The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1866-08-23


or States, to opprcss any other par
ticular portion or section of citi.
zeus in our. Republic, by placing
them upon perfect equality, in CIV.
cry respect, with ourselves, recog.
MIXING the great principles of the
rights of men, rs set forth in tue
Declaration Of independence. and
guaranteed to the citizens cveIy
where, tho enjoyment of the mali.
enable rights OF life, liberty and
the pursuit Of happiness. This we
must do in order to protect the real
friends of the Government. 1t
would be q sin for which this ma
tion would be surely punished, as
she has been punished for past
crimes. If the Government, after
this war, fails to protect those who
stood by them in the hour when
ruin and overthrow was threaten
ed.
THE FIRST STEP.
| Therefore the first thing which
the Legislature of the nation sought
10 do was to provide measures for
protecting the loyal people of the
South. When these measures were
first instituted, it was believed and
understood that the President ia.
vored all the measures necessarily
tending to that purpose; but when
the first Freedmens Bureau Bill
was passed, having for its object,
simply, the protection of the color.
ed people of the South, it was found
that tho President was averse /,
all such measures. So with the
Civil Rights Bill. The object of
that Bill was to protect the rights
of citizens everywhere throughout
this broad land, not especially in
the Southern States, but every.
where for no measure is sought
to be imposed upon the Southern
people, that would not be equally
applicable TO the whole peopll It
was supposed that the President
would bo favorable 60 such meas
urcs, but he was not. He was OPP
posed to it. 1t then became appar-
ent that his policy was the re ad.
mission Of those Southern people
into Congress, without any condi.
tions or guarantees whatever; that
he had settled down upon the poll.
cy that those people had rights
whichsthey could demand, and that
treason produced no Disqualified
tions.
When Congress found that the
President was fixed'y predeterlnin-
cd upon that line Of policy, they
in turn determined that it should
not be; that they should not be
admitted upon such terms as he de-
c'ared they should. a voice good
for that" and applause ] BY scan.
ming the votes in Congress, and
reading the speeches there deliv-
cred, and the proceedings, you will
find that, upon the start, there were
a large number of the members dis
posed to conciliatc and meet, upon
some middle ground, the President;
but for months before we finally
adjourned, that feeling had entire
lily evaporated, and there was no
man, elected as a Union man, in
the House when it adjourned. who
had the least sympathy with, or
confidence in the President and his
chosen policy, except. perhaps, Mr..
Raymond, of New York. lie alone
at times, still claimed to have some
confidence in the President, but
not single other man.
I This, my friends, shows simply
the workings of the minds OF the
minds of the members of Congress
under the influence Of the Execu-
tive's policy, as developed from
time to time. Thus, You see, that
when tho Civil Rights Bill was
sent back, vetoed by the President
it was promptly passed by both
Houses by unanimous voices, in
less than half an hour, and became
a law. [Cheers.
Thus, too, fellow citizens, has
the issue been made up between
Congress representing the loyal
people of the Union and the Pres
ident of the United States, who
was equally bound with Congress
to represent the sentiment OF the
people whose votes placed him at
the head Of the nation. lie wee
elected by the same constituency |;
and although he calls Congress a
(" Rump Congress-" he can do so
with no more propriety and truih h,
! than can we call him a " Rump
President,p laughter, for he owes
his present dign ty to precisely the
same constituency.
| hold this to be q fundamental
rule that every man elected to any
position, high or low, is bound to
pay respect to the opinion and
wishes OF those who sent him there,
ia voice, right. 1t has been my
, great desire during the past session
of Congress to represent the true
will and sentiments Of tho loyal
r people of this District. j have en-
. deavored to do so, and ifI have
. not, it has not been because | did
} not suppose | was doing so.
Thick that have rightly under.
stood, all the time, that the people
r of this District recognize the obi.
cations of the Government to pro.
) tect the people who stood by and
: protected the Government in its
D struggle for supremacy against