Mexico weekly ledger., 1878-12-19

amendment could be proposed.
There may we'll be doubts as 10
the propriety of his Investigation
Here is a short session of Congress
We have allowing for the usual re-
cess perhaps less than two months to
dispose of appreciation and other
measures of legislation that necessa-
rily require the attention of Congress,
if the business of he session is to be
disposed of and no extra. session is to
be called. And now sir, the Senator
proposes an investigation, that l defy
any committee that can be found to
make with anything like thorough
ness, nay in any satisfactory manner.
or with anything like business either
to those implicated. or those thatmay
be implicated, within the time that
remains of the session of the Senate.
L have therefore wondered why this
resolution was introduced, unless it
was to be made a string upon which
to hang speeches to rou u sectional
hatred in one portion of the Union
against an almost defenselcss people
in another part Of it. But Mr.. Presi-
dent the assault of the Senator from
Maine is not simply al assault how
ever upon the people of the South. 1t
is also an effort to create a solid
North, of what is it that the Senator
from Maine complains. That there
were not enough Republican votes at
the South. This is the amount of
what he says and how does he make
it out. He assumes without q shadow
Of truth, that negroes Of the South
were prevented from voting, Or we're
forced to vote the Democratic ticket.
He assumes that owing to this, the
negroes of the South are not repre-
sented by members of the House of
Representatives who come from that
section of the Union, or by Senators
on this floor who represent the South
ern States. What right has this
Senator from Maine to say that the
negroes of the South are not repre-
scented by the chosen Representatives
and Senators of the South? What
right has he to vote those negroes on
one side himself and say tie men that
bear credentials of election do not
represent their constituents? Why,
Mr.. President, it is bare assumption
OF his part that he has nc right what
to make. The Senator ought to
have thought of such consequences
when he was framing his 18th and
18th Amendments or when he was u.s.
to do so. There were men
then-men of his own party too-who
told him with long foresight that in
the end property and intelligence will
rule where ignorance cannot, and that
1t IS not necessary for that, to sepa-
communities into white and
/ am not here to-day to JUS
tify the violation Of tie rights of
any man, however humble he may be
or whatever may be the poverty Of
his situation, but | 90 know that
property, intelligence and education
viii assert their supremacy every
Who drew the color line be-
tween whites and blacks in the South!
Let me say millions of money were
expended in the South by your agents
the Freedmens bureau in getting every
colored maj i'll the South intn loyal
leagues and swearing them never to
vote a Democratic ticket. This is
where the color line began. That
institution which took charge Of the
negro at the ballot-boX, took charge
Of him in the cotton fields also, super
vised every contract he made, allowed
none, that its agents did not approve
and spent money and property called
captured and abandoned property"
that was surrendered to il, and many
millions of money directly appropri-
ated out Of the treasury OF The United
States. And yet. when the white
people of the South, when men own
ing property and having intelligence
and education saw their social system
menaced with obstruction, saw their
very households threatened with ruin
under an inundation Of barbaisn di-
rected by the most INSCRIPTIONS OF
men, and when they naturally came
together and united, as a people mi
naced with danger will ever unite,
then a cry is raised against a solid
South. Oh! Mr.. President it will
not DO. This system of legislation
against the South that began ten years
ago is bearing fruit, and it is not by
additional penal laws that you q bet
ter the condition OF this country.
What does the Senator want more
penal laws for2 Let him look into
the statutes in regard to the enforce
ment of the right of citizens to vote,
and / defy him to find on the statute
books of any civilized country on the
globe, a body of laws so minute, so
searching, bristing all over with
penalties and fines and fOrfeitures as
do these laws but that is not all. In
addition to that, you have the vast
machinery of superintendent of cleo
lions, Federal supervisors, marsLals,
deputy marshals paid eiactioneers out