The evening Argus., 1867-11-11
THE SENATORIAL QUESTION.

When there shall be sent up from the vot-
ers south representatives from the ten
states, which are now, as it were, outside OF
the Union, representatives are to be selected
by congressional agents, and voted for and
sent to congress by negro votes, these ten
states that, under the operation of these laws
are to be placed under the control of the
southern freedmen, will have twenty sena
tors. The three millions of blacks living in
these states will have twenty senators, while
| the four millions Of white people of the state
of New York will have but two. That will
be your government unless check is speedi
| ly applied to the party In power But thai
| is not all. One-half Of the population of the
| United States live in nine states, according
to the census of 1860, and You will see that
| more than half of the white population o
| the country will have but eighteen senators
while three million Of negroes will have
twenty. These are facts and no man cal
gainsay them. You know that it has been
said that the representatives of these states
should be admitted, not when they came tC
speak for the population behind them, not
when they came there as representative men
but we are told from Massachusetts, and
lately we have been told from the state o.
New York, that these men are only to come
| in when they send representatives in accord
| with the majority of the senators and rep re
sentatives who sit in congress. You know
how the south is organized to-day. You
know that it Is living under government Of
| military dictation, a government of freed
| mems bureau agents, and there is no intell
gent man who will dare dispute the fact that
| these blacks in political action viii be gov
| erned by the advice and counsel of these
| agents, not the agents of the people, but the
| agents OF the congressional party, who shall
| be sent to the capitol. l appeal to you
| leaving out all considerations of charity fo,
| the helpless women and children of the
| south, leaving out of consideration every
| feeling of mercy for those who have suffered
| so much and who are now sitting down by
| their desolated homes, or perchance looking
| over all that remains of them in the shape Of
| ashes and cinders, if you are willing to hand
over this intelligent population, who fought
so like men-for they did fight manfully
and displayed true American courage, even
if it was on the wrong side-for the home Of
Washington, the home of jefferson. / ask
you, in Gods name and for your country's
sake, will you have them bound hand and
foot and given over to the merciless passions
of an almost savage race? (Cries of "No
no. Will you do another thing-will you
sanction policy that gives to three millions
of negroes twenty senators, while our own
state has but two, and while a majority oil
| the people of these United States have but
| eighteen?
What is that senate in which they are to
hold this controlling power? Their twenty
senators are to legislate upon your interests,
your labor, the laws Of taxation, the laws
that govern this community. Their power
will reach your 6resides as well as the fire.
sides of the south. I come to speak to you
on this question of reconstruction, upon a
home question which will reach you out just