The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-10-10
"W. w. Holden's Completely with
Thad. Steyeus.o

InaOs SteFeuSs'
The last Sentinel makes an extract from a
speech recently delivered at Lancaster, Pa,
by the Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, in which it
is stated that Gov. Holden, while in Wash
ington last summer, advised Mr.. Stevens to
introduce bill to reorganize the Southern
States on the basis of white and negro suf-
frage. Mr.. Stevens says:
Every loyal Southern man came to me
and asked me to put it in the bill. There
was not loyal man, from Governor Hamil-
ton to Governor Holden, Chief Justice Pow
ell and Governor Sherwood--there were
twenty of these men driven from their homes
who dare not go back for fear of being muir
dered They came to help me to fabricate
the bill 1t was not the rebels that did it;
it was of the loyal men that said give
us that bill; and the vote of the loyal white
men, added to that of the loyal black men,
can carry every State but Virginia. Twas
in caucus one night, when Governor Ham,
ilton told US to give them that law, and al,
though we are now in the minority, and l
dare not 90 home, forI should be murdered,
give US that bill, and we can carry Texas on
the side of the Union by twenty-five thou
sand majority" Governor Holden told me
the same, and so did everybody except the
Virginians."
We were in Washington in June and July
last. We saw and conversed with the Pres
ident four times. We saw Messrs. Seward,
Stanton, McCulloch, Welles, Speed, Randall,
and Harlan, of the Cabinet, each once. We
saw Mr.. Stevens twice, Mr.. Sumner twice,
and Messrs. Clark, Doolittle, Kelly, Bout
well, Trumbull, and Others frequently, at the
Capitol and at the hotels. We conversed
with all these gentlemen freely on the state
of the country. We did not stop specially to
inquire whether they were Radicals or not, as
our object was to obtain information, and to
do what we could to restore North Carolina
to the Union We did not see Gov Hamil-
ton We called at his boarding-h house, and
found him absent. We were not present at
any caucus or consultation of Republicans or
Radicals, nor were we invited to attend any
such caucus or consultation. We heard not
one word from Mr. Sumner, or Mr.. Stevens,
or Mr.. Boutwell,, or Mr.. Kelly, or any one
else, about negro suffrage. Mr. Sumner, for
instance, conversed for one hour on the state
of the country in general terms, speaking
kindly of the Southern people, and express
ing desire that the Union should be re-
stored; but he made no allusion to negro
suffrage. We saw Mr. Stevens in the room
of the Clerk of the House, III presence of DR..
Powell, DR.. Sloan, Gen. Banks and Others.
The conversation was hurried, as the House
was in session, and Mr. Stevens was called
off once to vote. He said, among other
things, that the whole work of reconstruc
ton under the President was usurpation,
and null and void. Of course we could net
agree to that, as we had been an actor in
this work ourself He said be would see to
it that this work should not stand. In this
it is well known he agrees with Judge Ruff
fin, of this State. He spoke of an enabling
act, but we did not see it. Negro suffrage
was not mentioned by any one during the
conversation. We have not, to this day,
seen Mr.. Stevens enabling act. 1t was in
troduced at the heel of the session, and we
looked for it in vain in the Washington pa
pers. Just as we were about to leave DR..
Powell handed Mr. Stevens a new test-oath,
to be adopted in the place of the present
test-oath. We do not remember the words
OF this oath sufficiently well to repeat them,
but this oath had our approval, as milder
and better one than that which now exists
Before we went to Washington, while we
were there, and since our return, negro suf.
frage has not been in all our thoughts as a
measure to be voluntarily adopted by our
people. We saw and heard enough, how.
ever, to convince US that if the Howard
amendment should not be accepted by the
Southern States, reorganization would fol-
low, with negro suffrage, confscation of
property, and many other evils. This is the
extent of our Radicalisn,, and of our com.
plclty with Mr.. Stevens. r
we have no idea that Mr. Stevens intend
Gu 70 misstate our position. We do not be-
heVe him capable of falsehesd or Intentional
Misrepresentation. 1t is natural that he