The weekly union record., 1866-03-17
Southern Men Contrasted.

North, where the Union party has an over
whelming majority. 10 the noble position Of
Southern men in various portions of the South.
Few 10 numbers, they are the leaven that must
save the Southern loaf (not to mention the
fshes), if the South IS to be saved from further
evils But when a United States Senator
from kentucky-a State that. at the beginning
of the rebellion, assumed to be neutral and
only escaped the horrors OF war that desolated
the Old Dominion BY the prompt action of the
truly loyal people of the State in placing it
Enthusiastically in opposition to secession-af,er
the terrible ordeal OF one rebellion is passed,
talks as Garrett Davis, Senator from Kentucky,
is reported to have talked 10 recent speech
in reference to the Congress of the United
States, We may well doubt the assertion that
the conquered rebels are ready TO return to the
Union, and faithfully abide by the results of
the war in their respective States Davis is
reported to have said:
"We might see in this land two bodies, one
composed of Southern Representatives and
Senators, and Democrats and Conservative
members from the North aud the other of
Republican members. Alone each of these
bodies would claim TO be Congress and the
President would be obliged to recognize one or
the other. As the former party would be in a
majority. why would not the President recog.
nize them as the lawful and legitimate Congress
of the United States? Mr.. Davis said be
believed jackson would do this. and hoped that
President Johnson rould mrite Southern mem
6ers elect TO this ety Washingtonl, and
uniting lrah the men he had designated,
recognize them as Congress"
In agreeable contrast to this we place the
noble utterances of John B. Henderson, United
States Senator from Missouri, who rebukes the
statesmen from the Confederate Y Roads 10
the State of Kentucky" in the following terms:
Il sincerely hope, for the good of the
country that the distinguished Senator Mr..
Guthrie may see fit 10 take back what he said
few moments ago. Smarting under remark
from my friend from Indiana, | think he has
suffered himself to make remark that he him
self must be sorry for. Sir, we have had
enough of disunion. hope that no Senator
in the future will rise upon this floor and talk
under any circumstances whatever, of another
war of rebellion against the constituted author
tiles of this country. My God are we again
to pass through the scenes of blood through
which We have passed for the last four years
Are we 10 have this war repeated? No
treedmen's Bureau bill, no bill for the pro-
lection of the rights of anybody, shall ever
drive me to dream of such thing"
Senator Henderson SAYS, in reference to the
freedmen: Il live in State that was slave.
holding State until last January a year ago.
have been a STAKEHOLDER all my life until the
day when the ordinance of emancipation was
passed in my State. | advocated it, and have
advocated emancipation for the last osr years,
at least since this war commenced. Do you
want to know how to protect the freedmen
of the Southern States This question he
answers as follows:
81 know that in the great State of Missouri
we have 100000 negroes, while there is not a
former non saveholding State in the Union
that has, perhaps, one half of that number, and
l say Tor my constituents that | will agree to
take negro suffrage. Let other Senators from
the Northern and Southern States come up to
the same thing, and then We can have peace
Then you may repeal your Freedmen's Bureau
Bill. Why? The freedman will have the
best protection in the world; he will have
entire protection, because those caDvassers for
public favor who 60 before the people will be
bound to 60 before the negro, and they will
ind IN the negro ten thousand merits that they
never found before"
The advocacy of negro suffrage by Senator
Henderson, on the ground that it will ensure
the peace of the country. and his denunciation
OF threats of disunion, taken together, form a
wonderful contrast to the declarations of par
doned rebels and their apologists at the n ORTIZ
If men at the South holding these views were
encouraged and assisted by the President,
instead of the Yankee hating, Union despising
rebels, the work of reconstruction would be
comparatively easy.