Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-12-24

With unhesitating plainness he arraipr
ed fennsyivania for her denial of ecn,
rights to an oppressed race, and risin
with the theme, declared that this Stat
had not republican government.
presume the speech will be found in tn
Globe. Nobody, who has considera
with any care what Constitutes "a reDut
ilcan government, especially since tn
definition supplied by our Declaration a
independence, can doubt that he wa
right. His words will live as the testi
mony of great character on this imnor
tant question. The last object of his III
was the establishment of equal riuh |,
throughout the whole country byetb,
recognition of the requirement of tn,
Declaration of Independence. L hav,
before me two letters in which he re
cords his convictions, which are. perhans
more weighty because the result of mos
careful consideration, when age had
furnished experience and tempered tn,
Judgment. Il have" saws he. "Ionc
and with such ability as L could com.
mand, reflected upon the subject of the
Declaration of Independence, and finally
nave come to the sincere conclusion tha,
universal suffrage was one of the inalina.
pie rights intended to be embraced in
that instrument 1t is difficult to see
how there can he any hesitation on this
point, when the great title-deed expressly
says tnat governments derive their lust
powers from the consent of the governed
But this is not the only instance in
which he was constrained by habits of
that profession, which he practiced so
successfully. A great Parliamentarian
of France has said: 1.-THE more one ia
a lawyer, the less he is Senator Pyus
on est dUocdt Dsoi'ls on est lSenote,tr. IF
Stevens reached his conclusion slowly
1T was because, he had not completely
emancipated himself from that technical
reasoning which is the boast of the law
yer rather than of the statesman. The
pretension that the power to determine
the qualifications" of voters embraced
the power to exclude for color. was
that this same power to exclude for color
was included in the asserted power of
the states to make regulations " for the
elective franchise, seems at first to have
deceived him; as if it was not insulting
to the reason and shocking to the moral
sense, to suppose that any unalterable
physical condition, such as color of hair.
eyes, or skin, could be qualification -
and as II it was not equally offensive to
suppose, that under power to determine
qualifications" or to make "reguIa-
tions," a race could be disfranchised
OF course. this whole pretension is a
technicality set up against human rights.
Nothing can be palmer than that tech
nicality may be employed in favor of
human rights, but never against them.
Stevens came to this conclusion at last.
and rested in it firmly 1t was his final
aspiration to see it prevail. He had seen
much for which he had striven embodied
in the institutions of his country. He
had seen Slavery embolished. He had
seen the freedmen lifted to equality of
political rights, by act of Congress; he
had seen the colored race throughout the
whole land lifted to equality of civil
rights by act of Congress. II only re-
mained that he should see them through
out the whole land lifted to the same
equality in political rights; and then,
the promises of the Declaration of Inde.
pendence would be all fulfilled. But he
was called away before this final triumph.
A great writer of antiquity, a perpetual
tells US, that "the chief duty
of friends is not to honor the departed by
idle grief, but 10 remember their pur-
poses and to carry out their mandates. "
hcSc are tuc WOTuS ol 1dclluS. L VEN
ture to add that we shall best honor him
whom we now celebrate if we adopt his
aspiration, and strive for its fulfiliment.
1t is as defender of human rights that
Thaddeus Stevens deserves our homage. |
Here he is supreme. On other questions
ne erred. On the finances his errors
were signal. But history will forget
these and other failings, as it bends !
with reverence hefora thaso axaltad 10
Dors by which humanity has been adj
Already he takes his place
among illustrious names, which are the /
common property. of mankind i see
him now, as 1 have SO often seen him
Turing life. His venerable form moves
slowly aud with uncertain steps; but
he gathered strength of years is in his
aud the light of victory on
his path. Politician, calculator, time
erver, stand aside! A hero-statesman
passes to his reward. ''-.f -