The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-07-13

! Mr.. Speaker, had hoped that when
the committee appointed by this House
to report for its consideration Whatever
they might deem needlul TO the execu-
ton of the law Reconstruction, had
made report that adhered to the legis-
ilation of the Thirty Ninth and Fortieth
Congress, it would have met with no
serious objection from gentlemen on
any side of the House. l had hoped
4 that spirit of patriotism in the con-
| sideration OF This great question would
have risen above the spirit OF party
/ that gentlemen would have forgotten liz
| this supreme moment of the Republic
! that they were Republicans or Demo
Gratis, and would have remembered
/ that they were eAmericans-onlyA Ameri-
cans-having but one Constitution, one
country, and one destiny.
| stand here to strip of the disguises
OF mere pArtisans who object to giving
TO the people OF those ten. disorgantzed
| States lately torn ana distracted ny
armed rebellion the power 10 speak for
I themselves, with tho consent OF q tTi-
umphant, compHcted and Organized ma
l tiou. Is the nations will u be dlsTe
| gaTded? Sir, instead Of meetlng the
I Question in the spirit OF patriotism,
! Gentlemen come here and present them
. selves III lDt uhGllh AhpAe GAhANSAIA VI
! the mere eater-up of sy llables, or snap
per-up OF unconsidered trihes. That Is
! the quality of the speech TO which we
| have listened this morning from the
! learned and scholarly gentleman from
| New York, CMr. Brooks.l
The honorable gentleman las spoken
\ eloquently of the ancient timei he las
dwelt upon the dead past and forgotten
the living present; he has spoken in
| classic phrase of SHlamis and PlRlBea,
! OF hfarathon and Thermopylte, the glo-
rious recoilecttons OF which he has gar
nered up and reproduced for our in
/ strucIion, but he has forgotten, sadly
| forgotten, the imperishable memories
| dear to the thinking hend and beating
! heart of the loyal millions of this land,
which rise from the fields ofShiloh and
! Stone river, from ChickamnugR and
! Kenesaw, from Antietams and Gettys-
| burg. Az, the gentleman can speak of
the perished republics of pagan an
| Iiquity, of their trials and triumphs,
but is forgetful of the grander, nobler,
and more enduring triumphs of repub-
| liCan America, the living and we trust
enduring hope of the world
Having offered his glowing tribute TO
| the perished republics OF Greece OF
| three thousand years ago, the learned
| Magma ChATta which the Barons OF
! England six hundred years ago wrunR
| from the trembling hands of an imbe-
! ellie king; but he has no remembrance
\ OF that nobler Magma Charta which
| Washington, whom the gentleman pro-
| fesses to ravere, wrung from the hands
of another king. the American Consti-
tuition, the supreme law of the land,
I the revered charter OF the Liberties OF
I the great people whom we this day
/ represent
I ka sFNnlrAn n IA
narrow, partisan spirit unworthy OF
/ his great nttainments and OF the peo
| pie who accredit him as their represent
| iative. -.4+ -
Why, sir, the gentleman with his ac-
| knowledged learning, with the expert
| ence which he has derived from travel
! and from observation among men,
strange as it may appear, did not no.
Itice the marked difference between the
| Magma Charta OF England, to which he
| referred, aud the Magma ChHrta of the
| United States of America, as written in
! your Constitution in words so Plnin
Ithat the wayfiring man cannot
read from the Magma Charta OF
| England, that "no freeman shall
| be taken or disseiZed," &c,
''but by the judgment of his peers and
| the law oil the land;" forgetful Of the
| fact that the words mo freeman were
U ~OTuS OF llUllNtAluus anu AAihAANAA NsA'I
/ grent charter Mt the time it was adopted
\ 10 one half the population of England,
aud forgetTuI also that these words OF
| Limitation were swept away Dy the
| Constitution OF the United States, in
which it Is declared that "no person
shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property without due process OF law"
| Nv that great law of ours il Is not to
| be inquired whether man is free" by
| the laws OF England; it is only to be
! INQUIRED is he II man, and therefore
| free by the law of that creative energy
| which breatbed into his nostrils the
| breath of life, and he became a living
soul, endowed with the rights of liie
and liberty. 1t is not TO be inquired
| sir, when any man invokes the majesty
! OF American law in defense OF his
| rights, whether a European, an Airi-
can, or an Asiatic sun looked down up-
on him when it pleased GOdEto pour
| the first beam of light upon his under
standing. BefOre that great law the
| only question TO be asked OF the crea-
| ture claiming his protection is this: is
The a man Every man is entitled TO
the protection of American law, be-
/ cause its divine spirit OF equality de-
clares that all men are created equal.
| Under the Magma ChdTtd of six humid
red years ago OF which the gentleman
speaks, the inquiry WAS not whether
| the person was a man, but whether he
| was "A freeman by the laws OF Eng
land ,r--a.= ---y- 1-
| z The gentleman having proceeded in
this manner to dispose OF the bill, IL IS
not surprising that his argument, be
/ fore he got through with il, should
prove. as 1t did, a JetO dc Sc, not worthy i,
would say with all respect to the gem
/ Ilemnn, either OF himself or of any
| mem ber OF this House. What does the
gentleman say? Why. that you are
disfranchisiDg white men. Disfran-
lchising them how longG During the
pied in reconstructing and rebuilding
civil institutions in the places which
the men so disfranchised have desolated
1 and blasted by their Internal treason.
And allow me to inquire what number
of those traitors, sir, are disiranchised?
Not more [: an twenty i've thousand
all told, out OF a million and a q uarter
of freemen in the ten insurgent States.
4 By what fnstrumentality has il hap
| peued that even this temporary dis
] frauchisement was nader / answer,
! sir. by the action of the gentleman
himself and the party cooperating
with him. The gentleman and his party
having insisted that this disfranchise-
ment should be put into this bill, l
voted for it, and stand by it to-day.
In saying This cast no reProach upon
any gentleman who originated this
provision OF disfranchisement, as a
measure, not of vengeance, but of eau
ton and security. g--- o. Il
Having said this much in answer to
the Gentleman's argument, let me in
Quire when those States shall De re-
stored as provided by this law, what
restriction will then remain on the ex-
ercise of the elective franchise? None
whatever. The gentleman, sir, dis
coursed eloquently against denying to