Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-13


upon the State those organizations confer
slch enormous benefits. The State cannot
stand without them for without them an
archy would overwhelm every State. And
now The Senator from Massachusetts pro-
poses totake advantage Of the laws Of the
States authorizing the Incorporation of &c
clesiastical societies to put in there the fin
ger Of human law to regulate the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made His people
free. Sir, the people will not endure it.
You may pass thousand such amendments
as this, but the people will not endure that
you shall interfere with the regulation of
the mode and the associations in which they
shall worship God.
"But, sir, the Senator is not content with
this. Through all the business ramifica-
tions of society he follows the citizen, TAX
ing away from him the shelter of State law,
and imposing upon him penalties of new
crimes and misdemeanors created by Fed
e.al law. He enters the sanctuary Of God
with unholy hand, and he follows the citi-
zen to the grave and says he shall not lie
there side by side only with those whom he
! shall choose to be his companions in his
last resting place. And what for? What
Is the need of all this? l do not care to
talk about constitutional questions, particu-
| larry upon this part of the amendment.
Who has been harmed throughout this
| broad land by the denial to a cit
izen of a place of sepulture in a
public cemetery? l listened carefully
to the speech of the Senator from Massa-
chusetts, and to his array of evidence, and
l do not remember that anywhere any
wrong had been committed in reference to
the administration of ecclesiastical organ
izations, except that he said somewhere
colored soldier had been refused the sacra-
ment. Suppose he had; suppose it was a
| wrong; that he was fitted to communicate.
| Are we, the Congress of the United States,
| to dictate to the churches whom they shall
| receive to the communion Of the body and
blood of the blessed Lord? God forbid it,
| sir! And vet the only evil inflicted by an
ecclesiastical organization which the Sena-
| tor recited in his long array of wrongs, as
he termed them, was that.
"But, sir, after all the impulse that have
felt upon me to speak upon this matter has
| been created not so much by the legislation
embodied in this amendment as by the
principles upon which that legislation has
been attempted to be justified before this
| body. In substance the principle is the
|
| ator from Massachusetts, (Mr. Sumner,)
the Senator from Indiana, (AIr. MortOn,) or
! the Senator from Wisconsin, (Mr. Carpen-
ter.) That principle substantially is
! this: that by TIE adoption of the three
most recent amendments to the Constitution
| of the United States, our old system of
government has been subveTted. You may
| undertake to draw a line short of the posi-
"a 4I,o 1,oNn mr.
! as the Senator from Wisconsin did attempt,
but it will be in vain. Your reasoning
upon this bill carries you to the full length
! of giving to the Federal government COM
plete legislative authority over every inter
est affecting the life, liberty and property of
every citizen of the Uuited States, and
leaves to the State Legislatures absolutely
nothing"
The Washington correspondent Of the
Cincinnati Commercial (Radical) says "the
Administration Senators dared not vote
against the negroes, so they adopted the
amendment and then defeated the bill"
The most of Grants friends in the Senate
professed to be strongly in favor of amnes-
ty, yet they would not vote against Sum-
ner's unconstitutional and revolutionary
amendment, because it would be made to
appear that they had voted against the ne
gro, and thus injure Grants prospects of re-
election. They knew that Summers
amendment was intended to kill the am
nesty bill, and they deliberately voted for
it. Grauts friends are responsible for the
defeat of amnesty.