The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1866-03-22

ing oaths of allegiance 10 support that
Government. They should remain in
the condition of aliens until all these
questions of reconstruction have been
settled and determined. The Govern
ment put forth its strong arm in the
State Of Missouri and excluded rebels
from the ballot box, while the loyal men
set about the work of reconstructing the
machinery of the State Government
The result is, you have there a loval
state organization, "A loyal Legislature
loyal Governor and enc of the best
state constitutions in America. A Con
stitution which declares Missouri shall
be free state forever. 1t establishes
equality Of all men before the law. 1t
prohibits all legislation interfering with
the personal rights OF man, on account
of their color. l. declares that Missouri
shall forever remain member of the
American Union, II excludes from the
bollot box and from Office traitors. rch-
els. rebel sympathizer~. guerrillas, bush
whackers. and their ailers and abettors,
1t i'll like manner excludes knights of
the Golden Circle = and Sons of Lib
erty
RECoNsTEUcTloS IN MISSOURI.
The Federal Government has had no
trouble with this matter of reconstruc-
ton in Missouri The loyal men have
fixed it up in a way satisfactory 10 10y al
men everywhere In the State of Ten
nessee the Government again put forth
her own strong arm and excluded rebels
from the ballot box, and there, again.
YOU have loyal State organization and
a loyal Governor If l were in Con
gress [ would vote TO admit the Tennes-
see delegation, because they are not on
" loyal men themselves, but they have
been elected by loyal voters. There are
no better patriots in this country any
where, than Horace Maynard and Colo
nel Stokes But some men in Congress
are voting against the admission of these
blood stained patriots to seats in that
body. They say to Stokes and May
nard, = we know that you are loyal. that
YOU have been elected by loyal votes,
that you are willing and can take the
test oath, but we cannot admit you be
cause by so doing we would concedc
away our doctrine that the Federal Gov
ernmcnt has the right to control this
question Of suffrage in the rebel states"
MIR. JULIAS's POSITION
Now | do not believe the Federal
ton of suffrage. The Constitution gave
it to the States, seventy eight years ago
it has been there ever since it is there
to- day, But those men say the South
has been in rebellion and consequently
the Federal Government has attained
power over them and can control this
matter Of suffrage in reorganizing those
States That | believe is the doctrine
of the representative from this District
While he is in favor of punishing the
leaders of the rebellion, the masses of
the rebels he would allow to vote, and
seek to check mate their ballots with bal
lots of the loyal men of color. He gives
as one reason why he is in favor OF this,
that 1--WE cannot afford to keep a large
standing army in the South that we
have already as great a debt upon orr
shoulders as we can possibly bear. -
While | admit that the keeping of a
standing army would increase the ma
tiOnal debt. the necessity of which am
as anxious to avoid as any person in the
country, yet is there man here To night
who believes that If YOU Withdraw the
Army from the South and allow the reb-
els and the negroes to 90 to the ballot box
together, that the negroes can vote the
rebels down Every man who has been
South, and is in the least acquainted
with the southern negroes and the rebels,
understands very well what the result Of
that kind Of an election would be The
rebels would simply say they would
shoot the first negro that would attempt
to put ballot in the ballot box, and not
a negro would show himself.
VOTING UNDER THE BAYoSET
Now l admit that if you take the mill
tary and guard the polls, converting the
! Regular Army into an elcctioneering
corps, to see that the negroes come to
the elections; see that they have a bal
lot placed in their hands and then see
/ that they deposit that ballot in the bal
/ lot box, that III two or three of the
Southern States you may vote the rebels
down; but in the balance of the rebel
States the negroes are not numerous
enough to do so if they even had the bal
/ lot, Now if the negroes fail to vote the
rebels down you have then placed these
State Governments in the hands of reb-
els, even by your own plan, and would
thereby turn over the loyal men and the
negroes TO the tender mercies of rebel
rule. l do not propose to take any such
risk l am not willing to put loval
man, either black or white. upon a level
with q traitor For If am asked TO de-
eide who has the best right 10 vote, the
white man who has carried the musket
four years, trying to destroy the nation.
or the black man who has carried his
musket four years in defense of the ma
tion's life, | would unhesitatingly decide
in favor of the negro. But l am oppos-
ed to this plan of reorganization because
| do not believe that Congress has the
authority under the Constitution to en-
franchise the negro. As l said before l
/ believe that that belongs to the States.
l believe the loyal men of the States
should have the right TO decide that
question for themselves, the same as YOU
men here in Indiana. If you saw, how
ever, that the Federal Government
should control this matter of suffrage,
because these States have been in rebel
lion, my answer is this Suppose that
the copperhead party of Indiana should
have carried this State into rchaIIion ac