The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1868-03-28


other words, If they voted with you they
had right to vote; IL they voted against
you they had no right TO vote at ALL
Again, sir: all the world knows the
Whole OBJECT Of the war was to put down
the rebellion and to maintain the Union
Of States under the Constitution. Every
act and resolve of Congress, every dollar
spent, every blow struck, every drop Of
blood shed, was to compel the people and
the States Of the South to live in the
Union and obey the Constitution. And
now that we have succeeded, now that the
people and States Of the have surrender,
ed TO the Constitution and laws. you say
that they shalt not live in the Union un-
der this Constitution at all They shall
first form another Union. aud come into
that Union under another or an AMENDED
constitution.
Mr.. President. having thus shown that
this first answer to that question is IN
reasonable, inconsistent, aud absurd, re.
peat the question second time: Why
press this negro domination over the
whites Of the South! What reason can
you give? A second answer il, because
the negroes were loyal and the whites dis.
loyal. Let us examine this bold asser.
ton. Il il true Were the negroes 10y
al during the rebellion Recall the facts
Who docs not remember that at least
three.inurths of al the negroes in those
States during the whole wal did all in
their power TO sustain the rebel cause p
They fed their armies they dug their
trenches /; they built their fortifcations ;
they fed their women and children
There were no instructions, no upris.
ings, no efforts Of any kind anywhere out
side The lines of our armies on the part
of the negroes to aid the Union Cause
In whole districts, in whole States even,
where all the ublc.bodied white men were
cOnscrip,ed into the rebel army, the
great mass Of negrncs, Of whose loyalty
you boast, under the control Of women,
decrcpit old men aud boys, did all they
were capable Of to aid the rebellion
Again. sir, the assumption il equally
groundicss hat The whole Of the white
population, or ii majority even. ever vol-
unfairly engaged in the rebellion. We
know very we'll that the Radicals of the
South bad powerful organization. They
were as bold as earnest. as reckless Of
consequences. and az res,ive under cou.
stitutlonal restraint, as The present Rad
icals oi the North Similar IN all the
main elements Of character. cherishing.
even IN fanafici>m. opposite extremes Of
opinion, equelly removed fr9m The truth,
had they exchanged place and educa.
'ion-. 10 ali human probability the Radi-
cal Of the North would have been a most
violent Radical Of the South, and
the Radical Of The Son;h an equally
violent Radical at the North Ii is a
striking fact. showing how easily ex-
tremes meet. that the Radical cry OF the
seccssiori.is Of 1860 is identical with
that oi the Northern Radical of to-day.
We have seen comparatively small num-
Der of earnest Radicals reverse and abso-
lu,cly overturn from its foundations the
policy oi reconstruction adopted by Mr..
Lincoln before his reelection, and sus-
tanned by the convention which renomi-
mated him and the party which re elected
him in 1864 His policy was reconstruc-
ton upon the white basis. The negro
was excluded altogether. Even the Wade
and Davis reconstruction bill, which pass
cd Congress, and which Mr.. Lincoln re-
fused to sanction, but not the white basis
alone. 1t excluded all negro suffrage
II left tha. question, where it belongs. to
the white race to determine in each State
for themselves. | know these measures
of Congress have done much to wound,
nothing to heal. Yet, Notwithstanding
all that Congress has done to cmbitier
their hatred toward the Radical policy,
there is neither thought, nor wish, nor
hope to restore slavery, nor to separate
from the Union, nor of rebellion against
the authority of the Government; all ev-
idence proves TO the contrary. In the
whole rebel army which surrendered |
challenge any Senator to point me to a
single instance in which rebel has viola
ted his parole, or to a single man of any
position or prominence at the South who
after taking the oath of allegiance has vi
olated his plighted faith. At present
what do we behold ? Now that the war
is over. now that every rebel has laid
down his arms, now that the people of
the South have unanimously agreed to
abolish slavery forever. to obey the Con-
stitution and discharge every duty as
citizens of the United States, the Radi-
Gals of the North have morally begun a
=. .n,,, ,.ob olI;.>,, a,..sret tba ITrsoc onJ &ho
Constitution for, in raising anew the
old cry of the Radicals of the South,
they new declare that the States of the
South are outside the Constitution, and
that Congress, acting outside the Consti-
tuition has as unlimited power over them
as over conquered territories. In their
blind zeal for the advancement of the me-
gro they propose to overthrow the Con-
stitution, in order to practically subject
the white race to the domination of the
negro. As men who claim to be the
friends of liberty we have no right to do
that. AS Christians who claim to have.
learned something of forgiveness from
the teachings of our Savior we have no
right to do that. AS members of that
great Caucasian race which has given the
world its civilization we have no right to
do that. AS statesmen who desire to re,
store tho blessings of peace we have no
right TO do that which would inevitably
make eight millions of our own race and
kindred in our own land eternal enemies
of the Government. As statesmen who,
with ordinary sagacity, should look to the
future and to possible wars with foreign
Powers we ought to make haste to restore