, 1865-12-29
'VrHE PREsIDENT,s PoLIcY.

Louis, Nissonri, for the purpose Of expressing
ppproyil Of President Johnson's reconstruction
policy. The meeting was the largest political
gatherig ever assembled in Missouri, and en-
braeed Representatives from all sections Of the
State Resolutions approving the Presidents
policy hHd Pledging him support, were adopted
With grst unanimity, and amid unbounded en-
thusiasn. General Frank P. Blalf, who so
great5 distinguished himself in the war for the
Union was one Of the principal speakers, and
from bis address we extract that portion which
discusses the question of negro suffrage AT
ter having shown from official documents that
Lincoln originated thepolicy now being pursued
by Johnson, h, proceeded as follows:r
Gentlemen, ,he policy. of the President is
based upon wisdom, and also upon justice. 1t
is based upon wisdom, because if you under
take, as these Radicals would undertake if they
dared do it, aud as some of them, bolder than
sthers, have undertaken to do, to give the right
of suffrage 10 the negro race in the South, they
would perpetuate these disorders, which have
been a source of such distress and humiliation
to our country in the last four years. The idea
Of these two races, somarked in difference from
each other enjoying the rights Of citizenship
and suffrage in the same community, is, in my
opinion, utterly impraeticable. 1t would GER
tainly perpetuate the strife which has existed
and breed new war. Mr.. Johnson himself is
reported by Maj. Stearns, who gives
| count Of an interview which he held with him
recently, to have said that this would breed
another civil war--a war of races-which would
lead to the exterminaton of one or the other of
the races in the South. .....
Now these Radicals propose, in the language
Of Mr.. Sumner, TO disfranchise the white race
Itiu,l la,fr .r.ai,f5 tha IN, ,1eoh
own words, put the slave in the place of his
master. That is the enunciatiou made by Mr..
Sumner, followed up by Mr.. Stevens in con-
yention held in Pennsylvania recently, which
would add another plank, that they should be
! deprived of all their property to pay the public
l debt and compensate Union soldiers and suffer
ers by the rebellion. So that this programme
| includes the stripping OF the white race in the
South of every vestige of property, of every
| yeStige of sovereignty, and would leave them
| baked and unprotected, whilst the blacks are TO
| be taken by the hand, clothed with all the rights
of citizenship and Suffrage necessary to power
| in the South and carry out the views of these
! gentlemen in New England, who conferred that
| right upon them. (ApplHuse.) Who believes
that such a system would avail anythiDg2 1t
would breed a civil war and war of races.
| Who believes that these men, who have fought
! the whole power Of this Government so gallanty
| and so veil, although in mistaken cause, for
| the last four years, that their pride is so hum
| bed as To be willing to crouch beneath this ne
| gro race Who does net see that it would lead
| US to scenes ten thousand times worse than
those through which we have just gone? My
| friends il would be utterly impossible to main
tain the condition of things. In order to main
tain such a condition of affairs the Government
would be compelled to maintain au army of
Northern men great as that army which sue
ceeded finally in crushing the rebellion. That
/ 81 a inv this in
the course Of time, and that in very briet time,
| in a debt which would be utterly intolerable,
and which the wealth of this country could not
support. But these expenditures and the main
tenance of this army would necessitate also
high protective tariff, and that is what the New
England people want. applause They want
the political power and the dominion which they
think the7 would derive from the black voters
at the South, giving them seven or eight more
States to add to the six States Of New England
They want the political power which would en-
able them to elevate their chief men 10 the
highest Offices in the nation and maintain that
species of legislation by which they enric b
themselves at the expense of the nation. APP
plause) Those are some of the evils which
would occur directly ont of the policy enun-
ciated by Mr. Sumner and others who follow
him Asa pretext tor imposing this policy upon
the men Who recently rebeled, they say they
canrot be trusted, that they will again rebel
NV tflenQS, tnat Is du VI hpPAShShoASA
it 1s an argument which springs from fear
il is an argument which might we'll and does
occupy the minds of these stay-at-home SOL
diers the mass of whom were in the home
guards, and did not help to put down this rebel
lion Those who put down this rebellion are
not afraid of new rebellion upon the part OF
| those. whom, they have conquered and who are
now disarmed, but they have a respect for these
men who have with such limited force main
tanned themselves with such abiitysfor so long
period Of time. (Applause.) They believe
| that men who fought as bravely as the Southern
people have fought during this long period for
an erroneous cause, that when they have given
up that cause--when they found that it was i'm
possible for that cause to succeed, and they lay
down their arms, they lay them down as brave
men always do. They laid them down in goodY
faith, and they can be trusted as well, perhaps,
| if not better than those who have stayed At
| home during the whole of this war, and whose
| only proof Of loyalty has been this declaration
| of animosity and vindict;veness against fallen
\ enemy whom, an armed foe, they dared not
! confront (Applause.) Now look at the leaders
! of these men all over the State, and see who
| they are. Why there is scarcely one OF them
| that has ever had a commission in the army and
gone to the front. They generally the lead
ers of home-guard regiments which they have
! gotten up only to have themselves elected to
| some Office and then they would resign and 60
! out of the service. (Appause.) They wish to
| make amends and sustain themselves as loyal
/ men in the eyes of country, to which they are
giving no service, by manifesting this wonderful
| amount of zeal-to crush every man who mas
been rebel; but they took very good care 70
! keer out Of the way of these rebels during the
war tAppause.) Those few who did trust
themselves to go out at the beginning, thinking
| it was going to be very soft snap, and that
/ they would win guupowder-glory, which would
! give them offices for all future time, when they
1 found outthatit was really stern business, they
i soon got fltgued and came home and ran for Of
! fee, I lApplause.) Now, my friends and fellow
/ citizens, you may look at the great men who
have really rendered important service to their
country in this war, who have been in the war
from the first until the last, and they speak OF
our former enenies-who ,ere now our friends
they speak Of them with respect and generosity. :.
Hear the iIlustrious-Grant. (Great aPplause.)
Did you ever hear him talk in tAe vein Of these
{ Radicals2 (Never) Every man knows that be
gave his whole heart to the suppression of the