Year: 1868

vided for in the Constitution, by the
passage of the first Reconstruction
Law. supplementary bill was found
necessary in March, another one in
July, and l believe another is found
necessary at this time; but the power is
with Congress. Whatever it shall
deem necessary, whether it be in the
way of eolored suffrage, whether it be
in the way of military power-what-
ever Congress shall deem necessary in
the execution of this guarantee is con.
elusive upon the courts, upon every
State, and upon the people OF this ma
tion.


Sir, when Congress entered upon this
work it had become apparent to all
men that loyal republican State gov
ernments could not be erected and
maintained upon the basis of the white
population. We had tried them. Con-
gress had attempted the work of recon-
struction, through the constitutional
amendment, by leaving the suffrage
with the white men, and by leaving
with the white people of the South the
question as to when the colored people
should exercise the right of suffrage, if
ever; but when it was found that those
white men were as rebellious as ever.
That they hated this Government more
bitterly than ever; when it was found
That they prosecuted the loyal men,
both white and black, in their midst:
when it was found that Northern men
who had gone down there were driven
out by social tyranny, by thousand
annoyances, by the Insecurity of life
and property, then it became apparent
to all mon of intelligence that recon-
5truction could not take place upon the
basis of the white population, and
something else must be done.


THE ALTERNATIVE BEFORE CONGRESS.


Now, sir, what was there left to do?
Either we must hold these people con-
t1nually by military power, or we must
useSuch machinery upon such a new
basis as would enable loyal republican
State governments to be raised up: and
in the last resort, and will say Com
gress waited long, the nation waited
long, experience had to come to the
rescue of reason before the the thing
was done-in the last resort, and as the
last thing TO be done, Congress deter
mined to dig through all the rubbish.
dig through the soil and the shifting
sands, and to go down to the eternal
rock, and there, upon the basis of the
everlasting principle of equal and ex-
act justice TO all men, we have planted
the column of reconstruction; and. sir
it will arise slowly but surely, and "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." Whatever dangers we apprehend
from the Introduction of the right of





mon, just emerged from slavery, were
put aside in the presence of greater
danger. Why, sir, let me say frankly
to my friend from Wisconsin. that
L approached universal colored
suffrage in the South reluct-
antly. Not because 1 adhered to
the miserable dogma that this was the
white mans Government, but because
entertained fears about at once in
trusting large body of men lust from
slavery, to whom education had been
denied by law, to whom the marriage
relation had been denied, who had been
made the basest and most abiect
slaves, with political power. And as
the Senator has referred to a speech
which made in Indiana, in 1865, allow
me 10 show the principle that then ac-
tuated me, for in that speech 1 said:


a. In NJ regard to the question of admitting
tne ireeumen OF the Southern States To vote,
ana that IN time all men will have the right
to vote without distinction OF color or race,
of slaves just freed from bondnae there
should be period of probation and prepara-
Ilon 1etoEe they are brought to the exercise
OF political power"


Such was my feeling at that time.
for it had not then been determined bv
The bloody experience of the last two
years that we would not reconstruct
upon the basis of the white population,
and such was the opinion of great
majority of the people of the North !:
anu 1t was not until a year and a half
after that time that Congress came to
the conclusion that there was no wav
left but to resort to colored suffrage and
and suffrage to all men except those
who were disqualified by the commits
sion of high crimes and misdemeanors.
THE CONSTITUTION ARE ITS


FRIENDS.


Mr.. President, we hear much said in
the course of this debate, and through
the press. about the Constitution. 1t is
said that in the reconstruction meas
ures or Congress we have gone outside
or the Constitution, and the remark of
some distinguished states man ofthe re-
publican party is quoted to that effect.
Sir, If any leading Republican has ever
said so, he spoke only for him self.
not for another. L deny the statement
IN toto. insist that these reconstruc-
tion measures are as fully within the
powers of the Constitution as any leg
1slation that can be had. not only bv
reason but by authority. And who are
the men that are talking so much
about the violation of the Constitution,
and who pretend to be the especial
friends OF that instrument? The great
mass OF them only three years ago
were in arms to overthrow the Consti-
tuition and establish that of Montgom-
cry IN its place, or were their Northern
friends, who were aiding and sympa-
thlzing in that undertaking.


had occasion the other day to speak
of what was described as a constitution
al Union mana man living inside of
the Federal lines during the war, svm-
pathizing with the rebellion, and who
endeavored to aid the rebellion bv in
sisting that every war measure tor the
purpose of suppressing it was viola
tion of the Constitution of the United
States. Now, these men who claim to be
the especial friends of the Constitution
are the men who have sought to destroy
1t by force of arms, and those through
out the country who have given them
aid and comfort. Sir, you will remem-
Der that once celebrated French wo-
man was being dragged to the scaffold,
and as she passed the statue of liberty
she exclaimed: How many crimes
have been committed in thy name;"
and l can say to the Constitution, how
many crimes against liberty, human
ity and progress are being committed
in thy name by these man, who, while
| lhey loved not the Constitution, and
sought its destruction, now, for party
purposes, claim to be its especial
friends.


DooLITTLE's "soUTHERN RADICALS. "


My friend from Wisconsin yesterday
compared what he called the Radical
party of the North to the Radicals of
the South, and when he was asked the
question by some Senator, "who are
the Radicals of the South" he said
"they are the Secessionists." Sir, the
SecessiOnists of the South are Demo-
Gratis to-day, acting in harmony and
concert with the Democratic party.
They were Democrats during the war
who prayed for the success Of McClel-
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