The Placer herald. [volume] (Auburn, Placer County, Calif.) 1855-1991, 1868-09-26

! now read 1.-THE power exists at the pres
ent time In all these States" (that is thu
States of the South) "to make just such
! distinction as they please. The Constitu
ton does not limit them. The Constm
ton, in terms, gives us no power. l
! perfect authority to regulate this matter O
suffrage to suit themselves"
Now, fellow citizens Mr.. Fessenden wa
speaking, not for himself alone, not givins
to the Senate his own private opinion, bu
he spoke in behalf of the Reconstruction
Committee of the Senate, and declared that
as every body knows, the Constitution n
terms leaves the question OF suffrage to the
States 10 regulate it themselves, and yet
the Radical policy takes it from the States
the Radical policy forces universal, unquali-
fled negro suffrage down the Threats of the
civilized white people of the South against
their will, and in open, palpable, fragrant
violation of the Constitution OF tho United
States.
Fellow-citizens, Mr.. Stevens, the leader
of the Radical party in the House of Rep
resentatives, about two years and half
ago, said that the Constitution gave no
power to regulate the question of suffrage
quently, after the Radical party had been
brought up to the point of repudiating the
Constitution, after they had been brought
up to the point of rejecting tho Constitu-
ton as the power which should control
them, after they had been brought up to
the point of going outside of the Constitu-
ton, then Mr.. Stevens, with boldness
which does him honor, frankly declares
that they have ropudiated the Constitution
and are going outside of the Constitution
and that the whole basis of this Radical
reconstruction is outside of the Consiitu-
ton. A voice" Hear, hear."I | know,
fsllow-citizens, there are not many Radicals
who are bold enough to avow this as MIR.
Stevens did, but there is no man who will
stand upon logical grounds who can stand
up and deny what Mr. Fessendcn said, that
under the Constitution everybody knows
that Congress has no power over the ques-
ton of suffrage in the States, but that the
question of suffrage belongs to tho people
to regulate it for themselves, to suit them
selves, and to make just such distinctions
as they please.
This new idea which Sumner preached in
1865, which was rejected and repudiated by
four tifths of all the Republicans and by
the entire Democracy of the land-which
was rejected, will say, by more than nine
out of ten of all the people of this country
down to December, 1S65-this idea has, in
fact, at last become the idea which has con-
trolled the Republican party, been forced
upon the Republican party by Stevens and
Sumner and the men acting with them,
and is to-day the sole and only idea which
controls that party in all its operations in
the reconstruction of the South.
To force negro suffrage upon the people
of the South, they passed Military Recon
struction Bill. To force negro suffrage
upon the South, they impeached the Presi
dent and endeavored TO depose him. nc
force negro suffrage upon the South, they
snatched away from the Supreme Court a
case which had already been argued, and
was ready to be decided, in which that
Court would have decided that their whole
reconstruction policy was in violation of the
Constitution. To carry out this negro suf-
frage at the South they had established a
military despotism, denying to the people
all the rights of the common law, and sub
jected them to no government but the gov
eminent of the sword, and they propose TO
carry out this negro suffrage policy in the
States OF the South, for the purpose Of
obtaining the votes Of those States in the
next Presidential election ; but, fellow-citi-
zens, they will probably fail. Voices
"They will )" "that's So
1t often happens in the history of the
world that those who dig a pit for their
adversaries fall into it themselves. Cheers.
Wicked as this policy has been, unwise as 1t
is in all its bearings, destructive rs 1t is of
all the rights and all the interests Of the
States of the South, 1t Is not improbable
that tho people of the South, who have had
this negro suffrage forced upon them, will
rise in their strength, and after all control
this negro vote and compel them to vote the
ticket. Laughter
OBJECTIONS TO THE RADICAL POLICY.
Fcllow-eitzens, this is one of the great
objections which | bring against the Radi-
cal reconstruction policy. that it tramples
down the rights Of the States secured by
the Constitution, and the rights of the
States can not be trampled down without
the liberties ofthe people for
our liberties rest upon the rights OF the
States; our dearest liberties are defended
by the rights and the powers of the States.
You may call to mind your choicest rights,
your dearest liberties, your rights of per-
son, your rights of property, the rights you
have in your homes, in your families, your
wives, your children, your character, in all
your interests here in Indiana, and all
those rights are defended and secured, not
by the laws of Congress at ALL but by the
laws of the State of Indiana. Who defends
YOUR IlOlb0 HUH uIbOii IL Jill Sla lIchi
theft, from robbery Not the Congress of
of the United States, but the State Of In
DANA. When you are assailed, who pun
ishes the offender Not Congress, but the
State of Indiana. Your wife, your children,
all your domestic relations are secured,
protected, defended by the laws of the
State of Indiana, and not by the laws of the
United States, and you must stand for the
defence of the rights Of the States, as
granted by the Constitution.
But, fellow-citzens, the other ground
upon which l now object specially to this
Radical reconstruction policy is the entire
unfitness of this great mass of the black
population of the South to take part in the
Organization of those governments, and in
the government of those States, as we'll az
in the government of the country. speak
not In disparagement Of the colored men
who have lived among freemen, and have
been accustomed to the habits and thoughts
and responsibilities of freomen.
There may be those who have been
brought up in households, brought up on
steam boats, brought up in hotels, brought
up in ships, who may DO gentlemanly IN
deportme and possessed of a considerable
degree of intelligence. / speak not in dis
paragement of them but what / do speak
Of Is The mass of black population in the
Statos of the South, where the planting
interest has prevailed, and maintain that
the great mass of them, nine-tenths of them
at least, are utterly unfit to exercise the
right of suffrage, to hold office, or to take
part in the government of the States, or IN
the government Of the United States. Ii
is but reasonable that this should be So
These people are the descendants Of those
who two hundred years ago, were brought
by force from Africa. Their ancestors be-
longed to the lowest tribes of the family Of
man. If you will read the descriptions
given by travellers and naturalists who have
visited Africa, you will find, and that is sup
ported by tho history Of the world for SIX
thousand years, that the tribes of Africa l,
are among the very lowest tribes OF the
family of man. Never, In their whole his.
tory, have they shown any capacity fol
republican institutions or republican gov
ernments. They have never shown capa.
city for civilization in their own native
land. And having been brought here by