The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-10-26
JOHN QUINCY 44DAMs 1T HOME.
What He said TO His Friends and
Neighbors about the South.

The Hon. John Quincy Adams made an ad-
dress to his friends and neighbors ut Woy-
mouth, Mass, on Thursday last, in the course
OF which he said
AS YOU all know I have made o little trip to
the South. Iwi5hed to see what reconstruct
ed State was, and went to South Carolina for
that purpose. I have come back with this con-
yictlon, though do not know how the other
Conservative citizens OF the Union may feel
about it, never intend to stop to relax for
one moment in the heartiest, most earnest and
most honest efforts can make to remove all
such BLESSINGS; as reconstruction from the
necks of every one of my tellow-citizens. Loud
applause.1 The issue in this campaign to me IS
simply this, and nothing more. Reconstruction,
as you know, is the Radical constitution. 1t is
the only constitution now in ten States OF
the Union, and what is it? 1t is simply
this-the rule Of the military and nothing
else. In order that it may not jar too much
upon the nerves of q republican people to see
light millions of their felow-cltizens held down
by the bayonet, they have brought in great
mass of three or four millions OF poor, igno-
rant, degraded black men, and set them up IN
row as it were. across the Southern States,
and bee lu;e they think you cannot see the
bayonet behind them, they say, THAT is re-
publican form Of government" How republi-
can? What is this republican form Of govern
mont? Why look at the condition OF those
States. Suppose that almost all the voters in
this Commonwealth should suddenly be de-
prlved of the franchise, and in their place it
was bestowed upon q set OF men who were en-
tirely ignorant of the value and responsibility
Of the voting power--who knew nothing about
any Of the principles in regard to which
they were voting. Suppose such class OF
men were to be put over you, OF course you
would not like lt-you would feel un-
,fnrEo oh la md 1ic,o
suffer their rule if you could help it. Yet this
g precisely the condition in which South Caro-
lima is to-day. She is governed by set OF
men who, if the people we're left to themselves,
would have no more chance of holding the Of
fees of your government they now hold, than
I should OF being elected King OF Great Britain
in place of Queen Victoria, if were to 60 to
England Tomorrow. LLaughter.] And these
officials having no hold upon the esteem OF the
people, rs they call them down there in their
expressive, though slightly inelcgant Language
''scalawaGs" aud carpet-baggers, cannot
command any of their respect and confidence.
The consequence of this is that they have to
of the United States soldiers. Aud as there are
not United States soldiers enough at the South
to keep the people entirely contented." nor
enough to make the government thoroughly
"Democratic!" so every day or two they are
calling for more soldiers in order to support
these thoroughly Democratic" and "Republi-
can" governments; and that is reconstruction
NV Sou hern Democratic friends down there
greeted me in q WAY which shall never forget
to my dying dny. The kindness, the warmth,
the consideration, the order which they showed
| in welcoming any Northerner, especially from
| Massachusetts, who would go down there and
say to them kind word, who would not treat
them like boys, and call them rebels, traitors,
miserable rascals, or villains, went deep to my
/ al, t, tn w.
citizens at the North that they fought you in
the war; they believed that they were right;
that they fought you as hard as they could,
and when the war was done they frankly aban.
doned what they had fought for. They said
we had whipped them; we had conquered what
we demanded during the war, and they
were ready to give it up. They would fight nc
longer, and ali they asked was friendship and
kindness. What they deserved from US at the
North was mercy the hand Of kindness, good
fellowship and brothorly love. Loud ap-
plause.] They want no more contest, no more
i'll blood; they want merely TO shake hands
saying, we fought, and nov the fight is done
lie. us be friends. That is the feeling OF the
mass of the whole people / met at the South
saw no unkindness, no sort OF feeling indica
ting unkndness toward any OF the people at the
North. That they may be treated in decency
and kindness, they do ask, and that is what
pray OF overy one Of you to labor for. lap
plause.] It is the thing, it seems to me, tha
we need here at the North as much as thoy
need it ut the South. ALI that they ask, antt
all that the Democratic party at the North seel
to accomplish, is that we may be allowed II
come together once more in peace and amlty
| that this incubus Of reconstruction may be to
ken oil tho people; that these soldiers may b.
taken away from between us, and that veal
of us-onco moro nay feel, North as well a
South, white man as well as black man-th
benefits of Union under the old system OF COY
| ernment.