The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-11-29

TIC DELIVERS Himself Before StartIry
"e"'----The True ROSIs OF Recon-
"tr"CtiOn Declared to he T'nIycrrnI
amnesty RHd CnIVcrSaI SaIIrrnKe.-.
zen. Davis 10 he let go In COnsidqrn
| ZION OF this COmccSSIOn..-The Alter
nN'IN" Before the SOuth-.-A Strongly
| written Document a.. 80
| tFU'H the Tribune Of 7t4sstiau.
About TO start for some weeks so.
Journ in the West, whence I cannot
readily and constantly confer with tn,
general public, 1 wish to leave NV con.
trihution to the general mass of suC-
GeStion and criticism touching the true
oasis OF National restoration and con.
cord 5" plainly set forth that 1t cannot
De m'sluoted nor rmisapprehended.
Ihat have long held the main fnun.
dAtions of genuine. enduring resettlc.
| ment OF our disturbed and upturneJ
/ n"ilonal structure to he Universal Am.
/ nesty and Impartial Suffrage muSt lao
t"israhiy Vol known. 1t only remains
{ tn be said that I commend them nOt ns
/ f"Clprocal concessions but AS common
Dement'S. l trust our great differences
are 10 be composed and ended bv mo
! iSrudgirE, hiCgling CompromisG-nC
/ peanut dicker. 1t is essential to the
]
/ ouShlY tranQuiliZed and rcnSsured IL
IL essential to the South that her princi.
I PA4 pody OF agricultural luborcrs-her
peasant cultivatorS-Should live and
labor IN contcntment based on perfect
/ trust that their rights of person and
! property-their earnings and their
. hoWeS-are as secure and inviOlute ns
| those of the proudest magnatc in ,hq
I land. There is no Northern, no S0uth.
ern interest i'll the promises, but n com.
mon interest of the whole American
I people.
I am for Universal Amnesty-so far
as immunity from fear of punishment
| or conhscation is concerncd-eyan
though Impartial Suffrage should for
the present be resisted and defeated
! dId think II desirable that Jefferson
| Davis should be nrTRigned and tried
! for treason; and 1t still seems 20 me
I that this might have been done many
months ago. But it was not done then;
and now l believe it would result
I in far more evil than good. 1t would
| rekindle passions that have nearly
| burned ont or been huShed To
sleep; it would fearfuIly convulse
and agitate the South: it would arrest
/ the progress OF reconciliation and kind
/ Iy feeling there; it would cost large
sum dire,tly and a far larger indirectly:
/ and-un.ess the jury were scandalOuslv
! paoked-St would result in non agrets-
ment or no verdict. l can imagine no
good end TO be subserved bv such "A
. trial, and-holding Davis neither better
nor worse than thousands of others
/ would have him treated as they are.
! We hope to see Impartial Suffrage
/ established by very general consent.
| Many will favor it because they hold it
I emiuently wise and just; others because
| they are tired OF contention about ne
( groes, and wish to put Rn end to it.
| And the one simple, obvioHs mode OF
1 taking the negro out of politics is lust
/ to treat him as man. He will cease
| to be an object of special interest or
| championship from the hour that the
/ law disregards the immRterial circum-
| stance of his color and treats him only
as human being.
l trust the States will generally ac-
| cord to Blacks the common rights OF
1 Manhood, irrespective Of the Nation
and of each other; and 1 trust they will
agree to place those rights under the
protection of the Federal Constitution.
| This may not, in one sense, be necessa-
| ry; yet it is best To leave no "loop to
/ hang doubt upon" The whole coun-
| try needs absolute peace and rest. lam
very willing that each State should i'm.
pose a moderate polI-taS on every Citi-
zen, and allow no one to vote who shall
| not have seasOnably paid this tax. !
hold that lunatics, idiots, criminals
vagrants and public paupers, have no
natural right to vote, and that they
| be negroes-as presume there are
who choose to prOwl over the country
l begging and stealing, l think these
| should not be allowed to vote. But
/ every honest, diligent, industrious,
useful citizen, however lOwly, ought tC
be "A voter; and that State is weakened
and imperiIed which excludes any such
| from her electoral body.
/ dislike the suggestion OF an "intel-
| ligenCe" basis for suffrage. Let us not
| be deluded by false analogies and vague
distractions. In State where each
child grows up within sight of free
| school-houses wherein he is more than
welcome TO be 9 pupil, 1t is perfectly
reasonable to prescribe that those only
| who can read may vote. Where half
the people have not only been denied
! all public facilities for education, but
| have grown up under laws which made
! teaching them crime, the case is very
different. Establish common schools
| in the South, and you may fairly pre-
scribe that no one shall vote after 1876
| who does not know how to read. But
do not put out "a mans eye and then
| punish him for blindness.
| 1t would be morally impossible to en-
! force fairly and uniformly an intelli-
gence test in the South. Just think oil
! "
and first marshal, sitting as IL board on
the eve of an exciting election 70 deter
mine how many and which of the
| Blacks OF New Orleans were so literary
| Rs they should be to make them voters?
| Fancy the COpperheads OF Southern
Maryland passing on the literary pre-
| tensions Of their late slaves, from whom
| they feared defeat i'll an exciting pOliti-
cal contest! The bare attempt to en-
! force such test at the South will man
! ifestly infiame and distract that entire
region. trust it will be forbOrno.
I commend Impartial Suffrage as re-
uuired by the true interest of all con
| concerned; yet I cannot admit that it is
! a matter in which the North has no
rjghtrul concern. The Blacks are q
portion not merely OF the Southern but
| Ofthe American People. They played
| an important and beneticent part in OuI
great Civil War. We cannot ignore
tho obligations springing from our ne
cessity and their loyalty. / hold that
honor and good faith absolutely con
strain those who triumphed In that
struggle to take care that their humble
supDorters and hackers shall not be
| made TO suffer for taking the side of the
Union. To say now, in view of the re-
cent past, "Iet the Southern negroes
have such rights only as their "hltt
! Unte Rebel) fellOw-CitizenS shall see nj
to ac cord them," would be ingraIitudt
and perfidy such as might well invoke
the liphtnings of heaven. No matter
at what cost, we of the North must take
care that the Southern Blacks are moi
left at the mercy OF the diabolic spiri
which manifested itself Through the lat'
mnssacres OF Memphis and New Or
leans. ,,e,-.,.--..
I'm your way" hear objected.
p..boDa 7 do not comprehend thu
corce nF this objection. Let me illus
IDlES - -. =. Z L. LIZ a Ia m lin Z nni IN