The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1867-10-10
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SPEECH
O B. III. AELL.

In CONCLUSION, my lTlcllus, J. WI
briefly sum up the points which | hav
discussed and which ] have established
bv facts and arguments, which belicv'
no man will " attempt to contro
vert.
In the first place, l have shown you
mhm you are required to admit and tt
do, if you accept the so-called plan o
reconstruction proposed BY these Mill
tary Bills.
|. You must admit that your exist
ing State Government is Megal. No.
because it is Illegal, nor because any
Court or judicial authority has decided
it to be illegal; but only because this
fragmcntary Congress, in which yol
have no voice, has chosen to declare il
illegal,
9. You must then form n new State
government. Not because you arc
dissatisfied with the n you have, but
only because this same revolutionary
body has chosen to Grder you to form
q new one.
,. This new government is not to be
formed by those whom yoa are willing
to select and trust. On the contrary,
every man whom you, the people, have
heretofore deemed worthy oftrust and
confidence is expressly excluded from
the formation and administration OF
this new government; and they are so
excluded only because you have deem
cd them worthy Of your trust and con-
tidcncc. Their only. crime or disability
is that youhayc honorcd them, or your
fathers honored them, even fifty years
ago. The dishonor Will be, not on
those who served you, but on you who
consent to their Acknowledgement only
because they served you. This same
so-called Congress designatcs the per-
sons who shall form and administer the
new government, and the persons SO
designated are the ncgrocs--your for
mer slaves--who have neither expert
cnce nor knowledge of government,
and such portions Of the whites as have
never before been entrusted with such
important work.
4. This new State government is not
to be formed 10 suit you, nor to suit
the negroes or whites who formit, nor
to suit any portion Of the people, black
or white, who are to live under it, hlt
must be formed to suit this same Con
grcss, who are not to live underit nor
to have their rights ofperson or prop
erty subjected to it or affected by it.
For such work is it wonderful that
intelligence and virtue, and experience,
arc declared untrustworthy, and ignor
ance and vice and ineXperience only are
deemed available? Is he not honored
who is excluded? Is he not insulted
who is selected and is he not diSgraced
who complies?
In the second place ! have shown
you why these things arc required.
L. They are not required to maintain
or enforce the Fedora! Constitution
On the contrary, t! c very authors of
the scheme admit it is C mary to the
Constitution, is outside Of the Consti
tuition, and is usuypotion unless the
Constitution is to be considered as re-
yudiotea. Yet, while admitting that the
work required is outside Of the Consti-
tuition, you are required to do that very
work under an oath 10 support the
Constitution! Not Il man among you
who has advised you to accept these
Military Bills, has daredto risk his rep
utation by saying they are Constitutions
at, or juSt or desirable. have shown
YOU the difference between these bills
and ordinary cases, and the case Of the
emancipation Of slavery. You are not
now agreeing to an issue madc turing
tie war. You are not even submitting
to what others have already done. But
YOU are ordered to carry out what's yet
u pyoposlion--a proposition which was
never eve suggested as involved in the
war--which has been originated since
the surrender and contrary to the terms
Of surrender--a proposition which its
own authors admit is contrary to the
Constitution, and which these same au-
thors require you 10 carry Oat under an
oath to support the Constitution
The proposition is to sUbvcrt your
government the end is to accomplish
your dishonor; and the means to &C
complish it is your perjury!
.. These things are not required i'll
order to restore Tie Union. Such Il
Union never before existed. The old
Union to be preserved is a Union of
consent. This Union proposed by this
scheme is one Of force. The old I'm
ion proposed is to be formed by ne
grocs. The old Union had Intelligence
and virtue for its support. The new
Union excludes intelligence and virtue,
and relies on ignorance and vice. The
old Union was founded in harmony and
good will. The new Union, now pro
posed, is founded only in hate and ven
gcance.
3. | have also shown You that this
new State government: is not needed to
protect the negro. On the contrary,
the existing State government, which
you are required to declare illegal, is
the very government which established
the freedom Of the negro and provided
laws for his absolute equal protection.
This new State government is to de-
base the intelligent whites by placing
them under laws to be framed by the
negro, and in which these intelligent
whites arc not even to have n voice, and
from which they are to be EXCLUDED on
ly because they had intelligence and
virtue enough to be deemed by you
worthy of trust.
Such a government must breed an
mtagonism of interests and feelings
between the whites and blacks; which
antasonism must precipitatc a war OF
races and which war must result in the
determination, exclusion, or re enslavc-
ment OF the negro race, unless that re
suit can be prevented by the perpetual