The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-09-21
Punic Faith.

How little reliance is I" be placed upon
the professions of the Radicals that the
proposition To amend the Constitution is
no, intended to enable Congress to force
negro suffrage upon the southern States
may be inferred from shcir present inter-
probation of the amendment which the
southern States ratified last year. nat
amendment merely provides thai S''ve'!
shall not exist in any of the states o' '''-
ritories of the United States except ~
punishment for crime, ana tha' congress
shall have power to enforce the same.
HORACE GRIZZLY, one {" the e>' ~
we'll a. one Of the most candid men IN
the Radical party, now AYERS that 1hls
amendment has meaning which no falr
construction Of its language justitics. lie
SAYS:
:, Tho Federal Constitution which we now
swear 10 support is aot the Constitution rs It's
authors promulgated IT, but one radically
different. That Constitution allowed every
State TO deal - il pleased with its own people;
the Constitution as it stands to-day expressly
clothes Congress with the power and invests
i, with The duty of guarding the liberties and
ptIsOiSi iiShtS VI tii fSNIAS Va 'hs
Granting this 10 be true. we would ask,
what, then, is the necessity which calls for
a new amendment providing for the same
objects. Here i GREELEY's statement Of
The congressional proposition:
IAN persons born or naturalized i'll this
country are hencrforth citizens of the United
States. and shall enjoy all the rights OF citi-
ZcnS eNermore: and no state shall nave power
10 coniravcne this most righteous and neces-
sary provision.
Uu!e>s the southern people ratiiy this
proposed amendment they shall not, and
ought 40, 10, come into the Union as equals
with the northern people, says Mr.. GREE
LEY And yet, if he has not told Il wlllinl
falschood. This very provision is already
contained in the Constitution. Congress
already has the power. says Mr.. GREELEY,
"to ,ta,I tic liberties m,d poSomt rights ~
SAT- the people Of the United SateS.' And
in the face ot this declaration he has the
cfiruntcry L. say that II new provision for
the same object must be ratified, ar we
must remain in Il territorial condition.
What validity, az force, or operative power
Will the new provision have that the pre-
sent one has not . Congress cannot have
bower To protect more than "all the people
az the United StatcS,' nor to guarantee 10
them more than "thcir liberties and per-
so,al rights" Accepting Mr.. GREELEY as
authority, the new provision must either he
intended TO enable Congrc>Stu confer upon
negroes The right Of suffrage, or it has no
meaning at all-thcir civil rights having
been already secured by act of Congress.
But the truth is that the amendment
last wear ratified provides for but one OBJ
icct, and tina, is the prohibition of slavery:
and conicrS upon Congress II" power what
ever except tn sec that slavery shall not
exist. 1t does not authorize Congress to
guard the liberties or personal rights of
any man or class of men further than to
take care that they he not made slaves.
ANY lawyer whose opinion is worth Il but
ton could set Mr.. GREELEY right upon this
point.
We do not wish the reader to suppose
that we are so verdant as to imagine that
the Radicals have any respect Tor constltu-
,ional provisions or for the liberties or
personal rights of any white man. Their
sympathies are all reserved for Samho.
They have violated the plainest provisions
al the Constitution, and di>regarded all
the obligations of humanity. They, how
ever. do us the Justice to believe that 1r'
trOud respect a constitutional provision.
And their object is to ioiSt one upon us in
bad faith. The one which is quoted above,
and which provides that no State shall have
power TO prevent the negroes from enjoy
ing 'all the rights OF citizens" seems to
Us clearly to contemplate negro suffrage,
although the Radicals deny that ii does.
One thing is certain, however, that once
adopted. it will be SD construed by them.
For if they are SO unprincipled as to aver
that a constitutional provision which
merely coniers upon Congress the power
toprcvent the existence of slavery, clothes
that body with power to guard the liber-
ties and personal rights" OF the negroes,
they may, with much better reason, aver
that provision which conlcrs upon ne
groes "all the rights of citizens gives
the same class the right of suffrage.
.Punic faith" is a mild phrase of reproach
TO apply to men who thus disgrace the
dignity OF manhood and countenance
treachcry, hypocrisy, and fraud.
-