The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-05-03
From TIE RaaAtHgson Chronicle.
Hon. John a. Bingham.
% he Editors of The CIroaiele:

FROM nae HdA4H9toR Chronicle.
| Hon. John a. Bingham.
To the Editors of the GIroRicLe:
AS have noticed frequently of late
In The public press attempts to dfspar-
age the Hon. John A. Bingham, de-
sire through your columns, to give a
few facts concerning his course in Con-
| gress on the great questions that have
been discussed and acted on during the
rebellion, that thelcountry may know
what invaluable service he has rendered
the country, and how consistently true
he has beento the principles he avoWed
/ at the outset, and which he still holds.
In the Thirty-Sixth Congress, in the
winter of 1851, Mr.. Bingham spoke and
voted against the proposed constitu-
tional amendment which was to make
slavery perpetual and even permit all
the States to establish and continue it
interfere, and owing to his opposition,
it failed on the first vote, but afterward
| passed by the votes of many who now
assume he is not true Radical.
No one can say truly that Mr.. Blng-
ham has abandoned any principle, or
that he has been faithless to the party to
which he belongs, and certainly none
| who accuse;him have rendered more or
better service to the cause of the great
| "
ltshment of equal Justice and universal
liberty in the land. All his solid ser
vices for ten years, in Congress, and out
of II, should not go for naught, and be
dtsparHged and deeried by every news
paper correspondent who chooses to as
sail in the interest of some man who
proposes to obtain public favor by pur-
chase, rather than by merit.
His record which Is q noble one, has
| ma nj a F-tk
who now sneer at him as conserva-
tive were, ten years ago, when his
voice was heard and his vote recorded
on the side of liberty and equality,
found fighting on the opposite side. He
declared for emancipation of the slaves
In January, 1861, when the representa-
tives OF tie rebel States were nearly all
In Congress, and then introduced the
bill to close the Southern ports, and
commanded two-thirds OF the House,
less eight votes, to put il on its passage
De introduced and carried in the same
Congress the bill to repeal the slave code
of New Mexico against the defiant op.
position of the rebel fire-eaters. This
was the first bill that ever passed either
house repeating an existing slave code.
In the Thirty Seventh Congress hesup-
| ported every measure for carrying on
the war, and gave his strongest utter
/
none had spoken outside of the Com
mittee OF Ways and Means. he advo-
Gated, in 1862, the new article of war
prohibiting the army from surrendering
fugitive slaves. In December, 1851, he
introduced a contiscation and emanci-
patton act, and in January, 1862, argued
in the House for its adoption, and in
sisted that "liberty should be proclaim
ed at the head of the army" year be-
1 f1Pl
mortal by proclaiming It,
In the Thirty Ninth Congress, in the
hrst week of December, 1856, his first
act was to introduce an amendment to
the Constitution to enforce the bill of
rights in every State, by giving the
Congress the power to secure by law 10
every citizen all the privileges and i'm
munities OGcitiZens of the United States,
and to every person, citizen and stran-
ger, the full and equal protection of
the laws; also, another amendment to
prohibit the United States, and every
State. from ever assuming or paving
any debt or liability contracted or in
CURED in aid of the rebellion. These
propositions were afterward incorpor-
ated in the fourteenth article, reported
from the Committee on Reconstruction,
of which Mr.. B. was q member, and
which received his ardent support, ex-
cept the third section as reported, which
majority of the Union men voted TO
strike out, but were for the moment de-
feated by the Democratic vote uniting
with the Union minority which follow
ed Mr.. Stevens. This section was strick-
en- out by the Senate, (only one vote in
the negative, Reverdy JOhnson) and
the House coHCurred.- Instead OF the
original third section, that now in the
amendment was inserted, which Mr..
B. advocated substantially In his
speech as a salQtary proposition.
The only important vote given by him
in the Thirty-ninth Congress against
the majority Of his party was that on
the "civil rights" bill, and it was en-
dorsed afterward by the same Congress
by placing in the article what he argu-
ed was not there-the power OF Con-
gress to enforce by law all civil rights
in organized and represented States,
and i has since been endorsed by Re-
publican Legislatures representing
d, 900, 900 of the freemen of America.
Mr.. Bingham introduced The bill to
admit Tennessee on the ratification of
this amendment and the modification
of her constitution by striking out the
word "white' as qualification for suf-
frage. % 1H.li.l7i 1g f''.5 .iag 'slS,'6.i .7sa-.
Mr.. Bingham opposed the reconstruc-
ton bills of Mr.. Stevens and Mr.. Ash
ley in the last session, believing that
such legislation would be disastrous,
both to the party that enacted it and to
the whole people of the South. His
speecheSlin the debate on these bills in
January last show what he thought of
suffrage, He moved their reference to
the Reconstruction Committee, and
there, as hissdebate in the House shows,
he moved substantially what is known
as the BLAINE amsnnment to the mil
ttarY bill, and Mr.. Stevens moved to
table 1t. The amendment, as he offered
II In the House, secured equal suffrage
to white and colored citizens in each
State, but it was defeated but on re-
turning again from the Senate, it was
finally passed, with the addition Of the
amendment of ShellabRrger and Will
son, to exclude in the primary election
the few persons who had taken an oath
to support the Constitution OF the
United States-Mr. Bingham voting for
I 1t. -.-..-.--
Ifany further defence of his record
were needed, 1t can be found in the SER
| vice rendered every executive officer
and soldier Of the Republic in the prep
aration and intfOdnctiono Of the indem-
/ nifty bill, which passed without a di-
vision and became law. 20 g1r Z
With such q areooTd as shown by the
few instances I have cited, should Mr..
/ Bingham be traduced and misrepre-
sented by men who never served either
with great ability or with marked fdsl.
ity, both of which I claim are charac-
teristtcs of him as a LEGISLATOR II he
had done nothing more than to con-
tribute to the incorporation OF that
amendment in the Constitution of the
country, it alone ought to shield him
from, charge Of want OF sympathy
with the cause. t5z5 5a5 s5 - -. h =
Canwe not learn from our enemies Z
Look at the compromises offered last
winter by Governor Orr and others.
They proposed to accept all or nearly
all the sections Of article II except the