Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-11-20
THE RUTLAND HERALD
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1878
A yERrFIcATION.

rr
In the last Presidential campaign some
of the southern advocates of the Lioeral
Republican and Democratic side OF the
contest, argued to the voters from the
stump. that in case of the election OF
Mr.. Greeley, several things would be
brought about that were considered very
desirable by the old slave holding power
of the south, and which there was no
doubt would forever fail under Republic
can rule, and one of those things was
the payment by the United States to the
late slave owners of a money value for
their negro slaves that had been liberat-
ed as a result of the war of the Rebel
lion. The orators and journals who sup
ported the Republican party in the north,
made these promises to the people OF the
south known in the north, and no one
ever witnessed so indignant set of pol
iticians as the opposition were that such
charges should be made against their
party, and they were energetic in repl-
ling all idea that any intelligent support
err of Horace Greeley should suppose
that he would be party to any such
scheme as paying for negro slaves.
The people of Rutland all well re-
member when the gallant and windy
General Fitzpatrick, to a crowded assem-
bly, in the Town Hall, rung the charges
upon the dirty SANDER against his party
that any of them expected that the cleo
ton of Mr.. Greeley would result In the
United States reimbursing the slave
states for their slaves, and as a perfect
clincher of the foolishness of any such
claim, and as q guarantee that no intelli-
gent man made such a proposition he
read with great pomposity clause from
section 4, of the 18th article of the
Amendments to the Constitution of the
United States: ''But neither the United
States nor any state shall assume or pay
any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
instruction or rebellion against the
United States, or Gny claim fer the loss
or emancipation of any slave Then
with grand flourish that found its echo
in every little local orator or squirt that
sought to discuss politics on that side,
he denounced the argument as Repub-
Ican lie put forward to brighten timid
voters from giving their suffrages for
Horace Greeley, the most consistent
abolitionist that ever made fiery appeals
for the freedom of the slaves. So
.
Many of the Republican papers and
orators, in telling this story, said that
they had no idea that Mr.. Greeley ever
entertained such an idea, and that he
would not have as President any Con-
stitutional power to pay for slavesif he
wanted to, but that the fact that such
an argument was used and was effective
in the South, did prove that the old
spirit of slavery and rebellion was not
subdued, and that the South did not 'ae-
cept the situation But now comes the
Hon. Il, nj. t. Hunter, who was one of
the loudest advocates of Mr. Greeley,
and the payment for enlancipated slaves
aud proposes that the general govern
ment disburse four hundred millions of
dollars among the recent slave owners,
az part compensation for their great loss
in the unjust and unlawful emancipation
of their slaves by the strong arm of mil
itary power The fourteenth amend
ment is just as much in the way of such.
a scheme as when first adopted by the
States, or when Gen. Fitzpatrick pro-
claimed il in the Rutland Town Hall,
but Mr.. Hunter and his co-workers. can.
easily avoid the effect of that prohibit
ton. and il will be seen that they are as
fertile in expcdients as A. J. Smith ever
was in avoiding another prohibitory law.
Mr.. Hunters scheme is reyamping
up of an old theory ten years old, of
which we believe Hon. Samuel G. Pom
eroy, (peace to his-hat, was the au-
thor. 1t is simply that the United States
loan to the several slave States, without
interest, the sum of four hundred mil
lions of dollars, in such sums to each as
the number of their slaves bore to the
whole number, with the understanding
that the States should distribute the
same to the persons who lost saves by
means of the recent war, not as pay
ment for the slaves lost, but to assist
those poor people in hiring laborers, to
make their crops and get little start in
the world This scheme is now put for
ward In good faith, and is held in high
anticipation by the same class of men
who urged the hope of such a result as a
reason for the Southern people voting
for Greeley last year. The New York
Trt4une denounces the scheme, and calls
Mr.. Hunter hard names for proposing
such a thing. They can see that it
means mischief now, although last year
they were equally positive that no such
claim was ever made, as it would be nu-
gatory if adopted, on account of the
constitutional prohibition. Circumstan-
cao altor aoooc -tHHs.. ~ .-'tr-a