The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1866-05-26
Reconstruction.

posed by Congress for the reconstruction of
the rebel States. At the conclusion of his
Speech which was frequently interrupted by
cheers from the crowd Mr.. Creswel said -
Congress has submitted plan to the
country. E'hat is that plan? The first pro.
position says: mo State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridec the pri-
vileges and immunities of citizens of the
United States : nor shall any State deprive
any person Of life, liberty or property, with
out due process of law nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal pro-
lection of the law But the Constitution
means that, if it does not sayit So it does
but 1t has been interpreted differently, and
the States have assailed those principles of
personal liberty and personal security. If a
citizen Of the United States went to South
Carolina, and claimed to exercise the priv
llcges and immunities which he was free to
exercise in other states, the State sometimes
refused to allow him so to do. So in some
OF the Rebel States the people say now, that
loyal men shall not settle among them. We
intend by these provisi )ns to empower Con-
gress to lcsislate upon the subject, and
design to remove them from the clause of
mere guarantees, as they used to be called,
and to place them among the express powers
so that wherever in this broad land, any
man, a citizen Of the United States, shall be
assailed in any Of his rights of life, liberty or
property, he shall be able to throw around
his shoulders the protecting Ggis of the Stars
and Stripes, and say. am an American
citizen, and no man dare assail me- because
the Constitution and the laws protect me the
world over The second proposition refers
to the basis of representation. We have left
out the words three fifths Of all other per-
sons, and have added, that whenever in
any State the elective franchise shall be
denied to any portion of its male citizens not
less than twenty one years OF age. or in any
way abridged, except for participation in
rebellion or other crime, the basis of repre-
sentation in such State shall be reduced in
the proportion which the number of such
male citizens shall bear to the whole number
of male citizens over twenty one years of
age What does that mean? These South
ern States would now have representation
for all the whites and all the negroes now
free. Eleven States attempted to secede.
and waged bloody war to get out Of the
Union, and now, before they have fairly
recovered from the threshng they received.
come back and apply for admission-have
sent up representatives. the most of them
Rebels, and they stand at our doors whining
W Sci III. l nehc eleven hcDel states nau,
+ in 1860 white popnation of 5, 100000 -
How many loyal men are there in those
States now? | hope there are a great many
The aggregate population in all the Slave
States is something like eight millions of
whites. | don't believe we could find more
than three millions loyal to the Government
of the United States. These eleven rebel
lious States have now iitty-eight representa-
'ivcs. Under the present apportionmcnt
they could obtain others to make their num-
Der eighty four With such power in Con-
grcss they could stop the wheels of all egs.
lation. Without their consent no appro-
priation could be made-not dollar voted
to the equalization of the bounties of your
soldiers. If they were to take stand, you
could pass no law to pay the nations sol
dicrs, unless You paid for all the negroes
emancipated by the war, and pay the rebel
debt. Do you want the Rebel debt assumed,
the freed negroes paid for, with horde of
ton prey;ns upon your Treasury? Ifyou do,
these Rebel States theirtwcaty ,~o members
y. ". "."ate, They would have with their
allies more than oM1. ~" If the Senate OF
the United States. All Lose thi",-- are in
the hands of the American pcoplc. W"
simply stand upon the outer wall and sound
the a..&rn. If we are not sustained by the
people, we are bat reeds in the tempest. We
may fail and be ovcrthrown, bat for myself
if am to fail, | shall fail squarely on this
position. Bat it is for the great Amc lean
people, looking into the Iuute, as the seers
Of I'D, to say What guarantees and what
irreversible securities they will demand of
these Hrheis before they snail again WELD n
part of the power of the Government. Set
tie the question for yourselves. | give you
my views.
There are two other provisions to this
plan, which presume you have al! read -
One disqualties from voting for Rcpresen,
tatives or electing President and Vice Presi.
dent, until the year 1870, those who have
voluntarily adhered to the rebellion; and
the other prohibits the payment of the Rebel
debt or any claims for slaves. With all these
! guarantees secured, we can lay the tounda,
| lions of the Government SO deep in consti-
tutional amendments that all Feheldom com
! biued cannot overthrow it. If they were
| inserted in their State Constitutions merely,
they can meet again the day after their adj.
mission, and alter or amend their Constitu-
tons so as to exclude them; and where
then would be your guarantecs?. Can you
expect anything like good faith of these
men? You have had to whip them on the
| field. Now be firm to exact such tennis as
shall yield you positive happiness and Sc
curitJ, and make this nation safe for all
time. How many of these Rebels can you
trust? Go to the honest men among them
and ask them Ify you had the power to do
it, would you renew this war-would you
rather be citizen Of an independent Con
federacy or come back under the Constitu-
ton of the United States?' and they will tell
you would renew the war to morrow
would rather live under the Confederacy,
and want these eleven States now all in a
separatv Confederacy. These are the SEN
timents of men fresh from the field of battle.
If the Rebels get into power in Maryland,
we will have to fight for our own hearths and
hearthstones. We will have 70 fight to main
tain our position upon this soil. During the
war they would have expelled US like dogs,
if they dared. They drove Unionists out OF
Tennessee in troops. Read the history of
East Tennessee history that should be
written upon her eternal mountains, in order
that the human race might read and com
prehcnd tile revolving horrors which treason
perperated against the laws of God and men.
I How was it in Rebel prisons? No civilized
nation has ever treated human beings so bar
barously heretofore. These are the gentle
men-these are the accomplished patriots
these are the friends and confrcrcs of my
very particular friend, Mr. Montgomery
Bair-who are all to come back and elevate
him and themselves again to power.
The plan of reconstruction, as proposed