The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-01-23
Gtte9'ttelEi9t
Address Of Gen. 7. M. Harris.
Reconstruction il in q the South
The Southern People Still Rebel
lious, and Not to be Trusted.
New Guarantees of Union.
ia e g5 dz7=7 OF % 1.5 moq9
Amendments to the Constitution of
the United States.
z II . 10
THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO
% THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS.
New Guarantees of Union.
THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO
'a THE STATE CONSTITUTION.
eeported expressly for tte Inteligencer.


According to adyertisements General
Harris delivered an. address on Satur-
day evening, in the Han of the House
of Delegates, which was well filed with
members of the Legislature and others.
General Harris was introduced by
Speaker Pinnell, who said: ,-,Tsya &
GENrLEMEN:-I have the honor to
Introduce to you General T. NJ. Harris,
who will address you upon the issues
of the day.
General Harris spoke as follows:
have felt that could almost ven
ture to get up and address this assem-
bly without formal introduction, be-
cause although / have not had the
pleasure of a personal acquaintance
with perhaps majority 1.-THE audi
ence, yet most of you have been known
to me by reputation ands spy your etects acts
as loyal men ever since. the first efforts
of the people of West Virginia to re-
store government to the State, and dur
ing the progress of the new State in its
short history up to this time. Most OF
you perhaps, many OF you at least.
have been known to me as public men
who were taking a part in and direct
ing the civil affairs of the State. This
being my native State, although was
far away and engaged in an altogether
different line of pursuit, i never lost
the interest which would naturally
feel in the progress of civil affairs.
1t therefore gives me great. pleasure
this evening to nave the priVlIese %
meeting YOU; and 1 shall attempt to
address you on some of the prominent
topics that are now engaging the atten-
fion of the people of our country, both
State and National. There are ques-
tions of both State and National I'M
portance among those topics. Some OF
Them are engaging the attention Of the
nresent I,epislature of West. Virginia,
and these together witt, others of the
whole people OF the State. In CONVEX
sationf The other day with an old gentle
man. not a hundred miles from here.
the question of the negro came up. The
old man manifested a great deal of con-
Germ about the negro question, SAID
that he thought that was the most d1t1-
euIt, question that ever had been before
the country, and that he did not know
how it was ever going to be settled,
that he thought we We're very much in
the position of the man that had the
elephant and didn't know what to do
with him, that we had got the negro on
our hands and didn't know what to do
with him, 1t struck me that there was
a metallic ring about that remark, that
reminded me of copper, and ventured
to reply that whilst the negro question
was one of Importance and one whlcn
1 must concede had its. difficulties, yet
1 thought there was question peiore
the country of far greater importance
and one which presented far greater
difficulties, and that was what we were
to do with Southern rebels and with the
rebellious States-that whilst the negro
had his faults and defects OF character
like other people, and some OF them Dad
enough, yet upon the whole ne was
n rather submissive, docile, tractable
Kind of n creature; but that Southern
rebels were full of pride, an artstocratic
feeling, arrogance, and spirit of finsub-
orflination. and this makes all the
difficulty there is in the case. They
have been conquered so lar as 10 pe
compelled to lay down their arms.
They claim to be loyal because they
say thew have taken the oath, but let
me tell you they are only loyal from
necessity and onIySas loyal as necessity
reouires them to be. Now in restoring
them to their proper relations 70 the
Government of the United States
there is one principle that we cam
not disregard or sacrifice, ana tnat
is that YOU cannot restore to n rebel
whilst he is still in rebellion ms
political rights and privileges, which ne
forfeited by the commission OF treason.
These people took up arms 70 supvert
the Government. That constitutes
crime which we call treason, and one
of the penalties of that crime IN the
laws of all countries is a forfeiture OF
political rights and privileges. That Is
one of the penalties among others more
severe. Now if when. they lay down
their arms they would give up thelf
rebeIIious purposes, and actually SUD
init IN fact and in good faith To the au3
thority of the Government, there would
be no difficulty about the question. We
could afford to act magnanimously,
and i am certain we should feel dispos-
cd to do so. The Government has GER
tainly given every evidence OF such
disposition. The people of the North
have also given every evidence that at
they had no yindictive feeling, and that
they were willing to be very generous
towards these people. But it was upon
the hypothesis that they gave up their
treasonabIe purposes, Now atter the
surrender of the rebel armies we sup
posed of course that having been con-
duered at arms, they would give up
their reasonable purposes and we all
rejoiced in the prospect OF peace-and,
yainly as it turned out, hattered our.
selves that the s'irrepressible conflict"
was ended. But let me tell you the ex-
perience of every day must convince
every man of observation, that the con-
tiict Is not yet at an end that It's only
now getting into its third stage. 1t
commenced in the field of politics. 1t
fought on through series of years un-
til it finally eliminated in civil war, In
which one of the parties was guilty of
treason against the Government, and
now this same party entertains the same
principles, the same views and the same
purposes that nctuated it from the be-
Ginning, all through this conflict and Is
only seeking to transfer that conflict
back to the field OF politics. And let
me tell YOU they expect there to be
able TO retrieve all they have lost
or course they do not expect TO get back
slavery as IL was before, because the
Constitution now prohibits slavery but
they do expect TO get something better
thaTa. slavery. Let them get the power
in the national councils and you will
find that the second clause OF the Con
stitutional, amendment, aboltshing sla-
yery will be entirely imperative and of
NO effect Tbecauseif they find, any laws
enacted by Congress under that clause
"a carry IL out In the States, they will
reneaI. those laws, and if they do not
find any, they will not enact any. They
will leave the whole thing to the States.
what would the States dof OF course,
tIey cannot establish slavery formally
by law as it existed, but they can re-
dilce these people that have been made
free by the act of the Government, 70
a state of peonage, and they VIII en-
dsavor 20 make It more to their advan-
seasg5 tass tban n slavery was, and will makeit
thfs much worse for the negro, that
thew e viii compel him, virtually and
practically, to work for nothing and
find himself. To assure ourselves that
this Is the purpose we have only to
look at the actions of conventions and
county meetings, where they get 70
gether. and, afGer passing string OF re-
Solutions as long as your arm, setting
forth how very loyal they are, and how
good their purposes are, and that they
mean to act in good faith, and accept the