Year: 1866

nois, and when asked when he was willing
that the South should come in, he said he
was in no hurry. He would not be willing
until the right of free speech was recognized
on every foot of American soil from the At,
lantic to the Pacific; not until every man
can go into all portions of our country and
enjoy all its privileges not until constitution
al guarantees confer lasting peace not so
long as skeletons of Northern men hang
dangling from limbs oftrees in the South
until these things are changed, they shall
never come in until Gabriel blows his last
trump. [Applause.] He thought he par
tally understood his Democratic friends,and
in his State they were all for negro suffrage
He believed in universal suffrage, and he
would say to his Democratic friends that all
he wanted was fair race. He wanted the
same law for all men, and he thanked God
for this country and this government, which
patted him on the back and said he had as
good chance to rise in honor and dignity
as any one else in the country. He desired
fair race for honor in this country, where
all are citizens, whether they are English or
American, Chinese or African. It's fair race
and fair fight ; and he would say to his
Democratic friends that no doubt some
| of them could beat some of these negroes
Laughter They can't all be Fred Doug
lasses but if they the Democrats) would
read the Scriptures and join the Republican
party they had chance of beating many of
the negroes. He sometimes thought, and
his heart was glad at the prospect, that error
and human wrong is drawing to close He
was for man, everywhere, whether his skin
was Drowned by an American, an African, or
an Asiatic sun. The color of the skin was
nothing to him. He was for all men. Zap
plause.


Hon. W. D. Kelly of Pennsylvania said ::
The majority alone of those who said well
| done to Congress- is more than the entire
white voting population of the ten late in
surgent States and with this endorsement
he took the question ofthe admission of the
| Southern States to himself. He would say
when he would admit them. He was will
ing, when Congress shall have disavowed
| those bastard organizations which now rule
over the territory of the ten late insurgent
States when having disavowed the products
| of usurpation, it shall pass enabling acts by
which the whole people of each State shall
elect convention to form new constitutions,
which shall be submitted to the whole peo-
| of the State for their ratification and il,
when that constitution is thus submitted, it
shall be discovered that any citizen of any
township, though he he black as the the dew
il, is excluded from voting by reason of his
color, it shall be the cause for the rejection
of such constitution. Applause. When
the States come with constitutions republi-
can in form, he (Mr. Kelley will agree to
their admission. But until then he never
would agree to the admission of single one
of them.


At night the banquet was held. In reply
to toast, complimentary to Congress, Hon.
Thaddeus Stevens said


Ipray you, gentlemen, to strengthen our
nerves to do all these things, and more. Aid
us to make " treason odious : to seize the
largest estates of traitors and sell them in
small plantations to industrious men, and
apply the proceeds to pay pensions to SOL
diers and the debt of the nation Do not
permit us to allow these great criminals to
escape with but ample fines as warning to
future malefactors, as well as indemnity for in
juries inflicted" Can you not so brace our
nerves as to induce US to give impartial suff-





power2 Less than this with my consent
shall never suffice for reconstruction. Ihave
been mortified to see Republicans profess
that the new Amendment of the Constitu-
tion already proposed would satisfy them.
1t was never SO intended. 1t is one step, a
very mincing step, in the line of reform
But it might be adopted and leave this Gov
ernment despotism. Teach us to do thor
ough work not harsh but just work and
may disgrace follow those who are satisfied
with less. We give various excuses for our
shallow work. Some of US have too much
conscience some have too much heart some
have friends who own Southern plantations
I have no personal illusions, as lam not
speaking of what has happened but what
might.


know not what there is in the PROPOSE
ton that captivates sensible men. There is
the music of alliteration, universal amnes-
ty for universal suffrage" But that could
only crafty those who are "pleased with a
rattle" tickled with straw" Let us not
be content with such puerile work. We are
laying the foundation of a new empire, u.s.
ing all the materials of the old that are fit
for service. This empire is to embrace a
continent, and during the lives of some men
living it will contain one hundred millions
of people.


To be enduring, her institutions and laws
must be homogeneous ). to be just, they must
| be impartial. No man, or sect, or race must
be singled out for special legislation. Let
the same laws apply with strict impartiality
to every human being in the Republic, whetll-
er it be in Church or State, in civil or mill
tary life. Then we shall have realized the
glorious dream of liberty and equality
We shall have created an empire whose chro-
nology shall put China to shame-a republic
more perfect and more practical than we i'm
agined by Plato or More. H.


Speaker Colfax spoke in reply to toast
requesting speedy action by Congress, as fol-
| lows: el ..-.a


He knew right well that no indemnity for
! the past could be secured; we could not go
down to those cannon-furrowed battle-felds
and bring to life the mouldering bones of our
dead soldiers there; we could not restore
again to the widow her dead husband, to
the father his dead son; but, thank God, we
could have security for the future, and, so
help us God, we would have it. We inten-
ded to reconstruct this great nation saved by
the heroism of our brave men, upon such q
cornerstone of loyalty, liberty, justice, and
humanity, as shall stand, enduring as the
eternal ages, until, from ocean to ocean, from
the Lakes to the Gulf, every man, rich OF
poor, learned or unlearned, black or white
shall have that equal justice which was his
birthright, and until government was es
tablished to which every man, however hum
BILE, might look for protection against tyran,
ny at home. [Applause.] On that platform
| this CONGRESS stood and the Fortieth Con-