The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1868-10-15

confering q share Of the government
upon him? The pretext is that all tn,
negroes of the South were loyal ant
that the white men were disloyal
Now, I deny the truth of both thest
propositions. I deny both. 1 asser
that the majority of the South were
loyal to this government at the out
break Of the war that in every State
of the South except South Carolina
where the session ordinance was
not submitted to the people, that il
all the other States, the majority voted
it down at the polls. The genera
government armed those who were in
the conspiracy aginst itselfand against
the loyal people of the South, and
furnished them with arms out of its
own arsenals and arlnories, and did
not lift a finger to protect the Union
men at the South till these conspira.
tors had established for themselves an
absolute, despotic and arbitrary gov.
ernment, with which to coerce the
whole White population of the South
into obedience to them. Ia
I say, my fellow-citizens, that the
duty Of our Government was correla.
tive with the duty of the citizen that
it was reciprocal! The citizens there
had as much right to the protection Of
the Government as the Government
had to the allegiance of the citizens,
and when the Government failed to
extend its protection to the Union
men in the South, and not only failed
to give them protection, but furnished
the conspirators with arms with which
to put down the Government, it had
noright to appeal to them for Their
allegiance. i-i' i- -.'f ''i-# 10 =
And now, my fellow-citizens, as to
the, loyalty of the black people
of the South, don't we know that the
confederate army was provisioned
from the first day the army was made
to the last day that the rebellion last.
ed, that it was provisioned by. the Ia
Dor Of these negroes !? Don't we know
that every pound of meat and bread
which went to sustain and keep up
the confederate army through the en-
tire war, was produced by the labor
of these negroes? 1t was they who
furnished aid and comfort to the con-
federacy. Was that manifesting 10y
atty to the Government of the United
States? We know, moreover, that
all the Notifications and breastworks,
and parapets upon which the blood OF
our Union soldiers was spilled at the
'Sotith, was constructed and built by
the labor of these negroes. Was not
that giving aid and comfort to the re-
bellion? Was that being loyal to the
Government of the United States?
My fellow-citizens, the pretense
is proposterous. The negroes
throughout the wa6r-fhe vast ma
jority. of them-were loyal to moth
ing but their old masters; loyal to
nothing but the Confederacy. They
provisioned it; they built fortifca-
tions for it; and now, because of their
loyalty, they are clothed with the suf-
frage and with political power through
out these States while those men who
were abandoned, the white people of
the South who were. loyal, and who
voted against the secession ordinances
are stripped of the right of suffrage,
and made subject to the rule of these
ignorant, besotted, and semi-barba-
rouis people. 81 u. -'': - 8. .
Well, my fellow-citizens, whenever
a man proclaims these principles, mo
matter. what service lie gave to the
Government during the .war-when
he pfonounces against these infrac-
tiohs Of the Constitution, these VIOLA
tions Of, everything that we hereto
fore have held sacred in this country,
heis denounced as a rebel, a rebel
sympathizer, copperhead, and every
opprobrious epithet going to. show, or
to cover him with the odium of trea-
son to his Government; they claiming
to themselves all the loyalty-they are
the loyal men that put down the re-
bellion; but for them the Government
would have been destroyed, and every
body that differs in opinion from them
is dis1oya1. ....--... -. ..'-' - % .
- What is this thing of being disloy-
al? = In the monarchical countries OF
Europe, in monarchies, loyalty means
allegiance and fealty to the King, OF
Emperor, or reighing family. AS yet
we have no King or Emperor here.
IA voice, !. And never Will There
are some men who are willing, if they
are allowed to-who are preparing to
be; but we are not bound in this coun-
try to give loyalty to any man or hu.
man being. We do not swear obedi-
ence to Congress. We are not COM
PEELED to take an oath of allegiance to
the President of the United States or
to the judiciary. The only oath OF
allegiance we take in this country is
to the Constitution of the United
States; and he alone, is loyal in this
land who preserves inviolate that oatt
to, defend, to- protect, and to maintain
the Constitution of the United States
Yet this party of loyalty, these 10y.
al men par ercel1ence, are in the habit
of boasting that they have legislated
outside of the Constitution and in de
fancei of it. And not only. do theil
boldest leaders boast of, their disloy
atty Of, the Constitution, but, every hu.
man being knows, every man that haI
sense enough to take himself out o
the rain, knows that they have viola
ted and trodden the Constitution un
der foot; and yet they claim that the.
AZ are the only on loyal men in this Gov ern
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