The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-05-13
Stevens Playing sumner.


In the House, Tuesday, Mr.. Stevens.
of Pennsylvania, referring to Mr.. Sum.
ner's opposition in the Senate to the
constitutional amendment, which was
probably killed by the repeated blows
OF the Massachusetts, Senstor, said:
That, together with the amendment
repudiating the rebel debt, which we
also passed, would have gone far 20
curb the rebellious spirit Of secession,
and to have given to the oppressed race
their rights 1t went TO the other end
OF the Capitol, and was there MORALLY
wounded in the house. of its friends
After having received the careful
examination and appreciation of the
committee, and having received the
united Republican vote Of one. hundred
and twenty Representatives of the peo-
pie, it wes denounced as utterly rep
rehensible," and objectionable" TO
be encountered as q public enemy"
positively endangering the peace of
the country, and covering its name
with dishonor." "a wickedness on a
larger scale than the crime against
Kansas or the fugitive slave law; gross,
foul, outrageous; an incredible injus-
tice against the whole African race"
with every other vulgar epithet which
polished cultivation could command
at was slaughtered by puerile and
pedantic criticism, by a perVersion of
pathological definition which if, when 1
taught school, lad who had studied
Mndley Murray, had assumed, would
have expelled him from the institution
as unfit to waste education upon. But
it is dead, and unless this Qess efficient
l admit shall pass, its death has post
pOned the protection of the colored
race perhaps for ages. 1 confess my
modification at It's defeat. l grieVed
especially because it almost closed the
door of hope for the amelioration of
the condition of the freedmen. But
men in pursuit of justice must never
despair. Let US again try and see
whether We cannot devise some way to
overcome the united forces of self
righteous Republicans and unrighteous
Copperheads. 1t Will not do for those
who fer thirty years have fought the
beasts of Ephesus to be frightened by
the fangs of modern catamounts."
Again referring to the same subject,
Mr.. Stevens strikes at Sumner right
out from the shoulder, thus:
" l admit that this article is not as
good as the one we sent to death in the
Senate. In my judgment, we shall not
approach the measure of justice until
we have given every adult freedman a
homestead on the land where he was
born and toiled and suffered. Forty
acres Of land and a hut woud be more valA-
able TO him than the immediate right to vOte
Unless we give them this, we shall re-
ceiVe the censure of mankind and the
curse of Heaven. That article referred
to provided that if one of the injured
race was excluded, the State should
forfeit the right to have any of them
represented That would have has
tened their full Acknowledgement. This
section allows the States 70 discriminate
among the same class, and receive pro-
portionate credit in representation.
This / dislike. But it is short step
forward The large stride which we in
vain proposed is dead the murderers
must answer to the suffering race
would not have been the perpetrator.
A load of misery must sit heavy On
their souls.