The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-09-24
MIR. PENDLETON's SPEECH.
(Concluded.)
RECONSTRUCTION.

violate the constitution and the principles of
civil liberty, but that they are founded upon
an utter disregard of both. But the telegraph
to-day saves me the trouble.
1t announces to us that in one state the
military commander has postponed the
meeting of the legislature until he shall give
it permission that in another state, trials
by jury have been suspended because the
jury lists have not been revised in violation
of the law of the state, but according to his
order; that in another state a governor, who
was elected bya vote of fifty thousand, has
been removed, and his competitor, who re-
ceived fifteen thousand, has been appointed
in his place, and that in another state, a
respectful declination to serve in a city coun-
Gil is considered rebellious contumacy, and
is to be punished by the appointment of ne
groes to that body, and that in still another
state civil officers shall not give the patron
age OF their printing to any newspaper which
does not favor the congressional measures of
reconstruction. And General Hayes voted
for the law which authorizes these things
to be done-approves and defends them all
and when asked for the authority he cool
~ tells US they seem to be in accordance
with "the will of the nation" "Will of the
nationw Where shall you look for the ex-
preston of the will of the nation, except in
its fundamental laws, except in its written
constitution?
VIII of the nationi They are in direct
violation of the will of every honest white
man and of every intelligent negro at the
south, of every democrat and every supporter
of the administration at the north, and of
thousands of republicans who love liberty
| and fear the encroachments of despotism-
! 1t is the will of the republican leaders, and
| this General Hayes mistakes for the will of
| the nation. He is not the only man in his
| tory who has made similar mistake.
On thes27th of July, 1894, Robespierre
| was the head of the French government
He controlled the committees and the Tribu-
nal he ruled the Assembly. On that day,
| in Paris alone, he sent forty persons to the
guillotine, as he had done on each day for
| more than month, and, bathed in blood,
he exclaimed at is the will of the nation y
| On the next day Tallien attacked him in the
| chamber; "traitor," resounded through the
hall, and on the third day he was beheaded
amid the execration of that nation whose
will he pretended to execute.
| Is this the restoration of the Union? Is
| this the maintenance of the constitution p
General Hays says that in speech IN con-
| gress in 1861, declared that "armies, ma,
| vies, blood cannot maintain the Union."-
Have they maintained it? Cries of no,
no. God forbid that the Union under the
constitution should be degraded by compari-
son with the condition of things this day.
said, further, treason, justice, peace may re-
store the Union repeat it. 1t is true
The event has shown that also, General
Hayes, in his Lebanon speech, says. "They
want to return to the old order of things"
One hour of just administration of the
constitution would restore the Union
Cheers. Why can we not have it? Why
this entire dislocation of state governments
Why this entire suspension of civil govern
ment at the south Why this disregard or
abrogation of the federal constitution in all
its relations to the south7 For what purposei
put this question in all candor to every
honest republican. The sole object is to Sc
cure to the negroes the right to vote, anC
: thereby give them the absolute control o
those states. And the inducement for thi
is the belief that the negroes will vote witt
the republican party. IF it were certain
that the negroes would vote with the demo
cratic party, these gentlemen would not b,
in favor of negro suffrage. go further.
they could be assured of controlling those
states by means of the white vote alone, the,
would prohibit negro suffrage. New Eng
land believes that with those states she cal
, afford to lose-as she sees she soon will los,
some of the northern states, DespairinI
of using the white man, she turns to tn,
black man. She sees In him the means 0
power. She sees reflected in his face thu
perpetuation of tariffs, one hundred per cent
dividends, exemption of bonds from taxa
ton, the enjoyment of profit and power il
Office, the harvest of capital, the hey-day Q
New England Puritanism. Agricultur
may weary of its burdens; labor may be
come FESTIVE; northwestern men may be
come disguised with fanaticism, and believ
e that Sunday laws and prohibitory temper
. ance laws are unwise and tyrannical; bu
], New England soothes them for the momen
by an appeal to their philanthropy, and pre-
|. pares for these events by securing vote t
), the negroes, and the negroes to herself
h Gentlemen! Republicans Are you will
ing, in order to further this partisan schem,
to leopard not only our government, but a
: free government? Are you willing to col
i time this disgraceful spectacle-which
j. know in your souls you are ashamed Of
= subjecting ten states to mere military de
potism for the purpose of securing MOI
strength to your party. / do not clail
of more disinterestedness than other men, bl
N l would gladly consent that the democrat
70 party should be excluded from power durin
my lifetime, if that would induce you to r
&c store the Union to reinstate the constitution
lie and reinvigorate throughout the whole sy
tenn the principles of free government
(Cheers.)
l. REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Is When I ventured lately to condemn IL
r whole policy ofthe republican party, an i
fluential party newspaper exclaimed: "B,
what remedy does Mr.. Pendleton propose
r He exhorts US to return to and stand by tt
a constitution-we do not exactly understar
:. what he means by that
:. Gentlemen, that is true that is the who
" difficulty. The republican party does N
s. now, and never did know what it is to "star
J. by the constitution" They have new
10 made it the rule of their conduct-the guic
of their action. They have never apprccis
ed its wisdom; they have never cultivate
N respect for its binding obligations, and
D. they have never studied its spirit or its lie
ly ter. Whatever they desire to do, wheth'
70 from sincere belief that the good of Il
country demanded it, or that their party i
10 terests required it, that they have alwa,
At done. Their own will, not the constitution
sr has been their rule. And to this standar
lie and none other, they have always been pc
fectly true.
:, In 1920 they opposed the establishmel
tn of the Missouri Compromise Line. ]
1854 they opposed its abrogation. In 1st
they opposed its re-enactment.
IN In ls46 they refused the use of state iai