The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1866-08-23

easily imagined than described"
by an unintelligible growl. This
was responded to by cries "Put
him outl" "No, mol" "Let him
SIT; he don't know nothing!" But
the audience generally rather rel
ished the idea of his asking ques-
tions of Mr.. Doolittle and hoped
he would try it again. But he was,
for the time, too full for utterance.
The speaker continued:
Fellow-citizenS-I have said per-
haps enough on that subject. /
tell you what every sensible man
at The South will tell you-.what
the best generaN of our armies
know--what Mr.. Johnson, who has
lived his whole life at the South,
knows-what Thomas Jefferson has
declared in his works-that it is
utterly impossible, in the present
condition of things, to place those
two races with equal power in large
numbers in the same government.
Here in N. York you can do so, there
are not enough to count; we can
do it in Wisconsin, they can. do it
in New England; but the moment
you undertake to do it in the South
ern States it will be the beginning
of turmoil, bloodshed, and civil war
between the races, which a stand
ing army of 100000 men can not
prevent.
DISFRANCHIsING THE BRAINS OF THE
SOUTH.
But there is another proposition
contained in this proposed amend
ment to the Constitution, to-wit:-
The disfranchisement of all of the
men of the South who ever held
any kind of Office requiring them to
take an oath to support the Consti-
tuition of the United States, which
applies to almost every office, State
or Federal, and every member of
the Legislature, and every judge
of every court, and every execu-
tive officer of any kind throughout
the whole of those States; the prop
osition of Congress is to distran-
chise these men forever. Now, fell
low-citizens, in the whole history
of modern times you can not find
a proposition equal to thatl No,
sir, not even when Poland was
crushed under the iron heel of Rus
sia did the ukase of the Emperor
go the length of that i
The ukase of the Emperor of
Russia admitted the people of
Poland to rights and dignities and
honors, according to their merits.
Nor in the civil wars in England is
any thing like this to be found; nor
in the civil wars of France, when
the victorious party had conquered
the party in war against it. Is that
the way to make peace3 Is the
disfranchisement of the whole
heart and brain Of the South-.to
make them your eternal enemies,
never to forgive them-never to
relent-is this the true doctrine of
statesmen who desire to heal2-
How was it with Lord Hale, who
served as the Ohiefjustice under
the rebellioni How was it upon
the restorationa Was he disfran-
chised9 He was made Chiefjus-
tice under the incoming king, al
though he had been a Chiefjustice
under the rebellion. And yet men
talk of craftsmanship, talk of wis
/ dom, talk about reading the history
of the world-claim to be- Chris
tians, and yet never can forgive
FGreat laughter and applause.]
THE FEDERAL AND REBEL DEBTS.
There are other sections in this
amendment-a section in reference
to the rebel debt; sections, also,
in reference to the Federal debt;
sections which, if there was any
necessity for them, might be well
enough. No man supposes that we
are to repudiate the Federal debt
when every man is interested in
sustaining it. No man can ever
be so foolish, in my judgment, as
to suppose that any Congress can
ever assume the rebel debt-that
the rebels themselves would ever
desire to assume that debt, in addi.
ton to the Federal debt which is
now upon them. Laughter.] But
suppose these two sections, stand
ing by themselves, were such that
the American people would adopt
them, it is impossible to adopt the
good sections without the bad ones
also. Congress would not give to