The Union flag. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1865-187?, 1867-03-15

j country, civil government had been
oyertbrown by Tho war, Congress hds
reasserted the great principle Of loyal
suffrage, and that civil Governments
shall be reOrganized thereby tho 10y
al men and by them alone. (Tre-
mendous cheers. That bill, though
passed by both Houses of Congress
by. overwhelming majorities, is moi
yet a law. The. President of the
United States has Tin his possession,
giving it, 1 am sure, his, most careful
and anxious study [laughter], in or
der that he may decide, after having
fully understood its various provis-
ions, to give it his approving signa-
ture, Or send it back to the Houses OF
Congress to see whether they will
again pass il by the constitutional ma.
jority Of .wo-Lhirds in such cases,--
/ Applause. ] Ii, either event it be-
comes the law OF the land, [Great
Iapplause. This brings into the poll
lies Of the country q now clement
one that, before treason mado its ap-
tpearance, was unheard Of aud in.
Thought ot-the element Of loyalty,
and loyalty whether represented BY Il
fwldte Or i black face. [Applause.) J
IA am aware that there are many OF
hniy tellLw citizens, worthy, patriotic,
every way deserving, who look upon
all these things with d great appre-
Lension-hieIi WHO have been unable
tO perceive or understand what this
past conflict meant, men who will 90
70 their graves laIheDting the good
old days when they were young, and
James Buchanan and his like prede-
cessors were Presidents OF the United
States (LaughleE.) To their aap-
prohension MI those things betoken
tho speedy dissolution OF society and
tho subversion Of order and prosper
ty. We might reg2rd their appre-
hensions, did we not know by expe.
ri9nce the apprehensiOns of that class
Of men in every ago wherever pro-
gress has been made. Wnen our ia
thers organized Governments On this
Continent, they werc unwilling to adj
init any to tlie balIot-bOx excepting
the men OF property, men who had a
certain amount OF wealth. A poor
man, who had no estate, no interest
in society, excepting bis wife and
children, who held no interest except
IN the labor OF his hands and the
sanctity Of-h his home, was supposed
10 be altogether unfit to deal with the
ballot. But il was discovered that
the poor man, by his honest, personal,
Independence, Was quite. as apt TO-
take deep, an abiuing and intelli-
gentinterest ia public affairs, as the
man who was absorbed ia his ledger
balances, and had scarcely time on The
day OF the election to go loithe polls.
[Applause.1 But still later, to come
to point that touches you and me
more nearly, When you and few
Years ago saw q multitude swarming
across the water, attracted hither by
the bright intelligeneei they received
from their friends who had come be-
torV; men stepped tosthe eyelids in
poverty, unable to speak our languagerI
Or understand il whene spoken; all
unused TO republican self-goverument;
not untrequcntly paupors and crimi-
nails, some of us Thought, surelygit
was unsafe to trust the ballot in their
hands. Wohad great arguments 1t
was at last plausible, if not.sound, to
sustain our position. Bat l neod NOT
state to you how that question waa
finally settled. The arguments that
were used against the poor man, the
arguments that were used against the
emigrant foreigner, are precisely the
same arguments that are brought to
bear to-day against the possession Of
the balIot-box by the black. man.-
The poor man was allowed TO vote,
yet the country went on in its caFoor
of prosperity. You andI were out
numbered in our vicws with reference
70 the foreign emigrant. lie was al
" .
lowed to vote But when the toesin
of war sounded, these men showed n
degree Of patriotism that, | confess, I |
found IL mortifying 70 think I had
ever doubted their capacity for self
government. Let not our fiith ig
man desert usiH this our time. But
we are told that these poor ignorant
black men won'tyote right, that they
will cast the wrong ticket That is
very likely. [Laughter1 | should
be surprised II they did not. We're
they not 10 do 80 they would put me
and you to the blu.h. / ask you how |
many of you now before me who can.
not point 10 some high official, either
in State or National Office, elected IN
part by your votes, that, If you had
10 do Il over again, you would vote
somewhat more wisely? [Tremeud'
Gus applause. DO wo not suppose
that newly. y.snfranchised men should
make some mistake, should we sup
bose those who camo with far, seem.
ing and plausible speech 70 be their
p ri "A