The Placer herald., 1863-01-31
SPEECH OF
HON. VIM. A. RICHARDSON
OF ILLINOIS,
In the House of Representatives, Dec. Sth,
1862.
SPEECH OF

Whole on the State Of the Union, Mr.. Rich
ardsun sad
Mr.. CHA1RMAN: The annual message re
Gently sent to this House by the Presiden
of the United States is the most remarka
bic Of any that has ever been delivered tc
Congress. 1t is remarkable for what it saws
and it is still more remarkable for what i,
omits to say. Oue'half Of the twentvlone
pages which i; covers is devoted to the ne
gro. No page. no sentence, no line no word
is given to laud or even TO mehtion :he bra
very, The gaIlantry, The good conduct Of our
soldiers in the various bloody battles that
have he fought. No sorrow is expressed
for the lamented dead. No alusion is made
TO the manned and wounded No svmpa
thy is rendered TO the sorrowing widow and
to the helpless orphan Yade during the war,
witch could have been avoided by honorable
compromise, if the President and his friends
had chosen so to do
Sir, it is a remarkabl, document. 1t is
an extraordinary message when we come
to think Of its sum and substance. TO feed,
clothe, buy and colonze the negro, we are
to tax and mortgage the white man and his
TO the earth for the benefit Of the black race.
A friend Of mine from New England, the
other day, made mathematical ANALYSIS of
the message. He said, one from one and
naught remains. Nanght from naught and
the message is the result. Laughter)
SO far as it relates to the white race, that
mathematical calculation is right. SO far
as it relates to the negro. or n the court Ian
guage Of the President, the free American
of African descent" rivers Of blood and
countless millions Of treasure are not enough
for his benefit and advantage.
Now, sir, when our people have anxiousy
looked to the message from the President of
the United States to learn what they have to
hope of restored Uniou, and return of
the blessings of peace once more to their
hresides, by inference we learn if not
directly, that if we will carry ont all of the
Presidents plans; if we will carry out his
schemes, thlr;y-seven years from now, the
people may again behold the restoration of
TIE Uniou, au,i 'i.~ ...-..-r 1~-..-'.. n,
the message states that at the end Of those
thirty, seven years but few of us will ten be
living to e'joy the blessings we once enjoyl
ed in this now distracted and divided cOunl
try.
But, Mr. Chairman, there are few pass
res in The message so extraordinary, so
wonderful, that they require at least pass
mo notice There has been, and still is. a
great anxiety felt aud expressed 10y our peo'
pie thai this negro popu alton shall not In
tertere with them; that it shall not jostle
them in the occupations they have heretofore
pursued in the various industrial pursuits Of
life in the great fertile regions OF the West.
The President on that head Uses the following
language:
And yet wish to say thereis an objection
urged against free colored persons remaining
in the country, which is largely imaginary if
not sometimes maiicious Il is insisted that
their presence would injure and displace
white labor and white Iaborers If there
ever could be a proper time for mere catch
arguments, that time surely is not now. In
times like the present, men should utter
nohing for which they would not willingly
be responsible through time and in eternity.
Is it ,rne, then, that colored people can dis,
place any more white labor, 10y being free
than by remaining slaves? If they stay in
their old places, they iosIle no white laborers
if they leave their old places, they leave them
open to white lahorers Logically, there is
neither more nor less of it,"
Now, sir, | will not do logic the violence
to say that that is an argument. lie tells
our people, those who supported him because
they believe he and his party in ended to
keep the non slaveholding States and all the
Territories of the Union for the sole occupal
ton of the white race, if. you do not like my
plan of disposing Of this black race; it you
fear from their introduction among you
that their labor will he brought into cohpei
tlion with that of your own, all you have
TO do to avoid this competition is to quietly
leave your present fields of labor, homes to
which. perhaps, you may be attached, and
the graves of your kindred, and emigrate
sonthwald, and occupy the ? aces made va
cant by the exodus of what his Excellency
terms the "ree Americans of African decent v
That is the sum and substance of it.
But for sake of argument, admit If you
choose that all the plans of the President
touching emancipation and colonization OF
the negro, were to-day successfully carried
ont. what would it accomplish in the great
work of restoring the Union' Nothing
worse than nothing.
The President recommends in his annua
message, three propositions to amend the
Constitution of the United States. | vii
not trouble the committee with reading them
every gentleman here is familiar with th'
articles he proposes to adopt for amend
ments. The first, second, and third are TO
the benefit of the negro The people ar
sick and tired of the eternal talk upon TIT
negro, and they have expressed that DISCUS
enthusiastically in the recent elections. In
Presidents proposed amendments as who'll
or either of them, could not receive the sui
ferages of nlajoriy of the people Of NOR
than two States of the Union.
While upon this subject desire to cal
the attention of the committee 10 single fea