The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1871-09-16
The Campaign I'm Ohio senator
Thurnians Speech AZ CO.
lumbus--Granf and the
Ku-KlnX Hill.

lateness of the hour at which be spoke, |
were imperfect. revised report has been
furnished the Ohio Statesman. He con.
sidered first, the claims of the admiDis- |
tration TO the support of the country on
the ground of its having restored the re-
bellfous States to their proper relations
| of the Government. So far as the Re-
publican party in Congress have done
their work, the effect has been to retard
the work of reconstruction, in support
of which he referred to the act compel
ling the formation of q new Constitution.
THE NEW DEPARTURE.
On the New Departure he said: Now,
my friends, il has been common for the
Republican party of this country to say
that the Democrats have taken new
departure, and that new departure, they
allege, consist in saying that we have
been wrong and the Republicans have
been right. say there has never been
any such confession as that. We are as
much opposed to what has been done as
when we gave our votes against it. Why,
if should see q man strike another in an
unlawful and brutal manner in the street,
throttle him and knock him down and
trespass upon his rights, l should see
HE wounds and bruises, and see him
bleeding. should be compelled to say
that he was down and bleeding, but who
would call that q confession that the
villain who outraged him had done what
was proper. Laughter.] So when these
men overthrowed the Constitution and
ruined the peace of the country-when
they ruined the South, we demonstrated
and opposed them, and now, because we
cannot deny that the thing has been ac-
complished; because we are compelled to
admit the fact that these reconstruction
laws have been executed, and that the
amendments to the Constitution are fas-
tened upon us, we are told forsooth that
we admit that the Radicals were right
and we we're wrong. That's logic for
you. The Fourteenth Amendment to
the Constitution was passed; we opposed
it. Why did we oppose it2 Becauseit
provided that all the people in the
United States should be equal before the
laws. There is not one Democrat from
the Ohio river TO Canada; not one in the
United States opposed to it upon any
such ground. That has always been the
law in Ohio; that has always been the
law in the Northern States. The Demo-
Gratis, he said, opposed the Fourteenth
Amendment; first, because it disfran-
chised the men of influence, of education,
whose aid was necessary to restore peace
to the South; and second, because the
language of il was ambiguous, and was
such as would enable an ambitious Pres
ident and Congress to usurp the power
that belongs to the individual States, and
to overthrow every one of the reserved
rights of the people of the States. And
we're we not right? For, from the am
4 biguous and loose language of that
amendment, the infamous Ku-Klux bill
was passed, under pretense of authori-
~ derived from that loose and ambigu-
Gus language. If this Interpretation
were correct, the President would have
power in the State Of Ohio, to displace
the Governor, dethrone the Legislature,
turn out of Office our judges, and estab-
lish martial law from one end of the State
to the other whenever he thinks, or pre-
tends to think, it is necessary for him to
take martial possession Of Ohio in order
to protect the rights of individuals.
We are right, then, in opposing that
amendment thus framed and thus phrased.
THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT.
The Fifteenth Amendment we opposed
because it was fraud upon the people
in the way that the thing was proposed
and carried out, and direct violation of
the solemn pledges of the dominant
party made in the platform at Chicago.
We opposed it for stronger reasons than
that; we said it was perfectly monstrous
that you should turn over at least one-
half of the Southern States to the con-
troll Of q race not one in ten of whom
could read, much less write, and of whom
not one in O thousand had the least idea
of the Government under which they
were now to discharge the duties of law
makers. If time should come when they
should be educated up to the proper
standard to enable them to exercise this
right with Intelligence. and to the vel
fare of the country, We said it.Would be
right. Now what has been the effect Of
this? In the reconstructed States down
South, with their preponderance OF ne
gro voters, the result has been that they
are the worst governed part of Gods
globe. Those States have been delivered
over to the tender mercies of the carpet
baggers aud adventures of the North,
and of the meaner men, the scslawags Of
the South, and with the negroes in COM
bination they govern almost every one of
those States. And how do they govern
them? When the war ended these States
were prostrated to q degree we can hard
ly realize. Ravaged by their own armies
rs we'll as ours, the people were prostra-
| ted their currency was worth nothing;
thousands and tens Of thousands Of their
farms lay desolate; they were ruined in
fortune, humbled and prostrated in spirit.
That was the time when it behooved US
to take them by the hand and help them
up, and just at that time this Republican
party, those carpet baggers and scalawags,
took hdld Of the Government in these
States.
I SLAVERY.
As to the Thirteenth Amendment
abolishiug slavery, Senator Thurman
said: They had never made any objec-
1 ton to it and that no man could point to
any act of the Democrats in the North
ern States that even approved slavery.
The rest Of the speech was devoted 70
review of the financial management OF
the administration and the Ku- -klux bill.
|
CANDIDATES for the prospective va
cancy in the United States Senate are
springing up in every quarter. Mr..
Davis could probably be Induced to re-
turn; Humphrey Marshall, Henry d. Me-
Henry, Proctor Knott and Isaac Cald-
well are "spoken Of" The Bowling
/ -