THE DAILY EVENING TELKGRAPIL PHILADELPHIA, FKlliAY, MAKCII 22, 18G7.
6
THE TIURTY-Xmil CONGRESS
Lecture of non. William D. Keller, at
National Hall, last Evening;, lie
fore the Nodal, Civil, and
Statistical Association.
fSPItriAL PIIONOOBAFUIO BKrORT TOR TUB KVKN
IWO TKLK1KAP1J.1
My FpIIow-CiKzoiib: Thank Goil thoso words
to-mgbt are hill of meaning. Alj ix'llow-cilly.ens,
1 come with. Iush pleas ure hetoro you to
addict jou to-nieht, thun I have done any
time since 1840, and that tor the rcation that
you, who during all that time wero uothiuir,
were between persona and tliincrs, are to-diiy a
political rower in the country (applause) hirI
nia.V, ere loup, reward the men who served you.
(Applause.) lie who defends your cause henec
Jorth must prove by other moans than mere
words his devotion to tho cause of right and
justice. When Wade Hampton courts thefreed
bi en of South Carolina, and compromise! with
tbem, and they pat him on tho back and pro
mise that it be will only do as well m the future
as he was dointf on that day, they will
have bin disabilities removed, then the lktrkcy
ia power intbo land. (Applause and lauahter.)
And yet the alternoon papers tell me tnat
that th'tnir happened two or three days ago in
Peuth Caroli un. Yes, before ton yearn, you will
find the blue-eyed, lipht-baired, red-cheeked
politicians swrnrVnir that there is a large infu
sion of African blood in their veins. (Ap
plause.) That point has already been reached.
The Tblrty-niutli CouereBs and that is my
theme was elected chieily in the full of lui.
The members from our own trrand old state
pram! iu her resources, and grand in the part
which, under Piovidence, she has been able to
play in the recent political contests ot the.
country the representatives of our Stuie
were circled in October, 1804, by tho terms of
the Constitution of the United States. That
Onprops could not meet until the lirst Monday
in December, 15, unless summoned in special
session by the l'resident of the United States.
A brief period 1
It must terminate on tlie 4th of March,
I8t;7. From October, 1SG1, to March, 1807, a
period of about twenty-niue mouths, how brief
a period iu the life oi a nation ! Aud yet, my
lrieuds, if it be, as Tennyson has it, "that
fifty years ot Kurope was better than a cycle of
Cartfiatre," we have enjoyed and endured, during
that brief period, aires ot ordinary life.
More of political influence has oeen embodied
and quickened iu that brief period than you
find iu in any ae or history that you may con.
For the worli we have done here is not finished.
Nor is the destiny ot our country complete, tor,
ample a arc its dimensions, countless as are to bo
its people and their generation upon a theatre
broad enoupli lor the action of the principles
that have been quickened into life. These
principles rock the Kritisli monarchy lo-dny,
and they will surely traverse and be accepted in
all the nations of Kurope, or they will swell
the population of the free republic of America,
by the emigration of the best citizens ot every
land. i I
Twenty-nine months ! I cannot do justice to
the subject I have indicated, nor will it soon be
tloue. Statesmen will con it, orators will dis
cuss it. Historians will narrate it, and God's
providence, as it rolls on, will develope the
work to ihe view of men. 1 come rather io en
tertain you for an hour by refreshing your
memories than to impart to you any special
knowledge, or to point a moral by what I am
to fay.
When the election for the Thirty-ninth Con
gress occurred in Pennsylvania, Ohio. Indiana,
and two more Western States, the work of re
construction was not the subject ot political
consideration. The issues in this election were:
"Has the war been a failure'" "Can the South
toe conquered ?'' "Is is not the duty of the North
ibrthwith to pram an armistice, the conse
quence of which must be the establishment of
a military confederacy upou our Southern bor
der, and ' thf conviction that the hundreds of
thousands hbin and maimed in our cause have
toeen victims to delusion or fanaticism ?"
These were the questions upon which I went
into the campaign. Tnese were the questions
that enpasred the minds ot you voters, and that
ensaged more intensely tlie minds of you tax
payincr but uon-votiner citizens, who, with a
;dd-given instinct, taw that your riplits, and
the rights of humanity in some way or other
uuderlaid the issue, imijruiticant as it seemed
to he upon its surface. Upon these issues the
Thlrty-niuth Cor.pre6ii was elected.
Abraham Lincoln name ever to be blessed !
(applause) was elected President, and was esta
blished simply, to our view, to preside over the
destinies of the country, aud to inllueLCe them
lor weal or woe by hi ?ieat cLaracter, aud
the iuimense palrouage belonging to his ollk-e,
with the councils ol that Congress, lie was
inaugurated. He exercised bi hich oiiiee. iu
Lis second term for a period but little over
a month: and, you know the story he was
jiucceeded by Andrew Johnsoa.
It would be curious to speculate upon what
would have been the course of events had not
the assassin's hand removed Abraham Lincoln.
It would, however, be idle. That hand did
remove him, and Andrew Johnson became
President, and ere a little wee,w had closed
those long used to read the designs of Provi
dence iu tlie occurrences of the day, said
Abraham Lincoln had fitly closed his immortal
career. It was for him to bring the war to a
nuccesslul conclusion. But with his gentle
liand, we would not have been stern enough in
enforcing iust measures against peni'eut
liebels, and in his successoi we have one
schooled in the iniquities and the hardness of
the nature of the people of the South, familiar
with their ways, fumiliar with their social life
i'amilar with the great powers they cxercNe
and the source of that power iu their lar-'o'
landed .estates, in their niaiutainauce of imio
rance as the law lor the multitudes, mid with all
the other great powers which they exercised
and by which they maintain their power '
His utterauees justified such conclusions
Loyal men were to reoreanixc the Southern
States, if a lew such could be louud, treason
was to be made odious, and traitors were to be
punished. They were. unJeriull circunistauces
to be made 1o take back seats. Their lands were
to be confiscated, and divided anion? tue sol
diers of our army and the poor whites whom
they had oppressed. There was no conception
of a Northern mind which deina idcd a puamn
tec for the future punishment ol the wron gdoer
Which his language did not fulfil.
Members of Congress who had been leaders
of opinion before, telt that their duty was to
put down this Intense radical, this man who
Bight perchance degrade the nation by the
violence of the punishments he was disposed to
indict upou wrong-doors. Wendell Phiiiina
early took a stand against punishment, and for
wise reconstruction. Horace Greeley echoed
ma liooie ana puuaniuropic utterances, and the
bravest ol the member of either House of Con
gress, who had come over lrom the Thirty
eighth, said m answer We may have to bridle
this man somewhat, but his impulses are right,
and his motives, fwithiu proper restraints, are
the ones that will give ultimate and perpetual
peace to the country.
1 will not detain you, for it is not within the
purview of my subject, at least at the present
time, to take even a rapid glance of what took
place from the date of his inaneuration to the
assembling of Congress. You know them all
you know as well as 1 do that by brief ullcr
unces, he summoned the radicals tojhis support.
With Wade, row Vice-President of the United
States (applause) j with Sumner.lof Massachu
setts (applause); with greater than either of
them, glorious old Thad. Stevens. (Uproarious
laughter.) The grandest man and the grandest
statesman it has ever been my privilege to
know (applause), rallied to the support of
Andrew Johnson, and hoped there should be a
name linked with that of Lincoln, no less illus-
v triotUJ than his. That as Lincoln had been tho
' ." enfranchlser of the people, It would have been
lis honor to protect their homes, and let tho
ulave go free. That Andrew Johnson should be
the man. to so organize the political society of
America, that forever thereatter men thould
k men wherever iw prevails. (Applause)
You may not know that at a very early dav.
whilo his words were commanding the con'ti
drnce of tho radicals o tho country, In Con
gress and out, he was secretly treating wiih the
leaJeisO' Ihe Rebellion; that ere he had been
two weeks In the office, he wbh writing or super
vising editorials, announcing that Andrew
Johnson had never been anything rise tb.au a
Democrat, and they who elected him would
tind he had adhered to his early faith.
You remember the progress of the quarrel;
flat while the radicals were praismg him and
swearing by him, he was saying to others that
his policy was to cause the radical to Blough
oil'; that he meant to organize a party out of
Ihcmoderato men of both parties, nna he did
not expect the support of these verv men with
whom lie wits holding confidential Intercourse,
and whom he was requesting to go forth and
proclaim nis view.
The hrst Monday in December came, and that
Congress which had been elected upon tho
issues indicated, met. As it entered the hall it
jostled, snd was jostled, bv Senators elected and
members elected from all the Rebel States, from
all save one. How came they there f They
were there at the bidding of Andrew Johnson.
My Ir ends, let ns look tho facts fully In the
face. Misled by Andrew Johnson's words, we
had in town meeting, In county meeting, in
htale convention, and in our political organiza
tions, rcolved that we approved and endorsed
the policy of President Johnson.
The members elected to Contrress in the elec
tions that were held in the spriug of lHti.i were
all elected on platforms indorsing the policy of
Andrew Johnson; and as he had Instructed
these Southern men to organize States and con
stitutions, and, moreover, as tho political or
ganizations of the North professed to approve of
that policy, these men came, not doubting their
admission, and not doubling that ty that admis
sion t ho chieftains of the Rebellion would, even
iu the Thirty-ninth Congress, rule tho entire
republic, and rule u to its ruin. They did not
come as supplicants for their places: they came
demanding it. 'J ney came sayine, Here is the
Constitution, for instance, of North Carolina.
We niade it, in obedience to the dictates of the
(Jovcninieiit, and if you do not admit us we will
back Andrew Johnson in his threatened apneal
to the people, ulU ut the coming elections hurl
jou from power.
Mark the position, will you? There was not
an honest member of the Republican party that
did not believe that tho future weliare of our
country, interlaced withlluitof the world, de
pended upon the continued predominance of
the Republican party. What were the real
issues belore the people? llow far did the
people, in endorsing Andrew Johnson's policy,
nnd in still hoping to induce him to do what
was ricbt in livinir up to his own promise, how
lardid the people accept that policy? How
tar might Congress go without overwhelming
the party?
These were questions that pressed themselves
upon every member of the Thirty-Liiith Con
gress when ii assembled iu Washington. Mr.
Johnson had control ot tne patronage of the
(iovernment, nnd when you speak of the ofliees
of the Government in their pecuniary value.
you make but a small estimate ot the patronage
ot the Oovernment.
lieuicmbcr with much pleasure, and so do
ninny ol the people ot Philadelpuia,
our humble nnd brave soldiers humble
not becuiie they were not wealthy, humble not,
because th'-y had not tine social relations, but
humble because, having got these, they had
strapped their knapsacks on their backs, and
shouldered the musket, and died, audjlaid, if
need be, in the unknown trench, tuat the
AiLericuu Union and freedom might tie pre
served. (Applause.)
Tlie President's patronage cousi'ts largely in
his iiiiluence in pleasant social intercourse.
our laws are otten made iu the Executive
chamber, or in the ante-ioom adjoining it. Not
because tlie President uses undue influence
there, but because the President and the heads
of Departments, and the Members of the two
Houses ot CongrcsF, meeting separately in their
proper official functions, meet socially there,
nnd meet also with distinguished citizens from
dill'erent States, from their own and others, and
thus the views of men naturally apart lrom each
other are brought together, and much of your
legislation is really moulued and modified by
the pleasant intercourse of the Kxecutive man
sion and the ante-rooms ot the Departments.
This is wise and well.
Thus to separate from the President of the
United States was to lorego all this, nnd to see
the olliccs with their power and their emolu
ments go into the hands of the party that had
been arrayed against the country during the
whole war, and' were then, even after the war
was over, arrayed against freedom, and aeainst
the men who had fought in the war, and the
civilians who had sustained them. It was no
light question for Coueress to consider,
Shall we still try to woo this man? Shall we
miiKe concessions to him, if he and those
around him will m the form of concessions so
as agree not to do quite so badly as tfley seem
to be intent upon ?
The question had to be met at once and
firmly, and by resolution, and by those who
determined that if (iod would sustain them in
the erlort, they would control the Thirty-ninth
Congress, and so change the aspect of atl'airs.
(Applause.) What.my own humble position was I
need not tell you. I sought an early opportu
nity to come to my home, and among the people
ot my native Slate to sound the alarm, by
speaking; of the duties and the dangers ot the
hour. (Applause.) I notified the countrv that
Andrew JoUuson contemplated a coup V edit,
in which the Constitution should be overthrown,
and the representatives of the people expelled
or excluded from its capital, and a government
ol naitors from the South, and those lrom the
North who sympathized with him, inaugurated
in its stead. Men said Trash. There are times
when to pause is to lose all, and the majority
of the Union paity m Congress never saw the
hour that they were not guided by the faith,
"That to pause was to abandon the country !"
The first ifssue that engaged tho attention of
Congress was, Who has the power to recon
struct the Rebel States? They speedily de
cided that it was Congrcs; and on tho first dav
of business they appointed a committee of
lltteeu, fousisting of nine members of the
lower House and six of the upper House, to
tuke testimony as to the condition of the
country and to report a bill. They settled the
question that no person should be admitted as
a member to either House from the Rebel
Mates till that coiiiuiittceBhould huve reported,
and this report have. been aeied upou. This was
point No. 1.
Now, my fellow-citizens, do you know how
near we were io losing tuis point number one ?
One ot our American story-writer has written
a story to illustrate how near we come to dauger
aud to dtath without knowing it. And the
country does not yet know how near it came to
, danger aud to death upon that very question.
You knew that there were meetiues beiug held
of members of our party who sympathized
wnuine rresiuem. iou Know that motions
were continually made ou the floor to admit the
Representatives ot Tennessee and the Repre
sentatives troui Arkansas. But you do not know
that an arrangement had been made which
came within seven, of giving those who favored
the admission of these Stales the control of your
Congress. Pour changes from our ranks, and
lenuessee aud Arkansas would have been ad
mitted early in the long session of theThirty
nuith Congress; and, with the addition of the
members lrom those two States, there would
uave been Bu eu,i 0f the possibility of two-thirds
on the radical side in the House.
would, then, as a necessary couse
n,int ,b1Te bpeu made the successtul argu
wnntH . tUe admission of every State that
C d ;snu,"e tue mask of loyalty iv electing a
ne I W.u fl0m tty Coneresslonal district, for
t1enr,U?,,?.i'I?U,"t'nt WeQt "P this:-'ThcSO
K R k nelocted loyal men, and jou have no
o asBfm ,T',a.9l th('yfcave electei loyal men,
Lnf Zn, ,fctJ.b? disloyal, or to exclude
Yet beTorp !tTTlrty-rinth Congress."
let, belore it closed, the very men who came
om ArkanMis claiming membership to the
H?m.eM bkPin thankimV Congress and
the Almighty that they had been kept out. for
they and their trlends were being hunted from
their homea by the Johnson RebeJs ot Arkansas.
(Applause And Colonel Stokes, in speaking
b, t,,lr)fwith resrard to Tennessee,
ode in Connecticut, b "Wtre I iaiiaD ot
the Thirty-ninth Conprewi, I would fight to
deth in my seat before I would vole to admit
Tennecsee as she now ta." (Applause.)
Yet, as I say, the combinations made with the
President, or "to carry out he President' view,
mustered strength enough to be within seven
votes to fflect thst traiioroul purpce. Trai
torous, do you say? Oh, no 1 not traitorous at
all. 1 admit tnat some went that way for the
sake of the President's influence and power, but
there were others among them as honest in
their views as were Thad. Stevens and Charles
Humncr. 1 instance one the Hon. Columbus
Delano, of Onio I No one ever doubted the
patriotism and the couratreof the Hon. Colum
bus Delano. He had not beeu elected upon the
Issue "that Confess, and not the President,
had the rieht to reconstruct the States." That
was not the question in the contest, lor he was
elected on the fame day that I was. He had
been fleeted on issues which had terminated
with the surrender of the armies of Lee nnd
Johnston. SS3
And there were other men us honest and as
h'ph-toned ns himself. Por look at tho New
York delegation (and I poirt these things out to
show you the terrible influences that were
ot crating in the secret councils of that Con
gress.) There were Henry J. Raymond, of New
York city: his intimate triend from boyhood,
Wil.iam II. Darling, of New York city; there
was Judge Davis, from one of the interior dis
tricts; there was Mr. Marvin, a private clcrgy
mnn, an unpiolesoional man, and a true man,
but largely influenced by these more cultivated
men, who had tilled larger places before tho
public gaze. There was Mr. Humphreys, who
died during Contrress, from the Brooklyn dis
trict, and these men had all been trained, as it
were, at the ieet of that once great and glorious,
but now lallen statesman, William H. Seward.
They had followed his lortunes through good
and evil report, from boyhood fill they were
upon the downhill of life. They had counselled
with that other arch apostate, whose crratetul
heart overflowed with gratitude lor Andre
Johnson lor having saved the country by his 2'2d
of February speech, Thurlow Weed. (Laughter.)
There was another man from the editorial
chair of that widely-circulated journal the
New York Times. "Tiiere were questions of
doubt and difliculty before these men, and it
was asking them to be more than men to ask
thi m boldly to turn aud denounce those whoso
lead they had followed, and with whom they
had taken counsel lrom the time they had en
teied into the political arena or hud understood
political subjects.
I could point you to United States Senators
all ihrough the upper House, upon whose
proper decision ot that one question, "Who
shall reconstruct the States, and who has the
power 1" depended as 1 have, 1 think, already
stated the entire future welfare of the coun
try. Do you afik me where you can tind tuo
philosophy that guided the House? whose
teachings they followed ? Yd, I can tell you
where you can find the philosoohy embodied,
but I cannot tell whose tcacuiu'gs they tol
lowed. A great book is a thing of a century.
We don't get many great books, thoug-h we get
a great many booss. In 1.NC2 Sidney Ueorco
Fisher, L'sq., ot Philadelphia, puoltshed one of
tl.e most remarkable books ol our country.
Sidney George Fisher, Ksq , a lawyer of Phila
delphia, who made no pretension to practise at
the bar, published iu 18(i2 a book called "The
Trial ot the Constitution."
He who will read the book will find embodied
in it the philosophy which pervaded all the
final action ot the Thirty-ninth Congress. No
man has studied the highest expo.-dtioo. of the
Constitution of the land who has not read this
work. In it are the theories w hich controlled
Coagrcss, and I say to you with solemn truth
that until within the last two months 1 know
no single member of Coneresa, save myself, who
has carefully read that book. Mr. Fusher em
bodied in elegant style, though marked by some
evidence of haste, all the theories which
enabled Congress to grasp and grapple with the
great subjects before it, w hich brought it and
the country through. (Applause.)
Congress having assumed that it was its duty
to rtcoustruct the Mates, went quietly on with
its outy, and that was to protect tue Uuiou men
of both colors in the South. Murk the position.
Andrew Johnson and the Democracy of the
North claimed that there were States there, but
Congress quietly said, "JVo ! There is only
conquered territory." It did not agree upon
its terms, tor men who voted with us every time
protested that it was not conquered territory,
aud would run into an angry discussion on the
question w hether the Stales were in or out of
the Union, but, as if Piovidence had thorn by
the hand, though their theories would lead
them otherwise, w hen they came to vote tue
majoiity always voted practically for tho Terri
torial bill.
You may scan all the votes of the Thirty
ninth Congress, and jou may find in the dis
cussions of those who voted, that they often
vctea m harmony with the theory that taey
w ere couquered territory and must be governed
by the military arm oi the country. (Applause.)
It was K.nicrson, 1 think, who said, "Thev builded
belore they knew how." They developed a theory
by executing it m advance.
"The Freedmens Bureau was an agency by
which they could protect the Southern people.
A bill was passed for its enlargement; it had
beeu my pn ih-ge to be a member of the com
mittee to frame the original bill, and to stand
second on the committee oi the Thirty-ninth.
Congress. Well, the Dill came to the President
lor signature. It was vetoed, and you remem
ber how the heart ot the country'sank. on
its entering the Senate again, this bill became
a law, notwithstanding the objections of the
President. Meanwhile the sentiment flew from
the extremity of the couutry into the centre.
The constituencies spoke no longer endorsing
his policy, but demanding that Congress should
protect every man born of woman iu the South,
and the moral lorce of the country flowed Into
Congress, and flowed into the Senate, and when
the President vetoed the Civil Rights bill, and
it came belore Congress again, it passed with
out consideration by more than two-thirds in
both HousC3, and the heart and hopes of the
country were reassured. (Applause.)
The Freedman's Bureau bill was then taken
up and modified slightly, so that it should not
be the same bill, but another, and sent again to
the President. It was vetoed, and the heart and
voice of the couutry spoke through the Senate,
and It became the law of the land. (Applause.)
But it did nothing to subdue Andrew Johnson.
Itdidnothlnc to subdue tho people of the
South. They went on persecuting wnne im
men. Northern imen, and negroes. Why, the
game laws of England arTord better protection
to the hunted hare than the laws ot these so,
called Southern States gave to the free Ain en
can cltizeus enfranchised by the Civil Rignts
Governor Hamilton came to us from Texas,
tellmg us ot hundreds of murders. Men would
write write to us, usinir slips of paper, wuue
men who hud not been kDowu during tne war
as Unionists would write to us, using slips ot
paper, and bury theui in an old newspaper, and
direct them to us. Postmasters were even
airaid of their own clerks, afraid to let uo
people know that they were corresponding w tu
a radical in Congress. (Applause.) And that
illustrates the freedom and security that was
given to the Union men and the negroes, who
felt the throb of American hearts m their
bosoms when they heard their country's call.
(AI!Xw' Johnson swung around the circle.
(Laughter.) He had no doubt but tnat Cou
cress had ruined Itself. He had no doubt that
hS thi Thirty-ninth Congress came together
he would bo sustained by tho people of the
NorTh, m union with the people of the South,
lu driving Confess from Its halls. It maybe
said that that is a statement which annot bo
sustained, if the trial ol Andrew Johnson on
the charges ot high crimes preferred against
him ever takes place. (Great applause.) If it
does not take place, it will be beeauso thre
jg B p0Wer that cau suborn witnesses, thoug-h
it could not suborn the people and the Congress
ot the United States.
As there are many views known to each one
of ns which we cannot prove, so I know many
things which 1 cannot prove as absolutely as I
know those things which I can demonstrate;
and it may be that, while a majority ot Congress
know that Andrew Johnson has been guilty of
higb tind impeachable crimes, that they jcay
not proceed to try him, because ho tans power to
Mi born those who Could testily as to fact-,
fjet me go to our own cHv. On the bint elec
tion day In October, or rather the morning
after election, the Daily Jicwa contained an
ai tide which was to bo the first of a series,
entitled, "Can the Prenident prorogue Con
ereis?" It wss evidently wntten belore the
election news came in. VeJI, it admitted that
the President had no strict constitutional right
to prorogue Conarcss; but it assertal that
Abraham Lincoln had several times saved the
nation by doing that which wa not wntten in
the Constitution, and that, if the President
cl ally saw that if he could not save the Union
with Congress acting, it would be his duty to
save the Union by driving Conirress out, and
saving the Union without Congress, and he pro
mised that the next article should show now it
would be done, but that uext article never
appealed. (Applause.)
On the October night that we gathered in
such numbers in front of tho Union League, to
hear what the people of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
and Iudiana bad been doinc. Andrew Johnson
was in the Executive Chamber, at the White
nouse, nearingonty lrom his parasites and satel.
litcs. lie was hearinc that tho maiorit.v in
Berks county was largely swollen ; and he was
hearing tnm me f irst Congressional District In
Philadelphia was rolling up a majority which
was ternlyihgto Union men; and when hp re
tired for the night, he congratulated his friends
upon the endorsement or his policy by the
leo(!i.
In that same spirit this article saw dnvli.rht
as c:id the one in the Boston Mercury, a paper then
just established lor the sustenance ot the John
son cause; and m that same spirit hnd Andrew
Johnson prepared those Interrogatories to his
Attorney-General which appealed in the l'ublic
iAUnr, and wnicn were subsequently denounced
as the Lnlqrr hoax. These nuestions were nre.
pared in the White House, and were meant to be
put, and would nave been nut it the election in
question had sustained Andrew Johnson ami
his policy. They weru in harmony with every
utteiance he made lrom the platform of a car
wuiie swinging around the circle from wash
mgion ro m. j,oms and irotn St. Louis buck to
ashineton. Iheywerein unison with all the
utterances made to southern men. They were
in accordance with the shrewd editorial of the
Jjaily A'eus of Philadelphia, on the morning
alter election, w hich was but the first of a series
ine second ana third ot which i hope to see,
at least in manuscript, ns partof the secret hii-
tory of a conspiracy to overthrow the Govern.
mentofthe United States. (Applause.)
The Committee appointed to devie means of
reconstruction had not completed its work at
the end ot six months, ajid when it reported a
measure, it was not a measure of reconstruc
tion; it was the preliminary measure of recon
struction; it was to guard the country against
the repudiation of the public debt, and it was
to guard the country against the assumption of
the Conlederate debt; it was to protect that
broad, beautiiul, aud tertile territory stretch
ing from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, which
had been drenched in patriot and Rebel b'ood,
from double taxation first, for the payment of
the national debt ; second, for the paymeut of
the Conlederate debt. For it provided that no
State should ever pay the debt it had con
tracted m aid of the Confederacy. It was to
secure equal civil rights and equal political
power, and it received the sympathy and cor
dial support of every true man.
' When that Fection was read which cives the
Southern States, when they should be recon
structed, the right to exclude their colored
people. I expressed my irrevecable hostility to
the proposition, and others did the same.
(Applause.) Yet when the final test came I
voted for that measure; I sent it before the
country, and 1 spoke to the people of the
couutry on the political condition; aud why did
1 revoke that which I regarded as irrevocable,
and advocate that which I loathed lrom my
inmost nature, the doctrine that the United
Statea could embody in its fundamental law a
dfcree that a State might disiranchise any por
tion of its citizens? Why? because I saw, as
others bad seen, that in the Republican party,
let the past be what it may, tuat it was the
great party ot our country tor the future; and
because I saw in the risiug tide of public senti
ment through the couutry, that no States could
be organized in the South on any other basis
thun that of human equality, recognizing man
as man, and investing every man with the full
enjoyment of all civil and political rights.
(Appluuse.)
Thus w hen the session of Congress adjourned,
it had asserted its control over the question of
reconstruction. It has passed two laws, one
tor providing the people of the South with food,
seed, employment, andschools; another assert
ing the equal civil rights of all; and had sub
mitted to the country, as an amendment to the
Constitution, a provision which opened the way
for jud icious icconstruction.
Now let meehowjoti something of the pro
gress of the country. The lirst bill submitted
to the Thirty-ninth Congress was submitted oy
the representative of the Fourth District of
Pennsylvania, upon the Bubject of suffrage in
tue Distiict of Columbia. (Applause.) Audit
proposed simply to stiike out the word "white"
lrom any law, whether of Maryland or Virgi
nia, or of any ordluance ot the cities of Wash
ington aud Georgetown, that regulated suffrage;
in other word", it proposed to give every colored
man iu the District the right to vote, it was
lelerredto the Judiciary Committee, and was
referred back without modification, and when
it came into the House there were motions to
mouity it. Some gentlemen wanted to admit
all who could read the Constitution. Some
wanted to admit only those who could read and
write, while some wanted the property qualifi
cation. There was nearly one-half of the Republican
party who shrank from their own principles,
and were afraid to apply thm, by emphatically
declaring that, under the flag that waved over
the dome of our Capitol, every man was a five
citizen, eligible to all the rnrbu and all the
honors ot the country. (Applause.) And it
wi.s adroitly moved to refer the bill to a com
mittee, with instructions to put in some of these
qualifications.
Now, my iellow-citizen, like David Downs,
we were veiy near to danger, even to death.
Yet we did not seem to know it. If the Demo
crats had voled to recommit that bill, it would
have been recommitted. They held the oalauco
of power between the two wings of the Repub
lican party, und they wanted to do the worst
thing they could. There is a power that resem
bles alike the wrath .and lolly of man for his
glory. And they said, We will make this bill so
dlstastelul to the Republicans that they shall
themselves vote it down. We won't recommit
it. We will vote for absolute, unqualitied
negro suffrage. (Applause.)
On the question, "Shall the bill be recom
mitted, with instructions ?" there were a few
radicals on the Democratic side eneaged iu
conversation. I remember I was engaged with
an eminent poet and statesman, Jack Rogers,
of New Jersey. (Applause.) My old friend
Stevens had put his cane under his arm, aud
was engaged with two or three gentlemen. The
vote being by tellers, when they reported it
a small number passed over, but when the
other side passed over you would have thought
it was the August Convention. The Democrats
defeated the recommitment of the bill. There
you have It, gentlemen, simply, Shall every
citizen vote irrespective oi color ? Is man a
man ? Do you entertain the republican faith ?
It you do, go it. If you don't, political damna
tion awaits you. (Tremendous applause.)
When the ayes aud nays were called, every
man on that side said aye. (App!aus.) Then,
they said, "You have got us there !" Others
shook their lists at the Democrats, and said,
"You made us do right, and we will let our
constituents know wo would not have done
right had you net made us I"
You ask me, Who was In that Congress that
compared with Webster or with Clay iu debate?
I ask you, who was in the opposition to pro
voke diseusBiou at its hands? There was not a
single speaker of marked ability on the Deal o
cratic side; and to wrangle among ourselves
would have been rather unworthy work, when
other matters were pressing upon or attention.
I know not that any man in the Hou6e or in tbe
Senate could have compared with either; and
on the other hand, 1 know not that either of
them could have made the admirable report of
William Pitt Ptsttndei), in submitting the re
port on PectitiHtrtielion. Kach star has its own
tlorv, and start rtitler to dory.
1 know thi', that had tho Kiatesmnn or in,u.
nnd from ttat time till 18.r(i, looked to tho
futiire, and when a measure was proposed,
aked what will be the eomeqicnce of this
measure, and then bren governed by right and
O'", as were the men of the Thirty-niuth Con
MCi k, we should not have had this war, and
fieetiom would lona ago have been tho law of
the land. (Applause.)
For thirty years our legislation did but re
rcho tlie d, c ation of the seltish politicians of
the land but in the Thirty-ninth Congrc-s
there was a picponderating power of men who
saw duty, who saw justice, who teciunlzed a
great duty find, to the country and then to God,
and who remembeied that there was nothing
so tisciul to the country as men, and nothing
so dear to God as llis children boldly legisla
ting for the weliare of men and Justtce was on
all questions the controlling test.
In the Thirty-ninth Congress was what will
be se en and acknowledged as the moral effect
of thiB law, and I challenge the record of ihp
Thirty-ninth Congress in comparison with any
other in that behalf. I sav that Congress had
in it more men ot far-reaching insight and judg
ment, more men of trained courage that conr
aee which enables a man to conquer, not his
adversary ouly, but himself, to yield his own
convictions, to yield his own aspirations, to
bury himself, as it were, and as tlie common sol
dier does, as one of a great army, achie.vlug a
nieastirt than auy other convocation ot which
1 have ever rend.
Its great difliculty was not In the courage that
it showed in dom?, but the courage that it
showed in hearing tkrouirh this long session of
tne 1 hirty-ninth, when every paper that came
in to any ot us contained no word of praise, but
niHny words ot censure. e were slow, we were
wa-ting our time in idle talk, when we ought to
be up and doing. e were not impeaching, we
were l.ot overthrowing the Governors. But we
were at work gathering information from the
freed ni en, from persons who were native
i nionists, irom every source trom winch in
lormation could be drawn, and our doings and
reports have been carried to the country.
The Fortieth Congress enters upon compara
tively easy work a President restrained, and
the powerful enemy vanquished the second
time, aud cheerfully accepting tho conditions
imposed upon it. It is a great and hh able body
ot men. it win make its own marlc; and had
the Thirty-ninth Congress decided the point.
that under the Constitution the President should
reconstruct the States, the story of the Fortieth
Congress would not have been what it was, or
what it will be; and I doubt whether there
would ever again beeu an assembling of the
ortietn congress. (Applause.)
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AGENTS WANTED FOR THE MOST
EXCITIXOJ AND ISTEUESTINU BOOK Oi'
THE DAY.
(iCSKBAL Jj. C. RAKFR'N ItlSTOKY OF
tiik nk(ki:t skiiyui; '
This history wbh Bnnounced one year uko, but owln:;
to the Hltcuii'lH of tho Uuveriiment to suppress ii, lia
publication was deluyen. It will now he ixsued, un
altered and unubriiiKed, under the supervision of
General Hhkct. It contains a lull unit oiheml expose
ot tlie intricate iiiachmulioua of the sectet enemies ot
the Union.
i- or siartlliiK developments and thrilling adventures,
this hook eclipses Ihe lumous ex uei lenceH ol i'OlX'lUs
mid YIDOIU. The marvellous narratives ot Gene
ral linker are nil attested by the highest odlclal autho
rity, it will contain tlie ouly lltcial history or the
Assassination conspiracy. A full history of this great,
sturtllnK, aud terrible crime, ,
FKOM ITS CONCEPTION IN THE HAUNTS
OF VILLANY TO THE BUItlAL
TlACE OF BOOTH,
hns never yet been placed before the public The
work also fully exposes the nelarions system by which
Presidential pardons were and are so readily ohtuiuud
at Waxhincton.
The moralB of the National Capital are thoroughly
ventilated, and there ure Home strange revelations
concerning heads of departments, member of C'on
gresH, lemale pardon brokers, and dlsliiiKuitdied mili
tary characters.
For full descriptive circulars, terms, and all particu
lars, address P. GAKRETT A. CO..
3 21iu No. 702 CHESS UT Street. Philadelphia.
HOOP SKIRTS.
f)Q HOOP SKIRT?. f)Q
UZO JjAtest ktyle, just out. DZo
LE PETIT TKA II., lor the Promenade, 2'i yards
round, the CHAMPION TKAIL, lor the Drawing
room. 3 yards round.
'1 hene Skirts are lu every way the most desirable
that we have heretofore ull'ered to the public; also,
complete Hues of Ladies', Misses', and Children's
Plain and Trail Hoop Skirts from ti to 4 yards in cir
cumlen nee, of every lenxth, all of"our own make,"
wholesale and retail, and warranted to give Bulisluo
tion. Constantly on hand low-priced New York niBde
Skirts. 1'lhiu and Trail, 'ill sprinns, Wj eeuts; ioapriugs,
fl: HO springs, l'lu; and 10 springs. 1T5.
Skirts made to order, altered. ana repaired.
Call or Bend lor Circular of style, siieu, and prices
Wanuluclory and Salesrooms,
No. (KM AliCH Street
1263m WILLIAM T. HOPKINS.
COAL.
rpiIK GENUINE EAGLE VEIN, THE CELE-
uraieu i-ivi'.iuiN, ana tue pure naru tiKr.liiA
WOOD COAL, i:gg and Siove. sent lo all parts ol the
city at f ,-6o per ton; superior LEHKiJl at fi-75.
Each of the above articles ure warranted to give per
feet satisactlou in every rspect. Orders received at
No. 1M S. Till KD Street; Emporium, No. 114 WASH
INGTON Aveuue. 4
QOALI COALl COAL!
J. A. WILSON'S
(Successor to W. L. Fculk.)
I.EmcUt AND fclllUX JLKII.L.
FAMILY COAL YARD
KM. 1517 CALLOWIIILL NT., P1IIJLA.
Attention Is called to nay HONEY BROOK
LEIUUII and RK-liUOKEN SCH V VLXILL. both
superior and unsurpassed Coal,
Coal aud Preparations beat lu the city, 9 250m
QARLOY'S INDIGO BLUE,
PUT IP AT
AVILTBEKGEH'S lHU'G STOKE,
KO. CU3 KOBT1I KK OM .STKEET,
PHILADELPHIA,
Will fr,nr tnnran n.- .1 - ..
..... -,.. niuu iour times the same
amount or ordinary ludfgo.
IT 18 WARRANTED TO GIVE SATISFACTION,
It Is retailed at the sameCprlce as the Imitation and
interior nicies. , 3m
H A S T I N C ' S
COMPOUND SYHUP OP N APT II A
CURES CONSUMPTION.
SOLD BY ALL DRUGGIbTS. i
DTOTT A CO. AGENT,
1m No. 339 North SECOND Slrttt.
r'llhttiht, bEDDING, ETC
TO II O U SEKEEriillS.
1 have Urge Btock of very variety ol
FURNITURE, v
Which I will sell at reduced prices, constwlriff of
PLAIN AMI MA RULE TOP coll AuE ftCiTS.
WALNUT CHAMHEIl SlillB, OV11U,
PAHL.H SCIlt IN Yn.LVh1' PLUSH.
PARLOR SC11S IN JiAlRCLOIML
PARLOR Sl'lTH IN REUS.
SlilelMmrils. Extension Tallies, Wwdrobe. Book,
cases, MatlresHes, Lounges, etc. etc,
P. P. UVNTIXE,
1 N. E. corner SECOND and RACE Street
ESTABLISHED 1705.
A. S. ROBINSON,
French Plate Lonklns-Classes,
ENGKAVJSC8, PAINTINGS, LRAWISG3 ETC.
Kanufecturer ot all kindj oi
LOOKESG-GLASS, F0K1KA1T, AND PICTTBX
FRAZLE3 10 0KDE3.
No. OlO CIIESNUT STREET,
THIRD DOOR A ROVE TUE CONTINENTAL,
I'UILAIlKl.l'UIA.
316
LUlVibth,
1867rAL?Nl,IITE riNK B0A8
choice panel and ii com mon, ia feet lonr.
.n,...V; M. t, 1!, 8, and 4-iucll "
T. H H fc PI N E. p a N PATTERN PLANK.
LA ROE AM) MLPER1UK STOCK ON HAND.1 .
1867
-ftF, IhR 1 K G 1 BUILDING
LUMBER I LUMBER! LUMBER;
IM CAROLINA ELOOR1NU.
4-4 HELAVVA RK FLOORING.
6-4 1)1 LA WARE I'LOORINli
WIlilEPlNE H.OORLNU.
A!H l l.OUKlNli.
WALNUT ELOORINO,
bPRUCK FLOOR I SU.
bTEP RO J)jj.
RAIL PLaNK.
PLAK1ERINO LATH.
1867,
-CEDAR
Kit I 'l ilk M
AND CYPKEb
l.ON'H I'I,'!IA"R. kniwriTfa
(SHORT CKliAK eHlNOLES,
COOPER 511 INOLES.
FINE ASMjRTMENT I-OK BALE LOW.
No. 1 CEDAR LOO AND Pool si.
1 R(V7 -LFJIBER FOR UNDERTAKERS
J-VJU I . LUMBER FOR UNDERTAKER!
RED CEDAR, WALNUT, AND PINE
"I Rfi7 ALBANY LUMBER OF ALLKINDt
XUU I ALBANY LLMRER OF ALL KINDS,
hEAf-ONED WALNUT.
CRY POPLAR. CHERRY, AND A8H.
OAK PLANK AMI BOARDS,
MA1K UAN Y,
ROSEWOOD. AN I) WALNUT VENEER9.
1 R(K7 -CiGAR-EOX MANUFACTURERS
lOUl . CTOAR-ROX. MANUFACTURERS.
M'ANIH CEDAR BOX ROARDfc).
1 Rf V7 -STRUCE JOIST! SrRUCE JOIST
-LOU I . SPRUCE JOlhT!
FROM 14 TO $ FEET LONG.
SUPERIOR NORWAY HC'ANTLING.
MA I'LE, BROTH Kit CO..
1122fimrp No. 2o0 SOUTH bTREET.
pp H. WILLIAMS,
LUMBER MERCHANT,
SEVENTEENTH AND Sl'IUNG GARDEN STREETS
OFFERS
A Sl'PERIOK STOCK OF
MJLDLNG LUMBER AND HAKD WOODS,
3 81inwlm Snitulile for the Spring Trade.
J, C. P E K K I N S,
LUMBER MERCHANT,
Successor to R Clark, Jr.,
NO. 324 CHRISTIAN STREET.
CcrstuEllv un baud, a laigo and varied aetortuient
RuUuInk Lumber.
ROOFING.
OLD SHINGLE ROOFS (FLAT OR MTEKP) COVER
ED W ITH JOHN'S ENOLLSH ROOFINO CLOTH, '
And coated with LIQUID GUTTA PKRCHA
PAINT, milking them ticrtectlv water-proof. LKAKY
GRAVF;L ROOFS repaired with Outta Percha faint,
and wurrunted for live yearn. LEAKY KLATil
ROOF8 coated with liquid whioh becomes as hard a
slute. TIN, COPPER, ZINC, or IRON coated with
Llauid Guttapercha at siuall expense. Costrani?lu
from oue to two cents per square loot. Old Hoard 01
Shingle Roots teu cents per square foot, aU complete
Materials constantly on Land and lor sale bv th
PHILADELPHIA AND PENNSYLVANIA ROOFi
1NO COMPANY'. GEORGE HOHART,
11 2 m No. 230 N. FOURTH btreet.
XL O O I IX & .
OI.n KII!VOI.E FOOTS, FLAT OR STEEP
I Hl'lll (U I T.4 1'I K( II4 K4MF
l;- .'! II, Hixl coaled with I.lti ll 4JUTT4
I'KltlUA I'AINT, inukiug them perleutly watoi
proof.
LKAKY CRATFE, ROOFR repaired with GutK
Perrlitt Pinnt, aud warranted lor live years,
LUKV KLA'Ii; K4HI1M coated with LlqaM
Gntiu I'lTi'lm Paint, which bironies as hard as slute.
' For T1N, l"l'i;iC,Z.l.NC,und IKOM ItOOFt
this Paint is the ur jlu ultra of all otner protection.
It forms a perfectly impervious covering, completely
reslms the action of the weather, aud constitutes
thorough protection against leaks by rust or other
wise. Price only from one to two cenia per square
f"xix and GRAVEL BOOFISIO done ot the
Shortest notice.
Material constantly on hand and for sale by the
JMASlIiOTJut JKOOt'l.VU OMIANY.
ltl.CUI.t .V H I KETT,
I 21 6m No. 80 GREEN Street.
No. 1101 CHKSNUT Srreet.
E. 111. NEEDLES & CO.,
In opening their NEW STORE at this loca
tion, will add acompletelludif
110LTE -FURNISHING URV GOODS-
If MUlt A CI N 9
mm:n,
NAPKIXN,
TABLE CLOTHS.
KTO. LTC,
OF THEIR OWN IMPORTATION.
yHE NEW BANKRUPT LAW
E. II. TIIARP,
ATTORNEY AND COUNS ELLOR-AT-LA W,
No. 82 B. THIRD Street, J
Will devote special attention to the prosecution ol
IV?.J -1?, ,Vr"UJ COMPULSORY proceeding lu
BANKRlrlCl.
AGENCIES In all the large cities In the United
Bttttes. 3lia
T. STEWART BROWN,
8.X. Corner of
FOUETH nnd 0HE8TNUT BT3.-
MtNurACTUHUB Or
TRUNKS, VALISES, and BAGS auitabU for EujopB
Travol.
(Formerly tt 708 CHESTNUT ST.) .
M Mi JOB timiV .SL&La.J
SO
t