Year: 1868

d,,,a1 detsn but all over Europe. The same con-


AM Ana ~ ~ suffering and misery exisiB tAere.


a.. Inu sou are not justified In characteriziup


lns northern people as cruel because thess


- exist and are Inflicted theie in In


uFluuai cases. say, therefore Won cannot


cnaracierize the Southern people as being


cruel, because in certain Instances there


vas mss orpedlsy perpetrated upon the coloFed
| race. 4 DO not want 1t to no ont that a SEN.


ator OF that very race here represents that


the people OF the South were crnri haea,,ss


there were such and such punishmeuts in


hlcted: admit that these punishments


were inflicted. But, on the other hand


now oIten have you found the same Justice
aha klndness Exercised by planters upon


their plantations toward their slaves that a


isther shows to his own sons. Only yester-
day there was a boy here who once be-
longed TO me, who was in need Instead of
gong TO any of his political friends in


NeW orle ne Immediately came to me.
l had not seen him for two years. He told
me ne was without money. IkneW him,


because he had been my slave for seven
years, and during that lime never raised
my voice. In anger toward him. gave
MN what was necessary to take him back
10 MS home and family. | do not
stae @ ms case as singular or novel
one at all. know that similar
cases and feelings are common, and NV
Feelings and actions were but such feelings
and actions as are common with almost
every Southern gentleman.


You take, sir, man who has been in the
naplt or riding horse; no matter what the
delccts OF that horse mBy be- a feeling of
affection arises toward bin which it is i'm
possible to destroy. You talk TO men who
nave been in the habit of being with each
other; no matter what the faults of each
oother may be, they acquire an attachment
/ eacn other wh CT ca ses them to
csA upon and adhere 10 each osner in times
OF Distress 80 it was with regard to the
condition OF slavery; though there we're
undoubtedly many cases of cruelty, there
were also, sir, many cases of kindness. And
therefore desire that when this case goes
out to the world that the people of the
South shall not be misrepresented


Mr. O'Hara: Mr. President, do not rise
vote. l


have always been of the opinion that


dlsfranchising any portion OF the people was


an evil. | hope that good results will
spring from this amendment to the Consti-
| tuition. 1t Will at least place the Republi-
can party IN its proper light as party ad-
vocati1g equal rights and equal Justice to
all men. have ever claimed since | COM
menced taking part in political aff airs that
every man had the same equal rights before
the law that | had. claim that to-day,
and ever expect to stand by that doctrines
and | contend that if | advocate that prin-
clpie tcr the colored man, am bound to ad-
Vocate the same principles in favor of the
white man. Viewing the past, can see
much that has been wrong in their course
toward the colored race in this country. I
see much wrong which has been done by
the very parties whom we propose to en-
franchise, but this furnishes no reason why
we should do likewise. Two wrongs will
never make right. hope that the action
OF the Republicans of this body will be
unanimous upon this question and that we
Will go upon the record as making this
promise: Universal amnesty and universal
suffrage. Then there will no no bone of
contention and the people will have nothing
to bghtfor. Our political opponents can
| not then say to us: Then as Republicans


that we oppose yon because you oppose us
| and disfranchisc the white man and at the


same time enfranchise the colored man.
! Then let US blot this prohioition-ihls dis
| tinction from the Constitution let us do
| away with it, aud ifthey chance to gain the
! ascendency and they choose to becsme op-
pressors, let the responsibility rest
| upon them. Some remarks have been


made here to-day in reference to


the part of the country I used to live in in
my bOyhood, but they were ir1evelant and
We could have got along very we'll without
them. used to live in loyal Massachusetts.
1t was claimed here that the system of labor
there was fully as bad as that of the South.
4 hAbN HS4A+NAnAi4E UbuQI Lldbs duu ny IEIGI-
| renee has been made to it in a manner that
might create false impressions, / feel it nv
duty to say word in reply. The labor there
Is arduous 1t is true; those poor womenlhave
to work; but no one need tell me that they


are not looked upon with the same amount


OF respect that other parties are; that any


one is contaminated because they labori in


acotton factory. The argument itself only
| proves the theory that If you give a man


aosolute power he will abuse it; so it was


here and so it was there, and so il is every


where. This is the reason why slavery was
wrong, this is the reason why oppression of
any KIND is wrong. The only way to pre-.
vent such wrongs is to guarantee TO every


one free choice in the selection of their
rulers, no matter whether they lave ten cents
| or ter thousand dollars. For these reasons


and hoping to see this principle firmly


Piaceu upon our staute books, and


hoping to see II enjoyed by The whole


people, rich and poor, white and black. I
| will vote for the proposition to adopt


that resolution. In order that my
motives should not be misunderstood by the
people, desired thus to explain my vote
know that parties will as has been stated
| on this floor, use this question for their own
political advantage. But know that the
| common sense of the people that represent
| Will sustain me in my action here in giving


my vote for this amendment.


Mr.. Campbell: Mr. President, I do not
AAeS ioI stCouu time Ior the purpose OF
making speech, but merely to embrace an


opportunity Of replying to one or two re-
marks falling from several Senators who
have advocated the passage of this amend
ment, which deem improper to be passed


BY In silence. / wish in the first place to
alude to the remarks ofmy. colleague from
the Second District. He referred to motives
which might actuate parties in wishing to
continue the 'dlstranchtsement, whatever it
may be whichis enforced by this section of
the Constitution. He said that he believed


that IN some persons it probably was the
personal motive of excluding from voting
men whom they knew would not vote for
them. Now, sir, | shall not for one moment


suppose that remark applied to any Senator
upon this floor, but I will merely state


that it is too near the time when the


great causes for this article in this Con-


stitution, and for a similar article of dis
tranchisement In the laws of the United
States-t is too near the time when these
causes took place to justify the imputing to


person favoring such disfranchisement
personal motives. The matters In issue are
too momFctous. They involve nothing


less than the life and the safety of mis-
country. IL is upon the great Principle of
self-preseryati0n that power should not be
restored to the hands which sought thede-
struciIon OF the country that these disfran-
ehising clauses have been Incorporated into
the Constitution Of the State and the laws
the senator says he is not afraid to en-
Hahcnise any set of men. This is not The
question. 1t was not the opinion Of the
great men who inserted the clanse In the
laws OF the United States, from which this
article in our Constitution was drafted, that