The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-01-30


been denied by law, to whom the mar
riage relation had been denied, who
had been made the basest and most
abiect slaves, with political power
And as the Senator has referred to a
speech that made in Indiana in 1865,
allow me to show the principle that
then actuated me, for in that speech |
said: .}
"In regard to the question of admitting
the freedmen of the Southern States to
vote, while admit the equal rights OF all
men, and that in time all men will have
cnior r Ia 10 Vet SeiieT taf IN Inc
of 900 900 of slaves, just freed from bond
age, there should be a period of probation
and preparation before they are brought
to the exercise of political power"
Such was my feeling at that time,
for it had not then been determined,
by the bloody experience Of the last
two years that we could not recon-
struct upon the basis of the white
population, and such was the opinion
of the great majority of the people of
the North; and it was not until
year and a half after that time that
Congress came to the conclusion that
there was no way left out to resort to
colored suffrage, and suffrage to all
men except those who were disquali-
fed by the commission of high crimes
and misdemeanors. Mr. President,
we hear much said in the course of
this debate, and through the press,
about the violation of the Constitu-
ton. 1t is said that in the Recon
struction measures of Congress we
have gone outside of the Constitution,
and the remark of some distinguished
statesman of the Republican party is
quoted to that effect Sir, if any
leading Republican has ever said so,
he spoke only for himself, not for an
other. / deny the statement az toto.
insist that these Reconstruction
measures are as fully within the pow
ers of the Constitution as any legis-
lation that eau be had not only by
reason but by authority. And
who are the men that are talking
so much about the violation
of the Constitution, and who
/ pretend to be the especial
| friends of that instrument The
great mass of them only three years
ago were In arms to overturn the
Constitution and establish that of
Montgomery in its place, or were their
Northern friends, who were aiding
and sympathizipg in that undertaking
| had occasion the other day to speak
of what was described as a Constitu-
tIonal Union mau-a man living in
side of the Federal lines during the
war, sympathizing with rebellion, and
| who endeavored to aid the rebellion
! by insisting that every war measure
| for the purpose of suppressing it was
! a violation of the Constitution of the
| United States. Now, these men who
claim to be the especial friends of
! the Constitution are the men who
| sought to destroy it by force
of arms, and those throughout the
country who have given them aid aud
comfort. Sir, you will remember that
once celebrated French woman was
being dragged to the scaffold, and as
she passed the statue of Liberty, she
exclaimed; " How many crimes have
been committed in thy name?" and |
can say to the Constitution, how
many crimes against liberty, humani.
ty, and progress, are being committed
/ In thy name by these men who, while
they loved not the Constitution, and
sought It's destruction, now, for party
purposes, claim to be its especial
friends. My friend from Wisconsin
! yesterday compared what he called
the Radical party of the North to the
Radicals of the South, and when he
was asked the question by some
Senator who are the Radicals
of the South, y he said, they are
the Secessionists." Sir, the Secs
siOnists of the South are Democrats
to day, acting In harmo yand concert
with the Democratic party. They
were Democrats during the war who
! prayed for the success of Mcclellan
| and Pendleton, and who would have
been glad to vote for them. They
were Democrats during the war, men
who sympathized with the rebellion,
who aided In bringing it on. These
are the Radicals of the South, and my
friend from Wisconsin, after, all, is
acting with that Radical party. The
burden Of his speech yesterday was
that the reconstruction measures Of
Congress are intended to establish ne
gro supremacy. Sir, this proposition is
without any foundation whatever. |
believe 1t was stated yesterday by the
Senator from Illinois Mr.. TrumbulD
that In every State but two the white
voters registered outnumbered the
colOred voters; and the fact that in
two States the colored voters out
number the white voters, is owing to
the simple accident that there are
more coiOred men in those States
than there are white men. Congress
has not sought to establish negro SUI
premacy, nor has it sought to estab-
lish the supremacy Of any class or
party of men. Ii it had sought to
| esta blish negro supremacy it would