Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-04-27
CONGRESS MEANS BUSINESS"

& "
The extreme element in the South are
very slow to understand the spirit and
character of the people that carried tins
Government safely through the anxIeties,
perils and sufferings Of q protraeted civil
war;. They gave their own sons to die Tor
it, because of their deep and sincere con-
viction that it was good government
too good to be given over to treason and
slavery. Having through seasons of de-
spair and hope, of defeat and victory clung
faithfully to it, given of their blood and
treasure unsparingly and willingly, they
do not now propose to give it oyer to law
lessness and crime, . AS one of the results
of their struggle, indeed, as zone of the
means to secure those results, they gave to
the colored people of the. South the right
of suffrage, and the power to protect that
privilege by the additional rights of bold
ing office and sitting on juries. These
privileges were extended to them in good
faith, from convictions of duty, and it is
just as firmly the purpose of the loyal Peo-
pie of this land to protect them in those
rights as it was their ofiginalpurpose to
save the Government. This our. friends
in the South ought by this time to
understand. They watched patiently
through the war and for five years since
to see this people falter in these purposes,
bnt as yet they have. stood firm and un-
yielding. They ought therefore to accept
the results and go about setting their
house in order for the housekeeper, Until
they do this their case is hopeless. They
may cry aloud against Kuklux bills, but
so long as they allow lIawless armed men
to terrify citizens, whose rights and per-
sons the Government is sworn to protect,
just SO long will they find such laws en-
acted and their execution rigidly enforced.
Z We commend to them, in this connec-
ton, the closing words in the, debate on
the Kuklux bill uttered by that firm old
patriot and able lawyer, Hon. Aaron f.
Perry, of Ohio, which were as follows:
take it, Mr.. Speaker that We at least on
this side of the House are not to act upon the
theory that we are about to commit a trick by
suspending the writ of hdbedS corpus during the
next year. l desire very much-I have no de-
sire nearer my heart than this-to meet gentle
men upon the other side OF this House In meas
ures which shall contribute to the happiness
and tranquility of Southern society. / am
willing and ready to vote for extending amnes-
ty measures further than they have yet been ex-
tended. In that respect 1 will meet gentlemen
on the other side more than half way think
by next year I'VE shall all be prepared to do
it. But desire that they shall take notice
from this bill that when the people of the United
States declared that these large masses of popu-
lation should enjoy the rights of citizenship,
whep-they put that in the Constitution, they
meant bstS5Hess..z
And wish 70 say that so far as am indi-.
vidualiy concerned, ! I mean business. And if,
with the netice.of this bill, gentlemen go home
and alloB these Kuklux proceedings to go on,
they viii be furnished neat session withSa bill
compared with which this -woafd be Is q lamb
and desire that our friends on the other side
should understand it. and understand II ia time
and in good spirit. - -