The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-05-22

N49AtU not be lQIEuSUeQ Win. the 62-
I erciSe Of self-government.
There must be peace and security
In the South. for Ia addition to the
| fundamental obligation of all the Gov
I erpments, the loyal people of the
/ United States are under special Obli-
( cations to protect those who have
stood by the cause of the country In
/ the hour of need. This obligation is
sacred, and cannot be repudiated
without overwhelming the United
| States with everlasting disgrace aud
| infamy. Cheers.
The Union men of the South who
risked their all by devotion to the
/ old flag; the negroes who rushed to
our rescue, fought under our flag,
/ saved our prisoners from starvation,
and harbored Federals, piIoted our
/ refugees with a seH-sacrificing devO-
I ton, which stands without a parallel
! in the history Of mankind, must be
cOOlly, cruelty and heartlessly aban-
dOned ofthe hatred vinGictiveness of
/ those who seek to re-establish slave
ry, IN fact, after its abolition IN name.
Hence, while there are no loyal gov
ernments in the South. the former
State governments having ceased to
exist by their rebellion against the
United States, it IS the duty Of the
| Federal Government to provide that
security Of person and property, with
out which the Government itself
would be a mockery, a mere machine
ry Of vexatiOn and oppression. We
protect our citizens in foreign
lands, why not. also protect them
at home? We say that there
must be peace and security establish
ed and maintained only by keeping
the party in power which will do it.
The power Of the Federal Government
must not be entrusted IN the hands
Of those who brought these troubles
over our country. They would un
bind anarchy and remove all checks
and restraints from the Southern por-
tons Of cur country at a time when
they most need the protecting care of
the Federal Government.
The power of the nation must not
be entrusted to the Democrats party,
which is, and always has been. a
party of lawlessness. turbulence and
violence; it must not be entrusted to
the party which. having been the ad-
vocate and defender of slavery, is
identified with all its excesses. aud, by
keeping alive the spirit of rebel.
lion and .insurrectlon, shares with
Andrew johnson the blame and re
sponsibility for the present state of
affairs in the South. The sacred
duty of protecting the helpless
and defenseiess freedmen must not
be entrusted to the hands of
those who are daily preaching
hatred Of race and arousing mobs by
appeals to the lowest prejudiges and
fiercest passions Of the wolf, must not
be made the custodians of the lamb
nor must the fox be appointed the
protector of the hen-roost. La the
first place say to establish peace and
security in the South, it Is necessary
to keep the power of the Government
out of the hands Of the Democratic
party. Ia the second place, it is nee
essary to promote a reconciliation. OF
the hostile elements by removing, as
much as possible, the cause of COM
plant and irritation. To do this we
must again recur to first principles
To regenerate the South it is neces-
sary to infuse In this administration
principles here sofore unkn0wa to its
policy. Principles Of equality to all
Southern Institutions we're thor
oughly aristocratic; it is not neces-
sary to base them on the principles of
Demo cracy-I mean Democracy In
its nobler sense, and mot in its party
significance. Let reconstruction be
based on fundamental ideas-AmeTi-
can Repubhcanism as announced in
the grave Declaration of Independ-
ence. | know objections are urged to
admitting a certain class of citizens to
participation IN the exercise Of po-
itical rights. 1t Is said that as
they have just emerged from a
degrading and demoralizing state of
bondage, they are unfit to be judges of
what Is necessary or conducive to
their own welfare But let me an
Wer these and similar obi ctiOns Ia
the language Of Macauly. who says
there is only one cure for the evils
which newly acquired freedom pro
duces. and that cure Is freedom.
When the prisoner first leaves his
cell, he cannot bear the Iighf 0f day;
he Is unable to recognize, dIscrimI-
nate or solve faces; but the remedy Is
not to remand him to his dungeon,
bat aecustom him to the rays OF the
sun The blaze of truth may
at first dazzle and bewilder
I nations which have become half
blind in the house Of bondage, but
let them gaze on, and they will
soon be able to bear 1t. Many politi-
clans Of our time are IN the habit Of
| laying It down as a self evident
proposition, that no people ought to
be free till they are fit to use their
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