Year: 1866

length each section OF the amendments
proposed by Congress, and showed that
they were just and necessary.


Congress will stand by the test oath.
God put the flaming sword at he Gar
den OF Eden to guard the tree If life,
and Congress puts the testoath 10 guard
the tree of liberty.


Not one of the pretended govern
ments in the insurrectionary States
has ever been submitted to their peo-
pie. Tennessee was the only State
where they dared to submit it to a vote.
Since johnson has gone over to the
Copperhead party, two brokers' offices
have sprung up in New York, buying
Confederate bonds. These bonds are
mostly held in England, and their
owners could pay Sl0,000,000 in gold
to one hundred members of Congress,
to induce them to pay the rebel debt,
for that sum would not amount to the
interest for one year. When a man has
SlO0, 900 before him in hard money, he
can frame great many excuses in ia
voT of a measure. 1t will not do to
trust human nature too far.


He would not attempt to dictate to
members of the Legislature as to what
they should do. But he would say
that the loyal people elected them and
will hold them responsible for keeping
the State in the hands of loyal men.


In regard to negro suffrage, every
free man did vote in this State, up to
the general election in 1887, and ifyou
now allow them to vote you only put
the matter back to where our fathers
placed it.


You say the negroes make good sol
diers, but they are too ignorant to vote.
There is an inconsistency in this that
will not do for loyal men. Let US throw
aside our prejudices. Where do you
get the authority to make the distinc
ton of color? Christ made no distinc-
ton. He called all to come unto him,
and gave the command to preach the
Gospel to every creature, but he did
not speak of black, blue or yellow per-
sons. Give the negroe the ballot and
these same men who now talk loudest
about it will be the first to go after
him for his vote. If the Legislature
should enfranchise the colored man
tomorrow, in forty-eight hours you
would not hear anything about it on
these streets.


He did not believe in a property
qualification, but the franchise might
be based on intelligence. Some say
the negro will vote with the rebels
Well, when you give them a vote they
have a right to cast it for whom they
please, hut they did not fight on their
side, and they will not vote against
their friends. Those that wore the
blue will direct their ballots the same
way they did their shots. Whether
you adopt this measure now or not, it
will come as sure as the sun rises
Time is only wanting to insure its adop-
ton.


Adopt it in Tennessee and you stand
upon the top round of the ladder of
progress. You propose to hold Con-
Vention on the 22d of February, and
desire to carry the State next fall
There are thirty or forty thousand men
who stand ready to help in this: Will
you let them do it? The rebel ele-
ment of Davidson county alone would,
no doubt, contribute 100000, and
raise it in twenty-four hours, if by that
means, they could induce this Legisia-
ture to adjourn without doing any
thing.


He was not in favor of Congress 60
ing into the recognized States, but he
did hold that they had right to go
into these reconstructed States and say
by enabling acts what shall be done
He would not be at all surprised to see
this done at no distant day. There was
no telling what was in old Thad. Ste
vens' head. We hear it said that there
will be fight. Who are going to make
it Is it the men who carried the pixies
in Nashville during the war, or is it the
with Valandigham at
their head? No; there would be no
fight, and what is more, Congress will
Andrew johnson if they want
to do so.


We see it stated by some of the reb-
81 papers, that they would take negro
suffrage with the enfranchisement of
the rebels. He would make no such
trades. A loyal vote was not to be swap
ped for a rebel one at any time. If they
can stand the suffrage with universal
we can stand it without that.
Still he would make qualifications upon
and by all means the col
bred man who has been a soldier and
served his country in the field ought to
be enfranchised. Do this thing and it
settles the whole question, but as long
Is justice is withheld we can not expect
% get rid of the exciting causes of dis
Iuiet.


Mr.. Stokes spoke still further IN an
eloquent and exceedingly able manner,
md at the conclusion OF his speech was |
Enthusiastically cheered.