Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-07-30
Wendell Ph,l, se.s ON r.. %s,s Situation"

Wendell Phillips on the " Situation0
"A sharp Talk.
At birmingham, Mass, on the Fourth,
Wendell Phillips delivered an grafton,
from which we extract the following
too,hsoms passages. Union men of Ne.
vada should read the assurances, for the
Radicals, Of "negro suffrage in the back.
ground:"
Congress to-day only proposes to lay
before the people such a measure as will
save the Republican party at the ballot
box. Idistrust such q policy. I believe
that all history shows that, as it is said in
the Good Book, HE who seeks only to
save his life shall lose it." So q party,
whenit is reduced to a policy concocted
only to save its life, is certain to lose II.
The South has always fought for what
she believed to be a principle, frankly
avowing 1t, and four times out OF five she
has succeeded. The policy OF the South,
the craftsmanship Of the South, is courage
frankness, and an idea. The statemanshiP
of the North is timidity, compromise, and
hypocrisy. [Laughter.l The Republican
party enters to-day on that same track.
| Look at its measure. 1t undertakes to cut
| down the representation Of the South IN
nroportion TO the extent to which the
| South DISTINGUISHES the negro. Dur faith
era tried that il 1881. They said, "Allow
the South only three-ffths Of her negroes,
and political selishness will, in order to
clutch the other two-ffths, lift its negro
from a slave into a man." We tried 1t
ninety years, nearly, and the South, I'M
der the inspiration Of this motive, never
made one single effort to get rid OF the
| slavery that robbed her o two-ffths OF the
strength Of her black population. What
the leaders in Congress think is, that the
amendment will DO rejected. OF course it
will be.
The precedent set In the last amendment
counts all the States IN making up the
requisite three-fourthS, and if that prece-
dent is to be followed now, there is no
possibility that the proposed amendment
will be accepted. What, then, does Ste
vens, what does Boutwell,. what does
Wade, what does Sumner expects In that
near Fall, when the elections are over, and
the amendments defeated, what do they
expect Why, they expect that the Re-
publican party, victorious at the ballot
box, unfettered by the adoption Of the
amendment, "wil float back into Con-
"gress, able to pass an act that shall give
" The ballo, to the negro, and initiate an
amendment of the Constitution which
shall secure it to him. They do not
"want that amendment accepted. The
" worst possible news that Thaddeus Ste
"vens could hear would be that that
amendment was adopted" The most
unwelcome news you could carry to
George Boutwell,, OF Groton, would be
that that amendment had been ratified.
They neitheHexpect it nor wish it. 1t is a
party move. I do not disgrace it when I
say it is a party trick, to tide over the
elections, and save time-nothing else.
To serve a purpose-to get rid OF an emer-
gency-to tide over the Summer-to get
on the other side OF the elections-that is
all. Meanwhile, where are the rank and
file Of the people, They take that amend
ment in their hands; they read it as-the
honest and sound conviction OF Congress ;
they accept it as the high-tide level Of
what can be done. On the other side Of
the elections. you are TO hnd puohc opin-
ion demorallzed to the level OF that amend
ment. Again, the two parties, the
Democratic and the Republican, will
be standing on platforms. Suppose to-
day TINS were a hepuoncan caucus S1me