The Van Buren press., 1866-11-23
Froa Little Rocl Dispatch.
The Test Oath.

Feeling and Prejudice often come il contac
with factt As often Is Fact condieror.-
Feeling aii,i Prejudice are fond and dreamy
and hopeful. Fact Is stern. stubborn and re
lrntlcss. IL Incomes a wise man wh,n debat
1 ing concerning hi, welfare To heed fats NOR,
than feelings 1t much more becomrsn legis
lative body. when taking counsel for he wea
OLA State 10 heed facts more than pr,iudiccs
/ THIS Test Oath i fact, a strange, strong
! harsh fact. II was signiiied IN that awful ant
solemn event, the surrender" Conditions
were then by a remorseless loeaRpOssl. whicl
were. of force, accepted BY the surreiderins
| parties. lie bitter pill To swallow was ther
! presented. Ii was swallowed. nothing NOR,
I OF humiliation could he taken nor givn. Tn,
! test oath was there in that pill. The s,utherl
man accepted the result which the st,rn de-
cree Of the sword in the hands of Fa,ts rcn.
dercd to him.
/ IL is now for the Southern man to change
/ his condition. to lessen hi. mortiicaion tC
restore to his land her ancient fame. wealth
! and power Ii is only to be done in ole way
by accommodating ourselves to the tlcts Il.
they are and which we have accepted and
with the aid ofthe President of the United
States, the conservative members OF ColgaeSs
the good and true men of the North: in d
word. with the philadelphia Convention and
is spirit and actors. To re-seat the South in all
her ancient rights under the Constitution
AHy contrary course is suicidal and swell Rad
zeal triumph.
II Is only a farce to elect any man to til,
United States Senate who cannot take, thi.
oath. lt is also am unuianly dcsertion ID TIN,
principles of the declaration of the Piiladel
phia Convention. to which the whole Soutl
has given assent. The only thing to he con.
sidercd Is can we find good, consistent Tn.
ion man of capacity and integrity who cal
take this oath and yet rcpresentus. One who
cannot take this oath cannot represent Us. els,
the inevitable conclusion is that the surrender
of 1865 was false and we ought to have con.
tinued the war until not man WAS left I,
lift Il sword or fire a gun. We ought to hav,
continued on lighting ii we did mol accept tn,
result of 1865. The BITTERNESS was then drain
ed the chalcc emptied. And the ordeal of the
test oath was, among ether bitter things. ac-
cepteL All we can now do ~ wise men is tC
accept the facts and in 50 doing create new
facts from which we shall again receive pow
er. .f f." +E
Can we lind a true Union man who can rep.
resent us? IfJudge TcjbettS be hot such
man where can we lind one? lie can repre-
sent ms. both rs to the Past and as TO The
Present and Future. lie was States Right,
Democrat years ago. He is States Right.
man now the same as We are-lor the ques.
tiOns ofSlavery and Secession have been set
tied by the sword as well for him rs for US
Ii is true that he was a Union man. that h(
believed Secession was wrong and impolitic
and following out his sentiments went North
! lie had right thus to do. Indeed, such as ht
were invited and urged bv our Generals 40 Il
do. But Judge TcDbetts, unlike some wh(
at the outset OF the war were fierce Secession.
Is nd a. nrlS Il a.,
| standard under which they had enlisted. die
not enter his State at the head Of Fedora
| bands and lay waste his own country. IL,
did not, like some Southern born men carry
| torch and knife into Benton. Washington
Madison, Carroll and other counties. But h,
| I'D take to his house the Confederate soldiel
when lef; alone with none to care for hi
wounds, nurSeA and watched him till he dice
/ and then gave him Christian burial. Whel
onr citizens were captured by wholesale il
| Benton and Washington ana carried off b,
/ federal scouts to prison in Springfield he d,
| spend his money and influence and got then
/ all otfand sent them home again. When TIN
! Arkansas soldier was found by him ia an Hi
nois or Missouri prison he did empty Ills purs
to provide for his comfort, And after tn
Peace when ContederateS soldiers wer
knocking at the gates of Federal Glvnenc,
/
coniiscated and in the hands Of sharks and re
morseess Williams. he did get their pardon
did get their houses and lands returned an,
released. When Southern families of littl
! Rock were rutherlesSly driven from thCrowl
! roofs he did have those homes restored t,
| them and enabled them again to sit besid
their own hearths.
! Surely. his record which is before the State
and these his acts ought to place him high il
the esteem of the Arkansas Assembly and ia
above any other Union man in the State in fit
ness for the l.. ;. Senate. If we DO not Sent
such a man better send none at all. No on,
would delight more to honor the names sug
gested than l-such men as Greenwood, Fa
gan, Batson. Watkins. Walker, DnVal. Boone
| Brooks, Pettigrew. and host Of others goo,
and true. | woGld shout with Joy If any O
them could take place in the t. S. Senate
! But they can't and it is only postponing anC
darkening the evil day to dodge the real is
sue, impalatoable as it may be. We have 90
to come to the fact.
| Some vainly think that there will he
modification Of this test oath Never, till tn,
south gets in, and in through men who cai
| now take the oath. once IN. the oath will b,
! modified" There now is much more DANCE
of again needing the services OF Judge Teb
| belts to get ner pardons and new releases from
coniscation: much more danger of these fonC
ones waking up some morning and find thei
names and estates upon the L. $. Marshall
| schedule. "
Yours,