Year: 1866




right as any body else, and no more, to


claim and exercise certain rights and
/ privileges in this country that at least,


loyal men should be entitled to. want


to be recognized in this land as a soldier


of the Republic, and not q disgraced


man. l want to be recognized at the


same time as man who has done more


for his country than a traitor TGreat


cheering. | want it to be established in


this land that Gen. Sherman, who stands


before the American people in a prouder


light, morally, socially, politically, and
every other way, is better man than


Joe Johnson-s man who fought against
him in the armies of treason. That is
what / want to see. l want to see trea-
son made odious, and loyalty respectable.
| Cheers. Then how will we do it? If


l were a member of Congress to-day, and
/ they urged this dogma before me of loyal
men being admitted to Congress. 1 would
ask how many loyal men have you sent
up here? But they could not count over
I forty odd and find four in the whole
number; and would say, gentlemen,
you had better go back and try it again.


Cheers. would say to these people,
you forfeited your rights.


AMENDMENT.


1t seems to be terrible thing that we
cannot get along without these people
having a representation in Congress.
believe about four years we got along
without them, and am not in as great
hurry as some people to have them there
again. l have heard some of their blus
tering and blowing in the halls of Con-
gress in the years gone by, while they
coneocted treason; and until this ques-
ton is settled, l would say, never again
shall you rise in the halls of Congress. 1
would do this by amending the Constitu-
ton. l do not want TO hear any more of
their clustering in the halls of Congress.
Cheers. | want the loyal men to claim
the fruits of their victories, and l do not
want them to yield one particle until our
efforts shall be crowned with success
until the full fruits of the Union cause in
this country shall be realized. Until that
time comes, then, the time has not come
for the restoration to these traitors of
their rights, civil and political. [Cheers.


Now, l do not care whether that time
comes tomorrow or whether it does not
come in four years, so far as l am person
ally concerned. Whenever the Consti-
tuition is amended so as to give US this
protection, then L am ready to say the
time has come that they shall elect their
members of Congress according to the
laws of Congress. But until these things
are done their rights shall not be restored,
if the question is left to me. Cheers.


When we look throughout the land,
who do we find opposed to this amend
ment? You find some few loyal men,
Of course l am not going to say that
every man who opposes it is disloysl. l
am not going to say that every man is
dlsloyal that thinks the Constitution
needs no amendment, but l say a major
ity oppose it on the same grounds that
they opposed the War-because they
favor treason and traitors, and are op-
posed to the welfare of the general Gov
ernment. that is the reason for it and
none other. When 1 find man who has
been loyal throughout the war opposing
this proposition, only feel that man is
honestly mistaken. But when l find
man that has been against US during the
war opposed to it, only say to him, you
are following in the same path you pur-
sued four years, and l could expect no
better things of you. Cheers.


Now, my fellow citizens, how are we
to act in this great contest which is to
settle this question? l know that 1 am
not capable of using such arguments be-
fore you as would induce you to favor my
notions unless your minds were inclined
in that direction, and if 1 fail-if we all
fail-to bring forth such arguments as
will induce you to favor these PROPOSE
tions, then we ask you to travel back
some four or five years. Let the two
hundred and fifty thousand graves of
loyal men that are to-day on Southern
soil, appeal to you, saying to you, "as
we've bled in the cause of our country
as we gave up our lives in the cause of
freedom-we appeal to you now, as our
friends and relations, to protect the silent
earth that covers our ashes, for all time
to come, and from the shame, the infa-
my and the disgrace of being placed, or
having our children placed, upon an
equality with JEFF. Davis, or those men
who organized this rebellion against the
Government. In the name of all that is
good and great, in the name of heaven
and all therein, and of earth and all that
appear thereon, we appeal to you to
make this line so deep, and broad, and
wide between the loyal patriot and lead
ing traitor that future generations, as
they pass along, may read it in plain let
ters of living light, that the traitor goes
down to his grave beneath the SCOTS and
scorns of a Yirtuous people, while halle |
lujahs and requiems shall be uttered over
the grave of the patriot so long as free |
dom is vouchsafed to the land. Loud |
cheers.


CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.


Fellow citizens in the Civil Rights Bill |
~ ~, av,1 fha G,,,E
ton of this amendment to the Constitu- |
ton it is declared that every person born |
in the United States of America, shall be |
a citizen thereof, giving to them the
privileges and immunities of an Ameri- |
can citizen, which are their civil rights
the right to sue and be sued, the right of
protection of person and property, and
the right of locomotion-the right to go
where they please, live where they please,
and get property where they please,
without the bestowment of any political
rights unless the States themselves shall
deem it proper to cast them upon them.
There Is no Government on earth but
ought to make every human being a cit
izen. do not mean by that to give them
the privilege of voting or holding Office,
but they ought to give them the right of
so that they may be protected
by the laws and the flag wherever they
are. A woman is citizen, a child is a
citizen, and a red man is citizen, or
ought to be if he lives like a civilized
nan, and so ought the black man to be.
1t gives them no other right but the
light have mentioned. l want to know
f there is not sufficient magnanimity in
great Government like this to say that
he woman, the child, or the red or the
black man is a citizen of the United
States, and can claim her protection
whenever it is demanded. That would
,e singular Government which required
man to pay taxes and bear the burdens
# Government, and yet when he de-
handed protection, would say to him,
Sir, you are not an American citizen"
want every human being to be citizens;
nan woman and child, irrespective of
,oloT.
But" say some of the opposition, ''if
rou do that you make voters out of the
people," 1t does no such thing. If the