Year: 1867




Constitutional Amendment proposed
by tWO-thirds andrEnore of Congress, to
ithe people Of the seeded States, say
ling, of you viii adopt that Amend.
ment you may come into Congress and
be represented there, provided, YOU
will send to us loyal men who love 9
Republican Government" Were these
hard terms, my friends? Was there
anything tyrannieal in that? Was
there anything that an honest man
could not do? We wanted no traitors
in the councils Of our nation, and by
the favor Of God we never will have
them. [Cheers.1 Now, what argu.
ments did they put forth on the other
side against that Constitutional
Amendment, that our legislators in
their wisdom and intelligence prOpos-
ed to their constituents last winter ?
i Why, the Constitutional Amendment
was this, that if the seeded States
would permit the colOred men to vote,
then they might have representation
based upon their. numbers. If they
thrust them out and would not per
NIT this need of justice to prevail,
then they should be restricted to what
they had heretofore. Was there any
thing wrong in that? Is there any
man here who wishes to give prem
ium to traitors by giving them great
er number of representatives in Con-
gress, because they had raised their ac-
cursed arms against the best Govern
ment in the world? That was the pO-
sitiOn that the Democratic party, so
called, in this State and in other States,
took. They said, that while slavery
prevailed you had only a certain rep
resentatiOn for the enslaved. Five
shall count equal to three freemen in
the representation of Congress. That
was in the old Constitution, as a COM
promise made at the time when sla-
very prevailed throughout the seeded
States and others. Now, we propose,
since we have freed the slaves, q rep
resentatiOn, like that of the Northern
States, for every freeman. Then you
must give these freemen the right Of
suffrage, and If they are not good
enough to vote, they are not good
enough to let you have their votes by
reason of their numbers. That was
all I asserted before. Their declara-
ton was that because those men had
committed treason and forfeited the
right to hold slaves, they should there
fore by reason Of that crime, receive a
larger representation in Congress. -
That the traitor, itsead of being hung
for his crime, should have greater in
fluence in that Government he sought
to destroy than if he had remained a
true and loyal man. All this Val
landigham cOntended for last year. I
have no fear of such doctrines prevail
ing. I have no fear of such DemOcra-
cy as is the doctrine that all men are
equal before the law, and each stands
on the same privilege, unless forfeited
by crime. There are no doubt men
here who have strong prejudice against
the cOlOred men, the result of educa-
ton. Men are not to blame for that,
but they are to blame if they suffer
what they know to be prejudice to pre-
vail on them to do injustice to any
body.


ARGUMENT AGAINST NEGRO sUF-


FRAGE.


One of the strongest arguments
against giving the coIUred man voice
in the Government, is that he is ignO-
rant; but there is none so ignorant but
they would hang him for violation of
law.


The law excuses no man on ac-
count of his ignorance, and yet that
would exclude him from a voice in
making the law that is to punish him.
Will this objection stand with the
American people? Is it not thequint-
essence of monarchy and aristOcracy?
A Government is free in exact proper
tion as it extends the right of govern
ment to its citizens. A despOtic power
don't permit any man to have part in
the government, and free government
is despOtic in exact proportion as it
excludes citizens from the right of
government.


Do you wish to adopt the argument
of the British tories, who to-day are
struggling to keep down the masses Of
citizens whom they have ground to
powder for generations? 1 hope tOI
God we shall stand by our true prinCi-
pies, until we have taught every ma
ton under heaven the true principle
of government, and the labOring men
come forward everywhere, and claim
their just part in all that belongs to
them. This great issue depends upon
the faithfulness of the Republican par
ty of the United States. If we shrink
from our integrity, the aristOcracies of
the world will rise in triumph and be-
come seven fold more the children of
hell than heretofore. What are the
arguments put forth by mOnarchs and
aristocracies to maintain their craven,
selfish status in the governments they
have so long controlled? Exactly the
same as this candidate for Governor
put forth in his late speech TO persuade
the American people that we have a
class of men among us too ignorant to
participate in their government. If
you dOn'tarm the meek and lOwly with
the power to protect themselves in a
government. who will look to their
rights and save them from the accursed
domination of the aristOcrats? Hav-
ing followed the cause of the Republi
can party in all its great deeds thus
far in the progress Of the last few
years, who is there that could now
leave them in this issue without Civ
ing the newly made freemen the pow
er TO protect them? Who would do
SO were never real Republicans. There
was a leaven Ofthe Pharisee in you
which will corrupt the whole mass.
We must relieve these men from the
domination of their masters; which
was dragging our free Republic down
to the bottom of ariStOcratiC supeTcil-
iOusness. Will you stop now in this
great battle when there is but one step
more to make our triumph complete?
The Republican party stands for the
right, and in the approaching election
| r. will Iriv-o thn LAST nail in the coffin