The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-10


great people. That amendment was sub
mitted by the thirty-ninth Congress to the
whole people of this land who were IN
condition to speak upon the subject. There
were at that day ten States OF the Union
which remained disorgauized without con-
stitutional goYernments-without State
organizations of any kind that an.
thorized them to speak in the prem
Uses. The remaining States of the
Union, including reorganized and recon
structed Tennessee. constituted the organ
ic nation under the Constitution OF the
United States in the year 'G6. The issue
was tried before the American people upon
the question of adopting this amendment,
essential to the future peace of the coun-
ltry-essential to the supremacy of your
| Constitution-essential to the unity of the
| Republic-essential to the industrial in
terests of all the people of this great land.
The people spoke in that year &C with
unaninity, undertake to say, that they
never manifested before at any period in
our history, in the ratification and adop-
ton of that amendment. Ofthis amend
ment shall have occasion to speak more
at length, for it is the central point,
| strange as it may appear, of attack and
| defense in this contest of 1868; and in
the presence of this question, all other
questions of political character pale,
dwarf and sink into insignifcance.
How did the people speak in 1866 on
this great question: Look over the re-
| cord, beginning at distant Maine and end
ing with distant Oregon. In one unbro-
ken column and without dissenting
voice, every State, from the rock-bound
coast of New England to the gates of the
Pacific, declared with one voice this
1Ea1 S1ES = 6raN
of the country, for the peace, for the.pe
petuity of the Union and to put an end
forever to State secession and State rebel
lion. This party calling itself " Demo
cratic" ought to remember that the first
principle of Democracy is to submit to
the will of free people, lawfully declared
by the majority, and especially when that
will is declared on the side of humanity
and justice and equal rights to each, secur-
ed by the combined power of all. lap
plause.l That was your amendment in
substance. 1t placed every man and wo-
man and child, in all the hereafter-citi-
zen and stranger, strong and weak, wise
and simple, under the equal protection of
the law, and for the first time in Ameri-
| can history expressly declared that no
State of this Union shall deny to any per-
son in the hereafter, within its jurisdiction,
the equal protection of the laws. Zap
plause.l That is precisely what was in
tended to be accomplished when your
Constitution was first ordained. That IS
what the builders of that beautiful fabric
of government meant when they wrote on
its forefront these words, "To establish
justice and to insure the blessings of liber-
ty, we do ordain this Constitutions" APP
plause.l They left its execution, however,
so far as persons were concerned. to the
fundamentally of State laws and State
judicial tribunals, binding the State off.
Gals, however, by the text of your Con-
stitution by an oath to support the Con-
stitution Of the United States; and lest
they might evade the requirements of
that sacred instrument, declaring as well
that "this Constitution shall be the su.
preme law of the land and the judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, any
thing in tho Constitution and laws of any
State to the contrary Notwithstanding"
[Applause.l
My countrymen, those plain words just
uttered, and quoted from the Constitution
of your country, as it came from the hand
of Washington, ought to damn to eternal
infamy every alder and abetter of this re-
bellion The speakers voice was here
drowned with cheers, but the reporter un-
derstood him to close the SENTENCED under
pretence of State rights and State sovcr-
eighty. But SO it was. They had reason.
ed themselves to that conclusion and
therefore it was deemed necessary to put
this plain, clear limitation upon the sew
eral States, binding Ohio, which have the
honor to represent in part, in common with
others chosen by the people, as strongly
as we bind South Carolina, and placing
the citizen of South Carolina, though
clothed with perjury as with garment
I though offending us man never offended
before against Just and righteous and
beniGcent government-hereaiter under
the equal protection of the laws with the
noblest and best citizen Of my State or of
your State. If these men had not been
possessed of the very devil, they would
have lifted up their hands in thanksgiving
to God that He had put it into the hearts
of this great and victorious people in the
day and hour of their triumph and their
might, to appear likest God in that they
decreed that mercy should season justice
giving to every man hereafter an equal
opportunity, so far us his mere personality
is concerned, of enjoying the fruits of his
own toll, in the serene quiet of his own
own home, under the equal and just pro-
lection of a common law. The people,
rs said, adopted it. Twenty-six million
freemen in this country, represented in
no less than than twenty-three organized
States, did ratify and adopt that amend
ment in the years 1866 and 1867.
What has happened in this year ofgr0ce,
1862 The people being diverted from
the main question in 1867 in my own State
and in the State of New Jersey, gave to
this Democratic organization. as it is call
ed, a minority in the Legislatures of these
two States. To their dishonor be it told,
in the year 1868, before the proclamation
of the ratification of this amendment
although in minority of the people-ac-
cidentally in the majority in the Legisla-
re-theyrepealedthe recordedwill ofthe
people. and declared that this amendment
this perpetual prohibition of State Sc.
cession and State rebellion-should not
go into the Constitution. This simple
fact ought to warn you, gentlemen, who
honor me with your attention, that this
issue is again open when it ought to be
closed, and opened by the very party that
organized armed rebellion against your
government in the first place, and failing
to destroy it by the bayonet, now dares to
attempt to destroy that government by
the mightier and more potential power of
the ballot. What excuse had they for dis.
turbing that question in Ohio, or for dis
turbing It in New Jersey? None! None
save that they were advised by such patri
OTIS as Henry a. Wise, of Virginia, De-
risive Laughteri Howell Cobb, of Georgia,
and General Beauregard, of Louisiana,
that it was necessary to the unity and the
final success of the Democratic party,
and especially necessary to the re-