The West Virginia journal. [volume], September 26, 1866, Image 2

About The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877

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Mmilt
. )lomttaiuecrs are Always Prcc .
?? Eternal Klytl>mrr l? the 1'rice of Liberty."
^uEOOJE^E &c BRO.,
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MtlijtW JiJ^rr
WEDNESDAY. SEPrE^DSRSO. 1900.
Election, Thursday, Octoier 25, Mj
ynion State Ticket,
;
kor <i<>vj t:xgn, v
AH Till'!: I. UuKKMaX.
?lcrv.takv or statu,
Col. JOHN' S. WITCHED
attop.n'ev OENniMt..
M.k.'. T I! A V K R .M ? L V I X.
/.I'M r^R,
. J. 1 1. Mi WHoRTER.
? tk::.wkei\
Ca^:. J. Ii R I S T 0 li.
or <?ru; <-r aitkals,
K D W I X M A X W K I. L.
>01: hTATU MkNATui;, (7th District,)
u R i: I! X IS t* R V S L A C K.
Union County Ticket.
ron mikrifi*.
JOIIX W. SEX T 2. .
t'LKKK ritcCl'IT COIT.T,
JOIiX SLACK.
hKl ? ?ul'i.'it,
J Oil X .f. I'ULSLE Y.
TSK
I.. A. M A I: T I X.
hTATU's A'lToKNKV,
C. U\ SMITH.
xt hvt.vo::,
JOIIX S. I.' L" X X I X G H A M.
ASsENS<>K flTKR WSTKICT,
\ni. i'. r o w x.
assessor r.owKt: wstrict,
.TOIIX II. l\ AULTZ.
uocsr. ok i>su>;atk*,
II. t\ McWHORTKR,
JOIIX \V. CRACRAFT.
IjHh'jM'iijIeiit Candidate.
you miem:-t,
V.* AT. SOX KAST V.'OOD.
U the *r:t:uc played by Secretary;
Kiuvil in ISfJO, to be repeated? The
Cincinnati Coin>n-:r:iid save :
There are <L-ight monitors 44 laid up " ;
ar New Orleans, each armed with two;
fifteen- inch guns, and all guarded by j
a:i imposing array of scveuty-fivo men. I
This, in connection with t)ie fact no- j
tired in a former issue that there are1
armo for two hundred thousand meni
x? one arsenal in Louisiana, guarded !
I
by a single regiment, may mean some
thing.
The Chicago Times of the 17th, re
lates the following as having occurred j
in that city the day previous :
A man of robust health, and in the !
prime of lite, is accused of a crime tin- i
der circumstances of almost positive!
proofs of guilt, and. while he calls up* J
?>n God to bear witness to his inno-j
cenee. is struck dead almost before the (
appeal has left his lips. Iueredible as j
the circumstances may appear, they i
are literally true.
The man was a Swede, a tailor, and j
lodged at a boarding house No. 144,'
Burnsido street. He was accused of |
stealing, and. after other imprecations, |
asked God to ??strikt- him dead on the|
spot'' if he was guilty, when he im-j
modiatelv began to reel and stagger,'
? o no ' i
and fell to the iloor dead.
A correspondent vfthe Cincinnati i
Commercial* writing from New York, !
says : Judge Advocate General Holt ?
has published in pamphlet form a com
plete vindication of himself from the!
Hositu'its of Montgomery I>lair and oth
er assassins of character, based on the
conspiracy trial and San ford Cono
ver's perjury therein. This pamphlet
is entitled a Viudicatiou of Jadge
Advocate General Holt from the foul
Slanders of Traitors, confessed perju
rers and suborners, acting iu the in
terest of Jcfter-o:j Davis."
John T. Dkuky, an Indiana soldier,
"who lost a leg at the battle of Chicka-!
lnangn, was appointed Postmaster at
Oolnmbia city, Indiana, by President
Lincoln. On the loth instant, he was
removed by President Johnson, and a
copperhead appointed in hit place.
And thisVasdone U'cause this crip
pled soldier1 had written a letter in
which he stated that he was aan An
?ly" Johasoa man, but not a copper
boad."
-- ? ? ?.< ? *
? Ts New York the Union party haa
^ r4-jVoai hiatal Gov. Fenton, and the
Democrats* havo nominated Hoffman,
vx-raayor of New York citr. aa their
randidcte.fpr Governor. ..
Candida ^5 for Congress.
The Coogresiiangl Convention of
Cuion delegates who met in this place,
last Tbnraday,^ wigely made choice
of one- of our most faithful Union
. leaders.: j '$ h
?-Judge Polsley was among the first
to range himself upon the Union Bide
iu the beginning of the rebellion, and
there he has stood faithfully, unfalter
ingly, and consistently ever since. He
was chosen the firot Lieut. Gorcruor
vf the re-organized Government of
Virginia, and in that capacity con
tributed as much, perhaps, as auy
other tnuu, to shapo the destiny of the
new State. Although his homo was
sometimes invaded, and ho was com
j polled to leave it, to avoid imprison
I tnent or death, yet ho never abated l
jhio ;:cal aud energy in tho Uniou
cause.
After tho organization of the new
State, he was elected J udgo of the Cir
cuit in which he resides, which posi
tion he has filled, not only to the sat
isfactiou of his Union friends, but
with 60 great impartiality and justicoi
that even those who are hostile to him!
and the government he represents are!
left without any cause of complaint.
There is considerable regret that it
becouics necessary, in order to sub
servo the interests of tho Uniou cause,
for t^jc J udgo to leavo his present po
sition, where he has so eminently de
fended loyalty, patriotism and justice.
But the time has come when wo need
iu the halls of Congress from our dis
trict a man of his steady, persevering, [
unflinching loyalty, and his constitu- i
cuts can safely rely upon him to sup
port the Union cause. There need be
no fear that he will be swerved frotu
the straightforward course he has al
ways pursued, by executive favor or
by a democratic partisan bias, norj
scared lrom tho support of just and !
Republican measures by the senseless!
hue aud cry of "nigger equality,"
raised principally by those who arc
tender on that subject, becauso they
have rcndcrod themselves liable to the
charge of equalizing themselves with
the darkey.
In such stormy times as theso, we
have some reason to anticipate that
in the next Congress we cannot be
better represented than by Judge
Polsley, whose experience, patri
otism, and cool judgmont will not
commit tho country to any hasty or
reckless course. Let us, therefore, |
stand together in the coming election,
and roll up a heavy majority for the
Judge.
Tbc Cleveland Convention
Composed of 4k Conservative" sol
diers, who did not, we aro satisfied,
represent a very largo constituency j
at home, met in Cleveland on the 17th J
irist., and proceeded, unanimously, |
like the Philadelphia Convention ofj
tho 14th of August, to do nothing ; \
or rather, they endorsed the proceed- j
ings of that Convention, which Gen. |
Schenck very aptly and truthfully
style* tho " Say-nothing, Do-little "
Convention. Wo have looked in
rain through tho proceedings to find 1
any matter of importance to lay before
our readers, but find nothing but two
speeches from Generals Wool and
Kwing, on tho first day, and the re
ception of, and answer to, a congrat
xOatorg dispatch from the rebel Gen
eral Forrest and other rebels of Mem
phis, Teun., many of whom, doubt
less, participated in tho bloody aud
brutal riot which has forever dis
graced that city, as Gen. Forrest him
self is disgraced by his inhuman,
worso than savage, massacres at
Vieksburg and elsewhere during the
war. We also find the names of but
few, if any, of our fighting Generals
in this Convention ; aud tho lack of
enthusiasm, aud the entire absence
of demonstrations of welcome by tho
citizens of Cleveland, were quite no
ticeable. The dispatch from Memphis
was as follows :
CONGEATCHTED BY REBELS.
Mentis, Tijcjr.. Sept. 17.
To tho President of tin* Soldiers' Contention,
Cleveland, Ohio:
Soldi* r? of the lute Confederate army met here
to-Jny, and deputed the undersigned to congrat
ulate your Couveniion in your effort* to reetoro
poitco- and quietude to the country, and to ex
press their deep sympathy with your patriotic
purpose, and further to aMurv you that the Con
federate soldier* are entirely witling to leave the
determination of their rights u citizen* of States
and of the United SUtca, to the soldiers of the
I'nion,
On our part we pledge ?ecurity of life, per*oc,
and property, and freedom of speech and opin
ion to all. A mass meeting will b? held here to
morrow (Ttrwday) night to give fortaal expres
sion to these purposes and sentiments. ?
N. B. FORREST.
LEON TRUE8DALE,
i M. C. GALLOWAY,
MARCUS JORDOK.
I. HARVEY MATIIER.
JAMES R. CHALMERS,
L. J. DEEPSIE. ;
To which tho Chairman, General
Gordon Granger, prepared the follow;
in# rrpponw " to w.r Iqt tfriendg in
arms against us," as bo ptyjed these
men who chose human butohcrt Jtoj
represent their " patriotism : "
AE ai
;*HI UTLY TO MIMHIl* A?,Jk>r?ftVtD.
Soldier*' ,?ftU .Sailors' Convention, Cleveland.
Ohio, to*- K. B. Forrest, Marcus Jordon and
otborv Memphis, TennesMic t
Tlw National Convention of Soldiers nudSail-l
on as?emb]?4 beiv, ore profoundly grateful for |
the patriotic sentiments expressed in your din- 1
patch. ^ '
We hail with pleasure every effort to restore
peace, prosperity, and brotherly affection
throughout our country. War boa its victories,
hut p<*ce and union arc blessings for which we
will nmDfully contend until harmony and justice
arv restored "under the constitution. 1
GORDON GRANGER,
President of CoiiTvulioii ;
G. A. CUSTER.
JAMES li. STEEDMA.V,
J01IX E. WOOL,
THOMAS EW1NG, Jk..
TllOS. L CUllTENDKX.
Til OS, E. li It AMLE1TK.
When a mau is congratulated by
an avowed enemy, il is a pretty sure
sign that he is on the wrong track.
And tlje 8{inje will apply equally well
to conventions. For no one but an
idiot will pretend that the South arej
favorably disposed to' this Govern
ment, and havo renounced in good
faith the heresies of Slate Sovereign
ty, secession, and even the flesh-pots j
of slavery. Docs not even A. II.
Stephens? who, it is claimed, was a:
good C'nion (?) even while Vice
President of the Confederacy ? eon - j
tend that all laws and doings of Con
gre6s during the war arc null audi
void, because the rebel States were not ;
represented ! And lie was a delegate
to the Philadelphia Convention,
whose action the Cleveland Conven i
tioti endorses. And as even i>resi- 1
dent Johnson has hinted us tnuch,
what guarantee have we that slavery, |
the cause ol' the war, is abolished ? We!
repeat, then, that these men who uu- j
dertook, through the Cleveland Con-j
vention, to congratulate the Union;
soldiers and sailors, lire not recon-j
structed nor repentant. They havej
been defeated on the field, but, wily |
as the fox, they hope, by flattery and!
friendly pretensions, to be restored,
to power, where they can gain that'
by the ballot which they failed to;
achieve by the sword. W ill you, then. !
loyal and brave defenders of your |
country ? will you be " congratulated" |
by your bitterest enemies f .You have j
the same class of meu in your midst. ; j
you know them but too well. Then
answer at the October elccMon, when!
every Union vote will be counted as an j
emphatic 'no,' to admitting traitors to j
power, and every ''conservative"!
vote will encourage Andrew Johnson!
to resist the peoples determination!
that rebel States shall furnish guaran- j
tees of their sincerity, in the adop
tion of the proposed Constitutional j
Amendment, before they shall be ad |
mitted to Congress, and then they!
shall oiily be represented by loyal ?
men.
You are too sensible to allow the
??conservatives^'to scaroyou out by the
cry of ,l nigger." It is a recognized
principle embodied in the Constitu
tion, that the regulation of suffrage is
(and it always has been) left entirely
with tho States, and there are not five
hundred men in the State of West
Virginia who would vote for bestow
ing the right to vote upon the negro.
We have repeatedly signified our op
position to it, and hooted the idea ol
"nigger equality." All we have to
say on this latter question is, that the
negro will bo equal to any man who j
puts himself on a Uvel icit'i the ?
negro. We are not afraid of his be
ing our equal.
But we will notice one other mat
ter connected with this u so-called v
Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention of
Cleveland, (the real and true one as- j
sembled in Pittsburg yesterday.) A f- ;
ter modestly calling themselves 'l the\
i Union soldiers and sailors," and en
dorsing the Philadelphia Convention,
they passed a scries of resolutions,
one of which is as follows :
2. That our object in taking up arms toj
suppress the Into rebellion was to dcf?-n?l and |
majutain the supremacy of the constitution, and i
to preserve the I'nidn with nil the dignity, j
equality, and rights of the several States j
( unimpaired, and not in any spirit of op
: pression, nor for any purpose of conquest j
| and subjugation, and that wherever there]
shall Ik? any armed resistance to the lawfully
constituted authorities of our National I'liioti,
either in tbc South or in the North, in the East
; or in the West, emulating the self-saeritieiny
j patriotism of our revolutionary forefathers, we
I will again pledge to its support our lives, our lor
j tuues, and our sacred houor.
Th ia was inteuded to sound very
patriotic, but the resolutions, <fcc.,
being cut and dried in this Conven
tion, just as they were in that of
August 14th, at Philadelphia, and
no debate bci ug allowed, we fear very
many of the delegates, even, did not
fully understand its hidden meaning,
which is, undoubtedly, that ifCongress
shall not submit to " My Policy," aud
the President shall, in his madness,
become liable to, and be impeached by
that patriotic body, that they will
take up arms to sustain the President.
This is the true meaning of the above
resolution, and is, undoubtedly, the
wire- working of Andrew Johnson ;
and u My rolicy" has become a
dogged detormi nation to rult or ruin
this glorious Union. Has it come to
this? that a President has, or can,
receive encouragement to become a
dictator! Soldiers, consider well the
timet, for they arc fraught with dan*
gor to your liberties, of which many
little dream. Bo awake then, and
teJUlie would: bo dictator, in thunder
topes, at the October election, that
you know the tra itor wherever you
meet him ? on the field, at home, or
in the Prepidentia! chair! ^ !
Ir any doubt hat heretofore exjatfd in
the minds of any ai to the course -to be
pursued by Col. Be?. Smith, in the event
of hin election lo thi'-ofioo.^e seeks, he
fully removed kny.wcb doub'tiu a speech
here last Wednesday, by his unqualified
.denunciations of -Gov. Uorcman ? the
head and front of whoso offending, in Mr.
Smith's estimation, '|>waa refusing to
commission Sam. Prfcc, of Grecubrier, as
Judge of the Oth Judicial Circuit. Iiis
having been a professed Union man, and
having been elected to the^Con vintlon as
such by the loyal people of his county,
and basely betraying bis trust in forming
n Lclchcruut alliance wiih Davis & Co.,
and serving for four years as Lieutenant
Governor of Virginia, wiih headquarters
at the rebel Capital, in daily fraternal
council with the leading traitors of the
tution, is no barrior whatever, in Mr.
Smith's estimation, to his holding the high
c?: and most responsible position in the
cominuni'y, notwithstanding the fact that
his pretended election was consummated
by an avowed defiance of the laws of the
land. Mr. Smith, then, has left us no
longer in doubt as to where executive
favors will be dispensed, " if " he should
be elected Governor.
ICuiiiuiUiiicali't! }
Tlio Great liven t hu* Transpired !
The ijn'ftt drama 1ms been enactcd, which wiis
to have demolish") him] annihilated ]ia<)i<.*nliMii
in the h'miun liu Yiillry ! The grout National
Conservative . <*???.?! it iiiiotiul ? Union - Johnson
( opperhead- Heiiioer.itio meeting came olf Tiii'?<
day, when and where Col. Hen. Smith, the con
st rvHlivo candidate f?ip Gubernatorial honor*,
tiin>l?r 1> i M great c->ii?titii1 ioiutl speech, which
was t,? sweep, with the Ix'som of destruc
tion. everything tliut stood in the way. Hut. nliin
for tll<* Uncertainty <'f llllllUtll Hill ieipuliofm I Had
i<vt!isni. or loyally to the liovernment. still lives,
and a few more such effort* a* that of tit* Kith
in*!, will increase Gov. liirrvirmu'n majority in this
county In rgciy. Tli<* audience consi-ted. per
hi p-, of from 100 to loO persons. in which were
many radicals ; thu remainder wiu? composed
nio-tly of returned rebel soldiers. with a few
whisky-seller* of the r?*l perruiuiioii. The Cop
p>T-.l<.ln.roii part of the convention Seelind to
enjoy tlii* Colon. IV remarks hugely. l.iit Uenja
miii was a failure. It has l?-en said that tin- CM
onel, though a champion in a good cause, i? ex
tremely weak in a bad one. That truth win. illus
trilled on W udhesday, I was really ? 1 inn | ?) >oi n t ?/ < J .
I expected to hear an aide and cli?|ti<-M exposi
tion of the ipiestions of the day ; hut th?- mini
total of the argument (if argument it may b?
called) when analyzed, pmounted to about thu :
that the loyal men who have sustained the Gov
ernmeiit Imtli in the council* of State and on the
battle-iiejd, lyere ill the wrong; while those un
washed reln-ls who fought us (or four long venrs.
aiuj their allies, the copperhcnd" who cave them
aid and comfort all the while in their wicked at
tempt* to destroy the Covernment. were the in
jured parties, and entitled to sympathy. II.- ar
gued that we were morally and hgifly ImiuiiJ.
under President Lincoln1* overture* miidc to the
rebel.-, that if they would return to their idle
fiance th> y should receive amnesty and pir^on
al toe hitiols oj t he Government ; hence w?* ?vere
bound to receive them une<>iiditiiiunlly. Hrin^
asked by our old loyal friend Cunningham. ?? Did
Itiev return the ?p< ak< r r< p!i<-d vehemently,
" You would not let them return." This created
a g'ist of applause from returned rebel soldi.!*.
A noted wuisky-scllcr called out at the top of
his voice, " Hit him agin, lien ' whiali seemed to
inspire the old gentleman with the idea that lie
hail 'struck a lircoz.:,' and sei-ined to encourage
him considerably, lie d-nouuetd Cuv. boreman
and the Legislature of West Virginia in uiihe
coming t. mis. and indulged freely in that most
disgraceful and disgusting slang."? peeuiinr to
the party, of " n:gg.-r eipialifv,' " nigger vo
ting " n< groes g iilanting and marrying white
giri?, the dinigiitt rs of while citizens, "\fccl Now,
all this stull about negro Mil ini;, m griK-sg illaiit
ting audiuarryiiig white women, is too dis^ustii.g
to merit even a reply ? particularly when applied
to the L* ii ion iiuu of V est Virginia. Have tiny
not, on every necessary occasion, expressed dis
approbation of n> g.-o s.ifi'rago y And as to m gro
equality. C il.. Smith knows ns well as anyone
else that the Union men of West Virginia arc
not the men who prac'ice negro oounlity. While
the Joy.tl people of the State would accord to the
negro liis rights Itufure the law ? to sue and bo
sued, am! to testify in courts, all of which is ne
cessary in his new relation? yet I doubt if there
are ten intelligent loyal men in the Stale who bc
li< v? the in gro is sufficiently iii'.i-lligeiit to ex
< rcise the rightrof sulfri.g.-, Mich charges come
with an ill gmcc froui tne source they do coine
from.
Hut our conservative candidate for Governor,
amid the multitude of " hy Into goig.ms. and
chimeras dire," that lie see* m the constitutional
amendment and other acts of the Kudical pnrty,
a* the Union men of the State are culled, seems
to he haunted night and day with the spectres
oftlie-'&Hblc sons of Hum 'gallanting and Hoi?iiig
the fair daughter* of our valley. How he arrives
at such a coiiciunioo, or how lie connects the con
stitutional amendment, the ngistry law, or any
net of the Radical Legislature, with such a re
sult. I am uttiriyat a loss to know. Why, if in
tlx* many Mrutige freaks of physiology, at poine
indefinite peri???l between the Deluge and the
Millennium, a few drops of the pntriciun i.loo.1 of
our worthy would-be Coventor of West Virginia
"hould rhunce to course through the veins of an
" Ann rican citizen of African descent," it is c<r
tainly no fault of the constitutional iioieiidiuent,
nor of any act of the lUdical party.
Such insinuations are perfectly preposterous,
and unworthy of a man of Col. Smith t good
sense ? even though used as they were to excite
im-nV prejudices in the absence of argument
After the Colonel finished, Mr. Pillsbuiy, of
M'dne. was introduced : who, by the way, is a
" I'ill" that the good pooplo of Mitine refused to
swallow, week before last, by near 30.0M. He
treated the nndienco to n pretty well delivered
eopjterbead jpeech. He drew ?ouic few pictures
of the peaceful character of the people of the
South, und, like his predecessor, charg d tho
iiadicaln with being the authors of all our wocm.
Sipt. 20, 1S?6. RADICAL.
Col. Hen. for Governor.
Keep it distinctly before the people, that on
the 19th inst., lien. Smith acknowledged that
he, and the party with which ho was acting
on that day, stood now precisely on the samo
grounds, contending for tic same objects and
results, for which ho and hid party srere
striving in 1861; that he nQr J{j'ey had
changcd on? iota in any respoe^.
Tho aboro in literally true, being none
other than a candid, fjrank avowal of a well- 1
established fact So continue tfi act, and so
continue to tipcat, Mr. Smith, and I sliall be
rery much pbiigod to you ; and in the name,
and for, ?nd on behalf of tho Union men of
Kapawha county and of this State, would
no* roturn you many thanlw. Wo. know you
and your party. : ...? ; ?."J -j .? .. ?, ,v _ 1
Very respectfully, your obt ncrvt, I
. . ? A. CUNNINGHAM. J
? ???? * ?
ADDRESS
Of the National Union Committee,
to the American People.
vF^ovr-CiTiiKJuj : Voiy'g nrt difference*
hiring arisen betwooa your immediate Rep
roMnta tires in Congrwa and tho President,
who owes his position to your votes, we are
impelled to ask your attention thereto, and
to suggest the duties to your country which
they render imperative.
* We shall avoid: the use of hard words. Of
these, thore havo already been too many. And,
that the matters in iwuo may be brought
within tlio narrowost oompaM, let us first
eliminate from the controversy all that has
already been settled or has nover boon in dis
pute.
Tlio Republic has been dos]>eratcly assailed
from within, and its very existence seri
ously imperiled. Thirteen States were
claimed as having withdrawn from tho Union,
snd wore represented for years in a hostile
Congress meeting at Richmond. Ten of these
States were, for a time, wholly in tho power
of a hostile confederacy ; the other three par
tially so. The undoubtedly loyal States
wore rejwatodly ami formidably invaded by
rebel armies, which were only exjielled after
obstinate and bloody buttles. Through four
i vears of arduous, desperate civil strife, the
I hosts of the rebel Confederacy withstood those
' of the Union. A^'nts of that confederacy
| traversed the civilized world, seeking allies in
their war against the Republic, and inciting
: the rapacious and unprincipled to lit out armed
I rors/lirs to prey upon her commerce. Ily
i State authority, and in the perverted names
j of patriotism and loyalty, hundreds of thou
sands of our countrymen were conscripted
; into relwl armies and made to ti ^1 1 1 desjjerate
! lv for our national <lisnij?tio? and ruin. And
! though, by the blessinir of (Jod and the valor
1 and constancy of our loyal people, the rebel
lion was finally and utterly crushed, it did
, not succumb until it had caused the destruc
! tion of more than half a million of precious
human lives, not to sj>eak of property to the
value of at least live billions of dollars.
At length the relnl armies surrendered, and
; the rebel power utterly collap-Cu and vanish
| cd. What then ?
i The claim of the insurgents that they eith
er now reacquired or had never forfeited their
ron-titutioi.al rights in the Union, including
that of representation in Congress, stands in
pointed antagonism alike to the requirements
of Congress and to tho*; ot the acting I resi
1 dent. 1 1 was the Kxemtivo alone who, aftor
; the reUdlion was no more, appointed l'rovi
l kional Governors for the now stibniissue, un
armed Southern States, on tlio assumption
1 that tho relxsllion hud been '?revolutionary,*'
i and had deprived tho peoplo under its sway
1 of all civil government, and who required the
assembling of "a convention composed of del
egates to be chosen by that portion of the
people of said State who are loyal to the
United States, and no others, for the purpose
of altering and amending the Constitution of
said State." It was President Johnson who,
1 sa late as October last? when all shadow of
overt resistance to the Union hnd long since
disappeared ? insisted that it was not enough
that a Stato which had revolted must rccog
nizo her ordinan<*: of secession as null and
void from the beginning, and ratify the con
stitutional amendment prohibiting slavery
evermore, hut she must also repudiate "every
dollar of indebtedness created to aid in car
rying on the rebellion." It was lie who or
dered the dispersion by military forcc of any
Legislature chosen under the relwliion which
should assume power to make laws alter tha
rebellion had fallen. It was he who referred
to Congress all inquiries as to the probability
of Representatives from the States lately in
revolt being admitted to seats in either hIou>e,
and suggested that they should present their
credentials, not at the organization of Con
gress, but afterward. And finally, it was he,
and not Congress, who suggested to his Gov
ernor Sharkey of Mississippi, that
" If you could extend the elective franchiso
to all |k.tsohs of color who can rvAd the Con
stitution of the United Statos, in English,
and write their names, and to all persons of
color who own real estate valued at not less
than $2 oO, and pay taxes thereon, you would
completely disarm tho adversary and set an
example that other States will follow."
If, then, there be any controversy as to the
right of the loyal States to exact conditions
and require guarantees of those which plunged
madly into secession and rebellion, the
supporters respectively of Andrew Johnson
and of Congress can not bo antagonistic parties
to that contest, since their record places them
on the same side.
It being thus agreed that conditions of res
toration and guarantees against future rebel
lion may be exacted of the States lately in
revolt, the right of Congress to a voice in pre
scribing those conditions and in shaping those
guarantees i^ plainly incontestible. Whether
it takes the shape of a law or of a constitu
tional amendment, the action of Congress is
vital. Kvcn if they were to bo settled by
treaty, the ratification of the Senate, by a
two-thirds vote, would bo indispensable.
There is nothing in the Federal Constitution,
nor in the nature of tho case, that countenan
ces an Executive monopoly of this power.
What, then, is tho ground of complaint
against Congress ?
Is it charged that tho action of the two
Houses was tardy and hesitating ? Consider
how moraontous were tho questions involved,
the issues depending. Consider how novel
and extraordinary was the situation. Con
sider how utterly silent and blank is tho
Federal Constitution touching the treatment
of insurgent States, whether daring their
flagrant hostility to the (Jnion or after their
discomfiture. Consider with how many em
bankments and difficulties the problem is
beset, and yon will not wonder that months
wore required to devise, porfcct, and pus, by
a two-thirds vote in either House, a just and
safe plan of reconstruction.
Yet that plan has been matured. It has
passed {he Senate by 33 to 11, and tha Hum
by 13fl to 36. Tt U now fair] j before the
country, having already boon ratified by tho
Lagialatorts oC.iereral Btatei, and rejected
By notMt,''JUUor it, the State iof Tennessee
has been fortaiily restored to all tb* privilege^
she 'fi^ftitod; by rebellion, ijwiidiif rep?
rescnt^tkm iri either House of CongnW. Aad
the, door thus passed through stands iifi ting'
ly ojwh'to all who still linger with6ttt" V
Are the conditions thus prescribed intoler
able, or eren humiliating ? They aro in sub
stance these :
1. All persons born or naturalized Jn thi?
country are henceforth citiions of the, United
States, tud shall enjoy all the rights of citi
zens evermore ; and no State shall hare power
to contraVtfno this most rightoous and neces
sary provision. ...
2. While the State* claim and efcercisa the
power of denying the elcctiro fratichiso to a
part of their people, the weight of each State
in tho Union shall bo measured by, and based
upon, its onfranchiscd population. If any
State ahull t'hoow, for no crime, to deny po
litical rights to any race or caste, it must no
longor count that race or casto as a basis of
political power in the Union.
3. llo who luis once hold ofUce on the
strength of his solemn osth to supjwrt the
Federal Constitution, and lias nevertheless
forsworn himself, and treasonably plotted to
subvert that Constitution, shall henceforth
hold no political olfice till Congress, by a two
thirds voto, shall remove or modify the disrv.
bility. !
?1. The national debt shall in nowise bcrepiv
dinted or invalidated ; nnd no debt incurred
in the support of the rebellion shall ever be
assumed or piid by any Slate; nor .shall
payment be made for the loss or emancipation
ofajiv slave.
| 5. Congress shrill hnvo power to enforce
j these guarantees by appropriate Ivgislatioin
Such, fellow-citizens, nro the conditions ol
' reconstruction |?r??iH>sc?l by Congress, and al
! reailv accepted bv the loyal legislature of Ten
| nessec. Arc they harsh and degrading? Do
i you discern therein a disposition to trample
! on the prostrate, or ptisfj aij advstttage to thy
! uttermost ? I)o they cinhody airgJl; of vtny
I ance, or any confiscation hut that of slavery 'i
I We solicit your candid, impartial judgment.
What is intended hy the third section i.*
! simply to j^ivc loyalty a fair start in the rc*
; constructed States. Under the Johnson policy,
! the reikis monopolize power and p'ncn eren
in communities where thrynre decidedly out
\ numbered. Their Generals are Governors and
members-elect of Congress ; their Colonel*
: xnd Majors (ill the legislatures, nnd olliciatr
i as sheriffs. Not only are tho stead fast ly-loval
ptos??ril>od, but even stay-at-home reU-Is have
little chance it> competition with those who
! fought to subvert the Union. When this rebel
; monopoly of oflico shall have been broken up,
' and loyalty to the Union shall have becotnc
i general and hearty, Congress n>?3' remove the
i disability, and will doubtless make haste to
I
? do so.
'? We do not perceire that the justice or fit
ness of the fourth section ? prescribing that
: the Union public debt shall In* promptly met,
'but that of the rebel confederacy never ? is
! seriously contested.
There remains, then, but the second sections
, which prescribes in substance that politicil
' |>o\vcr in the Cnion shall henceforth be based
i only on that portion of tho people of each
j State who are deemed by its constitution lit
; dejtoMtories of such power. In other words, a
; Slate which choo.ses to hold part of its |>op
| illation in ignorance and vassalage ? powerless,
[ uoeducated, and unfranchised ? shall not
count that portion to balancc the educated,
! intelligent, enfranchised citizcns of other
i States ?
j We do not purpose to argue the justice of
i this provision. As well argue the shape of a
cube or the correctness of the multiplication
' table. He who does not fret that this is simply
and mildly just, would not be persuaded,
j though one arose from the dead to convince
him. That there are those among us who
would not have it ratified, sadly demonstrates
that the good work of emancipation in not yet
complete.
t " Hut," say some, " this section is designed
to rone the South into according suffrage to
her blacks." Not so, wc reply; but only to
notify her ruling caste that wc will no longer
bribe them to keep their blacks in serfdom. An
aristocracy rarely surrenders its privileges, no
matter how oppressive, from abstract devotion
to justice and right. It must have cogent,
palpable reasons for so doing.
We say, therefore, to South Carolina, "If
you persistently restrict all power to your
three hundred thousand whites, wc must insist
that these no longer balance, in Congress and
in the choice of President, seven hundred thou
sand northern white freemen, but only three
hundred thousand. If you keep your blacks
evermore In s?>r*dom, it must not be because
wo tempted you to do so, j?nd rewarded you
for so doing,
Fellow-citizens of every State, but especial
ly of those booh to hold elections! ? we entreat
your oarncst, constant hoed to the grave
questions now at issue. If those who so wan
tonly plunged the Union into civil war shall
bo allowed by you to dictate the terms of re
construction, you will have heedlessly sown
the bitter seeds of future rebellions and bloody
strife. Already you are threatened with a
recognition by the President of a sham Con
gress, made up of the factions which recently
coalcsccd at Philadelphia on & platform of
Johnsonism ? a Congress constituted hy nul
lifying and overriding a plain law of the land
? a Congress wholly inspired from the White
House, and appealing to tho sword alono for
support. So glaring an attempt at usurpation
would be even more criminal than absurd.
Happily, tho people, by electing an over
whelming majority of thoroughly loyal repre
sentatives, are rendering its initiation impos
sible.
We can not closc without a most deserved
tribute to the general fidelity wherewith, in
view of the President's defection, the great
body of the peoplo, and even of the Federal
office-holders, stand fast by their convictions
and tlieir principles. The boundless patron
ago of tho Executive, though roost unscrupu
lously wielded against, thpse to wjiose votes
he owes it, has corrupted very few, either of
those .who shared or of those who would
gladly ahare in its enjoyment Not oije
of the twenty-two States which votpd tq re
elect Abraham Lincoln has chren in its adjjo
uwn to the PrwuJcrjt's policy ; ifhile Nesr
Jersey? the only thatfotsd against
him? hs? %dde^ ber*?lf to 'their number. ?' J
? <? J-:-. ?' 'o i-.-r.i
Our groat w?r has taught iaprmiveW tU
pepl o ( iqjugto; ud thrleaaon has eZ
<mf intft-MMocs of heart*. The An*rJ!
e^S^hj m *?* ?d
aabler thflQUw.w ere, with ? quicker
lion Opes m m or err generous suxmtk*
the (Wf4,Uw<w'of Memphis todS^rOK
Inns bit#, not beta lost on them, ax is prorw
by, the ? result c^'tbc recent elections in yj.
thorit and-Maiiie. We cherish no *h*dov <j
doubt that PennAvlvRDi*, Ohio, Indiaaa tad
Iowa first, then Ne\y Vork, New Jersey, IiJJ /
uoist Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, and M?.
oosota will do likewise, aqd that a true re,"
tormtion, a genuine, abiding peace, ijitl tfcp k,.,
'secured to pur yuntiy? a peace that wife*
dure, because bawd on the erer lasting found,
ations of Humanity, Justice, and Freedom.
Yours, l( 'Uf' ; u. ,
MARCUS L. WARD, Sew Jereey,
HORACE GREELEY, XewYwf*1^'
8. A-; PURVIAXCE, Peniwylranla,'.-'}
WILLIAM CLAFLIS, Massachusetts.
N. B. BMITHKRS, Delaware, ^
H. W. HOFFMAN, Maryland,
H. H. 8TARK WEATHER, Connecticut
It. B. GOWKN, Ohio, ^
JOHN' B. CLAitKE, New Hsrawhi*
SAMUEL F. I1USSEY, Maine,
ABRAHAM B. GARDNER, VerW
J. 9. FOWLER, Tennessee,
BURTON. C. C< OK, Illinois,
MARSH G1DDINGS, Michigan;
1). 1*. STU BBS, Iowa,
A. W. CAMPBELL, Went Virginia,
S. JUDO, Wisconsin,
D. K. GOODLOK, North Cardial,
S. H. BOYD. Missouri, /
W. J. CORNING, Yirpnia, * *
THOMAS SIMPSON, Minnesota, /
C. L ROBINSON, Florida,
NEWTON EDMUNDS, Dakota.
JOHN D. DE FREES, Indians,
?Srr rehirtj,
fCiov. Boivimui'H Nomination un<t
I' letter of Acceptance.
i W. Va., Aug. 30?
i II. H ExcMcncJ. .1. /. /foreman, tfc?.:
! IXsais&r:? ' Aw pfeasautdnty
1 1 m l?c?cn assigned to v? of informing
I viiu that the true Union- men of Wcit
i Virginia by t.lieir delepites iu Conven
jtiun a'>*:uiblcd in this placc to-dty,*
I ||Uve placed you in nomination forre
j election to the office of Governor oC
! our young State, the duties of which
? von * have heretofore discharged *0
1 Vnitlitnlly and so entirely to the tatii
? taction ol u |>eoplo who feel that in
' times like these, when new and unsx
1 pectcd. dangers threaten our beloycl
; State wid the entire tU; t^;v
i cannot iillbud ^dispense with.thc wr>.
! viced of a tried and faithful public**.
J vant.
We hope it will be your pleasure to,
| signify your accept au.w? of the uyto.i,*
I nation.
I Your very obedient Pcrvante,
irSigued.1 J. McGkkw.
|L W. I. IJobmus, t
J. M. IIaoans, . )"Ci)u>.
I'. M. Hai.k, I
T. il. I^'oa.s. J
' Wiikbu.vo. W. V a. -Sept. 1?. 18W.
i .It,,,,-,. J. C. SHOmt, IK I. to rfm. *>
I It., I'. M. Ildtioui T. II. Jyy?,
; ? luttcc. t
| c; knti.kmkn : Returning from an ab
sence of ten day*, I find here your Id
! ter of the 30th nit., in which you are
pleaded to inform me that, the trtw
: Union men <?i West Virginia, afscui-.
1 1 tied in Convention at hirkendmrg ?>ii
that day. had placed me in nonim*
i tion for re-election to the office ot Gov
't ernor of the State, and requesting in?
i to signify my acceptance ol the noun
I nation. , , ? it
j Having performed the delicate, di ?
: licult and responsible duties of the o ?
I fici of Governor for more than t brc*
! war a, the greater portion of which
j time was during the late terrible con
itlict in arms. I need hardly *a> that
irhis re-nomination ?wholly unsougi
ntl it was ? has produced within inj
breast the deepest emotion; and the
true Union men ot the State ma) ret
assured that 1 am not insensible to the
great honor that they, through their
delegates, have done me, in this re
newed manifestation of their appt^?
I of mv past official conduct and ot tlisir
I confidence in me for the future.
I 1 dceui it unnecessary to state ?J
! views at length here on the q?est?ont
! at issue before tne country, ??
' ficient to say that I look to the gree
Union p?rtv that brought the <*>uut^
safely through the late war and sap
pressed the armed rebellion, and to
I measures devised ami approvod br 1 i ,
1 1<? settle most satisfactorily and eDec
tively the questions now agitating tn
| public mind, so that in time to come
rhere may bo no more rebollionagamw,
the freest and best regulated, Govern
ment known to the history of
world. To this eud. the political po*j
er of the country should be confix
only to the loyal people of the coun
try. Believing that the Amendment
to the Constitution of the United Stat*
lately proposed by Congress tends
this result, I approve it, and shall ? w;
vwcate its ratification. In regard w,
State policy, I see no reason to.cMf?i
the conrse that I have hitherto pjttj
sued towards those who particip*
in the rebellion. I shall recommeBjj
and advocate such measures as -
tond to the development of thegr ?
resources of the State ; to 0f
tion of the people, to the nuboiU g
our manufacturing ^agricultural^
eral ar?d commercial iuterest??
the encouragement otth^nstrn^
of improvements to/.talrti*? , ? ?
*nd t?rel withiu:wd' through
S" While .igoifyiog
the nomination tendered tnroogw/
I beg you will allow me toe^pw*?/
warmest thank, toyonrwlfeapejj^.
ally for the rery kind gtt*
tenns in which yon rfi.clctiop
convey to itje it|fQrffl^l^n .,?[
of the Ooiif enliQR* ^ ^-^lyr >
* , j am* (pntleojcn, very J,
your obedient servant, _ . <
. (Signed) A.I-Bo**"..