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€ari)s.
rpiIOMAS J. INGHAM, ATTOR-
X XEY AT TAW, LAPORTE, Sullivan
C<>nnty,Pa.
P EORGE P. MONTANYE, AT
\JT TORXEY AT LAW— Office in Union
Block, formerly occupied by JAMACFARLANK.
WT. DAYIES, Attorney at Law,
• Towanda, Pa, Office with Wm. Wat
kins, Esq. Particular attention paid to Or
phans' Court business and settlement of dece
dents estates.
MERCUR & MORROW, Attorneys
at Law, Towanda, Penn'a,
The undersigned having associated themselves
together in the practice of Law, offer their pro
fessional services to the public.
ULYSSES MERCUK, P. D. MORROW.
March 9,1865.
PATRICK & PECK, ATTORNEYS AT
LAW. Offices :—ln Union Block, Towanda,
Pa., formerly occupied by Hon. Wm. Elwell.and
in Patrick's block, Athens, Pa. They may be
consulted at either place,
N. w. PATRICK, ap!l3 w. A. PECK.
U B.McKEAN, ATTORNEY &
• COUNSELLOR AT LAW, Towan
da, Pa. Particular attention paid to business
iu the Orphans' Court. July 20, 1866.
UENRY FEET, Attorney at Laiv,
Towania, Pa. jun27,66.
WH. CARNOCHAN, ATTOR
• XEY AT LAW, Troy, Pa. Special
attention given to collecting claims against the
Government for Bounty, Back Pay and Pensions.
Office with E. B. Parsons. Esq. June 12,1865.
iiDWARD OVERTON Jr., Attor
lney at Law, Towanda.Pa. Office in Mon
tanyes Block, over Frost's Store. July 13 f 1865.
JOHN X. CALIFF, ATTORNEY
AT LAIV, Towanda, Pa. Also, Govern
ment Agent for the collection of Pensions, Back
Pay and Bounty.
Aa" No charge unless successful. Office over
the Post Office and News Room. Dec. 1,1864.
0 1). STILES, M. D., Physician and
• S'nrgeon, would announce to the people of
Rome Borough and vicinity, that he has perma
nently locate i at the place formerly occupied by
Dr. (5. W. Stone, for the practice of his p ofes
sion. Particular attention given to the treat
ment of women and children, as also to the prac
tice of operative and minor surgery. Oct. 2,'66.
DR. PRATT has removed, to State
street, (first above B. S. Russe'l & Co's
Back). Persons from a distance desirous t con
sulting him, will be most likely to find him on
Saturday of each week. Especial attention will
be given to surgical cases,and the extraction of
teeth. Gas or Ether administered when desired.
July 18, 1866. D. S. PRATT, M. D.
DOCTOR CHAS. F. PAINE.— or
See in GORE'S Drug Store, Towanda, Pa.
Calls promptly attended to at all hours.
Towanda, November 28, 1866.
JPDW'D M EBKS—AUCTIONEER.
Aj All letters addressed to him at Sugar Run,
Bradford Co. Pa., will receive prompt attention.
IfRANCIS E. POST, Painter, Tow
anda, Pa, with 10 years experience, is con
fident he can give the best satisfaction in Paint
ing, Graining, Staining, Glazing, Papering,, Ac.
S-Particular attention paid to Jobbing in'the
country. April 9,1866.
j J NEWE L L~,
COUNTY SURVEYOR,
Orwell, Bradford Co., Pa,, will promptly attend
to all business in his line. Particular attention
given to running and establishing old or dispu
ted liues. Also to surveying of all unpattented
lands as soon as warrants are obtained. myl7
\V 11 ERSE Y WATK YSS,~Notary
H • Public is prepared to take Deposi
tions, Acknowledge the Execution of Deeds,
M rtgages, Power of Attorney, and all other
instruments. Affidavits and other pipers may
be sworn to before me.
Office opposite the Banking House of B.S.
Russell & Co., a few doors north of the Ward
House. Towanda, Pa., Jan. 14, 1867.
Dentistry.
RPWENTY-FIYE YEARS EXPERI-
X ENCE IN DENTISTRY.
J. S. SMITH, M. D., would respectfully inform
the inhabitants of Bradford County that he is
permanantly located in Waverly, N. Y"., where
be has been in the practice of his profession for
the past four years. He would say that from his
long and successful practice of 25 years duration
he is familiar with all the different styles of work
doue in any and all Dental establishments in
'•by or country, and is better prepared than any
other Dental operator in the vicinity to do work
the best adapted to the many and different
cases that present themselves oftentimes to the
Dentist, as he understands the art of making his
own artificial teeth, and has facilities lor doing
the same. To those requiring under sets of
teeth he would call attention to his new kind of
work which consists of porcelain for both plate
and teeth, and forming a continuous gum. It is
more durable, more naturai in appearance, and
much better adapted to the gum than any other
kind ot work. Those in need of the same are
invi'ed to call and examine specimens. Teeth
filled to last for years and oitent mes for life.—
Chloroform, ether, and "Nitrous oxide'' admin
istered with perfect safety, as over four hundred
patients within the last four years can testify.
1 will be in Towanda from the lath to 30th of
every month, at the office of W. K. TAYLOR,
(formerly occupied by Dr. O. H. Woodruff. )Uav
iug made arrangements with Mr. Taylor, I am
prepared to do all work ia the very best style, at
bis office. Nov. 27,1865.
DR. 11. WESTON, DENTIST—
Office iu Patton's Block, over Gore's Drug
and Chemical Stors. Ijan66
WARD HOUSE, TOWANDA, PA.
On Main Street, near the Court House.
C. T. SMITH, Proprietor.
Oct. 8 f 1866.
A MERIC AN HO T EL~,"
TOWANDA, PA.,
Having purchased this well known Hotel on
Bridge Street, 1 have refurnished and refitted
it with every convenience for the accommoda
tion of all who may patronize me. No pains will
Jic spared to make all pleasant and agreeable.
May 3, '66—tf. J. S. PATTERSON, Prop.
DER IIOISE, a four story brick
by edifice near the depot,with large airy rooms,
elegant parlors, newly furnished, has a recess in
new addition for Ladies use, and is the most
convenient and only first class hotel at Waverly,
• e • 11 .the principal office tor stages south
and express. Also for sale of Western Tickets,
f n"? Canada, on Grand Trunk Rail-way. Fare
to Detroit from liufiaio, $4, is cheaper than any
other route. Apply for tickets as above to
. C. WARFORD.
® tabling and care of Horses at reasonable
rates.
Waverly N. Y.. 0ct.26,1866-3m. C. W.
JUNE ASSORTMENT OF PRAY
ER Books st the NEWS ROOM. j
E. O. GOODRICH, Publisher.
VOLUME XXVII.
gMiiial
SPEECH OF
HON. ULYSSES MERCUR,
OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
FEBRUARY 16, 1807.
The House, as in Committee of the "Whole
on the State of the Union, proceeded to
the consideration of the President's annu
al message.
Mr. MERCUR said :
Mr. SPEAKER : Motion is said to be
a natural condition of all matter. —
Progress appears to be a law of the
world's nature. Much of its past civ
il progress has beeu through bloody
revolutions. It seems to require a
violent upheaving of society to ena
ble it to break loose from the errors
or oppressions which encircle it. Our
generation and our own people have
lately given a striking illustration.—
During the four years of bloody strug
gle through which we have just pas
sed more was done toward securing
the true principles of democracy than
had been done in the half century
which preceded it. A revolution of
sentiment ends not with the laying
down of hostile arms. It was a pre
existing seutimeut,hostile to our Gov
ernment and its institutions, which
put arms into the rebels' hands. That
evoked a counter opposition. The
loyal masses were not content to op
pose an equal force only, so that
each belligerent should occapy his
former ground at the end of the war;
each sought to advance. The mighty
strength of true democracy has been
stirred to its very foundation. We
are passing through a great revolu
tion ; we have not yet reached the
end. True, the millions of Union sol
diers are no longer in arms, but have
returned to their peaceful avocations;
yet still the conflict goes on. The
antagonism of minds believing iu dif
ferent forms of government still ex
ists. The old leaven which caused
the masses of the South to rise up in
rebellion has not been eradicated.—
Each day's journal gives evidence
of outrages as barbarous as those
which preceded the open conflict in
arms. As war against our institu
tions existed before the firing upon
Fort Sumter, so it has existed since
the surrender of the rebel armies.
Xor is it confined within the limits
of that portion of our country which
was in opeu rebellion. The men of
the North who sympathized and fra
| teruized with the rebels while the"
were in arms now seek to excuse
them and embrace them as brothers
guilty of no crime. These men dur
ing the war saw nothing on the part
of our Government but "executive
usurpations " and " constitutional vi
olations." They wanted the war so
conducted on our part as not to de
stroy the rebel armies nor wound
their fine sensibilities. In truth,they
did so far influence the action of our
Government that the war for some
year and a half was so conducted as
to do the rebels the least possible in
jury. This was manifested, in part,
by a refusal to use the brawny arm
of the colored man, and by the sedu
lous care with which the property of
the rebel citizen was protected. As
during the conflict of arms every ef
fective effort toward putting down
the rebellion was denounced as a vi
olation of the Constitution, so now
every effort toward securing the just
fruits of our victories is in like man
ner denounced by the same class of
men. With them the Constitution is
to be most liberally construed when
invoked to screen rebels ; but when
loyalty and liberty seek protection
then it is to receive a strict construc
tion. They would have the rebels
restored to all their former relations
under the Constitution as if they had
beeu guilty of no crime uor forfeited
any rights.
On the contrary, I hold that they
have been guiity of the highest crimes
and forfeited many of their rights un
der the Constitution ; not only their
rights as individuals, but their rights
as organized communities. In the
incipient stages of the rebellion as
well as during its bloody progress
they did not act as individuals only,
but as States. In fact, they called
into exercise and used all the legisla
tive, executive, and judicial powers
of their several States. Acting as
States they, so far as tiiey could,
withdrew from the Union ; as States
they changed their laws and consti
tutions ; as States they confederated
together and formed a new constitu
tion, a new national union; as States
they elected members of Congress
and Senators to that new confederate
government ; acting through that
government thus formed they levied
taxes, made loans, conscripted men,
raised large armies,and for four years
waged a bloody war against the Con
stitution and Government of the Unit
ed States.
But, say their hair-splitting apolo
gists, they did all this contrary to
law ; our Constitution and laws for
bade it. Their acts had no binding
force, hence we must treat all those
acts and deeds as if they had never
been committed.
Grant that they were all contrary
to law ; grant that our Constitution
and laws expressly forbade them,and
that they were of no binding force as
against us ; yet it by no means fol
lows that we must treat the wrong
doers as if they had committed no
crimes. A man has no right to steal
your horse ; the laws forbid it; yet,
in fact, notwithstanding his absence
of right, the prohibition of law and
tlu- penalties provided against it, he
may steal it. By so doing he ac
quires no legal right to the horse.—
You may reclaim it wherever found
and again reduce it to your posses
sion. But that does not wipe out the
thief's offense. He still remains
amenable to the law, liable to all its
penalties ; nsne the less a felon. As
a thief is subject to the punishment
iuilicted upon those guilty ot larceny,
BO is the rebel who levied war against
our Government subject to the pun
ishment inflicted for treason.
No one, however, now proposes to
inflict upon the masses of those who
are guilty of treason the high pun
ishment prescribed by law. It is one
thing to inflict positive punishment
upon a rebel ; it is quite another
thing not to give him a representa
tion in Congress which he voluntari
ly relinquished and spurned. The
one calls into exercise the active vin
dication of law, the other merely
withholds that which he has aband
oned and taken an oath not to enjoy
under our Government. I desire,how
ever, to have it distinctly understood
that I am opposed to a universal am
nesty. In my judgment some few at
least of the prime movers and con
trolling spirits of the rebellion ought
to be convicted, and ought to be pun
ished. Thus treason should be made
odious. A loyal national sentiment
pleads for it; the best interests of
humanity require it ; justice de
mands it
This, however, lies with the execu
tive and judicial branches of the Gov
ernment to enforce. The laws here
tofore enacted by Congress have ful
ly provided away for the trial and
punishment of all such offenders.—
There the duties of Congress cease.
Where they cease the duties and
powers of the Executive begin. The
President,says the Constitution,"shall
take care the laws be carefully exe
cuted." Upon him, then, acting
through his executive officers, is im
posed the obligation of bringing of
fenders to trial and enforcing the sen
tences of the courts against them.
We, however, now have another
duty to perform. It is to provide the
manner in which the people residing
in those portions of the country late
ly in rebellion shall have a restored
representation in Congress. Those
formerly in authority there voluntari
ly relinquished that representation.—
For several years they persisted in
depriving themselves of it. They
formed uajw political associations
wholly inconsistent with its exercise;
they enacted new governments in di
rect hostility to ours ; they wholly
repudiated and set at defiance our
Constitution and the laws passed in
pursuance thereof. It is with that
whole people we now have to deal ;
not so much with the territory which
they occupy, as with the inhabitants
who dwell thereupon.
Our brave soldiers and seamen did
their duty in the bloody conflicts of
battle ; we must now do ours. The
military power of the Government
subdued the rebels in arms; Congress
must now provide for their restora
tion to a new-born civil life ; not in
any vindictive spirit, but " with char
ity toward all, and with malice tow
ard none," ought we to provide for a
restoration. AYe must not, however,
so far extend our charity to those
who sought to destroy our Govern
ment and dismember the fair propor
tions of onr country as to forget the
wants or overlook the rights of loyal
men. Nor must we forget those liv
ing principles of man's equality which
underlie this Government, and which
have been reaffirmed in the crucible
through which we have just passed.
Article four, section four, of the
Constitution declares—
"The United States shall guaranty to ev
ery State in this Union a republican form
of government."
This clause of the Constitution has
received judicial construction show
ing that the power therein given is
lodged in Congress.
The difficulties in regard to the
" Dorr government " in Rhode Island
in 1841 and 1842 gave rise to the
case of Luther vs. Borden, which was
argued in the Supreme Court of the
United States, and is reported in 7
Howard's United States Reports,page
1. The section which I have just cit
ed came under consideration. In the
opinion of the court, delivered by
Chief Justice Taney, he says :
" Under this article of the Constitution it
rest 3 with Congress to decide what govern
ment is the established one in a State. For,
as the United States guaranty to every State
a republican form of government, Congress
must necessarily decide what government
is istablished in a State before it can deter
mine whether it is republican or not. And
when the Senators and Representatives of a
State are admitted into the councils of the
Union, the authority of the government un
der which they are appointed, as well as its
republican character, is recognized by the
proper constitutional authority, and its de
cision is binding upon every other depart
ment of the Government.
Then,if Congress is to decide "what
government is established in a State,"
and if Congress is to secure "to eve
ry State a republican form of govern
ment if Congress, by the admis
sion of Senators and Representatives,
recognizes the "character" of a State;
and if the "decision" of Congress in
all these respects " is binding upon
every other department of the Gov
ernment," it necessarily follows that
all power given to the Government
is vested in Congress.
The constitutional powers of Con
gress over those districts lately in
rebellion have been so fully and ably
argued by others upon this floor that
I shall not weary you, nor surfeit the
country,with any extended argument
upon that point. I shall consider the
power of Congress to impose terms
upon those people who sought to de
stroy our Government as established
—established not only to the satis
faction of a large majority of the
members of this body, but also to the
satisfaction of the people whom they
represent.
The opposition party is persistent
in asseiting that during, or in conse
quence of, the rebellion the people of
the South lost none of their constitu
tional rights, and that by the cessa
tion of arms they were immediately
restored to all those rights which
they had prior to the war. Its mem
bers in this House and elsewhere ap
pear to have forgotten that new prin-
REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., MARCH 7,1867.
ciples were evolved during the war,
that some of them culminated in the
etiunciatiuu and adoption of those
constitutional amendments which
abolished slavery. In all their labor
ed arguments they ignore that radi
cal change in the nation's fundamen
tal law. Industrious in their labors
of exhuming the resolutions of 1798,
and adroit in reciting the doctrines
of Calhoun based upon them, they
seem oblivious to the amended char
ter of freedom and the rights flowing
therefrom :
"ART. 13. SEC. 1. Neither slavery nor in
voluntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime, whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall oxi.-t within the Unit
ed States or any place subject to their ju
risdiction.
'' SEC . 2. Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legisla
tion." ~
There stands that bright token of
liberty, the glory of this generation,
and the piide if the Republican par
ty who made it a part of the organic
law. As time shall roll into the dis
tant ages of the future, an American
citizen will point to it with the same
pride that an Englishman now does
to the Great Charter which the bar
ons wrung from King John at Runny
mede.
By its adoption slavery was legal
ly as fully wiped out, eradicated, and
destroyed as if it had never existed
as a blight upon our institutions. I
have said such was its legal effect,
but the framers of the constitutional
amendment well knew that slavery
was so interwoven with the laws and
customs of the States in which it had
existed that the mere declaration that
it should no longer exist, although a
constitutional declaration, would not
of itself give to tho-e heretofore en
slaved the just and fair protection
which its letter and spirit affirmed.—
They knew that the several States,in
which it had existed, could not be re
lied upon to secure the reasonable
and just incidents of freedom. Hence
the second section gave " Congress
the power to enforce this" amend
ment,according to its intent and spir
it, "by appropriate legislation."
Here then is a new constitutional
power with Congress has acquired
since the rebellion, and which we are
now called upon to exercise.
I submit now, that what might be
adjudged a republican form of gov
ernment under one constitution,might
under another be far from it. In oth
er words, in construing our Constitu
tion, regard must be had to the char
acter and spirit of the whole instru
ment. Nor should the expositor be
confined to an examination of the in
strument itself alone, but he must
look beyond it. He must consider the
genius, ruling ideas, progress, and
existing sentiments of the great mas
ses of the people governed by it. The
Constitution is not to receive that
technic .1 construction or interpreta
tation which a learned lawyer gives
to a statute or to a common law in
strument ; but it is to receive such
a fair, just.and natural interpretation
as will carry out the great principles
of the Government, and secure and
protect the rights of the masses for
whose benefit it was made.
The constitution of the United
States is the people's fundamental
law. In,the suppression of the rebel
lion ; in the*abolition of slavery ; and
in the recent elections,they have giv
en it form and construction,which not
only legislators, but Presidents and
judges will d 6 well to notice and to
heed.
As long as our national Constitu
tion recognized slavery, Congress
could with no justice or sound logic
affirm that any State government was
not "republican in form" because it
denied to a large class, which it held
in bondage, political rights. Now the
case stands upon a different founda
tion. By the Constitution all men
are made free. By the provisions of
the civil rights bill all persons born
within the jurisdiction of the United
States, or duly naturalized, are made
citizens. Hence the form of any State
government must now be viewed,and
must now be tested, by the whole of
our national Constitution and the re
cognized rights under it. So viewed,
and so tested, no State government
can, in my judgment, be trtily recog
nized as republican in form, which
permanently disfranchises, by reason
of a race or color, either a majority
or a large proportion of its adult male
citizens who have been guilty of no
crime. Conceded that the right of
suffrage is neither a natural nor civil
right, yet it is so necessary to pro
tect aud secure a citizen in the enjoy
ment of his civil rights, that iu a gov
ernment like ours, based upon the
will of the people,it is difficult to sep
arate it from a civil right,
The constitutional amendments
passed by Congress at its last session
are so just in their requirements, so
mild in their provisions, that no per
son ought to object to their adoption
by reason of their imposing too se
vere terms upon those lately in rebel
ion. With some reason loyal men
may complain, that they do not go
far enough,that they do not adequate
ly punish rebels, nor sufficiently pro
tect the rights of all loyal men of the
South ; yet mild and just as they are,
their provisions aud requirements are
spurned by those people lately in re
bellion. The masses of the loyal
North last autumn declared,that noth
ing short of the recognition of the
principles therein contained would
bring peace and security to the na
tion. We must not disregard that
great popular verdict rendered by the
people. There must be no yielding
up any of their securities, no aban
donment of any of their essential re
quirements. The affirmation of citi
zenship and of equality of civil rights ;
the withholding from states a repre
sentation based upon loyal men who,
as a class, are disfranchised ; the
temporary exclusion from office of
leading perjured rebels ; the repudi
ation of the rebel debt, and a pledge
for the payment of the loyal debt, in
curred in putting down the rebellion,
must uot be waived nor rendered un
certain. They are essentially neces
sary to protect the liberties of our
people and to make their rights se
cure.
1 understand civil liberty, under
our form of government, to be some
thing more than what Coleridge de
fined painting to be: "Painting,"said
he,"is a something between a thought
and a thipg." Our civil liberty is not
thus circumscribed. It is both a
thought aud a thing. It rests, not in
the mind alone, but reaches out its
numerous tendrils aud clasps as with
hooks of steel, the substantial reali
ties of man's existence. As mind and
matter are united in man, so are
thought thing in civil liberty.—
Liberty is insecure, it is of no value,
until it becomes a right ; not merely
asserted as an abstract right, but af
firmed as a positive, practical,and liv
ing right. It must be incorporated
into law which will protect and en
force it.
I am free to .-onfess, that the con
stitutional amendments now pending
before the States do not give all the
protection and security which I think
due to the loyal people of both the
north and the South. Unable last
session to get all the securities I de
sired, 1 accepted and voted for them.
In my judgment the general senti
ment of the North during the recent
elections was, that if the rebel States
would adopt these amendments in
good faith, and send loyal men, they
ought to have a restored representa
tion in Congress. So believing, and
desiring to assist in carrying out the
people's wi'l, I have stood ready to
thus vote. Instead, however,of adop
ting them ; instead of giving their
assent to the correctness of the prin
ciples therein enunciated, they have
rejected them with scorn. If now,
with all their anxiety to have a rep
resentation upon the floors of Con
gress,they will not subscribe to those
principles for the purpose of gaining
admission, is any man so insane as to
believe they would adopt them after
they were admitted ? Certainly not.
If a majority of the representa
tive men of the South, who enjoy the
elective franchise, are determined to
continue to stand in opposition to our
Government; if they continue to
manifest no sympathy with the genius
of our institutions ; if they can so
control and direct the majorities of
those to whom they give the right of
suffrage as to exclude from official
position all loyal men of the South,
then indeed they are still in rebellion.
They have changed their weapons,
but their object is the same. That
object, that purpose is to undermine
the very foundation upon which this
Government rests. They not only
ignore the doctrine that our Govern
ment derives its just powers from
the consent of the governed —not of
the few only, but of the many —but
they seek to prevent its powers and
make it an engine of wrong and of
oppression. The numerous murders
of colored men, the frequent assas
sinations of loyal white men, attest
the bitter and disloyal sentiment
which still rankles in the heart of
the unreconstructed rebels. Kind
ness and executive pardons have
failed to subdue their hostile senti
ments. Loyal white meu are driven
from their homes by social and po
litical ostracism, as well as through
fear of injury to their persons and
their property.
Every loyal citizen is entitled to
protection by his Government. We
cannot afford to deny it to ours. The
golden opportunity is now presented
of bringing back our Government to
those grand truths proclaimed in the
Declaration of Independence; not
holding them as "glittering generali
ties," but as principles imbedded in
the hearts of ourpeople ; so that we
may have in fact, what we have
heretofore had in name, a free Gov
ernment. If we now suffer this oc
casion to pass unimproved, a century
may roll around before so favorable
a one is again presented.
We are told, however, by gentle
men in the Opposition, that there is
no constitutional power to deny to
any rebe 1 State a representation in
Congress. It-recalls to my mind the
declaration so often made at the in
ception of the rebellion ; a declara
tion made not only by the head of
the Democratic party, but running
down through all grades to its most
ignorant member. It was, "There is
no power in the Government to co
erce a State."
The loyal, Union-loving people of
the nation answered that assertion.
They said we will coerce all persons
who are in rebellion in any State,
even if they include its entire popd
lafion. That word was made good.
So now the loyal people have said,
we can and will deny to rebel States
a representation in Congress until
they come with constitutions and
laws in harmony with our amended
Constitution. Unless Congress is
recreant to its trust that word will
also be made good.
As the Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath, so civil
government was created for the ben
efit of mankind, and not mankind
for the benefit of government. Con
stitutions and laws are but the in
struments which the people have
formed, to be used in securing their
rights and in protecting them in the
enjoyment thereof. As the habits
and necesities of a people change, so
should their legislation and organic
laws change. To deny this, is to
check all progress in civil govern
ment. In the earlier periods of the
world's history,those organic changes
were made through the bloody
throes of revolution. In framing the
Constitution of the United States
our forefathers sought to avoid all
necessity for those convulsions which
deluge a country in blood. Hence
they incorporated in the instrument
itself, a peaceful method by which it
could be changed. They arrogated
;to themselves no perfection of hu
! man wisdom through which they
sought to bind future generations.
They framed it to suit their then ex
isting wants and necessities, but re
served the right, and pointed out the
manner, in which they and their pos
terity might change it Thus it is
allotted to each generation to make
such changes as the advancing civil
ization of he world requires.
The disdain,with which the govern
ing classes of the South have reject
ed the mild requirements of the pend
ing constitutional amendments,
proves them unfit and unsafe to shape
the legislation of this country.
Tn my judgment the time for other
and additional action has arriv
ed. We must look beyond those
classes. The Disloyal should no
longer be permitted to act the part
of the dog in the manger. Now,
they neither enjoy the full benefits of
our representative Government, nor
permit loyal people in their midst to
enjoy them. They seem to have for
gotten that their every system of
slavery has been weighed in the bal
ance by the great popular heart of
the nation and has been found want
ing ; that time nor eternity will not
restore it. It has been cast into that
vortex where—
"Though the mills of God grind slowly
Yet they grind exceeding small ;
Though with patience He stands waiting
With exactness grinds He all."
It is criminal in us if we suffer
loyal citizens of the South to be
much longer thus deprived of their
full rights. They have a right to de
mand speedy action. While we talk
and procrastinate, they suffer. The
disloyal, basking in the sunshine of
executive sympathy and executive
favor, have again raised their heads,
and are no consolidating their power.
I see no other course left but to give
enfranchisement and power to the
loyal masses of their citizens. Let
the test be loyalty, not race nor color.
It is the lowly, the humble, the-down
trodden, who most need the protect
ing arm of the Government. Wealth
and high order of intelligence usually
secure protection to their possessors;
the poor and the ignorant require the
aid of the ballot for their protection.
The rights of labor and muscle
must not be overlooked nowdisregard
ed. They lie at the very foundation
of our national prosperity and our
continued existence as one nation.
When the unity of our nation was
assailed by the recent rebellion ;
when the peril was so great that
every loyal family was compelled to
give up some of its loved ones to
fill the depleted ranks of our armies;
when the conscript s ibmitted himself
to the military authorities for exami
nation, no such interrogatory was
put to him as " Can you read and
write ?" nor that other interrogatory,
" Does any colored blood flow in your
veins ?" Neither ignorance of letters;
nor race nor color afforded any
ground for exemption ; vigorous man
hood fixed his liability.
Whoever was required to risk his
life in the defence of our Govern
ment, whoever was required to raise
his stalwart arms to oppose that
mighty rebellion, has, in my judg
ment, a sufficient educational qualifi
cation to enable hira to take a part
in shaping the future of that nation
whose unity his valor helped to pre
serve.
I trust, therefore, that the bill this
House has lately passed, providing
for a restoration of civil govern
ment in Louisiana, may become a
law ; and if found to work well,that
its substantial provisions may be ex
tended to all the disorganized com
munities of the South. Those civil
governments, which the President
has assumed to establish, are of jto
binding force. Let the citizens, who
are now without any adequate pro
tection, be temporarily protected by
our military power. That power
should be carefully yet firmly exer
cised. Rebels must not arrogantly
dictate what a loyal people must do;
they must be taught that every per
son who is protected by the ample
folds of our flag must love its stars
or fear its stripes.
It is my earnest desire that the
time may soon come when there
shall be such a state of facts existing
in all the States lately in rebellion as
will admit of their representation
being restored ; but I do not want to j
see their Representatives come back j
here exhibiting that sense of arro- i
gaut superiority which was formerly !
manifested on this floor. When they l
take their seats let it be with no as
sumption of superiority, no admiss
ion of inferiority ; let it be with sen
timents of political equality and of
national unity.
Ry one general test and rule we !
should fix and determine under what
requirements a restoration shall be
had. Let us scrape away all the un
sound accumulations begotten by
slavery till we c.meto the solid!
rock, and build anew ; then perma j
nency will be given to the structure :
in which harmony and justice shall
commingle. Do not let us subject j
the people of this nation to a multi
plicity of brilliant operations like
that which characterized the experi
ments of a French surgeon. It is re
lated of the late Sir Astley Cooper
that on visiting Paris he was asked
by the surgeon en chef of the empire
how many times he had performed a
certain wonderfulgsurgical operation.
Sir Astley replied that he had per
formed the operation thirteen times.
"Ah," said the Frenchman, "but,
Monsieur, I have done him one hun
dred and sixty times." After look
ing into the amazed expression of
Sir Astley's face he added : " llow
many times did you save his life ?"
"1," said the Englishman, " saved
eleven out of thirteen. How many
did you save out of one hundred and
sixty ?" " Ah, Monsieur, I lose dem
per Annum, in Advance.
all, but be operation was very brill
iante /"
So every attempt made to recon
struct without recognizing man's
equality may be brilliant to the eyes
of those who govern, but fatal to
the rights of the people Any com
promise which ignores the rights of
a loyal citizen is unworthy of the
civilization of the age. There should
be no compromise of any of the es
sential rights of citizenship. Sever
al compromises have been made
with slavery in our past history, but
perlidy has marked their paths. We
must not forget that the destiny of
this nation is now to be shaped.—
Principles are now to be settled
which will leave their impress upon
countless ages of the future. No
veneering spread over great national
wrongs, no ignoring the fundament
al right of all our citizens, c 111 faith- ;
fully represent the deeply-seated con-;
victions of the American people. The
conflict of arms through which the
nation has passed, the treasures ex
pended, and blood shed by the peo
ple in defence of their cherished
rights and institutions, must not
have been in vain. The civil arm of
this Government must give logical
effect to the sturdy blows by our
brave soldiers iu their manly bloody
conflicts. If it fails to protect the
fair and natural fruits of the victory
won by the sword it will be false to
the great principles of liberty and
justly merit the condemnation of the
civilized world. I, however, have
an abiding faith that the people, who
could preserve their institutions
against the criminal weakness of a
Buchanan and the machinatiens of a
Johnson, will transmit them unim
paired to posterity.
PUT UP THE BARS.
After the milking was over
Annie would follow the cows
Half a mile down to the clover,
And turn them in to browse.
Neat little figure is Annie,
Handling the bars in the lane,
Letting down ever so many
Just in the sunlight's wane.
Wild roses blooming beside her
Match not her cheek's lovely red :
And the leaves trying to hide her,
Dance at her musical tread.
Witching curls peep from her bonnet-
Peep like bright birds from their nest!
And the heart—oh, to have won it!—
Beats with gentle unrest.
Lips may be humming a ditty,
And faces may show unconcern ;
But secrets there are—what a pity
That some are too easy to learn.
Now while the robins are meeting
Why does she wait in the lane ?
Though, if white arms need a resting,
No one, of course, could complain.
Lights in the farm-house are gleaming,
And bars must be lain in their place,
But little Annie stands dreaming,
A blush on her beautiful face.
Is it late ? Not that she cares now ;
Ah, merry eyes, mild and brown,
Could you not tell why she wears now
Just the least might ot a trown ?
Over the path by tbe hillside
Some'one would wander by night ;
Some one who came from the mill side,
Lured by two eyes that were bright.
Meadow and valley grow stiller
Under the earlier stars ;
Would it be strange if the miller
Helped Annie to put up the bars ?
FUN, FACTS, AND FACETL/E,
THE I.ADIES. —May their virtues ex
ceed even the magnitude of their skiits,
while their faults are still smaller than their
bonnets.
" How do you defiue ' black as your
bat' ?" said a schoolmaster to one of his
pupils. "Darkness that may be 'felt'" re
plied the youthful wag.
" I'M afraid you'll come to want,"
said an old lady to a young gentleman. "I
have come to want already," was the reply :
" I want your daughter."
A MISERLY old farmer who had lost
oue of his best hands in the midst of hay
making, remarked to the seston as he was
filling up the grave : "It's a sad thing to
lose a good mower at a time like this ; but
aftr all poor Tom was a great eater."
MISERY assails riches as lightning
does tbe highest tower ; or as a tree that is
heavy-laden with fruit breaks its own boughs
so do riches destroy the virtue of their pos
sessor.
A MARRIED monster says he once
had a most delightful dream, in which he
imagined he had an angel by bis side, and
on waking up found it was only his wife.
A GENTLEMAN asked a friend if he
ever saw a cat-fish. "No," was tbe re
sponse, "but I have seen a rope walk."
" WE trust that the Lord is on our
side, Mr. Lincoln," said the speaker of a
delegation of Christian men to the Presi
dent, during one of the darkest days of the
rebellion. "I do not regard that so essen.
tial as something else," replied Mr. Lincoln.
The pious visitor looked horror-struck un
til the President added: "lammostcon
i cerned to know that we are on the Lord's
j side."
! SOME persons are always behind-
I hand. Someone said to a person of this class,
j "I see that you belong to the three-hand
led people." "Three-handed! That's rath
er uncommon." '• O, no, common enough
j —two hands like other people—and a little
| behind hand.
' PROF. BLOT says : " Never drink
j tea at breakfast; it is suicide- Drink coffee
ior chocolate. If you drink tea at all, drink
!it after lunch or dinner. Coffee should not
' be boiled, and should be perfectly clear of
j itself, without any foreign substance used
for clearing it."
ISN'T there an awfully strong smell
j of pigs in the air?" asked Smith of Jones.
! "Yes," replied Sones, "that's because the
wind is from the soic-west."
BRASIDAB, the famous Lacedivmo
| nian general, caught a mouse; it bit him,
I and by that means made its escape. "Oh,
Jupiter?" cried he, "what creature so cou
j temptible but may huve its liberty if it will
I contend for it."
EIGHT TO SIXTEEN.
Lord Shaftesbury iateiy stated in a.
public meeting in Loudon that, from
personal observation, he had ascer
tained tiiat of adult male criminals of
that city, nearly all had fallen into a
course of crime between the ages ul
eight and sixteen years ; and that, if
a young man lived an honest life up
to twenty years of age, there were
forty-nine chances in favor, and only
one against him, as to an honorable
life thereafter.
NUMBER 40.
This is a fact of singular impor
tance to fathers and mothers, and
shows a fearful responsibility. Cer
tainly a pareut should secure and ex
ercise absolute control over a child
under sixteen. It cannot be a diffi
cult matter to do this, except in very
rare cases ; and if that control is not
very wisely and efficiently exercised,
it must be the parents' fault ; it is
owing to parental neg'ect or remiss
ness. Hence the real source of crime
in such a country as England or the
United States lies at the door of the
parents. It is a fearful reflection !
We throw it before the minds of the
mothers and fathers of our land and
there leave it to be thought of in wis
dom, remarking only as to the early
seeds of bodily disease that they are,
in nearly every case, sown between
sundown and bed time, in absence
from the family circle ; in the supply
of spending money never earned by
the spender—opening the doors of
confectioneries and soda fountains, of
beer and tobacco and wine shops, of
the circus, the negro minstrel, the re
stuaraut or dance ; then follows the
Sunday excursion, the Sunday drive,
with the easy transition to the com
pany of those whose ways lead to the
gates of social, physical and moral
ruin. From eight to sixteen—in these
few years—are the destinies of chil
dren fixed in forty-nine cases out of
fifty—fixed by the parents ! Let eve
ry father and mother solemnly vow,
"By God's help, I'll fix my darling's
destiny for good, by making home
more attractive than the streets."
CHARITY. —What is nobler or holier
than Charity ? Charity looketh kind
ly on the erring ; she entreateth the
misguided without chiding, and leads
back the guilty to the path of recti
tude, forgetting the sins that are
past. Charit} inocketh not at the
proud or the humble ; she perceiv
eth that each hath a cause for his
ways, and if she lendeth advice to
either, it is with soft voice, and mod
est demeanor. Not that charity self
abuseth herself, or doubteth her own
strength, but because she knoweth
that the heart of man is stubborn,
and may be entreated when it will
not be driven. Charity seeketh re
ward in the thing she doeth. She
cries not for words of applause ; her
work, and the payment therefore,
cometh of God. Slow to reproof,
she is swift to entreat, and to bless,
and her footsteps are haloed with the
joy of reconciliation and repentance.
Chairity helpetli to save souls—most
of all the virtues, she helpeth to
bless the world. Peace goeth with
her, and the wagging of the evil
tongues ceaseth in her presence.
Who is there that needeth not chari
ty —and he who needeth shall he not
give it in return. Holy Charity, she
it is who, trusting in God, casteth
her bread upon the waters, to fiud it
tenfold after many days.
XSVER "KNOCK UNDER." —No never
—always rally your forces for anoth
er and more desperate assault upon
adversity. If calumny assail you,
and the world—as it is apt to do in
such cases—takes part with your
traducers, don't turn moody and mis
anthropic, or worse still, seek to
drown your unhappiness in dissipa
tion. Bide your time. Disprove the
6lauder if you can ; if not, live it
down. If poverty come upon you
like a thief in the night—what then?
Let it rouse yon, as the presence of
a real thief would do, to energetic
action. No matter how deeply you
may have got into hot water—al
ways provided that you did not help
the Father of Lies to heat it—your
case, if you are made of the right
sort of stuff, is not desperate ; for it
is in accord with the -divine order
and sweep of things, that life should
have no difficulties which an honest,
determined man, with Heaven's help,
cannot surmount.
LIVING TOO FAST. —Most people live
too fast in this country. We crowd
life. Without intermission we feed
our mental furnaces with the pitch
pine of excitement, and the conse
quence is that too many of us collapse
long before the time when we might
be expected to succumb to the regu
lar wear and tear of the voyage of
life. Business energy is a fine tiling,
but man is a machine, built upon the
compensating principle. Its tenden
cy to xehiz must be restrained and reg
ulated ; otherwise, something is sure
to snap prematurely, and the "won
derful work" be suddeuly shattered.
Our men of extraordinary enterprise,
seem to forget this, or not to under
stand it. They allow their brains and
nervous systems no rest: In too ma
ny cases a man of this stamp gives
neither God his due, nor nature the
sweet repose that she requires,on the
Sabbath day. Cupidity goes with
him to church, and during the exer
cises Speculation sits on his shoulder,
and like the tempter of the ear of Eve,
assails his soul with demoralizing
whispers. His thoughts are busy
with the morrow's opportunities for
gain,and little recks he of the balance
that may be struck against him at
the final audit. Thus in their fierce
pursuit of fortune do too many of our
business men break down their men
tal and physical constitutions, and
thrust aside the paramount consider
ations which should affect them as
| immortal creatures. We are a sur
' prising people, no doubt ; but if we
better understood the value of rest
end icorshij), the majority of us would
live longer and die happier.
A MAN of singular minute obser
vation once said to me: —"I have
noticed that young ladies seem to go
through three stages of feeling with
regard to matrimony. When they
first grow up and come out into so
ciety, they, of course, consider it the
end and aim of existence ; but in a
year or two they become indifferent
and lose all care for it ; but as they
grow to be about twenty-five and so
on, their old anxiety returns strong
er than ever."— Emily Chester.