The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-01-15
4 OoLasED MANS SPEECH.

one OF the notable speeches of the
session was made in the House on the
9th inst, by Mr.. Elliott, colored
member from South Carolina. The
bill before the House was one confer
ring civil rights upon all citizens re-
gardless of color, being supplementary
to one now in force. He read the
speech from manuscript, and his de-
livery was good and he held the at
tention of the House closely. An ab-
stract of the speech is as follows:
He referred to the services of the
men of his race on the battle fields of
the country, in the late war and in
the war OF 1872. He reminded the
gentleman from Kentucky (Beck),
who was always so active against the
negro in 1861, that the negro, true to
that patriotism and love to country
whicn had ever characterized and
marked his history on this continent,
came to the aid of the government in
its efforts to maintain the COnstitu-
tion. To that government the negro
now appealed, and that Constitution
he now invoked for protection against
the outrageous and unjust prejudices
fonnded on caste. Replying to the
argument of Stephens, of Georgia,
yesterday, Mr.. Elliott cORtended tnat
Congress had, under the fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments to the Con-
stitution, complete power to pass this
law and TO protect all citizens of the
country in all their rights. He dis
cussed the doctrines of the decision of
the Supreme Court in the New Or
leans slaughter case, and asked the
gentleman from Georgia (Stephens)
whether he claimed that Congress can
not legislate against plain discrimina-
ton in the State laws and State GUS
toms, against that very race for whose
complete freedom and protection
those great amendments to the Con-
stitutiOn were elaborated and adopted.
1t could not be pretended that the
evils of which the colored people COM
plained-their exclusion from public
inns, from sleeping cars on railroads,
and from the right OF sepulture-were
ttfecxsrsise- - f-ttao police po~ess Of
the State. z fhesp things are a denial
Of the etpfai protection of laws which
those constitutional amendments
were framed TO guard against. He
shared those feelings of high personal
regard which pervaded the House, in
respect to the gentleman from GeOr-
gia (Stephens), but when that gentle
man lent his voice and influence to
defeat this measure, he (Elliott) must
not shrink from saying that it was
not from him (Stephens) that an
American House of Representatives
would take lessons in matters touch
ing human rights. No consideration
should restrain him from saying that
that gentleman now offered to the
government which he had done his
utmost to destroy very poor return
for lis magnanimity in coming here
and seeking to continue, by the assO-
citation of doctrines obnoxious to the
true principles of government, the
burdens Of oppression which rested on
those who had never failed to pray for
the success of the government, which
that gentleman had sought to blot out
from hegalaxy ofnations. Applause
from the floor and galleries, which.
are filed with colored people. 1t
was hardly twelve years since that
gentlemap shaektsi the civilized
world by lanROaacing as tue highest
form of government one that rested
on human slagefy. Toe process of
time had swept away that pseudo-
government, and the race which he
(Stephens) rnthlessly spurned and
trampled upon was here now to meet
him IN discussion on the demand
that the rights enjoyed by him from
oppression should be accorded to those
who, even in the darkness of slavery,
had kept their allegience true to free
dom and the Union, That gentleman
had learned much since 1861, but he
was still learner. He (Stephens)
should put away entirely those false
and fatal theories which had marred
his otherwise enyiabIe record. He
should accept in its fulIness the great
doctrine that American citizenship
carries with it every civil aud politi-
cal right that mankind can confer.
He should lend his influence and mas
terry ability to complete the proud
structure Of legislation which made
the nation worthy OF the great decla-
ration that heralded its birth. Let
him do that, and he would have done
that which would most certainly re-
deem his reputation in the world, and