Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-08-05

that IL had no rascals I'm II, but when
they were discovered they were pun.
ished. No man was too high or too
low to be exposed and punished. But
the party was not to be rejected be
cause all who acted with 1t were not
honest. One of the Twelve had
proven traitor to the Master.
But when party is in power, rascals
will get into it, and the only thing is
to visit condign punishment on the
guilty.
CIVIL RIGHTS.
Before leaving home his attention
had been called to a commentary in
one of the papers Of the city, in refer
ence to his making a speech on this
occasion. The comment was unfavor-
able, as If he did not have a right to
meet and address his fellow citizens.
They had said that he would talk
about the Civil Rights Bill. From the
way some men had talked, one would
suppose that there was nothing else to
! talk about. He would not
express any surprise if that
! question were discussed i'm
| the Congressional canvass. Then its
discussion would be legitimate and
! proper 1t was a question for the ac.
| ton of Congress. 1t had nothing to
do with the election of county officer.
He would just as soon think of stop
| ping
a MILL BOY
on his way to mill and asking him
how he stood on the Civil Rights Bill,
and telling him if he wasn't sound on
that question, he wouldn't eat any of
the biscuits his mamma made out of
the flour.
HOW HE STANDS.
But they would like to know how
he stood on the question. Well he
was tall, and it was not difficult to see
where he stood. He was not candi-
date and did not expect to be, hut he
was the representative of the people of
Tennessee in Congress, and they had
a right to know where he stood. One
OF the results of the war, as he had de
tailed before, was to set the slaves free.
The negroes had been set free and the
government was bound to protect them
in such freedom. For this purpose the
18th, 14th and 18th Amendments to
the Constitution had passed. The first
provides that slavery and in.
voluntary servitude shall not ex.
punishment for crime. The second
says that all persons born or natural
lied in the United States are citizens of
the United States and of the States
wherein they reside, and that no State
shall ahridge the privileges or minus
mites of citizens of the United States,
nor deny any person the equal protec.
ton of the laws.
The 18th Amendment provides that
all citizens of the United States shall
have the right to vote, without regard
to race, color or previous condition ia
life. In each of these it is provided
that Congress should have power 10 en-
force them by appropriate legislation.
WHAT HAD BEEN SAID.
When each of these amendments
had been proposed, great hue and cry
was raised on the "nigger question.
The most terrible things were going to
happen. They were going to ravish
our women and murder our men and
" big buck niggersn were going TO
marry our daughters. Then when the
question of allowing cOlored men to
testify in courts had come up thew had
said, they would vote for no man who
was in favor OF niger swearing.
They would have negro swearing
away their lives, and they couldn't
tell how many of them would have
mulatto children sworn to them.
In some portions of the country, the
negroes had been treated barbarously.
When they had completed their crops,
some one would go to their cabin at the
dead hour of midnight and order til EN-
to leave. They could not help them-
selves, and years labor was gone.
To protect them from this, they had
been clothed with the right to vote.
1t had been said they did not have
sense enough to vote, and that they
could be got to vote any way with a
bottle of whisky and a banjo. Now
they voted and nothing was said
about it. He did not see but that they
voted for their friends, or for those
whom they thought their friends lust
like other men.
Things went along. Events were
ripeniDg, and we began to think that
we were pretty near the end-that the
negro question was out of politics.
That when laws were made, thew
were made for men-not white men or
black men. The Lords prayer begins
Our Father which art in Heaven
He thought the Fatherhood of God
implied the brotherhood of man. He
thought the way to settle this matter
was upon the plans laid down in the
Bible
WHAT THE PARTIES DID.
In 1872, the Republican party had met
in Convention in Philadelphia and
had Nominated Gen. Grant for Presi-
dent. A platform was adopted, one
resolution of which said that complete
liberty and exact equality in the en-
joyment of all civil, political and pubs
lie rights should be established and
maintained throughout the Union, by
efficient and appropriate Federal legis.
lation, and that neither the law nor its
administration should admit any dis
elimination in respect of citizens by
reason of race, color or previous CON
dition of servitude. That doctrine was
endorsed by every Republican who
voted for the Republican ticket in
1872. This was civil rights and public
rights-not social or private rights.
THE DEMOCRATS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.
He then read from the platform of