Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1866-04-04

%, The hest but gladly gave to them the settlement
If the great question. According TO their numbers
7 mid that a more talented, and patriotic body of
men mover occupied the Halls Of Congress since the
foundation of the Government than the much
abused, and greatly, slandered majority, both in
the Senate and House. But the President perse-
veres in forcing his plan of policy upon Congress
and Congress stubbornly refuses to yield. His ap-
peal is to the people, and before the people Con-
gress is willing to CO. am with Congress, and
am with the party that put down the rebellion. The
President is sustained by the Democrats and Cop
perheads Of the North, and by the Rebels and Cop
pertaiLs of the South The coming fall elections will
denee in the triumph of the true Union party, and
gladly refer the contest TO the people.
SUMNER AND sTEvENs-THE RADICALS.
The President has personal quarrel with Sena-
| tor Sumner and Representative Stevens, and the
| newborn Johnson-men of Tennessee, are loud and
unsparing in their abuse of these two men. Nay
with them abuse of these men is made the standard
of johnson orthodoxy. In other words, you can't
be my friend unless you hate and abuse every man
hate and abuse. l protest against any such doc
| trine Messrs. Summer and Stevens are not the
Union party Of America-they are only members
of that party. They are not the Congress of the
United States-they are only members of Congress,
representing their own constituents. To listen at
all that is said of them here, stranger would sup
who is Charles Sumner, and who is Thaddeus Ste
vcns? take them up in the order in which name
| them know them when / see them, and know
them by reputation, although 1 have never cores
ponded with either. Mr.. Sumner is an extreme
man. and his views do not accord with those Of
the loyal men of Tennessee But he is finely edu-
Gated man. of extensive reading, of great goodness
of heart of New England religious training-enter
tanning kind feelings towards the South but seeking
to keep rebels out Of Congress. Thaddeus Stevens,
Il III
| man. and has for years represented large and in
huentsl Congressional district truly and faithfully
rejecting the sentiments of his constituents. They
/ are both better men than any two of the leading
rebels of the South who assisted in getting up the
late war, ever dared to be. And they are better
friends to the South than any Southern rebels who
| are abusing them. And as have In former days
contributed to the getting up of prejudice against
! these men, have right to be heard in their de-
fense
But these men are Radicals and all who act
with them in and out of Congress, are " Radicals"
and that terrible means everything that is in
famous 1t may scare some men and deter them
from acting with the great Union party, but l am
| not one of that number. l have been called by
| harder names than that. For quarter of a centu-
ry previous to the rebellion, have been called
| id Blue-light Federal Wing" For the last five
years have been designated as "a id old Lincoln
ite." To be let off now, with the sobriquet of
| ID old Radical" is an improvement, which l at
once accept and agree that it shall be my political
status whether l have company or not. Let my
enemies make the most of this
THE NEGRO EQUALITY QUESTION.
A useless cry is raised in East Tennessee by de-
signing men, against the Union party Of the coun-
try for wanting to equalize the negroes and white
| folks. These men take the advantage Of the pre-
udices existing against the negro and oppose every
proposition TO do him justice with the mad-dog cry
| of negro equality" The question Of cqualizing
| white men and negroes is purely Of TASTE
Men elevate themselves above the negro, or degrade
themselves to his level by their good bad conduct
Some white people, by their exceedingly bad conduct
place themselves far below the level of the respec
table negro. have no fears that the legislation of
any body of men, or the clamor of any party, will
ever make me and mine the equals of the common
negro or of the worthless white man. By our con-
duct make ourselves not only their equals, but
their interiors. Some leading men who are so Won
derfully exercised upon this subject must feel
seious of their own want of merit and OF their in
feriority, when in the company Of respectable ne
groes
| ..# NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
By some enemies of mine, more cowardly and un-
principled than manly, constantly represented
trying to force negro suffrage upon the people of
Tennessee. Before was nominated for Governor
the convention called out upon this sub ect when
l distinctly told them was in favor of the Amen
ded Constitution setting the negro Free and making
them equal before the law, and that that was all
proposed to do for him now, and until he showed
himself capable of exercising the right of suffrage.
! In my regular Message, of October last L made
quite lengthy argument against admitting negroes,
indiscriminately to the ballot-box, and am vain
enough to believe my argument there given was one
| of some ability. Ny views have undergone no
| change since then.
President johnson, since the date of my Message,
published to the world, through Maj. Starnes, of
Boston and through Judge Sharkey, that he was in
favor of admitting the balotbox all negroes who
could read and write; all who had served in the
/ United States army; all who owned property to a
given extent, say $3.50, and then, gradually he pro-
posed to admit all others to the ballot box they
became qualified to vote. The President dispatched
TO Nashville, that il right and proper that the
negro should be allowed to testify in the courts of
the country, and but for the influence he exerted,
the bill favoring negro testimony would have failed
I favored this measure first as right in ITSELF and
next as the only means of getting our delegation
into Congress. And strange 70 say, the men who
are abusing me- loud in their praise of the Pres
ident! The difference between him and myself is,
that he is gradually looking to the South whilst
look to the North and stand by the principles ofmy
Message, in which advocate setting them apart a
country to themselves. The hostility existing be-
tween them and the whites of the South, confirms
my conviction Of the correctness of my proposition
to thus set them apart suitable country 1t would
| be economy on the part Of the Government. Many
of the intelligent negroes are in favor of this
| scheme.
VETO OF THE FREEDMENs BILL.
The Presidents veto OFF this BILL is, by every rebel
in the South and by the rebel papers declared to be
the greatest victory they have achieved sincethe first
Bull Run The Presidents veto of this measure
may have been intended a rebuke to some ex-
/ treme men of the North and il contained some
Objectionable features his veto may well have been
honest and conscientious, and afording no grounds
for split between the President and Congress, but
for some private facts lgIich hare to mig k1otC
edge. state them with perfect freedom and pledge
myself for their correctness. The bill was taken to
the President by Major Generals Howard and Fisk,
and read section by section before il introduced
by Congress. Gen. Howard was, for the most part,
the author of it. Gen. Fisk objected to some Of its
features but the President met him in argument and
defended those very points. In word, he approved
the bill and promised it his signature He afterwards
got into quarrel with Messrs. Sumner and Stevens
extreme men of the North, and he turned about to
affiliate with the extreme men of the South, who are
even dangerously radical than the Radicals OF
the North. He should have stated his objections
them and prevented this collision between him and
/ his friends So much for the veto of this bill.
TEST OATH AND PARDoNING POWER.
! The President proposes repeal or modification
Of the test OATH differ with him widely on this
point as it would at once do away with all distinc
! lions between loyal and disloyal men, and admit
into Congress set of the vilest rebels living-men
/ who fought four years TO destroy the Government
and whose reasonable hands are now stat ned with
the blood of Union soldiers. 1 am not willing to
see such men making laws to govern loyal States,
or even loyal men living in rebel States Tho lead
ing traitors of the South have already been pardon
ed and turned loose upon the country TO get up rebel
meetings and make rebel speeches and to exert bad