Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1867-02-20
The constitutional 4,,re
ments In the Legisi
HARR1sBURd, fEB'

1o+o5 :, both Houses The Democrats nave
had decidedly the best of it, as the argu-
ment is all on their side | cannot refrain
from congratulating the Democracy OF Old
Bucks in having such an able ana HeaiouS
Representative as FRANK HEADMAN, as ne
is familiarity called. Onlast Thursday While
the constitutional Amendments were under
! d;ycrss;on Mr.. HEADMAN made most tel
I;nq and eloquent speech. Ihave taken the
liberty to make few extracts from it, which
! T would be pleased to see in the columns of
the DEMOCRAT AND STAR, believing that
they will be read with interest by ever Dem
ocrat in your County.
Mr. HEADMAN having the flC 1r, spoke of
the folly of endeavoring to convinc, he rad
icals of the error of their ways, but he owed
duty to his party and to his country, to
protest against the passage of these amend
ments. | proceed to make a few extracts,
which elected particular attention from both
sides of the House:
"There has been great deal said about
rebels and rebel sympathisers The Re
publicans have called us traitors, because
we do not think as they do. They have
trampled the Constitution of our country un-
der foot and proclaimed that they have a
higher law. Why, sir, these men here
who are branding us as traitors, and have
taken an oath to support the Constitution
are traitors of the blackest dye.
1t has been said of me that | am disloyal
and that | hang out a secession flag. | hang
out a flag at my home that the negro wor-
shippers do not wish to understand. 1t is
one that has descended, even to thc fourth
generation in my family | will here de
scribe and give brief history Of it. 1t is
of blue silk, and as pure as the bright azure
of heaven In the centre of that blue
ground is painted bundle Of thirteen sticks,
firmly bound together, emblematic of the
Union. They are surmounted by a Liberty
cap. Clutching those sticks are thirteen
hands and stalwart arms, representing the
thirteen original States, graspIng the Union,
and the motto inscribed upon it is,-"ThjS
,re lrH defend or dier That flag was be-
tween those snow-clad hills at V alley Forge;
it was in the battle front at Germantown;
and, sir men from South Carolina and Mas
sachusetts marched shoulder to shoulder un
/ der its folds, as WELL also the patriots from
/ Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Con
neeticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Hamp-
/ shire Virginia. New York, North Carolina
! hail, over the frozen and snow covered
| ground, on that bleak and dark December
night, through my own county Of Bucks,
/ their path could be traced by the blood from
| their shoeless feet That army-if army it
! could be called, crossed the DelawaEe,
amidst floating ice That was the darkest
/ hour of our country's history. Men from
| all the States that ratified the Constitution
were there, and on that Christmas morn,
true to the motto on that flag, achieved the
victory at Trenton. George Washington,
the first rebel, led one wing of the forlorn
| hope. These men went through all the
hardships and privations that human beings
could endure. But the bright sun Of victory
smiled upon them; and there was the free
dom Of our country won, and that honored
flag was triumphant | am proud to say
that this is the flag that waves over my
| house above the stars and stripes
- The Republicans have encouraged the
negro to live in idleness, and forced the
/ Government to support him. You have
your agents travelling all over the country
| at Government expense in behalf of negroes,
but for white men the hand Of charity is not
extended White soldiers can be seen daily
on the highways and byways, with one arm
or one leg, asking aims. There are no tears
Of sympathy for them-no Government
agents hunting them up to relieve their
wants Unfortunately for them, they are
| white, and according to radical rule, they
did not, ike the negro troops, fight brave
| ly."
I think the time will soon come when a
cry of injustice done to white men will 60
up that will shake the granite hills of New
Hampshire, and re-echo along the hills and
valleys until it reaches the orange groves of
Florida, and extend from the Atlantic to
the Pacific coasts Men will then go forth
to oppose faUaticism and misrue White
freemen from all sections OF this country
will be in battle array. They will not rally
under the stars and bars, but under that
flag, with its thirty-six stars unsullied, while
you on the other side of this House viii
have to fight under flag of but twenty-six
stars, alongside of negro troops. Yor will
then, indeed, have to fight bravely"
i say, go on gentlemen in your nefarious
crimes and plots, agitate the country, keep
up the excitement, depreciate your curren-
cy, close your channels of trade, shut up
your mills, founders and workshops, stop
your mines, throw the masses of white men
and women out of employment, then will
come the time you Will wish you had never
been born.
We have already suffered all sorts of pri-
vations and hardships. The Constitution
has been laid aside under the plea of mill
tary necessity, and under that plea persons
have been incarceratcd in forts and bastiles
without due process of law. They have been
denied the right Of trial by jury-they have
never been confronted by their accusers. AL
this has been done by usurpers and tyrants
men that would barter freedom for a great
mans feast, and sell their country and then
principles for a mess of pottage Prolong
ed cheering. And these are the men whc
took solumn oath to support the Constitu-
ton IN which these rights are guaranteed tc
ALL
There is an Old saying, that the darkest
hour is the hour before dawn, and | think
the darkest hour in the history of this coun-
try will be when the programme of the Sen
ator from Eric is carried ont. He said. thai