The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-05-22
s,irllmond 0ispatth.
wrpNESDAY... q, 1867.
Mr.. BINGHAM, of Ohio.


In letter to certain residents Of Lynch
hrrS who were formerly citizcn-slaVes'
,,t arc now citizen-frccdmen, Mr.. blNG-
IAN Of Ohio, who IS unquestionaoiy one
,rtbe leading men Of the Republican party
says:
or;s of the first moment that all who
-. tho reconstruction act of the Congress
of the United States, are permitted TO vote
:, the coming elections for the re0rganiZa-
80, and restoration of that great State as
no,;tical power in the Union, should IN good
f,ith declare for and adhere TO the constl-
tuf;onal amendment known as article four
teen. and TO that end demand that the
same no dnIy ratified by the Legislature OF
Virginia NJ not already ratified thereby
e,S that the constitution and laws OF the
State he made to conform in all respects to
that amendment TO the requirements Of
the reconstruction act: and to the spirit
Of the Constitution Of the United States.
Rely upon it, that the acceptance by the
whole people of the late insurrectionary
States Of the constitutional amendment in
the spirit in which it has been accepted by
the whole people Of the North, and the re-
accordance with the reconstruction act,
will not only restore those States TO equal
itv with the other States in the Union, but
will secure, in all time hereafter, equal
and exact Justice to all men in every State
and territory of the Republic, destined
hrucetorth and forever to be the refuge oil
liberty and the sanctuary OF justice"
Nothing could be better than this adj
vice, and nothing more encouraging than
the assurance that We are TO be restored
70 our place in the Union as soon as we
comply with the requirements of the re-
construction acts; yet nothing could more
clearly show the little attention bestowed
by Mr.. BINGHAM himself upon these acts
and upon our status than does the fact
that he also SAYS we should demand .
that the constitutional amendment "he
"duly ratified BY the Legislature of Nir-
"ginia, if not already ratified thereby"
This language indicates that Mr.. BINGHAM
might say OF lis what THACKERAY is re-
puted to have said of MARTIN FARQUHAR
TuPrER when somebody asked him what
he thought of TUPPEE-namcly, that he
doesn't think OF us NJ all. The recon
struction acts require that the amendment
shall be ratified by Legislature to be
elected after new constitution shall have
been formed. Yet Mr.. BINGHAM has paid
50 little attention to the subject that he is
not sure whether our Legislature has not
already ratified it, and coolly advises us 10
"dcmand" its ratification if it has not
been ratified
Nr. BINGHAM says that this country is
destined TO be forever "the refuge OF IL
berty and the sanctuary Of justice.' We
suppose he attaches as little meaning to
these fine words as he does TO those in the
reconstruction acts. He is like all other
Puritans-his idea Of liberty is to do as
lie plcascS himself, and TO make all other
men do As he wishes them to do. The
northern people are, in his estimation, the
sole Judges of right and wrong, truth and
error, liberty and slavery. If they say an
act is right, it is right. Their teachings
are truth: their freedom is liberty. We
must conform TO their standard. 1t is a
matter Of no consequence whateveStha
millions of the most enlightened people on
the face OF the earth are ruled by the
sword instead OF the law. That is all
right, because Mr.. BINGHAMs party says it
is. What lie means by liberty is liberty for
himself and his party to do what they will.