The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-03-24

nOMn inuh tue lGktN
may be thereby educated to use it wise
". This Is their argument, and L give
YOU the full force of It; but a majority
of Congress are satisfied that any reso-
luton which compels the Southern
Estates, as n condition of teadmlssion,
to give the elective franchise to the ne
groes, would not be adopted by our own
States, and that therefore IL could hard
lily become a law. How can you IN
Connecticut ask the Southern States to
ido with the mass of the negroes IN the
South what you are not willing to do
here with few comparatively inteIH-
gent negroes? How can the people OF
Ohio, whose representations is now bas-
ed upon white male citizens; demand
TINT the people of South Carolina shall
lconfer upon the mass of ignorant black
linen in that State n privilege which they
4 refuse to give to the few intelligent ne
groes of Ohio? My friends, these are
hard nuts TO crack; and let us remem-
/ Der that we must deal fairly, nlanfully
I!and consistently, even when we deal
with rebels. IApplause. Il say, then,
that the majority of the Union menu
bers of Congress do not think il wise TO
make this "a condition of the readmis-
sion of the Southern Representatives to
| Congress; the minority are of the opin-
ion that il would be wise, and the only
wisdom. / say again that do not i'm
pugn the motives of these gentlemen.
| I only give you my own judgment,
| that the majority of the Union MEM
bers of Congress are opposed to forcing
negro suffrage upon the South. Now
what are the opinions of the President
upon this point2 He has expressed an
Iopinion substantially the same as that
OF the majority of the Union members
of Congress. In the only conversation
on the subject to which L have had ac-
cess, in the statement that he author
1 4. III.
was willing, in the State of Tennessee,
where he lives, and where alone OF
course he has any direct personal ntiu-
ence upon the question, to extend the
suffrage first to free black soldiers who
wore the uniform of the United States
| army and carried its muskets through
| the war, That is right, because a man
! who is intelligent enough to fight for
us is intelligent enough tovote with us.
IiTApplause.I Then he was in favor of
further extending the suffrage to ne
groeS who could read and write. But
1t may be asked, why not apply these
tests toall men, white and black? Well,
the only answer to the philosophic
statesman is thatthe presumption is that
the great mass of our white population
are intelligent enough to know what
government means, know its response
6ilities and the responsibilities incur
red by the exercise of the right of Suf-
of them are known to have sufficient
lintelligence, the whole body. may be
/ permitted to vote, and as the fact with
reference to the intelligence of thegreIt
mass of the negro population Is just
the contrary, therefore they should not
either of these amendments into the
Constitution, we hold out to the South
ern States an ever-pressing motive TO
| give the negro the suffrage. II they
want more political power they can get
II only by extending the suffrage to the
men to whom Mr.. johnson proposes TO
extend it; and under the pressure OF
that motive they will extend the suf-
frage further, year nfter year, until the
whole mass of the negro population are
permitted to exercise it. give you
these arguments, show these differ
ences of opinion, and try to spread
the whole subject out clearly before
YOU. Aside from this there is n feeling
in Congress that suffrage ought to be
| granted to the cOlored population in the
District of Columbia Nearly all the
Union members voted to do that. a
bill with TINT object is now pending in
the Senate. and my own Judgment is
that It ought to pass. But why should
we give the right of suffrage to the ne
4 groes in the District of Columbia In
I the first place, because there Congress
has undoubted power over the ques
tion, and secondly, because there ne
groes nre mainly Intelligent and be-
cause also, SO far as know, every ne
gro man in that District has been true
and faithful to the United States Gov
ernment during the late terrible con-
test. And this is true of the negroes
everywhere throughout the Southern
country. Wherever our troops went
the negroes befriended them and guild
ed them on their way. When the sol
dier saw a white mau he tried first to
ascertain whether he was loyal
man or n rebel before he appealed
to him but when he saw n
black man or woman he felt safe at
consideration that can move honorable
men, to do the last thing that shall
talk 20 you about tonight, upon which
there is perhaps difference of opinion
between the President and Congress,
md which is the last point upon which
there be said TO be u difference Of opin--
ion between them. The President Is
opposed to extending suffrage to the
negroes in the District of Columbia
Why? Not because they are blacks.
he disclaims anySsuch motive; but be-
cause n minority of the people of the
District are opposed to the extension of
the right of suffrage, and the President
believes in popular sovereignty, and
holds the doctrine that suffrage should
not be extended to any portion of the
people until the majority are willing to
grant II. / will not stop here to exam
inc that question, because here there is
II difference between the President and
Congress, but a difference of compare
lively minor importance. Now, upon
the question of protection of negroes in
the Southern States how do we stand ?
We felt it to be our duty 10 pass law
to insure protection TO the negroes. and
early in the present session of
Congress a law was passed for
that purpose, which is common
" know us the Freedmen's Bureau
Bill. That law was formed and passed
upon the idea that the present law
which was then in existence, would e1-
pire in May next. When that law was
passed it was TO be continued until the
end of the war and one year thereafter;
and the impression was generaltn Con-
gress that it would expire on the first of
May next. We, therefore, passed law
known, as have said, as the Freed
mems Bureau Bill. 1t went to the Pre-
sident, and he exercised his constitu-
tional power to veto that bill, and sent
il back with his reasons for the Veto.-I
One reason was that the passage OF such
bill was not necessary, because the
one already in existence, which was of
the same character, would continue, by
its terms, until ut least year from
that time. Then we had notice for the
first time of the construction put upon
the former law by the Executive, from
which Il appeared that the rebellion
exist, and would not be so considered