Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1866-06-08
MIR AsnIEY,s SPEECH.

He is so well known in this vicinity asa sort oi
representative of one class of political ideas
that hisremarks viii be interesting to many oi
our readers at this time We therefore give
the closing portion of his speech as follows:
Sir, / do not believe, with all the political
heresy which has been taught at the South for
the past thirty years, with all the political in
EQUITY which has been taught in the name OF
| religion and in the name of Christ in the South
| by men protesting TO teach the Gospel do
/ not believe that all this, with the war and all
the terrible consequences which have followed
in its train, has been enough to obliterate from
the South an entire love for the old flag and the
old Union. .
I know that there are men in the South ey-
ywhere capable of filling all the offices. My
! Judgment has been strengthened on this point
| by many letters which have received during
| the war and since the war. A private soldier
| in the Union army wrote me a letter after Sher-
man had passed through Georgia, in which the
following beautiful and touching incident was
related. At one of our military posts where
thousands came to receive rations from the gov
ernnent which they were madly fighting to
destroy. there came one morning taH, elderly
lady of commanding appearance and of evi-
| dent culture and refinement, asking for bread,
When it was handed TO her by brave boy in
blue who stood proudly beneath the stars and
stripes, she betrayed emotions which she could
not suppress, and the tears stole down her
cheeks as she said, Little did ! think three
years ago, when decking my three sons for the
war that would ever come to this !; then l had
husband, sons, home, and all that heart could
wish now l am homeless, childless, a widow
and beggar, asking aims of the Government
which We have sought tOdestroy. But it is all
right. 1t is the punishment meted out by
| Providence for our sins and | submit"
Sir, there are thousands of just such mothers
as this in every State in the South to-day, and
there is not loyal man or woman in this ma
ton who would not do all in his power to al
| leviate their wants and bind up their bleeding
and broken hearts.
There is another beautiful incident which |
must not omit Last summer when the con-
vention met in North Carolina, in response to
the Presidents proclamation, TO reorganize a
constitutional State government, Mr.. Reade,
the president of that convention, on taking the
chair, uttered words which thrilled the conti-
nent / have no language to tell you, Mr..
Speaker how they touched my heart as read
them on the shores of the Pacific. | know
that every loyal man in this nation called down
benedictions on his head. These are his golden
words;
.,FeIloE citizens We are going home Let painful
objections upon late separation and pleasant memo
ories of early union qaioSsn footsteps toward
the old mansion, that may grasp hard sgain the
hand Of friendship which stands at the door; and shell
tered BY the old homestead which built upon rock,
and has weathered the Storm enjoy together the long,
bright future which awaits US"
Sir every loyal Representative in this Hall
stands ready with open hand to-day to welcome
all who speak thus from the heart and, sir,
whatever of local interest or of prejudice or of
passion may have carried an erring brother
into this rebellion IL he but set his face toward
the old homestead, uttering such brave words
as these will run 10 meet him afar off, and for
him the fatted calf shall be slain. But do not
propose TO start out ladened down with pardons
and with the iatted calf smoking hot from the
oven and hunt up unrepentant, malignant, and
defiant rebels. Nor do propose TO stand be-
fore them, hat in hand, and ask them on what
terms they propose TO return to the old mansion.
Sir every rebel shall resume his citizenship up
on the terms aud conditions prescribed by the
loyal men of this nation, Or so far as am con-
cerned, he shall remain an alien forever.
Mr. Speaker to me the only vital and living
question growing out of this subject Of recon-
struetion is whether the loyal men of the
South, whether all citizens of the United
States residing in the South, shall have the right
of the ballot. And when | say all loyal citi-
zens mean ALL BLACK as well as white. | hold
that every man born in the United States, is
citizen of the United States, and that every
citizen native born or naturalized, has right
to a voice in the Government under which he
lives. 1t is a natural right, divine right if
you will, right of which the Government can
not justly deprive any citizen except as pun
ishment for crime. Sir, every American citi-
zen Of the age Of twenty-one years, not con-
victed of an infamous offense, has the right to
vote for or against those who are to make and
-, f6al lax darn ruhinb he livoc Thof
is the high prerOgative of. every American cit
izen. Any thing short of that is but a mockery.
/ want this Congress, before it shall adjourn,
to insist that every man who has been loyal TO
the Government in the South, whatever his
race or color, shall have the right 10 the ballot.
We now have the golden opportunity. If you
do not guaranty these precious rights of the
citizen now you leave the great work before us
unfinished; and | warn you that agitation will
follow your refusal to enact justice, and that
there shall be no Fespose until every citizen of
the Republic is enfrancilised and stands equal
before the law. Shall we falter, Ar. Speaker,
in this sublime hour of victory which God has
given us, or shall we finish the work which He
has committed to our hands by securing the
complete enfranehisement of all citizens of the
United States?
The voice of every friend of this country in
Europe, as it comes 10 US across the sea, cries.
out to US to enfranchise the men who in the late
struggle were our friends and our allies. From
Switzerland, the grand republic of the Old
World, there come to us words of counsel and
wisdom which we ought not to disregard
From every land beneath the sun, where lib
erty is loved aud human hearts have been
touched by our heroic struggle, there comes to
US plea that in reconstructing this Govern
ment we shall first of all see to it that justice is
the basis upon which we build.
And better than all this from the loyal men
of the South. both white and black, there comes
up 10 US the prayer that we will see to it that
they have Justice; that we will not falsify the
pledges which the nation has made. Sir, do
gentlemen expect that we can make the pledges
we have made, and then turn these people over
TO the tender mercies of their enemies and ours
without calling down upon us the execrations
and denunciations of all right-thinking men?
If they do, they are mistaken. Shall we hear
and answer these words of counsel and wisdom
and prayer of our friends and allies, or shall
we turn for counsel and advice to our late ene-
miles,
We are as nation either to go forward in the
great work of progress or go backwards we
cannot stand still. And am desirous to know
whether this Congress is going to attempt the
work of staying the great auti-slavery revolu-
tion which has swept over the country and OBJ
liberated all prO-SlaVery lanQmarRS erected by
parties and by men. Sir, have faith to believe
that neither President nor Cabinet nor Congress
can long stay with their punny efforts the grand
decree of the nation. He who attempts it, be
he president, Cabinet minister, or statesman,
will fall before its advancing power, and his
political grave will be marked by the skeletons
of those who for the past quarter of century,
having betrayed liberty, were wrecked along
the political coast and to-day lie unburied and
unhonored because there were none SO base as
to do them reverence.
Sir, know that our hour of triumph may be
delayed but | have faith to believe that we
cannot be defeated. Let the ballot be placed
in the hands of every loyal man in the South,
and this nation is safe-safe from rebellion,
safe from reputation, safe from war of races,
safe from the domination of traitors in its coun-
cils. Sir, without the ballot in the hands of
every loyal man, the nation is not safe The
ballot is the only sure weapon of protection and
defense for the poor man, whether white or
black. 1t is the sword and buckler and shield
before which all expressions, aristocraces, and