The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1865-12-15

and so must have established a change
I of suffrage in the Northern, Middle,
/ and Western States, not less than in the
/ Southern and Southwestern. Such an
act would have created new class of
| voters, and would have been an assump-
! ton of power by the President which
nothing in the Constitution or laws of
/ the United States would have warrant
/ ed
/ On the other hand, every danger of
conflict is avoided when the settlement
/ of the question is referred to the sever
| al States. can, each for itself,
/ decide on the measure, and whether it
/ is to be adOptedat once and absolutely,
or introduced gradually and with con-
ditions. In my judgment, the freed
men, if they show patience and manly
/ virtues, will sooner obtain participa-
ton in the elective franchise through
! the States than through the General
Government, even if it had power to
| intervene.-When the tulnult of emo
| tions that have been raised by the sud-
| denness of the yoeiai change shall have
subsided, it may prove that they will
receive the kindlieSt usage from some
of those on whom they have hereto
fore most closely depended.
But while ] have no doubt that now,
after the close Of the war, it is not COM
petent for the General Government TO
extend the elective franchise in the sew
eral States, ii is equally clear that good
faith requires the security Of the freed
men in their liberty and their proner-
ty, their right to labor, and their right
to claim the just return of their labor.
/ cannot too strongly urge dispas-
Sionate treatmentOf this subject, which
should be carefully kept aloof from all
party strife.-We must equally avoid
hasty assumptions Of any natural i'm
possibility for the two races to live side
by side, in state of mutual benefitand
good will. The experiment involves
US in no inconsistency let Us, then, go
on and make THAI experiment in good
faith, and not be too easily dishearten-
ed.-The country is in need OF labor,
and the freedmen are in need of en-
ploymeEt, culture and protection. while
their right of voluntary migration and
eXpatriation is not to be questioned, /
would not advise their forced removal
and colonization. Let us rather encour-
age them to honorable and useful in
dustry, where it may be beneficial to
themselves and to the country; and,
instead of hasty anticapatiOns Of the
certainty OF failure, letthe be nothing
wanting to the fair trial of the expert
ment. The change in their condition
is the substitution of labor by contract
foT the status of slavery. The freedman
! cannot fairly be accused of unwilling
ness to work, so long asa doubt remains
about his freedom Of choice in his pur-
suits, and the certainty Of his recover
ing his stipulated wages. In this the
interests Of employer and the employed
cOincide.-The employer desires in his
workmen spirit and alacrity, and these
can be permanently securedin no other
way. And if the one ought to be able
to enforce the contract, 50 ought the
other. The public interest will be best
promoted, il the several States will
provide adequate protection and RENE
dies for the freedmen. Until this Is in
some way accomplished, there i no
chance for the advantageous use Of their
labor; ana the blame of ill-SuCCeSS will
not rest on them.
! know that sincere philanthropy is
earnest for the immediate realization
Of it, remOteSt aims but timeiS always
an element in reform. 1t j, one of the
greatest acts on record to have brought
four millions Of people into freedom.
The career of free industry must be
fairly opened to them; and then their
future prosperity and condition must,
after all, rest mainly on themselves. Ii
they fail, and so perish away, let Us be
careful that the failure shall nOt be at
tributable to any denial of justice. in
all that relates TO the destiny Of the
freedman, we need not be too anxious
TO read the future; many incidents
which, from speculative pOintO of view,
might raise alarm, will quietly settle
themselves.
Now that slavery is at an end or
near its end, the greatness OF its evil,
in the point Of view of public economy,
becomes mOreand moreapparent. Sla-
very was essentially a monopoly of la
Dor, and assuch locked the States where
it prevailed against the incoming of
free industry. Where labor was the
property of the capitalist, the white
man was excluded from employment,
or had but the second best chance OF
finding it; and the foreign emigrant
turned away from the region where his
condition would besc precarious. With
the destruction of the monopoly, free
labor will hasten from all parts Of the
civilized world to assist III developing
various and immeaSurabIe resources
which have hitherto lain dormant. The
eight or nine States nearest the Gulf OF
Mexico have Il soil Of eXuberant fertil-
ity, a climate friendly to long life, and
4f.,i =
found as vet iii any part of our country.
And the future influx of population to
them will be mainly from the North, or
from the most cultivated nations in
/ Europe. From the sutierings that have
attended them during our late struggle,
let Ills look away to the future, which is
sure to be laden for them with greater
prosperity than has ever before been
known. The removal OF the monOpo-
Iy Of slave labor is a pledge that those
regions will be peopled by a numerous
and enterprising population, which
will vie with any in the Union in COM
pactness, inventive genius, wealth, and
industry.
Our Government springs from and
was made for the pe0ple-nOt the peo-
pie for the Government. TO them it
owes allegiance; from them it must
derive its courage, strength and wis
| dom. But, while the Government is
thus bound to defer to the people, from
whom it derives its existence, it should,
from the very consideration of its ORR
gin, bestrong in its power of resistance
to the establishment Of inequalities.
Monopolies, perpetuities, and class leg
islation, are contrary to the genius of