The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-07-31

uOdLlAG " 4O II " OA4ad
and-fhey dare not raise ene~The=pee-
pie of the South will tell you that the
Republicans never cheated or de-
ceived them. They were led into the
rebellion by words of encouragement
from the North. But they will tell
you the men who said these words had
to 60 into the fight, and they met
them on battlefelds. Then the old
Henry Clay Wings, who are In the
rank of the opposition of that part of
the country, let themraise the Demo
cratic flag, and they fly and carry
thousands with them into the ranks
of the Republican party. The old
national men of SO are doing the
same. OF course, the followers of
John G. Calhoun and his theories of
government, would not be expected
to do anything but to maintain the
position and spirit of hostility; but
they will be defeated, and sink down,
one by one, to disappear in the end
from the government Of the country,
as the tories Of the revolution disap-
peared. For myself, I want no more
punishments than have been inflicted
on these men. They have suffered,
and have been disappointed more
than any body of men in
the history of the world. Seven years
ago these chieftains trod the halls of
Congress, proud and defiant. They
raised the banners Of revolt. They
went out to establish a slaveholding
Republic that should include Mexico
and Cuba, and command the com
merce of the world. They would
be tie great agricultural por-
ton OF the country that should
produce cotton, rice and sugar. They
were to be omnipotent. They went
into this great struggle TO make slave
ry storing, to extend it into the Terri
tories of the United States, and they
came out of the contest without the
power to hold slavery any where in
the. country, [Applapse.1 Their ideas.
principles and rolicies are all gone
forever. The hope aud aspirations of
their souls is lost. They are batied,
defeated, Inundated, conquered. For
one, | have it not in my heart to pur-
sue the system of confiscation, or any
other system that shall bear harder
than those that have already been
adopted to bring them into the coun-
try and make them a part of the coun-
try. | don't want an Ireland or a Po-
land in America. [Applause.] But
| want free States, where every man
is the peer Of every other man
where every man. no matter what
blood may course through his veins,
no matter where he may have
been born, is a man whom
God made and for whom Christ
died, and who shall possess equal
rights with everybody else. We
want free States, free men, and hat
policy that has been inaugurated will
be accomplished within twelve
months, and all those States within a
year will he brought back into the
Union. They will not have the pow
er to dictate the policy of the country,
but they will be the radical and pro-
gressive portion of it. We shall see
these things; aud | say to you to-
night, gentlemen mot merely as a par
tisan, but as an American citizen,
loving my country, and my whole
country, that it is enough to make the
heart throb with gratitude to Al
mighty God for what we have wit
messed during the last seven years of
progress. [Cheers.1 The friends of
the country have been misrepresented
throughout this contest. We were
told we could not conquer these
twelve millions of people. Well, we
did it. We were told we had no con-
stitutional right or power to do it.
We exercised the powers of the Con-
stitution to save the Constitution
and the country, and we have done it.
Now they tell us we have no constitu-
tional power to pass the laws for re-
construction; but we find the powers,
and we have passed the laws. and
the laws will do the work.