The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-06-27

|
head OF the Law School connected with Har-
ward University. At the great Faneuil Hall
meeting in Boston a few days since, Mr..
Parsons presided, and in taking the chair he
spoke as follows:
The greatest rebellion the world has ever
seen has been defeated and suppressed by the
greatest efforts, a nation ever made. And 1t
las LETT behind 1t questions as mOmentous as
any that a nation was ever called upon to
answer, SO momentous that our destiny for
ages probably Sepends upon our answer to
these questions. We have met day to con
slider them. They are numerous; but to my
mind they all cluster around one central ques-
tion. What shall we do with the emancipated
slavesf What have we the right to do p
What is it our duty to do? /
As we are victorious in war, we have
right to impose upon the defeated party any
terms necessary for our security. This right
is perfect. 1t is not only in itself obvious,
| but it is asserted in every book on this sub
! ject and Is illustrated by all the wars of his
| tory. The rebels forced war upon, us; it
was long and costly and bloody war; and
now that we have conquered them, we have
all the rights which victory confers. ,Iadmit
but one question: Does our security require
that we should insist upon freedman suffragef
On this peint will suggest but one thing
We greatly increase by the emancipation OF
the slaves the congressional force of the
Southern States. They viii cast about one
third of all the votes; and If they stand to-
gether and vote as unit, they will need only
about one-sixth more to get and hold control
of our national legislation and all our foreign
and domestic policy. AZ N
II the question of freedman suffrage is left
open, persistent and widespread agitation is
| inevitable. It will certainly replace slavery
| as the great question on which parties will
organize. And then it will inevitably cause
the former slave states to stand together and
vote together as one. Who can doubt that
they will get all the aid they want from those
| in the free States who will seek to ride into
power on this or any other question? The
same predominant influence which has gov
erned this country for many years will govern
| 1t again, and with the same absolute dominion.
| And for what purpose will they govern 1t p
| For what purp use, certainly; for the repudia-
| ton of our debt. This debt now presses with
a heavy burden OF taxation upon an impa-
lient people unaccGstomed to the BURDEN
They who will be the ruling portion of the
| ruling party will not forget that their own
vast war debt was destroyed by our victories.
| They will find themselves called upon to pay
their share of another great war debt, and
they will not forget that it was incurred for
their subjugation. 81
How eau any man doubt that this party
| will assail this debt and the taxation it makes
necessary, with all their might, and with all
the means which can be devised or found or
used? And are we indeed bound to give, by
means Of this suffrage question, unity and
solidity to party which must aim persistent
ly at the insolvency of the country, and the
prostration of the vast pecuniary interests
which now rest upon the credit of tue coun.
try? Can any rational man believe we have
no right to lessen, so far as we may, this dan
ger? to demand, TO insist upon, and to have
all the security we can have against an ineffa-
Bile disgrace--an intolerable calamity r. aaie
| / believe our rights may well be established
on this argument. wish, however, to rest
them on q still surer foundation. The rebel.
ion has compelled us to abolish slavery for our
security. We have done this. But the slaves
were always to considerable degree pre-. ect
ed, supported and defended by the self-inter
est Of their owners. ALI this we take utterly
from them. And then if we withhold from
them all political right, we withhold from
them all power of self-protection and self-de
fence. We give TO the whites with whom
they live the whole power Of legislation ovel
the freedmen aud against tue freedmen. We
say TO them, we leave you in exclusive posses
sion OF the whole of this power, because We
look upon the freedmen as degraded race
we give you full power to keep them down or
that dead level Of ignorance and debasement
to which slavery sank them, as long as you ser
1T; and as long as youskeep them there you
shall be their masters! What more wrongful
what more cruel thing could we do toward
the whites as well as toward the blacks asf
ooure OF the SouIuern STATES have among
their statutes a law prohibiting the education
OF colored man under heavy penalty. The
whole world calls this most inhuman, most In
famous. And shall we say to the whites Of
those States, we give you complete and exclu.
sive power OF legislating about the education
of the blacks; but beware; for If you lift
them by education above their present condi-
ton, you do 1t under the penalty of FORGETTING
and losing your supremacy. Will not slavery.
| with nearly all its evil. and with none of its
compensation, come back at once mot under
Its own detested name; it will call itself ap
prenticeship; It will put. on the disguise OF
| laws to prevent pauperism, by providing that
every colored man whe does not work in some
prescribed way shall be arrested and placed
at the disposal Of the authorities; orit will do
| its work by means of laws regulating wages
and labor. However it be done, one thing is
1 certain. II we take from the slaves all ths
protection and defence they found in slavery.
and withhold from them all power OF selEprO-
lection and self defence, the race must perish,
| and we shal be their destroyers.4 y III
But some persons will say, all this is proba-
BILE enough and sad enough, but what right
| have we to Interfere with the States in this
matter? Iabeg to ask such.perso just this !:
Have not the rebels, by their rebellion, forced
upon as emancipation; and have they not,
therefore, forced upon us the duty of protect
ing those whom we emancipa from certain
misery and probable destruction and ii those
States have forced upon as this duty, have
they not given us a perfect right to discharge
this duty? This question OF right disturbs
| some excellent persons. Let me then ask
again, have not the rebels compelled us to
| euiancipate the slaves, and thereby made it
our imperative and solemn duty to provide
that this emancipation shall not be disastrous
to them ? and have they not, therefore, and
necessarily, given us fun and perfect right TO
| do all that this duty requires of us? And
what Is this? cannot doubt that it is to
hold those States in our military possession
until their constitutions provide that political
right shall not depend on race or color, or un-
til Congress shall pass an amendment to the
national Consultation to the same effect Then
we may wait safely, for State after State will
be sure to come up, and the work will be
dene. E9W 931cAM IVA GJJbtG
Let no man suppose that l undervalue State
rights. At no moment Of my life was my con-
viction stronger than it Is now, that the whole
! prosperity Of this country demands the pres
ervation Of the balance between the sovereign-
| ty OF the nation and the rights of the States.
1t Is because l so value these rights, that
i would not permit State which has renounc
cd them all utterly, to resume aud repossess
them, until we have reasonable security that
we can exercise them with safety to itself and
4 to the whole country. gaegam