Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1867-08-28
of popular right might shine in upon the peeo2-
pie, meets again in extra session on the 4tn

It's subjects the people to mere military des
potsm. It gives the right Of suffrage to tn
enhanchised ncgroes, and takes it away IRON
the white man. 1t degrades the state govern
ments from their equality in the Union, ant
from their position as protectors OF tpe rlgn'
of their citizens. It subverts and destroy!
the Constitution of the United States, ant
then holds out to the people the hope tina
if they will .cheerfully acquiesce in thest
things, if they will not only patiently submit
but if they will with alacrity and zeal anc
gratitude appear to be happy to submit 7. tf
them, thcn-un!ess Congress changes 1T!
mind-unless another plan shall be suggested
unless the confscation Of Mr.. Stevens shall
be thought fitting reward for superseryicea
bic loyalty-they may be permitted to let ne
groes elect and administer state government
over them, and choose members who shall be
admitted 10 seats in the Senate and uouse O
Representatives. Cheers. , :.
And this is not all. The States thus hello
in military despotsm, thus compelled by ty'
ranny, rs relentless as ever applied the rack
or turned the screw, to change their own con
stitutions, are then to be used to amend the
Constitution of the United States and to i'm.
pose upon you in Mmnesota. andyou in Wis.
copsin, and us in Ohio, government which
we do not approve. Three-lourths of the
States alone can amend the Constitution Of
the United States. Twenty-six States drive
ten out of the Union. A majority of the
twenty-sx harass and oppress the ten until
they will consent to changetheir Constitution
admit negro suffrage, surrender all reserved
power, and yield Implicit obedience to their
will They will then admit them to the
Union and use their concurrent votes to
change the Federal Constitution so as 10 in
troduce negro suffrage and Fedora! interier-
ence in all the States.
Do state this too strong.y2e
Congress meets now in extra session--at
great trouble to its members, and vast e4-
penses to the people-and for what For the
single, simple, avowed purpose of conferTing
more absolute and despotic power on the mil
itary commanders. Great Heavens! Have
they not enough power already? The civil
government, the tenure of office, the rules ol
trade. the maintenance of order, the admins
tra.ion Of Justice, the writ of habeas corpus
re subjected to their will. The State officers
must obey them or they will be removed.
The courts must render judgment according
to their dictalion. or they will be closed. The
shcrilfs must execute the penalties they pre-
scribe, or file of soldiers will take their
places. And Congress meets to give them
more power on the eve of that very day when
the colonies justified their separation from the
mother country on the ground that the King
:" had affected to render the military indepen
dent OF, and superior to, the civil power
Continued cheers. ~
And they commence their work by exclud
ing from Congress, without any good reason,
without decent pre:ext OF pailiasion, the
representatives from Kentucky.
And why is al this rn'n: wrought2 Is u
to punish treason and make it ojiipus?
These are intelligent men-thcy know hui
man nature-tbey have rea i.is:ory. They
know that men will rbel wien they have
causes of discomfort. They knowihat neither
imprisonment Tor stripes nor exile ncr death
restrain the people Of Poland or Hungary ol
Ireland from rebellion. They know hat the
fear Of these puaishmcnts will no more curl
the efforts than il will qnench the aspirations
for ccdom. They know that treason is thc
protest of liberty against tyranny. Loud
Applause.
Is it to do justice to the negro and to nc
cord to him the enjoyment Of natural rights
If the negroes would assured!y vote with
the Democratic party and thus restore it tc
power, would these gentlemen he 50 phiaa
thropic and imsis. on negro suffrage as a con-
diti0n of reconstruction? [Crics Of no, 70
" t much. l. suffrage natural righ;
Where then is the authority 10 withhold il
from the minor, lrou the women, from tic
alien Life, liberty and The pursuit of hap
piness are inaIienab!e, and they are accorded
to women, and minors, and Aliens and courts
are open for their sccurity 10 all alike. Does
suffrage stand on the same footing?
The States have the power to admit ne
groes to vote, and then they are counted III
the election Of Federal officers. Why moi
argue the question before that tribunal? and
thus-accomplish the purpose if at all, in a
constitutional manner?
No, gentlemen! These arc not the pur
poses of this plan of reconstruction. Its tc
rcvoulionlze the government It's to deslroJ
the States. 1t is to build up g'c,t central
government These Republicans hate the
Constitution. They hate limitations On power
They haze to comply with forms. They cling
to the idea of strong, centralized power
They want government SC framed that it
will feel the least impulse of the will of the
majority, and so strong that it may instantly
execute it. They prefer To coniidc to the alb
solute will OF an unbridlcd and irresponsible
majority the life and liberty and property o
the citizen rather than to the care and pro
lection of the States. They think that be-
cause they control the power of that majority
now, they will WELD it forever. They forget
that ten years ago they invoked the States to
pass personal liberty bills to protect them
from the power Of the federal government
They forget that when power is confded, it
is used as the passions Of the the times direct
They desire also to introduce a new polit
cal clement into our system, and to hand over
the absolute control of six States of the
Union-the largest, wealthiest, most produc.
tive OF the South, to the lately enfranchised
negro, Il is not u question of negro voting
only. 1t is the absolute surrender Of these
States to the control and government Of the
negroes. 1t is the transf,r Of political power
to them. 1t is the substitution of their igno
rance and incapacity and inexperience and
passions for the discipline and experience Of
the white man. 1t is the degradation of the
government to the level of these voters, and
the destruction Of the value and purity of the
ballot by comforting it SO lavishly on all sides
1t is the eyacerbation and embittering of the
spirit of races By subvcrting heir normal and
accustomed positions and placing the intelli'
geuce and superiority of the one uuder the
control OF the numbers of tie other.
In one word, the whole system of recon
structiop advocated by the Republican party
the test which they set up Of loyalty and
intelligencc-consists in the consolidation o.
the government, the conferring Of suffrage on
the negro in all the States, and the absolute
.rnnrfnr to him of all the nnitical nnMer O