Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1865-11-30

fore their freedom was fully established, bu
they should be regarded now as freeuen o.
the Republic. ~
Second. The amendments to their State
constitutions, which have been adopted by
many Of their conventions so reluctantly,
under the pressure of dispatches from the
President and Secretary Of State, should be
ratified by majority of their people. We
all know that but,a small portion of their
voters participated in the election Of dele
gates to these conventions and nearly all,
If not all, of the conventions have declared
them in force without a. ratification of the
people. When this crisis has passed can
they not turn around and say that these
were adopted under duress, BY delegates
elected by n,eagre vote, under Provisional
Governors and military authorities and new
er ratified by popular yotef And could
they not turn our. own anti.Lecompton ar
gument agaiDst us, and insist, as We did,
thatfa constitution not ratified by the peo-
pie may have legal effect, but no moral ef-
feet whatever?
- Third The President has on all occa.
,sions linsisted that they should elect Con-
grsssmen whocould take the oath prescribed
BIZ the act of 1862 but in defiance of this,
and insulting to the President and the.
country, they have, in a large majority Of
instances, voted down mercilessly Union
men who could take the oath, aud elected
those who boasted that they could not,
would not, and would feel disgraced if they
'conld. Without mentioning names, one
gentleman elected in Alabama by a large
majority declared, in his address to the peo
pie before the election, "that the iron pen
Of history would record the emancipation
act as the most monntrous deed of cruelty
that ever darkened the annals of any na.
tion,;" and another one, who avowed that
he gave all possible aid and comfort to the
rebellion, denounced the Congress of 1862
as guilty in enscting such an oath. The
South is filed with men who. can take the
oath. It declares that 81 have not yolun.
tarily taken part in the rebellion" Every
ooascript in the Southern army can take the
oath, because he was forced into the ranks
by the conscription act, and every man who
stayed at home, and refused to accept a
OWL or military Office, could take that oath.
But these were not the choice of the States
lately in. rebellion ..-
Fourth. While it must be expected that
q minority of these States, will cherish for
years, perhaps, their feelings of disloyalty,
the country has right to expect that be.
fore their members are admitted to share in
the government of this country clear ma
jority Of the people of each Of these States
should give evidence of their earnest and
cheerful loyalty-not' BY such speeches as
are SO common, that they submitted the is-
sue to the srbitrament of war-that they
are willing to stand by and fight for the flag
Of the country against all its enemies at
home or abroad, lApplause.]
= The danger now is in too much preoipi.
,tatiou. Let usrat6er stmakehas slowly"
and we can then hope that the foundations
Of ear government, when TINS reconstraet,
ed eon The basis Of iudisputabfe loyalty, will
bssas eternal as the stars. Applause. ] In
President johnson I have unshaken conf.
dence. I cannot forget that in the Senate,
at the opening Of the rebellion, he was the
only Southern Senator who denounced it
and its originstors--ssfaithful among the
faithless found" [Applause. Nor can !
forget that when on his way from the capi.
tai to his home, insulted though he was at
many railway stations, he never faltered in
bis devotion to the Union. Nor can I for
get bis speech, when Military Governor of
Tennessee, to q mass meeting of the eolored
men Of Nashville, in which he declared that
sshe desired that all men should have fair
start and equal chance in the race of life,
and let him succeed who has the most
merit" Yon all remember his speech to
the colored regiment of the District of Go.
lumbia, when he repudiated that stereotyped
declaration, "that this is white mans
country alone," and insisted that it was
theirs also. You remember, also, his re.
marks to the South Carolina delegation,
tthst the only right system was to protect
al men, both white and black, in:their per-
SONS and property, and that if they get prin.
eiples right, details and collaterals would
follow" We all remember, too, his ear
liest dispatches to these Southern conven.
tions, his setting aside the Richmond elec
tious when q disloyal Mayor and Common
Council were chosen, and that he has sign.
ed the death.warrant of every one who has
been convicted of conspiracy. The great
Union organization of the country carried
it successfully, aided by our heroic defend.
ers, through the perilous crisis of the past
few years Our beloved martyr President
leaned upon it in the darkest hours. 1t
stood by the national cause unfalteringly.
Ityoted down the Chicago platform, which
declared the war to be failure, and which
demanded . cessation of hostilities The
people well placed, the whole power of the
= Government in its hands--ExecutiYe. Leg:
islative and Judieial-and re.aEHrmed it by
the brilliant victories of this fall. Let US
emulate the example of its friends in all the
States let us study unity in the light of
duty, and believe that the Executive and
Legislative departments of the Government,
when they compare views together, will cor
daily cooperate in the great work before
us ALL and 50 act that the foundations Of
our Union, wisely and patriotically recon
struoted, shall be eternal as the ages.
With hearty acceptance by the South
Sc tha NAM .s;tnot;on ro;oioa IN helie DC