Year: 1866

tify for the same reason that the wife
ought not to testify either for on
against the husband. Would you ask
negro to testify against his master,
TO go back TO that master and be sub.
jccted to his ill-wil because of his tes-
timeny2 Would you allow him to
testify for the master as against q par
ty Oh the other side CertaS nly not.
But now this state of things has pass
cd away Now the people of the
southern States themselves, so far as
understand them, are in favor ofopen-
ing the courts to ali these classes OF
people. And, sH, they must open
them for their own security. / am
willing to leave that to themselves
their own interest will compel them
to allow all people 10 testify unless
they are excluded by those disabilities
thathave heretofore excluded witness
es from testifying" If the honorable
Senator from Massachusetts, ard those
who think with him desire that these
people should have the right of suf-
frage, why not say so broadly?


Mr.. SUMNER. ] do say so.


Mr.. COWAN. Very well that is
so much that is clear; make it broad
liy; we may differ from him. but the
people win decide. / am perfectly
willing to acquiesee in their decisieE
| do not care which way it is but
the people will decide that qnestion,
and they will decide 1t promptly. If
the honorable Senator from Massachu-
setts wants to hold the doctrine that
these States are not States; that they
are not constituent members Of this
Union, let him say so there is q tri-
bunal TO winch that can be referred.
Ii he wishes to take Issue with the
President on these points, let the is
sue be made fairly and squarely, and
it will be met Thank God, in this
Government, not hike that ef Russia
which he has eulogized, there is a pow
er above Us all; there is q power to
whose arbitrament and award we can
appeal, and who will settle this thing
conclusively


Now, Mr.. President, am for recon
citation. / want to have this Union
restored and q Union means Union
by consent, not by force. Iwouldl ike
to make friends Of all the people with
whom we have been at ennlity here.
;ofore. do not want the contest to
20 on any longer But are we to
make friends with them, and are they
TO be reconciled 10 Is, and are they
to behave better By such speeches as
have been made by the honorable SEN
ator here today very much doubt
IT, DO not think that he will i'm
prove the condition of the southern
heart, or the condition Of the southern
mind, by thus parading these excep-
tional cases TO the people ofthis coun-
try, and stimulating and exciting their
angry passions more than they are
now against this unfortunate people
unfortunate in every respect; un-
fortunate on account of their errors ;
unfortunate on account of the penalty
which has followed those errors, and
which they have suffered.


Mr.. President, let us look at this
testimony. The honorable Senator,
as ! said before. reads from annony-
nous letter-writers, from cotton agents
and people of that kind. Now, it does
so happen that we have some testi-
mony upon this subject we haze some
testimony of the President Of the Uni
ted States, not a summer soldier or
sunshine patriot


Mr.. SUMNER ] have not read
anonymous letters.


Mr.. COWAN. They are anOny-
nous so far as we are concerned; and
] commend the Senator's prudence in
keeping the names of their writers
from the public, because / have no
doubt that if their names were known
they would not be considered OF much
Importance. verv much doubt wheth-
er there is a single man among them
who has ever welded anything more
than a pen during this rebellion. But
/ say that we have the testimony of
men of unexceptionable veracity; we
have the testimony of the President of
the United States, who was a Union
man, and who was in favor OF the
Union at n time and in a place where
there was some merit in Il. do not
suppose there was any great merit in
being Union man in Massachusetts.
/ suspect man would have been
very likely to get lamp-p0st if he
had been anything else there but the
President of the United States was a
Union man in the very thick and
storm of the battle. He was driven
from his home; he was waylaid hithcr
IN order TO attend to his official duties
IN tins body. He has stood by the
Constitution, by the Union, all the
way through, steadily and firmly. and
as a compliment to him the great par
ty to which l belong, and to which
be did not belong. and never rretend.