The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-09-25
WHAT OUR ENEMY SAYS.
What Congress aoU be Required to do If ii
Radicals retain control of 1T.


Radicals retain control Of 1t.
Hon. Thaddeus Stevens made speech on the
4th Of September to his constituents in Bedford,
Penn, from which we make the following ex-
tracts in order that our readers may see what
the leader of the radical party proposes to do in
the next Congress:
'In critcising Congress I will try to be i'm
partial. | will not ask you to bestow unmin-
gled praise. [ feel that we omitted some i'm
portant things which we ought to have done,
and for which omission we deserve the censure
of the people. While it was impossible, OBJ
structed as we were by the President and Cop
| pelheads, to make this Republic of "liberty
and equality" we might have approached it
more nearly than we did. We might have
| treated the rebel States as what they are, in
fact conquered provinces, and through enabling
acts, we could have fixed the qualifications of
voters so that every loyal man could participate
in the formation of their organic law We
should thus, with entire certainty, have secured
| the Government to loyal Union men, have
formed in every one of those States Constitu-
tions giving equal privileges to all, and which
would have curbed the rising spirit of rebellion
which is now rampant in every one of those
States. For, I assure you, from irrefutabe evi-
dence, that traitors are now triumphant in every
Confederate State. No Republican doubts the
| power Of Congress to do what have stated
No sound constitutional lawyer believes any one
of the organizations now existing in those States
to be Legitimate governments. Formed by the
DEGREES of military conqueror without consult
| ing the people, they be tolerated only as
| temporary arrangements, until the law making
power provides them permanent laws and forms
of government. They are SO considered by the
| rebels themselves.
Not rebel State has this day lawful Gov
ernment. They are mere Territories conquered
by arms from the "Confederate States of
| America" Why, then, did not Congress give
them either Territorial Governments or enabling
acts so that they could form State Governments,
, and come into the Unicn with Constitutions
curing equal and impartial rights to every hu-
man being within their limits Early in the
session introduced bill to give them enabling
acts on the true principle of republican govern
ment. 1t met with but little coantenance.-
The republican mind had not examined, and
was not ready to accept so radical proposition.
| And SO the session spent in inaction. You
may find my proposition, together with the rea-
sons for 1t, in the last number of the Globe [
wish it might be copied into your excellent
paper so that you may judge of it. l trust you
| can inform us of its proprety. shall renew it
at the Dext session.
In my opinion, Congress was derelict in
another particular. | have always held that
while but few of the belligerents should suffer
the extreme penalty of the law, yet that sufi-
dent fund should be levied out of their property
! to pay the expenses and damages of the war
Congress in July, 1862, declared all their pro-
perty forfeited, and directed the President to
seize it for the benefit of the United States
more than ten billions of property thus became
vested in the United States. Proceedings
against more than two billions of property, in
cluding the abandoned estates, had been insti-
tuted and were in progress. The President has
restored to the traitors nearly the whole of it
Thus has he illegally givea away half enough to
pay the national debt He has enriched traitors
at the expense of loyal men. And yet Con-
gress, bold as it was, had not the courage to re-
verse these proceedings and compel the Execu-
tive to do his duty. | trust that our constituents
will give US more courage, so that at the next
session we may compel the President to do his
duty and execute the laws. Those are omis-
sions which [ frankly confess and sincerely de-
plore. But our growing sin was the omission
to give homesteads and the right of suffrage in
the rebel States to the freedmen who had fought
our battles. We have left them the victims of
the rebels who every day shoot them down in
cold blood. At Memphis, forty eight were mur-
dered under the direction of the municipal au-
thorities, and not man prosecuted. Behold
the awful slaughter Of white men ard back-of
Convention of highly respectable men, peace
! ably assembled in Convention at New Orleans,
which Gen Sheridan pronounces more horrible
than the massacre Of Fort Pillow Even the
clergyman who opened the proceedings with
prayer was cruelty murdered. All this was
done under the sanction of johnson and his
ofice-hoders. It is the legitimate consequence
| of his "policy." ... -.
/ [ admit Congress became demagogical in the
last hot days, when all manhood was melted out
Of everybody. They did some things to sedrce
the Fenians into our ranks. The measures were
right, and so I voted for them. will speak
plainly on this subject x
The President and his squad Git does not de-
serve the name of party) contend that the war
made no changes in the condition of our inst-
| tutlons, under the Constitution. That the
rights and liabilities of all our former citizens,
rebel as well as loyal, remain unchanged. This
exhibits a most deplorable ignorance or eulpa-
/ bic treachery. No great war between acknoWl-
! edged beiligerents ever left the condition and
rights Of the parties after the same as before,
unless it were so stipulated by the treaty OF
peace. The war leaves them without eompacts,
without rights, except the rights OF war
| When it is ended, new treaties are to be made;
or if one party submits, the conqueror pre-
scrites the future relative condition of the par
ties, without regard to their relative condition
| before the war. The vanquished have no rights
except what the congueror grants. This is
much more SO when one of the belligerents was
/ composed of rebels You are aware that Con-
vention of traitors was lately held at Philadel-
phla Most of them had actually borne arms
! against the United States, aud helped murder