The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-12-05

begin with, the Pan-American Con.
gress and the Maritime Conference,
which have brought together in our
Capitol the accredited representatives OF
33 nations, to consider IN one case the
cementing of ties OF friendship and
commerce between the American re-
publics, and in the other the regulations
of navigation, are events of no ordinary
interest, and give promise OF enduring
and valuable results. The recommended
ton which the President makes that all
our representatives to the nations OF this
hemisphere be raised to the rank OF
ENJOYS Extraordinary and Ministers
Plenipotentiary which is the rank held
by the representatives accredited by
those nations to our Government-will,
we hope, be acted upon by Congress,
for the point of etiqSette involved is one
which will influence our relations with
these sensitive and somewhat pune
tilIous nations. The suspicious be-
ginning of work upon the Nicaragua
Canal and the settlement of the bound
airy questions arising between Nicaragua
and Costa RIGA are matters whose i'm
porIance jusliiies the allusion which the
President makes to them.
Two treaties are in readiness to be laid
before the Senate, one embodying the
conclusions reached at the Berlin Con
ference upon Samoan affairs, and the
other a new treaty of extradition with
Great Britain. There will be a great
deal of curiosity as to the provisions OF
each of these, and the matters dealt
with are of grave Importance. The
treaty of exradltion represents a more
pressing question than would otherwise
be the case, from the fact that the
operation of the Weldon extradition law
in Canada has been suspended, pending
the conclusion of this tretty. The
President refers hopefully to the pro-
gress of negotiations for the settlement
of the fisheries and other questions still
open between our Government and
Great Britain. His allusion to the new
Government IN Brazil is guarded but
cordial, and his announcement that our
government has accepted the invitation
to participate in the Anti slavery Con-
gress at Brussels will be received with
general satisfaction.
The New York Press, that staunch
Republican daily says: "Just such
message as might have been expected
from the sensible, conservative, practl-
cal man who made the remarkable series
of speeches in 1888 at Indianapolis, and
who gave the country one of the ablest
inaugural addresses ever delivered on
the steps of the Capitol"
President Harrison asks the questions
when and under what conditions Is
the black man to have a free ballot
When is he in fact to have those full
civil rights which have 80 long been his
in law? When is that equality OF In
fluence, which our government was IN
tended to secure to the electors,to be re
stored? This gene alton should cour,
ageously face these grave questions, and
not leave them as a heritage OF woe to
the next. The consultation should pro-
coed with candor. calmness and great
patience-upon the lines of justice and
humanity, not of prejudice and cruelty.
There is but one answer to THESE
questions. Congress must take up the
matter, and in accordance with its wei
defined constitutional powers pass
general law which will secure to all oul
people free exercise of the right oil
suffrage, and every other civil right
under the Constitution. This should be
the first act of Republican Congress
The colored man has right to demand
protection in all his relations to the
Federal Government. If State govern
ments and local authorities refuse to &C
cord him the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution, the National government
must step in and protect him. 1t II
right and just, and the people OF the
country, in spite of partisan misrepre
sentation, will support the Republican
party in it's wise and firm efforts to cor
rect this deplorable evil. Strengthen
and extend the federal lave as suggested
by the President.