Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-09-19

vate the condition of men; to lift artificial
weights from all shoulders; to clear the
paths of laudable pursuit to all; to afford
all an unfettered start, and fair chance in
the race of life. Yielding to partial and
temporary departures, from necessity this
is the leading object of the Government for
whose existence We contend. l am most
happy to believe that the plain people un-
derstand and appreciate this"
On the subject of sufIage, MIR. Lincoln's
guiding principle was that '' no man is
good enough to govern another man with
out that other mans consent"
Thus we have from the lips and pen of
Mr.. Lincoln-the great leader and repre-
sentative of the Union cause-in the most
solemn and authentic form, a complete
statement of the issues of the war. He held
that the Union is perpetual; that its Gov
ernment is national and supreme; and that
all of its inhabitants should be free, and be
accorded equal civil and political rights.
These are the great fundamental prin-
ciples. affirmed on the one side, and denied
on the other, upon which the appeal was
made to the God of battles. I do not un-
dertake to review the debate as to the ma
ture and powers of the Government
of the Union, and as to the doctrine of
State rights, which began with the foun-
dation of our institution S. and which was
continued until it was hushed by the clash
of arms. 1t is enough for my present
purpose to say that, as matter of history,
all of the political parties of the past,
when charged with the responsibility of
directing the affairs of the government,
have maintained in their practical admin
istration of it, precisely the same princi-
Piles which were held by President Lin
coin. The principles as to the powers of
the National Government which were
acted upon by Washington and jackson.
and which are sustained by the decisions of
Chief Justice Marshall, and by which
Lincoln and the Union armies crushed the
rebellion and rescued the Republic are
among the legitimate and irreversible re-
suits of the war which ought not to be
questioned.
Touching the remaining important con-
| troversy settled by the war, the public
| avowals of opinion are almost all in favor
of the faithful acceptance of the new con-
! stitutional amendments. On this subject
the speeches of public men and the creeds
and platforms of the leading political par>
| ties have for some years past been explicit.
| In 1872, all parties in their respective Ma
| tional Conventions adopted resolutions
recognizing the equality of all men before
the law. and pledging thense yes, in the
! words of the Democratic National Con-
vehtion, ito maintain emancipation and
enfranchisement, and to oppose the re-
| opening of the questions settled by the re-
cent amendments to the Constitution. In
1876, the great political parties again, in
the language of the ST. Louis National
| Convention, affirmed their devotion to
| the Constitution of the United States, with
! its amendments universally accepted as
| final settlement of the controversies that
engendered the civil war" Notwith-
staodiDg these declarations. we are COM
| toLa nfIn hat Sfa CO..,
| citizens anywhere would wish to re-
estab ish slavery if they could, and no one
would again attempt to break up the Union
| by secession their still remains in some
communities q dangerous practical denial
to the colored citizens of the political
rights which are guaranteed to them by
the Constitution as 1t low is. In the crisis
of the war, Mr.. Lincoln appealed to the
colored peO lie to take up arms. About
two hundred thousand responded to the
call, enlisted in the Union armies, and
fought for the Union cause under the
Union flag. Equality of rights for the
colored people, from that time, thus be-
came one of the essential issues OF the war.
| General Sherman said, when the fgl
is over, the hand that drops the musket t
Can not be denied the ballot" Jefferson
said long before, 'the man who fights for
the country is entitled TO vote" When.
with the help of the colored men, the VIC
tory was gained, the Fifteenth Amendment
followed naturally as one of its legitimate
| results. No man can trughfdlly claim that
he faithfully accepts the true settlements
of the war, VINO sees with Indifference the
| Fifteenth Amendment practically null
lif d.
No one can overstate the evils which tt e
country must suffer If lawless and violent
opposition to the enjoyment of constitu-
tional rights is allowed to be permanently
| successful. The lawlessness which to-day
assails the rights of the colcred people win
find other victims tomorrow. This ques-
tlon belongs to no race, to no party, and to
no section. 1t is a question in which the
whole country is deeply interested. Patriot
| ism, justice, humanity, and our material
| Interests, all plead on the right side of the
question. The colored people are the
laborers who produce the cotton which,
going abroad to the markets of the world,
gives US that favorable balance of trade
| which is now doing so much for the revival
of all business. The whole fabric of socl-
ETY. rests upon labor. If free laborers sLf-
| ter from oppression and Injustice, they Will
| either become dlsc0ntented anj turbulent,
| destroyers of property, and not producers
of property, or they will abandon th g
communities which deprive them of their
| inalienab.e rights. In either case, social
order and the peaceful industries upon
|
and perhaps sacrificed. 1t will not do to
say that this is an affair which belongs
solely to the distant States of the South
The whole country must suffer if this ques-
tlon is not speedily settled, and settl ed
rightly. When the two races are mum er-
Gus, prosperity can only exist By the
united and harmonious efforts of both the
white and the colOred people. The only
solid foundations for peace and progress in
such communities are equal and exact
justice to both races. Consider the pres
ent situation? Whatever complaints may
have been heard during the progress of re-
construction, candid men must admit th at
all sectors and all States are now equally
| regarded, and share alike the rights, the
privileges, and the benefits of the common
Government. All that is needed for the
permanent pacihcation of the country Is,
the cordial cooperation of all we'll Ids
posed citizens to secure the faithful obser-
| vance of the equal-rights amendments of
the Constitution.
Happily, III the very communities where
| lawlessness has been most general and mos t
successful, there are editors of newspapers
and other influential citizens who speak out
and denounce these crimes against Tree
government. 1t Is plain that a sound pub
Tic opinion is forming where 1t Is most
needed. No community Can afford to
allow any of its citizens 10 be oppressed
to lose their rights. To be indifferent on
the subject is to disregard interest and
duty. 1he Union citizens and soldiers can
do much to remove the evils we are con-
sidering. Let it be understood that no
public man In any party will be sustained
unless be will undertake to carry out in
good faith the pledg7 made in all our plat
forms in regard to the rights OF colored
citizens. unless he will suOoork laws prO-