Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-09-23
Is the Negro fit for Self lf-GOvernment


, State Convention.
,, There are many of my friends who hon
!, estly doubt whether the negro is capabl
!, of self-government. [ will tell you of
j class of men who will never have a doub
on that subject | heard the following
narrative from the lips of "A Union officer
He cut his way through the bottom of
car in which he was being conveyed t
him. He dropped in the middle of Georgi
before Sherman's grand march made tn
Union soldier familiar to the negro. Blu
they knew almost by intuition that tn
Yankee soldier was their friend. He wa
driven by starvation to approach SOM
dwellings, and he delivered himself up t,
some negroes who were husking corn in /;
field. IS am here at your mercy" h'
said to them, g a reward is on my head,
am Yankee soldier escaping froma rebe
prison can you take care of me ?" The
negro exclaimed, God Almighty, master
you are safe with US" Do you believe
that man, that Union officer, doubts the
ability of those men for self-governmcnt
Thousands knew of his place of retreat
yet none betrayed him. They brought
him every delicacy and cared for all his
wants. Are they not fit to be trusted
with the nations honor as well as the
nations safety? (Applause.) IF some
more of our Democratic friends had been
down there and treated as that officer was
treated, [ think they would have been con-
verted into good Republicans. as he was
If they are not intelligent it is the fault OF
those who deprived them of the great boon
of learning. But they have the learning
of the heart, and that makes them the safe
depository of the ballot. L agree with my
Democratic friends that this is a white
mans government, but [ look at the color
of the heart and not the face when l de-
termine what is white. (Applause.) | had
rather have an ignorant friend fighting
for me than a learned friend fighting
against me. | had rather have negro
shooting for me than a rebel shooting at
me. They will vote as they fought. They
| fear that we shall be delivered over to
negro dominion; if the negro is my supe-
rior he ought to have the dominion if he
is my equal he ought to have fair chance
with me- | am a coward if | undertake
to trip him up in the race. applause
| The rights of man have never been better
defined than by Abraham Lincoln when
he said, Every man has a right to be
the equal of every other man, if he can
! (Applause) In that is the embodiment
of the Republican platform upon human
rights 1t is the declaration of the right
of every man in the great battle of life te
make himself the equal of every other man
if he can. This is the right which the
Republican party have given the negro
1t is no arrangement satisfactory to slave
holders, no employment satisfactory tc
masters, nothing that shall degrade him
from his manhood it is simply the right
to stand up in the image of God. Any
thing that contravenes that right is unjust
unholy, and to be overthrown. | suspect
/ that the men who fear the negro will domi-
nate if given this right, have lurking
fear that the negro is the better man OF
the two.
The negroes have right to vote, to
make their own laws, clvvoo their own
rulers, to elect, and be elected to, office
these are the rights of an American free
man. 1t is worse than wrong to give a
man freedom and deprive him of the bal
lot, the power with which to protect him.
self in that freedom The ballot, in the
hand of the laboring man everywhere, is
the policeman and the armed soldier on
guard, ensuring to him peace and security
of life and property. We have given the ne
gro the ballot and pledged him by the faith
of our armies, by the faith of our national
honor that this right shall never be over
ridden or set aside, but shall be his forever.
This matter affects not only the negro but
ourselves the North is as much interested
in the settlement of the question as he can
be. We are interested in having our
national debt paid, in having peace and
prosperity throughout the land We are
told by Frank Blair who, if the Demo-
cratic party is victorious, will be Presi-
dent of the United States, President in
fact in everything, after the experience
we have had with Taylor, Harrison and
Lincoln, who would insure Seymour's life
if he was elected upon the platform on
which Gen Frank Blair stands? that at
all hazards and under all circumstances,
by the bayonet if Iced be, the reconstruc-
ton acts of Congress shall be set aside,
overturned, and held for naught. Wade
Hampton lifted up his blood-stained hand
in token that he would abide by that dec
laration. If these reconstruction acts are
set aside what will be the result? The
result will be that the safety of the ma
tional debt will be imperilled, and the
rebels will press upon us the debt which
their government contracted during the
war, followed by the immense interest in
that debt abroad. All propositions for
appropriations to pay our debt will be met
by counter propositions for appropriations
10 pay thoiro, which tl,oy say was inou, ed
in a NOBLE cause. All who are interested
in the public credit, in the bonds of the
nation. in its peace and prosperity, have a
great work to do this day,-to preserve
them We need not discuss in what man.
ner the debt shall be funded, or in what
manner it shall be paid the only matter
to be discussed at the present time Is, shall
we have peace or war? And failing to
have either peace or war, shall we pay
the confederate debt? Laying aside all
side issues, the details of government,
either State or national, all questions, all
foreign policy, almost everything now, as
in 1861, for the cause, let every patriotic
man rise up as we then arose, to strike for
the Union by voting for the Union, and
end by our victory once more at the ballot
this rebellion which our great leader put
down by arms at Appomattox Court House.
(Applause.)
Letter from General Grant
The following letter has been placed in
Al