The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1867-12-21
Speech Of Hon. VIM. M. stewart,
u. =. Senator from Nevada,
DECEMBER 10, 1867.

Mr.. President, from the remarks that have
inst fallen from the Senator from Kentucky
one would suppose who did not know any
thing about the fact that the Union party
had undertaken to govern this country by
the negro vote. have heard this before.
/ have heard it from the stump. have
heard this effort for the last year to frighten
the American people and to make them be-
lieye that they would be governed by the
negroes that if the negroes voted at all
they would govern this entire country. !
supposed that in the United States there is
one person in ten that is Of African descent,
rather mal.minority to control this great
Government! i do not suppose that any
body in his senses has really any sincere
alarm about negro government. | think
starting the issue in that form manilests a
very strong desire to avoid the real issue.
The real Issue before the country, the real
issue that will be before the country next
fall, is whether this country shall be govern
ed by loyal men, by its friends, by those
who stood by it in the hour of its peril, or
whether it shall be turned over to traitors
and its enemies, that they may go on with
the work Of destruction; that they may visit
punishment upon the friends of the Govern
meat. That is the real issue, and yet we
heal fl ON every source. that the issue is to
hc whether one. tenth Of the American PEG
pic, being colored, shall tyrannize over
nine.tcnthS!
II is said that great sin has been com
mitled by the Union party in contering the
franchise upon the negro. l have nothing
to say of the justice Oh humanity of the law;
but how was it brought about? Who brought
it about? Who forced the necessity upon
Congress and upon the Union party? be-
lieye that every Union man had settled this
proposition in his mind, and | believe that
every man who loves his country still ad.
heres to the proposition, that it is unsafe to
nlace the power of this Government in rebel
hands while they are still un:epentant. |
believe that is the voice of the American
ncople, and believe that we were instruct
ed by the overwhelming votes that we re.
ceived form time to time that we must ac-
complish that end. There is no doubt about
that All say that; but some now get up
strange definitions of loyalty. All that is
necessary to see what the issue is and to
clear it Of all embarrassments is to reflect
for one moment upon the history of the
transaction.
In the first place, Congress found organ
izations in existence in the South that were
in rebel hands, that were prosecuting loyal
men. that were obstructing the process of
law. In fact there were no loyal govern
ments in the South. How did we com.
mencc? We commenced by attempting to
relieve the difficulty without negro suffrage.
We passed the civil rights bill The Presi
dent vetoed it. 1t was opposed in the South:
1t was declared unconstitutional by the
Judges in the South it was not executed
Civil rights were denied to the negroes which
all the Democrats now say they ought to
have. They say they will give them civil
rights. Why did they not give them civil
rights under the civil rights bill and execute
that law? The President had vetoed it and
the reasoning of his veto message was fol-
lowed by those who had charge of the exc
cution of the law.
We then passed a Freedmens Bureau
bill. That was imperative except in the
immediate presence of the military com.
manders. The objection made to these
measures was that they were unconstitution-
al All admitted the justice of the civil
rights BILL but it was opposed on technical
grounds. Congress then sought to remedy
that difficulty and how? BY proposing a
constitutional amendment which denied the
power OF the State organizations to deprive
any citizen of his civil rights, with other
provisions. This was submitted to the
States and this was rejected by the rebels;
rejected by the johnson party; rejected by
the Democrats. They said they would not
give our loyal black men III the South civil
rights that they would not have them pro-
tected that they would not give them the
aid of the machinery of the Government !;
that they would not allow loyal men to be
protected in the South. In other words,
they repudiated every proposition for con,
s,itniionaly guaranteeing to each citizen Of
the United States his. civil rights. What
was TO be done next? There were in the
South "a large mass of people, black and
white, who were loyal to this Government,
who were oppressed by this unjust refusal