Year: 1866

seph E. Johnston are to be allowed hereaf-
ter to enter your National Capitol as legis-
lators and rulers ofthis great people. This
is the whole question, as is clearly seen by
Il glance at the two platforms announced
at Columbus, by the two parties within the
last month.


THE UNION PROPOSITION.


The party. calling itself by that name,
which has now become honored as the par
ty of the Union, declare that they accept
the constitutional amendment presented
to the American people as a fair and just
basis of the restoration of the Union.
IMMEDIATE RESTORATION.


The other party, defaming and disgrace
ing the name of Democrat. assemble also
in convention, and resolve that they are in
favor of the immediate and unconditionel
restoration ofthe States lately in rebellion
and in favor of their immediate as we'll as
unconditional representation in Congress.
lVoices-never, never!l The word ''im-
mediate is theirs, and you cannot mistake
the meaning of it. They are opposed, OF
course, to the constitutional amendments
they are opposed of course, to any new
guarantees being required for the safety
or life Of the Republic; they are opposed.
of course. to any new securities for the pro-
lection of person or property in the South
ern States of the Union after restoration
Ask any one Of their leaders what he
means by immediate and unconditional
restoration" and if you only assure linn
that your confidence may be relied upon,
by following his steps to tie privacy OF
his own home he viii tell you that he
means, without any constitutional guar
antics, without any test oath, without any
interference of any kind on the part OF
Congress; that when jeff. Davis, Robt
Lee, Joseph Johnston an all the rest OF
them, come to the Capitol and assume to
sit down in the halls Of Congress, or exer-
else the duties Of the highest Offices in the
gift of the people they shall bB allowed to
do SO without question.


DUTY TO AMEND.


They are opposed to the test oath as un-
constitutional and they are opposed to
the constitutional amendment because it
is unconstitutional. / have learned from
experience, and from the higher sources
of knowledge, that the first great principle
of American institutions as it is present
ed in Washington's Farewell Address, is
the right of1the people to change their
Constitutions o. Government whenever
change becomes necessary for the safety
of the liberties of the people. This is a
duty second to none that devolves upon
them on this earth. This struggle for four
years testified to all the world that amend
m@nts are needed in the Constitution of the
United Ssates.. 80 ..ss,s.- sr
i.F.-.. EQUAL civil RIGHTS. q- -.


That which stands foremost in the emu
meration is, that hereafter mo State shall
make or enforce any law which shall
abIidge the privileges or immunities OF
citizens Of the United States; nor shall
any State deprive any person of life,
liberty or property, without due process
Of law, nor deny to any person within its
Jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws ''.'~


Since nations first began to be OH this
planet, never was proposition like that
penned for the people of nation to adopt
or reject. No State shall deny to any per-
son no matter whence he comes, no mat
ter how friehdless, no matter how Hitter
ate=-no State in this land shall hereafter
deny to any person the equal protection
of the laws and the Congress shall have
power, by the authority of the American
people, to enforce this provision where ne
cessary. Who is there to object to it? Is
it objected to by any Christian man, to
embody in your Constitution at least the
simple golden rule you learned at your
mothers knee: Whatsoever ye would
that others should do unto you, do ye even
SO unto them;'' It is great step, but one
that ought long since to have been taken,
to say that henceforth no State shall deny
to any person, the lowliest among us no
more than to us who are the sovereigns of
this land, the equal protection of the laws.
That principle embodied in your Constitt1-
ton, as the will of this people, and we may
well say that justice has made this land its
habitation. [Cheers. The first attribute
ofDeity is to be recognized in the Consti-
tuition Of your country. I think this is one
way to make a nation immortal, to do jus
tice, to make the rights of all men as sa-
cred as our own.


EQUAL REPRESENTATION.


In the next place, the States of this Gov
ernment shall have equal representation,
according to their representative popula-
ton. You know that when this war be-
gan there were four millions Of slaves in
the land; that by the terms of the Consti-
tuition only three-fifths of that population
were counted in the basis Of representa-
ton. You know. too, that by the consum-
ing fire of that terrible conflict every fetter
fell from every human limb, from ocean to
ocean !; and when the storm cloud arose,
the sun upon his course in the heavens
looked not down upon a single Slave
[Applause.l


By means of the emancipation Of sla-
very, the three-fifths rule Of your Consti-
tuition was annulled; and the question to-
day is. whether South Carolina, with 400,-
900 of these black men, just emancipated
from thraldom. but excluded from all po-
litical rights shall now be counted, every
one, man for man, in the basis of repre-
sentation, along with the free men of Ohio,
who do participate in the administration
of public affairs. In other words, by
reason of this chahge,are the 100000 blacks
of South Carolina to county, ,notwithstand-
ing the letter of the Constitution, as
Sf7.na SO many of the free nODulatiOn