate as to the influence of
these upon your race or upon its representatives,
nor do I trouble myself with any question of race,
or the comparative mental status of races ; but it
(
40
)