The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1881-05-06
IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
Further Defense of the South.

Senator Jones, of Florida, regretted
the absence Of the Senator from Maine,
(Frye,) and proceeded to reply to ccr-
tain portions of that Gentlcman's
speech. lie said he had been mortified
when he heard the Senator from Maine
getting in 4 dirty little narrow groove,
and undertaking to disparage and con-
denim whatever he could find objection.
able in any quarter of his country. The
Senator had characterized the civiliza-
tion of the North as a school book and
Bible, and that of the South as the
civilization Of slavery and barbarism.
The time had come when that kind OF
utterance ought to end. Were the
Southern people responsible for that
barbarism: Were the people Of New
England responsible for it: No; it
had been planted here by Il superior
power, by the mother country, and up.
held for years under the imperial
power of Great Britain. The State
from which he came was no more re-
sponsible for slavery or the evils grow
ing out Of it than the people of any of
the States of the Union. In this con-
nection he read from Burkc'Ss speech il,
defence of the colonies, III which, occurs
the sentiment that tho love of liberty
is strongest among the masters Of
slaves.
After short col!oquy with Hoar
with regard to this quotation from
Burke, Jones said that nothing morti-
fled him more than to find this qucs-
tion brought forth in connection with
tho Senatorial dead, lock. Slavery had
passed away, and there was not Il man
south Of tho Potomac who did not re-
jcicc ut it. It was not the part OF
dcccncy or of craftsmanship for any
from any quarter OF the
Union, to come forward, even for party
or political purposes, to dig up tho
carcass of slavery i'll order to .intlamc
and excite the public mind. lie criti-
cised what he termed the unwisc man
ncr in which the right Of suffrage had
been conferred upon the negro. The
manhood and spirit of tho South had
resented the domination of tho negro.
History would write that chapter, and
jnsticc would yet he done after the pre-
away, and when some future Macaulcy
or Gibbon should come to write the
history of reconstruction, it would be
found that the people of the South
would be vindicated in tho minds Of
mankind. He had read of :, good deal
of oppression and tyranny, and know
ing tho people of tho South from his
earliest boyhood, he had never expect
ed to live to see the day when that
proud and naughty race would be COM
PEELED, as he had sccn it, to humilitatc
itself in connection with this question
of negro suffrage. lie had never OK
pected to sec, rs he had seen, the day
when ignorant and thoughtlcss men,
inspired by nothing but race feeling,
would take possession Of the polls, and
offer every conceivable insult to white
men in order to provoke a quarrel, and
when those men would bear these
taunts and humiliationS for tho sake of
order. He then referred to the char
gcs made by Frye OF fraud and violence
in the elections in Florida, and read
extracts from the Democratic papers to
show that when fraud occurred in the
South il was denounced by tho Demo-
cratic press. The Senator from Maine
had spoken. ne said, of the murder OF
Il Republican by Democrat in Florida
for the purpose preventing testimony
being given in the contested election
case of Hisbec VS.. Hull. The fact was,
however, that the murder had been
by Il villainous negro Of the
Republican party upon one of the best
young white men of the State. In con-
Guiding his speech he devoted some
time to Il dcnunciation OF the method
by which the State of Florida had
been carried for Hayes in 1876, and
intimatcd that the present cry of the
Republican side for 4 free ballot and
fair count was hypocritical.