Year: 1868




ished condition of the Southern States,
from the fact that the county of Hamil-
ton, Ohio, pays more taxes than eight of
the Southern States What picture
this makes of the impoverished condi-
tion of these oppressed States. Give
us the Union again, the union of
hearts between the people. and these
States will pour their proportion into the
public treasury again. [Applause.] Say
to the men of the South you fought for
what you thought was right, and when
conquered submitted like men, only ask
ing to be treated as honorable. men.
Henceforth let us be friends. Zap
plause. Henceforth you shall have
protection. Say that to the Southern
people, and they will have the heart to
go to work, and that land will soon
blossom as the rose. [Applause.l It is
not six months since the cry of confis-
cation was heard in the halls of Con-
gress, uttered by that most persistent
prosecutor of better people, Thaddeus
Stevens. Loud applause. 1 appeal
to You. farmers of West Virginia, with
what heart could you cultivate your
lands, if you expected the next Con-
gress to take them and give them to ne
groes. Esg


WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. H


tits my solemn belief, if, when the
Confederate armies surrendered, we had
treated them with magnanimity, as brave
men should always treat vanquished
foe, saying "We fought this battle to
maintain the integrity of the Union
and the Constitution, and now that you
have laid down your arms, and acknowl-
edged the cause to be lost, we bury the
hatchet forever"-we believe all would
now have been harmony and good feel
ing, without the integrity of a single
State being impaired. The Southern
States would have been ready to beat
their swords into plow-shares, anxious
to follow the pursuits of peace. Had
we acted thus to-day, we would have
been more firmly united than when the
war began. 1 say this after mature re-
Election.


The war had the effect of convincing
both sections of certain things they did
not know before. Some in the South
thought that the people of the North
would not fight. This mistake was cor
rected. The-people of the North, some
of them, thought the Southern people
were impracticable, and could not carry
out extensive plans of operation in a
protracted war, and, with all their blus-
ter, perhaps would not fight so readily.
This illusion was rather dissipated by
the war. [Applause.l The war con-
vinced those who held such opinions, of
their mistake, and made both sections
respect each other. At least such were
the feelings of the soldiers on both sides,
and the people, as general thing, felt
the same way, until these Radical poll
ticians set themselves to work to pervert
the souls of the people-until they
commenced their series of oppres-
sive measures, introducing the four
teenth amendment, which they knew
no Southern man with a spark
Of honor or self-respect could, for
moment, consent to vote for. They
never expected men to vote for it. Men
could not be expected to write their own
dishonor in the constitution of their
country. These Radicals knew it could
never be adopted. They proposed it
that it might be rejected, so that they
might have pretense to keep the States
out of the Union and out of the enjoy
ment of their rights. 1t served its pur-
pose. 1t was got up and used for the
purpose of putting the heel of the negro
on the neck of the white man. They
abolished slavery that they might insti-
tute political slavery more absolute
that they might control the negro vote
to carry out their own party purposes
They would not allow the negro to vote
if they thought he would vote with the
South. They did not extend that priv
ilege with the understanding that the
negroes were to vote according to their
own instincts. or interests, but as loyal
leagues, organized and kept up by car
pet-bag adventurers. 1t was actuated
by no love for the negro.


RADICAL POLICY UNNATURAL.


The speaker did not believe this Rad
ical policy could continue. These men
were the worst enemies of the negroes in
extending to them the elective franchise.
1t was not natural. The white race
never yet met an obstacle it did not
overcome. [Applause.] 1t was impos-
sible to believe the white race could
submit to have itself ruled by a people