The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-12-29
RECONSTRUCTION.
THE RADICAL FIGHT In CONGRESS.
Speech of Mr.. COwan, Conservative
Republican United States Sena-
tor from Pennsylvania, In
the Senate December
10Th 1865.
From the Report in the Congressional Globe
December 2lst.

From the Report in the Congressional Globe
December 2lst.
Mr.. Cowan-Mr President, am not dis
posed to allow the speech OF the honorable
senator from Massachusetts Mr.. Sumner) to
go to the country without very brief reply.
If that speech be true, and if it be a correct
picture of the south. then God help US then
this republic. this Union, Is at end j; then
the great war which was waged for the
Union was folly then all the blood aud
treasure which we have expended IN that var
in order TO restore ourselves TO companlonshIp
with the people OF the south have been equal
" folIIes But, Mr.. President, Is 1t true p
Or is not this series Of er PGrte statements
made up by anony mous letter-wrlters, people
who are down there more than likely stealing
cotton, people who are down there In the en-
ioyment of place and power, people who are
interested that the disturbed condition OF
things which exists there now shall always
conlinus because they make profit OF 1t Is
there any man who has had any ex Experience
in the trial of causes, any man VINO knows
anything about the nature of evidence, who
does not known the honorable senator could
have sent his emissaries into any one county
in the lately rebelliuns states, and gather the
expressions Of knaveS and fools and dlsc0n-
tented, single idead paople, far more than he
has given Us IN his speech We :old
here of the exceptional instances of bad con-
duct on the part of tue people OF the south.
Why, what large volume 1t would take 10
hold all that If man were 10 go a5out
everywhere in the loyal states and hunt Up
what he might suppose TO be reasonable ex-
pressions, heretical expressions, how many
would he find d? And yet we are treated to
oil this here as if it was the whole of the evi
dence in the case. One man out Of ten thou
sand is brutal TO a negro, ana that Is pal ed
here as type of the whole people of The
south, whereas nothing is saId Of the other
nine thousand nine hundred and aInety-nius
men who treat the negro well. Ols man eX
presses a great deal of dissatisfaction III the
present state of affairs, and that is paraded
here, while nothing IS said OF tue other ten
THOUSAND men who are conte0ted TO accep- Il
and make the most Of it. What then, are
we to do? We are to suppose that the peo
pie of the southern states lately in rebellion
have comm On sense; and their utterauces are
in accordance with what Is common sense and
the dictate of their own interest, We have a
right to presume it to be true. But ace 3rd
ing TO what we have ust heard, every thin :
that has come from the people of these states
and from their public bodies, from the repre-
sentatiyes of these people, lie TO be taken 4,
false and why2 Because somo cotton asen
some correspondent Of a radical newspaper il
the north. some ofhce-holder who has beel
making profit of the state Of thing there
chooses to say it IS faiser The GoreSy OF
state rights is not destroyed there, the nOuor
able senator says. Have We not heard IRON
almost all the public men of the south tina
that question was put to the arbtramenE Ol
the sword than they have lost, and that the,
submit? Have they not acquiesced in the
abolition of slavery-that thing of all Others
which was the last, in the opinion OF every
body, that they would submit to? But still
further guarantees are wanted we are moi
told what they are. What are they? VIVA
is wanted? Everyb body admits that the ne
gro ought to have his natural rights secured
to him. / believe all the moderate conserva
tive men of this chan Der are fully agreed tina
every man should have his natural rights SO
cured-the right to life, liberty, and the pur
suit of happiness the protection of property
limbs aud reputation that he should hav
the right to sue and be sued and TO testify il
courts Of justice. The negro has not beer
allowed in the southern state to testify il
courts of justice, aud why? Because he wa
a slave, and IT / had been n citizen of tn
southern states when slavery prevailed there
/ would have resisted his right To testify il
courts. a witness like u voter ought to ba
free man he should not belong to anothe
man. What chance would a lItlgant hav,
against the master Of a slave if the slave
could testify2 It seems to me that the slav
ought not to testify for the same reason tina
the wife ought not to testify either for o
against the husband. Would you ask a ne
gro to testify against his master, to go back t
that master and be subjected to his i'll vii
because Of his testimony? Would you al
low him TO testify for the master against
party on the other side g.? Certainly not. Blu
this state of things has passed away
Now the people Of the southern states then
selves, SO fer as l understand them ARE in "a
vor of opening the courts to all these classe
of people. And, sir, they must open tber
for their own security. am willing to leay
that to themselves their own interests wi
compel them to allow all people to testify ur
less they excluded by those disabilitie
that have heretofore excluded from tsstifyinl
1t the honorable enator from Massachuset,
and those who think with him desire tbs
these people should have the right of suffrag,
why not say so broadly7
NAT. Snmner-I do say SO.