Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-04-05
VOLUME XVI.


codes /; they will appoint overseers to bind
out the colored children to whites when
ever they see fit. They will ordan that nc
colored man shall go out of the country
without pass, or come back without a
pass from some white man. They will die
tate to them what they shall do and what
they shall not do--measure out to them the
opportunities of life Here are these two
antagonisms of life running on side by side,
the cOlored man learning more and more,
as his mind expands, of the rights that be,
long to him as man the white man, on
the other hand, abridging his privileges by
unfriendly Legislation and we know that
by and by these two antagonisms must
come into collision. 1t will come, infallibly
as fate The cOlored man will begin to feel
that he that would be free must himself
strike the blow, and he may strike it, and
then will come the war of races in the
Southern States then will it be the black
against the white and the white against
the black Each clutching at the throat of
the other, there will come a renewal of the
fierce scenes Of St. Domingo, fires upon the
hills and blood in the wales. This will be
called negro insurrection, and the Gov
ernment will be summoned to the pleasant
task of suppressing it.
You will be called upon to butcher of
those to whom you appealed in your hour of
danger, and who helped you fight your bat
ties of deliverarce.
If you leave the freedmen in the hands
of the South you may look for collision, but
if you deal with them yourselves, teaching
them what they may do and what they may
not do, you may have peace. Say to the
colored man, these are your rights and you
shall have them; say to the whites, these
are your duties and you shall perform them
Administer to the former large doses of
LincOln's Proclamation, to the latter equal
doses of the we'll known ben Butler Pana-
cea," and speedily will peace and prosper
ity be established upon every square acre
of rebel soil
Yet further, have read Milton's Para
disc Lost, and so have you. Milton had
genius enough to describe the guilt and
derelicion OF the rebel angels who coniured
up an insurrection in Heaven But Milton
had not got genius enough TO portray the
guilt of those Southern men that stimula-
ted rebellion against this Government
Milton never rose to the height of that
great argument | consider their guilt un-
equalled by anything in the long history of
time. How do you treat those men after
you have driven them to the last ditch and
wrenched the bayonet from their hands ?
How do you treat those men now? They
are voting again, electing members to Con-
gress, talking about their rights, holding
conventions, and the very leaders claiming
seats in the halls of legislation. Robert
f. Lee, a guiding genius Of the whole
thing-the leading spirit-Robert Z. Lee,
is now the educator Of American youth and
advertises in the papers that he is now
prepared to receive donations. Lee and
his men were here at Gettysburg they
were the men who threatened this capital
at time when the hearts of the citizens of
Harrisburg throbbed with anxiety, for they
expected the next gale would bring to their
ears the echoes of his cannon. Lee went
through the rebellion, and when he could go
no further made a bow, turnedaround gave
up his sword and became the tutor of Eir-
ginia chivalry.
Here are all these rebels What will
you do with them? Will you, knowing
their efforts to destroy the Government,
take them to your heart again?
J My argument is, that you should treat
those who were your friends when you
needed friends, as we'll as you treat those
who were your enemies and clutched at the
throat of the Government
You ought to treat Robert Small as well
as you do Robert f. Lee Robert Small
once a slave, took the vessel in which he
was pilot and clandestinely run it by the
rebel batteries and brought himself, vessel
and ALL into our lines, and as he came un-
der the old banner surrendered the vessel
up with ali on board.
| Where is he to-day?
Where is Robert L. Lee!
| sdbmit to you, sir. cody, calmly, not
for deClamation's sake-for it is not sub-
iect for declamation--l submit to the SEN
ate of Pennsylvania | submit to the people
of the whole country, | submit ii to all
Christendom, sir, that you ought to treat
the Southern loyal colored man as well as
you treat the Southern white rebel who is
stained with blood from head to heel. If
there is any argument on that, ! am pre-
pared to hear it. Whoever says nay, let
him speak.
There is man-thc Senator from Indi-
ana (Mr. WHITE )-who was put in dun
geon in Libby Prison and laid there long
days and weary nights, who has told you
how he burrowcd his way from the prison
and how the colored loyal friends of the
South met him at midnight, gave him their
food and carried him forty miles bundled
up in load of straw. Then the whites
captured him again, thrust him in a dun
geon, thrust candle in his face and said,
"You damned Yankee, yOu didn't succeed,
did you?"
Those men who hunted him down with
blood hounds the scars of whose teeth are
yet upon his limbs, are voters to-day
where are the cOlored men that watched
with him, and fed him and protected him ?
Our soldiers were starved to death and
endured greater tortures than were ever
inflicted by the aboriginal Indians sixty
thousand of our brave boys were starved in
Southern prisons Where are the men who
ministercd to them in their prisons? Will
you protect them and treat them as we'll as
you do your enemies | wish :he Senate
of Pennsylvania to settle that point.
do not desire to weary you, sir and |
shall pass over much that might be said.
The great law of the age is progress. -
We have acquired the growth of half a
century in the past five years, and we shall
see things five years from now, | trust,