The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-01-30
speech of Allen C. Thurman, at
MRusfieid, Ohio, Tuesday, January

! We make the followi.r extracts from
Senator ThurmaG's Mansfield Speech:
SENATOR THURMANts SPEECH. +
Mr.. PRESIDENT AND FELLow-CITI-
zENs 1T is my purpose tonight to dis
cuss, as plainly as l possibly can do it,
some subjects of paramount Importance
to us all. / shall not occupy your time
with the consideration of minor gues-
tious; | shall not waste your time by
defamation shall not crafty the pas
sions OF any by denunciation shall
not seek for applause by smart sayings;
shall speak with earnest feeli AZ, but
vet with calmness. | shall endeavcr to
convince the understanding and not to
excite bad feeling. Il is true that
much has been done and much is yet
! being done, calculated to arouse in the
| breasts of freemen the strongest feeling
of resentment; but l adhere to the rule
OF my life, TO prefer in the consideration
of public us well as private affairs, rea-
son and argument TO sarcasm and in
yective.
RECONSTRUCTION.
The first subject shall consider is
what is called the Congressional plan
Reconstruction. To any one at ali ia
miliar with the Constitution of the conn
try this word Reconstruction" can not
but seem strange and misplaced in this
connection. Our Republic was formed
By Il union of Independent States. Dur
ing the four long and dreary yeaIs Of
the late war We were told by those in
authority that no State could, by any
4 lr., from, tha mi
sr cease to he a State within it. The
war was waged, as it was said, to main
tain this doctrine; and if this doctrine
be true, then none Of the seeding States
ever, in point of law, ceased to be States
of the Union. 1t is true that during the
wa: they refused to perform their func-
tions as such States, but, their resist
ance being overcome, their legal status
was what it was before the war began.
There was nothing, then, for them to
do-nothing, at least, for them to do,
but to send their Senators and Repre-
sentatives to the Congress, in order to
put the whole mac chinery of government
in it's regular and accustomed motion.
This they were all willing 20 do the
moment the rebellion was put down.
This they were all anxious to do nearly
three years ago. Had they been allow
ed TO do it, the word "rec0nstruc-
tiou," rs applied to them, would never
have been heard. But this obvious and
ready solution of our difficulties did
not suit the views and purposes of our
rulers. A policy, as it was called, con-
ceived by Mr. Lincoln and followed by
Mr.. johnson, was adopted, ny which
the States in question were advised to
ratify "a amendment to the COnstitu-
tion of the United States, and also to
amend their own Constitution so as for
ever to prohibit slavery, and forever to
repudiate their debts contracted in the
war. To this recommendation they all
asSented, and in good faith performed
what was thus required of them. At
first it seemed that this policy met the
appreciation OF the entire Republican
party, few extreme and unreasonable
Radicals excepted. 1t was expressly ap.
proved by the Republican State Con-
venti0n Of l~u.,, that nominated Cover
Cox for the Office of Governor, and II
WAS earnestly and ably advocated by
that zen tleman in all his public utter
ances TO the people When Congress
met in December, 1855, it met with no
open denuuciation from the great body
of the Republican members; it seemed
To be generally acquiesced In. But a
change soon occurred, and the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution was
proposed by Congress, and submitted
to the Southern as well rs to the
Northern States. for ratification.
/ mi SNat
the Union, and as there is no such
thing known 10 our form of Gov
ernmcnt as unequal States, they were
thereby recognized as possessing all
their primitive rights. This fourteenth
amendment was cunningly framed to
compel the Southern people to adopt
negro suffrage, or to lose large share
of the representation in Congress to
which their population entitled them.
To have proposed a uniform basis of
voters would have deprived the New
England States of the immense and un-
equal advantages they now enjoJ. 10
have given to the Southern States the
same rights that are enjoyed by the
people of the North, and this it was not
the purpose of the Radicals to permit.
1t was foreseen that negro suffrage was
so repuguant TO the feelings of the peo-
pie that the amendment would every
where be rejected in the South, end IA
if to secure its rejection, a adisiranChising
clause, deeply wounding the scEsibili-
ties of that people, was also inserted.
Indeed, it may be confidently affirmed
that the adoption Of the amendment
was never expected. Again and again,
has it been asserted, by Repub-
licans Of high standing in thciE
party, that its adoption nevct was
intended; that 1t was mere
party and deceptive platform for The
elections of 1866, and that its rejection
by the Southern people was desired, in
order to furnish preteXt for imposing
moro onerous conditions upon them.
Accordingly, no sooner had it been re-
iected than Congress, coWpletcly aban-
doniny its former doctrine that denied
the capacity of State to withdraw it,
self from the the Union, announced the
doctrine that the Southern States had
committed political suicide, and that
they must be reconstructed before they
could again take their place in the
Union. In pursuance of this new dog
ma they were divided into five military
districts, their State Governments treat
ed as usurpations, and the whole ten
States put under martial law and the
control of military commanders. AT
the same time they were required to
hold Conventions to form Constitutions.
Congress prescribing who shonld aud
who should not be electors, who should
and who should not be qualified to hold
office; and the execution Of this man-
date was contided to military power. 1t
is now proposed to concentrate all this
military power in the hands of u single
man, the General of the Army, and thus
make him as absolute despot over ten
States of this Union as is anywhere to
be found on the face of the globe. 1t
was not to be expected that so radical
revolution as this, a revolution that
destroys not only the substance, but the
very form of our Government, could be
effected by the ordinary modes of legis-
latiOn.
To sum the matter mp in a few words,
this reconstruction plan destroys ten
St, taS snkyarts ndi iyidual liberty nyrr-