Library 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of NortK Carolina 
 
 This book was presented by 
 
 Oorr^e},'^ 3, Love-^ 
 

 /yirf. 44-m 
 
 REMARKS 
 
 OF 
 
 MR S.-F. PHILLIPS, OF ORANGE, 
 
 In the IIounc of Commons at tlic CaHctl Session of the ILcgisinturc, Jarni. 
 ary, lit Committee of the Whole upon the Question of udiuiHing 
 
 Negro Evidence in Courts of Justice. 
 
 £ 
 
 
 / 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Raleigh, February 20, 1866. 
 
 Hon. S. F. PiiiLLrps, Dear Sir : 
 
 The undersigned having listened with much 
 pleasure to your speech in committee on the 
 whole, in the House of Commons, on the Freed¬ 
 man’s Code, and being satisfied that it will 
 meet the views of a vast majority of the people 
 ot North Carolina, and will be of great bene¬ 
 fit in assisting our people to come to a correct 
 understanding of our great political changes - 
 respectfully ask of you to furnish a copy of the 
 same for publication; 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 Lewis Thompson, 
 J. F. Hoke, 
 
 J. W. Cameron, 
 Jos. H. Hyman, 
 W. A. Caldwell, 
 W. H. Wheeler, 
 
 Lttke Blackmer, 
 
 R. Y. Me Aden, 
 
 Ed. C. Yelllowley, 
 Wm. J. Wilson, 
 
 Jas. C. Harper, 
 
 M. L. Holmes. 
 
 Raleigh, Feb. 28 . 1866 . 
 
 Gentlemen. — In reply to your note of the 
 ■£0th inst. 1 submit for your disposal such a col¬ 
 lection ol the remarks made by me in debating 
 the question upon Negro testimony as my mem¬ 
 ory enables me to make. 
 
 For the honor which you have done me in 
 this connection, allow me to express to yon my 
 sincere acknowledgments. 
 
 Very Respectfully, 
 
 8. F. PHILLIPS. 
 
 To Luke Blackmer, Esq., and others of the 
 House of Commons. 
 
 In the House of Commons, upon the 31st day 
 of January, 1866, “a bill concerning negroes,” 
 &e., was under consideration in committee of 
 the whole, Mr. Rayner in the chair. The 11th 
 section of the bill having been read, to wit: 
 
 “That Persons of color shall be capable of 
 b earing evidence against a White Person in con¬ 
 
 r 
 
 
 troversies at law and in Equity where the rights 
 ol person or property of Persons of color shall 
 be put in issue, and would be concluded by tile 
 judgment or decree of court, and also in the 
 pleas of the State where the violence, fraud or 
 injury alleged shall be charged to have been 
 done by or to Persons of color. In all other 
 civil and criminal cases such evidence shall be 
 deemed inadmissible, unless by consent of the 
 parties of record.” 
 
 Mr. McNair moved to strike it out, and the 
 motion was successful. Upon application by Mr. 
 Phillips, however, the resolution was at once in¬ 
 formally reconsidered, and thereupon lie proceed¬ 
 ed to address the Committee. What appears 
 here is the substance ol’ his remarks din ing the 
 debate, which extended through several days. 
 
 1 had not expected that a motion to strike 
 out this section would be successful. 
 
 1 had hoped that the Committee would silent¬ 
 ly come to a diileront conclusion. I had hoped 
 that, without, entering upon a discussion ot that 
 class ot arguments which are general 1 y .‘brought 
 to bear upon legislation, the policy which presses 
 ns would be so clear that debate would be waiv 
 ed, and this provision passed into a law by a 
 vote almost universal. 
 
 Confessing some disappointment in this res¬ 
 pect, I make my acknowledgements to the Com 
 mil,tee for that reconsideration which allows 
 the matter to be debated. 
 
 The question before us is, - Whether Negro tes¬ 
 timony shall be heard in our courts of justice in 
 all cases where a Negro is interested that it slmll 
 be heard, even although the other party to the 
 suit be a White person. It is not proposed in 
 this bill to hear Negro testimony where the par 
 ties are exclusively White. Nor is it proposed 
 that in the cases where he is heard he 
 shall necessarily be believed. In no case is his 
 evidence to go for more than it is warth. He 
 
t 
 
 
 e behcve cWfl'flvi n Jfrs3>l#SM?w^Tsiirate, without 
 the Jl^y^r^Elie Jucl^^ual]fleem nim wo rthy 
 beiirg*ty5ltS?ecl. ' lhe capacity of thos?e tribu- 
 
 is to be 
 or the 
 of 
 
 uals, especially that of the jury, for sifting truth 
 from untruth is with us matter of long stand¬ 
 ing satisfaction and boast. To them it is pro¬ 
 posed to submit the credibility of the testimo¬ 
 ny of Negroes, and that without the smallest re¬ 
 striction upon those established rules of proce¬ 
 dure, that long practiced and powerful common 
 sense, and that severe scrutiny which mark in¬ 
 vestigations in our courts of justice. The Ne¬ 
 gro is not to be imposed upon our courts as one 
 who is worthy of being believed:—it is only 
 said that he shall be heard in all cases where 
 one of his own color is interested in his testi¬ 
 mony. Those who are to hear him are to be 
 White men, and White men exclusively. In 
 criminal cases he is first required to state his 
 complaint to a solicitor ; it is then to be can¬ 
 vassed before a grand jury, and only after his 
 statements have secured credit before these pre¬ 
 liminary tribunals, is he to be admitted to stand 
 upon the witness box in a court the wdiole of 
 whose machinery judge, jury and bystanders 
 is composed of White men, then and there to 
 undergo cross examination as to the truth of 
 his statements. In civil causes the machinery 
 is somewhat less complicated, but powerful 
 enough at all events, when accompanied by the 
 natural effects of race and color, to take away 
 all reasonable chances of any White man’s re¬ 
 ceiving injury therefrom. That Negro testimo¬ 
 ny, under such circumstances, is to pervert the 
 course of justice in North Carolina, is to me a 
 proposition destitute of all foundation. I ven¬ 
 ture to say that with these surroundings, these 
 checks and balances, the testimony of Negroes is 
 never to affect a verdict in North Carolina ex¬ 
 cept where it ought to do so,—and that if ever 
 hereafter such testimony is to prevail with a 
 jury, that result will be under circumstances 
 that will command the applause of all good 
 men. Under the embarrassments that must 
 surround their statements, these can never pre¬ 
 vail with judges and juries except truth de 
 mauds that they shall; and that truth shall 
 ever fail of her legitimate triumphs in our tri¬ 
 bunals is to the interest of no good citizen of 
 the State—can be the wish of no good citizen. 
 
 Entering very fully into that feeling of confi¬ 
 dence and admiration for the working of our 
 system of distributive justice, which long ob¬ 
 servation of its results is well calculated to in¬ 
 spire, I am thoroughly impressed with a belief 
 that the fears expressed in regard to the present 
 proposition are but panic fears. I do not be¬ 
 lieve that they prevail to any considerable ex¬ 
 tent with the quiet and gallant people that fills 
 this State. One cannot reflect upon the gauntlet 
 as it were, which the negro witness has to run 
 before he can secure credence in our courts* 
 
 being 
 
 overcome 
 
 with a sense of tl © 
 ludicrous upon recurring to the apprehensions 
 which are said to exist as to the tremendous 
 consequences of its admission. With all my 
 respect for this Assembly, 1 yet have npt con¬ 
 ceived so exalted an estimate of its wisdom as 
 to conclude that it is our duty to establish our¬ 
 selves as guardians in this matter, over the good 
 citizens whom we have left in our respective 
 counties ; or that it will be decent in us to de¬ 
 clare to them upon our return from this place, 
 that such was our distrust of their intelligence 
 or integrity,—that although grave reasons 
 called upon us to declare the evidence of Ne¬ 
 groes competent in certain cases—we did not 
 dare to expose them to its temptations ! Let oth¬ 
 er gentlemen in this matter speak for their own 
 constituents—as for me, I will never consent to 
 use such language to the people of Orange!— 
 t Who are we that we can with propriety as- 
 'sume such airs before the people of North Car¬ 
 olina, trained as they are by the experience of 
 many years, and strengthened by those habits 
 of mind which grow from generation to gener¬ 
 ation lor the investigation of such questions as 
 arise in our courts of justice ? Having been 
 brought by other reasons, to conclude that this 
 testimony ought to be admitted, I confess that 
 I am shaken in my purpose by no apprehension 
 that any one of my constituents is ever to be in¬ 
 jured by it in courts controlled exclusively by 
 other of my constituents. Nor in this respect 
 do I set my constituents*above those of any oth¬ 
 er gentleman upon this floor. 
 
 If then the white man cannot be injured by 
 the admission of this evidence, I may be per¬ 
 mitted, as another step in this cause, to inquire 
 why may not the Negro have the satisfaction of 
 having his complaint heard in our tribunals? I 
 submit as a reasonable opinion in the premises 
 that the treatment of the Negro, which will be 
 found wisest for North Carolina, is that treat¬ 
 ment which proceeds upon the supposition that 
 he is possesseclof human nature. To that nature 
 when in trouble there is nothing more consoling 
 and assuring than to have the complaint pa¬ 
 tiently heard by those who have the power of 
 giving redress. It is not necesssary that there 
 shall always be a favorable decision after such 
 hearing —the hearing itself affords consolation 
 and satisfaction 1 That is a great part of what 
 is insisted upon here. Whether relief will fol¬ 
 low must depend upon the truth or false¬ 
 hood of the statement. If it be untrue, a thou¬ 
 sand tests of such untruth which do not exist in 
 the case of a white man will cause it to fall harm¬ 
 less. If true, all those precious interests which de¬ 
 mand, and in some degree guarantee, the final tri¬ 
 umph of truth will rejoice over its reception and 
 its success. Meanwhile in having appointed a 
 hearing for the complaints of 300,000 human I 
 beings within your dominion you have wisely ! 
 
 to 
 
 I 
 
» * ' 
 
 3 
 
 created « udw for the escape of'muck ill-tam¬ 
 per which unprovided for in this way must re¬ 
 sult in the insecurity and disturbance of the 
 public peace. In this connection, I call your 
 earnest attention to the wise suggestions ot the 
 commissioners who have submitted this bill for 
 our consideration. 
 
 Nothing can be more certain than that it is 
 for the general good of society,—for the repose 
 of all classes ot citizens, that every grade ot 
 men shall have free access to the common foun¬ 
 tains of justice. If they are debarred from 
 these, you provoke a fever in their blood, the 
 results of which, to the State, must be only evil 
 and that continually. 
 
 But it is confidently urged that if this privi¬ 
 lege be conceded others will necessarily or 
 naturaly follow, and that a plea for Negro tes¬ 
 timony will prove the sure forerunner of other 
 pleas zv Negro juriors, Negro voters, Negro 
 judges, Negro legislators and a general isegio 
 equality. I own hero that it is only by a great 
 inadvertance that the granting of a right to 
 testify can be spoken of as pointing to a grant 
 of the privileges just emuerated, as for instance, 
 to that of voting, or sitting as a juror. It is 
 very certain that the distinction between these 
 classes of rights is marked and substantial. 
 
 Whether the right to testify be a natural 
 right or not I do not care, in this connexion to 
 decide. It certainly partakes of some of the 
 characteristics of natural right. Whatever it 
 be I may safely say that it is not a political 
 rigenti Giving evidence certainly confers no 
 political power. llepohSwfhs of Frenchman taken 
 at Paris, and of Russians taken at Odessa, have 
 sometimes swayed verdicts within the United 
 States, but this circumstance has never sugges¬ 
 ted to our most jealous statesman a fear lest 
 such an admission might lead to there witnesses 
 being permitted to vote, or to sit upon our juries. 
 Many classes of residents amongst us have long 
 exercised this right without exciting any ap¬ 
 prehension that thereby they may come to think 
 themselves worthy of voting or of giving ver¬ 
 dicts. Negro-testimony affords no shadow of a 
 claim for Negro suffrage or Negro equality. The 
 1 gift of a right merely private does in no sense 
 I point towards the yielding of those rights which 
 are political. 
 
 I enter fully into the counsels of those who 
 define this to* be a government of White men. 
 For one I propose that none but White men 
 I shall participate in the duty and distinction of 
 ! controlling this government. I maintain that 
 the right of suffrage shall be theirs exclusively 
 —as also the duty of exercising public employ¬ 
 ment and the duty of distributing justice.— 
 Every public place—from the jury box to the 
 chair of the President, must be a place for the 
 White man alone. It is obvious that so long as 
 this continues to be so, the government will be 
 
 the White lean's government. It will be so none 
 the less because within his dominion he permits 
 Blackmon to live and labor, or because he may 
 guarantee to him the protection ot that life and 
 the fruits of that labor. If in his wisdom 
 he believe it to be for the advantage of the 
 whole community—whether from perma¬ 
 
 nent policy or for the present distress—to ap- 
 pointfbne or another of the officers of the gov 
 eminent to audit and settle the greviences of 
 the Negro whether these be caused by other 
 Negroes or by the ruling class—docs this in an> 
 way affect the question whether ours is a gov 
 ernment of White men i I ask wliethei ours be 
 more likely to remain such a government, t 
 showing its willingness to administer the ordij 
 nary and universal rules of justice { 01 these 
 
 rules I know of none more certain than that 
 which allows to all classes the right of being 
 heard before the tribunals of justice. I beg per¬ 
 mission in this connection to remind gentlemen 
 that the Almighty God has much to do with 
 the stability of systems of government. 1 am 
 informed of no line of conduct more 1 skely to 
 attract the favor of the great Author of justice, 
 than the exhibition of willingness by the rulers 
 of a country to do equal justice to all of its 
 inhabitants. He hears us all; who then shall 
 we refuse to hear any ? How can we con¬ 
 tract degradation by listening to those to 
 whom he listens ? How can we go to oui 
 prayers to the great Father of all men, con- 
 cious that among our fellow men there are those 
 whose prayers we will not hear ? What a 
 maimed and halting jnstice is this that, we aie 
 invited to administer to the ireedman in deii}- 
 ing him the right of drawing liis evidence from 
 that class to which he belongs, and with which 
 most of his life must be passed. I confess that 
 I am so throughly impressed that this is to de¬ 
 ny him any efficient hearing in our courts that 
 I have not scrupled in these remarks to speak 
 of his other right of access thereto as m effect 
 nothing ? I submit that in practice i t will be 
 next to nothing. 
 
 Passing to another class of arguments in sup¬ 
 port of this proposition, I beg to submit that 
 among the lessons of that Philosophy which 
 teaches by example, there are some valuable in 
 the present connection. That mighty Rcpu > 
 lie and Empire, which as has well been said, 
 still rules the world bv her reason, although her 
 arms are rust,— RoMEfhad questions ot policy 
 to decide, not unlike those that have come be¬ 
 fore us She too, had her classes ot citizens and 
 freedmen, and her clear distinction ot rights 
 into political and privatfe. It is well that we 
 can escape from the hearts and prejudices that| 
 ! necessarily surround this question, considered 
 in reference to ourselves exclusively, and survey 
 it in connection with a great example buued 
 beneath twenty centuries. I have made no rei- 
 
 
 
eTtinee to authorities upon this matter of late, J 
 but speak under general impressions left by for¬ 
 mer reading. Through* all the ages of her lib- 
 erty and good government Rome made no more 
 difficulty in admitting her treed men to a par¬ 
 ticipation in all private rights than she did in 
 excluding them from those which were political. 
 Conscious of her deep interest in the promotion 
 ol a secure and hopeful industry among all clas¬ 
 ses of her inhabitants—solicitous for her rep 
 utation asa dispenser of justice among those clas¬ 
 ses, Rome communicated full rights of property 
 ami perlect rights of appeal to court to all her 
 treed men. No less perfect however was their ex¬ 
 clusion from the sacred political rights of Suf¬ 
 frage, Office and Intermarriage. Only after her 
 liberty and integrity had departed, were the 
 liberated slaves admitted to a free enjoyment of 
 pol i tical privileges. 
 
 I confess to some surprise at hearing, in the 
 course ol this debate, able and intelligent gen¬ 
 tlemen denying that the right to sit upon a ju¬ 
 ry is a political right. I venture, notwithstand¬ 
 ing, to say that it is beyond all reasonable 
 doubt a political right. IIow important a right 
 ol this class it is,—how necessary a bulwark in 
 popular constitutions is entirely familiar to all 
 readers of English or American history; audit 
 will occur to every lawyer to remember that its 
 character as a body of freeholders is almost the 
 only trace remaining in our system of that lead- 
 ing feature in the political philosophy of our 
 forefathers,^ both here and beyond the seas, 
 
 | which confined all exercise of political power 
 to the freeholder. Nor, can it be said here, 
 any more than at Rome, that the right of mar- 
 1 iage in this connection is a private right.— 
 Whatever tends to obscure or to confound the 
 boundaries betwixt two classes, one of which 
 alone is entitled to political rights must itself 
 bo o,j political importance; and however safe we 
 migiic have been in leaving this question to the 
 ordinary instincts of our citizens,—in laying 
 down severe rules upon it, we have but followed 
 out a principle. 
 
 1 cannot take my leave of this part of the 
 argument without expressing, what may be ini 
 pbee from that which has been said, that in 
 my opinion it were a wise policy in North Car¬ 
 olina to make a very sweeping alteration in re- 
 to the rules which affect the exclusion of 
 witnesses in our Courf?. I am in favor of al¬ 
 lowing our juries to hear all the evidence that 
 * may throw light upon questions before them, 
 
 [ without distinction as to parties to the record’ 
 
 ' or parties in interefl, or persons convicted of 
 ] n tunious offences. T shall take every opportun- 
 ity ol toi warding this policy. It is the policy 
 o! the most enlightened nations, and of the 
 most perfect systems of justice. I may add 
 that as most of the litigation in North Caro¬ 
 lina is settled before magistrates, who are ip 
 
 the habit of hearing all witnesses who can 
 throw light upon the matter in hand, whether 
 parties or not,—this rule is already an establish¬ 
 ed one in this State. I feel confident that it is 
 to the interest of justice iiere that it shall be¬ 
 come universal. 1 shall not elaborate this view. 
 I will only add that no lawyer can conceive of 
 the universal improvement which civilization 
 has wrought in the material of our juries with¬ 
 out being convinced that much of that system 
 by which our ancestors sought to feed jurors as 
 it were by nursing bottles, may well be dispens¬ 
 ed with. It is but in accordance with these 
 views that 1 feel strongly impelled to support 
 the policy of admitting the negro to the wit¬ 
 ness stand. 
 
 I have as yet sought to argue this question 
 upon abstract and universal principles. I re¬ 
 gard the conclusions that flow from these prin¬ 
 ciples ascertain, and as irresistible. But what¬ 
 ever may be their force, I admit that such is my 
 view of the character of the government under 
 which we live -such is my respect for the opin¬ 
 ions of the people of this State and more partic¬ 
 ularly of those people whom I represent here, 
 that under ordinary circumstances, I would not 
 have been willing to precipitate such legisla 
 tion upon them—averse fo it as I believe them 
 to be. I share the common opinion as to the 
 untruth fulness of die negro. I believe, how¬ 
 ever, that this defect is not so much due to the 
 fact that he is a negro as to that that he has been 
 
 a slave. Falsehood and theft have marked the 
 slave in all ages and^liyta^ri^s,; they have mark¬ 
 ed slaves of every race and color. The Roman 
 annalists and poets speak of tliese as character¬ 
 izing the Roman slave two thousand years ago, 
 although he was sometimes of that race which 
 now shines in the front rank of civilization, 
 both in Europe and America. I own that I 
 have not arrived at the conclusion that the Ne¬ 
 gro ought to be admitted to testify without 
 consideration or without some variation of 
 opinion. Starting with an impression that 
 such testimony ought not to be admitted for 
 the present, after reflection upon the new sys¬ 
 tem ol things around us and an observation of 
 such signs of the times as may be found in the 
 concurrent action of many other Southern 
 States, and in certain remarks which upon im¬ 
 portant occasions have once and again fallen 
 irom the President, I have been convinced 
 
 ( that I lie speedy admission of this sort of evi¬ 
 dence into our State courts is a political necessi¬ 
 ty. In my opinion the exigencies of the hour 
 do not admit of the deference and delay usual¬ 
 ly practiced in regard to great questions newly 
 arisen. In times of great commotion like those 
 around us, all persons who And themselves in 
 public place must take a more than ordinary 
 share of responsibility. This is anticipated by 
 all their considerate constituents. It is said by 
 
 H 
 
$ 
 
 gentlemen that they are tso mm% afraid of their 
 constituents to be willing to vote for this pro¬ 
 vision ! I have no such emotion in regard to 
 mine. v\ hatever may come of it, I shall return 
 among them, at least erect-and calm. I desire 
 their approbation, but no apprehension of the 
 contrary can shake my purpose to do what I 
 think to be for their advantage. I have such 
 an opinion of them that I believe it to be their 
 will that I shall always give thym the benefit of 
 my free judgment upon such matters. I may 
 add that no separation from their confidence in 
 future can extinguish my appreciation of their 
 i past kindness; and upon the only view in which 
 my future can be of public interest, it occurs to 
 me, to say that the public spirit of Orange 
 county, as evidenced by its selection of represen¬ 
 tatives in this Assembly from tljg^oundation of 
 the government, is so great as tbjassuro every 
 one that from among the gentlemen whose 
 humble agent I am here, the county will choose 
 I some one at leas'' 1 ‘otter prepared than I am to 
 keep upon foot its well established reputation. 
 
 The arguments which press this question to 
 an immediate solution are of course, connected 
 with what is extraordinary in our present posi¬ 
 tion. All will admit that any policy which 
 promises to this State an early extrication 
 from its present unfortunate situation cannot 
 too quickly be inaugurated, and followed up. In 
 looking over the various items which compose 
 our troubles it may well lie said that of all that 
 harasses our people with present vexation, and 
 lowers over their future, there is nothing more 
 t distressing or portentous than the Freedman’s 
 Bureau. I say nothing ot it as an expedient 
 for th ose times when the law was in abeyance 
 and the courts closed. At present However, I 
 ; profess myself willing to do anything that is 
 honorable which promises its early and final 
 extirpation. As a provision for times in which 
 i the civil law r can be administered its exsitence 
 cannot be too greatly deprecated. I am though- 
 ly penetrated with horror in contemplating 
 such machinery at full play among a people 
 used to freedom. I speak in the interests of 
 General Government as well as in those of the 
 people of this State. It is not to the interest 
 of public liberty that an institution founded 
 upon such principles, so military, so absolute 
 and for all practical purposes so irresponsible 
 should be successfully administered ! If it were 
 so administered much would be done towards 
 sapping the popular conviction that free insti- 
 | tutiona are the institutions that are best. How 
 bitterly in this view , may w T e say that it is 
 most fortunate that we are threatened with no 
 ; such results ! Never was there an institution 
 I upon this soil more odious 1 Pervading every 
 , county, filled in its lower stations, those stations 
 which most generally come in contact with the 
 citizen, by the subordinate officers of the volun¬ 
 
 teer army, by persons who whatever may be 
 their gallantry in war or the respectability of 
 their former lives in times of peace, frequently 
 have but a most meagre acquaintance with the 
 law which they are supposed to administer; but 
 little knowledge of human nature out of uni¬ 
 form, and make none of that allowance which is 
 essential for justice between the two races in 
 North Carolina ;—this Institution, the Freed¬ 
 man’s Bureau at once threatens the liberty of 
 the Government which administers, it, and the 
 self respect and manhood of the population that 
 is subjected to its control. Every instinct con¬ 
 nected with our own interests, every aspiration 
 for the continuance of the spirit of freedom in 
 our great country demands that at the very 
 earliest moment we set upon foot a policy that 
 shall eradicate it from our soil. 
 
 It is a well known vice about all absolute 
 governments, that their oppression ol the citi¬ 
 zen is altogether irrespective of the character of 
 the principal figure in their machinery. In the 
 case of the Freedman’s Bureau it is clear that 
 the community can obtain but little relief 
 from the virtues which arc said to mark the char¬ 
 acter of General Howard; as it is simply impos¬ 
 sible that he shall be able in person to regulate 
 or even intelligently superintend the working of 
 this vast machinery. As in all other such ar¬ 
 rangements, so here, the subordinate officials 
 who come in contact with the people, are prac¬ 
 tically absolute and irresponsible. Within cer¬ 
 tain limits of injustice at least, they may do as 
 they please. Who can afford to appeal from the 
 decisions of the county administrators of this 
 Bureau ? Who can think of prosecuting in per¬ 
 son, appeals involving the petty sums generally 
 at stake t-o the officer in command at Raleigh ? 
 It is plain, that the counties may be filled with 
 dissatisfaction at repeated cases of injustice, 
 without this becoming known to the Commis¬ 
 sioner at our capital. I do not speak of injus¬ 
 tice wilfully done ; but of injustice done in ig¬ 
 norance, done from inadvertence, done care¬ 
 lessly, done as every thinking person must 
 know that under the administration of such 
 machinery, it is done over and often in every 
 neighborhood in the State. I say in all serious¬ 
 ness and with regret that this institution is 
 well calculated to carry disaffection into rural 
 communities, otherwise disposed to entire loy¬ 
 alty. I say with equal seriousness and regret, 
 that it is by just such expedients,—collateral as it 
 ■were to the legitimate institutions of the coun¬ 
 try, and at first intended solely for temporary 
 use and for an abnormal condition of public 
 affairs, that liberty has been undermined in re¬ 
 peated and illustrious cases in history. 
 
 Turning this subject over in my mind from 
 the point of view supposed to be taken by 
 the general government, I have found but on6 
 reason for continuing this tribunal fttuongsf 
 
 
6 
 
 ft#. A# long a# we exclude the testimony of 
 negroes in oases where negroes are interested— 
 so long there may be good ground, in the 
 view of the people of this country and of the 
 world at large, for maintaining this Bureau.— 
 This is the reason that presses us to immediate 
 action upon this matter ? I do not say that 
 what wo shall do is to bear fruit immediate¬ 
 ly but I do maintain that the earlier the seed 
 is sown the earlier the beneficial crop of a fa¬ 
 vorable public opinion wdll spring up among 
 those to whose judgment our action is sub¬ 
 mitted. Showing ourselves prepared in be¬ 
 half of the Negro to make experiments upon 
 our social institutions—prepared to lend a ready 
 J ear to all he may say in his own behalf, we so 
 ' far lay the foundation ot an appeal to opinion 
 in the other States and in foreign nations which 
 at last will be irresistible. I hope that I am 
 not misunderstood as referring to any probable 
 effect upon the present Congress. Possibly,‘such 
 legislation may have some effect even there, but 
 I make no calculation upon that. The present 
 Congress having been elected when the war 
 feeling was at its height in the United States, 
 continues to campaign-it after the thoughts of 
 their constituents have been turned toward peace. 
 This is not unnatural; at least it is a matter that 
 may be reflected upon with some philosphy. 
 Except with regard to such as lay claim to be 
 called statesmen, it is not surprising that mem¬ 
 bers of this body should move on in the 
 direction given by the impulse received at the 
 commencement of their political existence. I 
 turn from it without much concern to its 
 principals, the People of the United States. It 
 is upon their convictions that I would operate. 
 It is upon them that I rest those hopes which I 
 enjoy of seeing once more the United States 
 what the United States once was—or improved 
 rather upon what it once was by the ef¬ 
 fect of this great disaster—front our share of 
 which we are now hoping to emerge. The pres¬ 
 ent, Congress is but a cloud which hangs over 
 us. That there should be such after the recent 
 strom was to be anticipated. In the meantime 
 however, I shall not consent to direct my own 
 course or that of the State, with any reference to 
 elouds which are drifting across this wintry sky. 
 
 I will await the reappearance of those stars that 
 behind and above them. 
 
 T cannot believe it probable that we shall be 
 rid of the Freedman’s Bureau before we have 
 passed a law like that before us. Until we 
 | shall have passed such a law, we shall not have 
 done our part towards ridding ourselves of that 
 Bureau ! I am unable to see how we can well 
 ask to have the freed man subjected to our State 
 tribunals without promising that he shall be 
 heard in those tribunals. I have imagined gen¬ 
 tlemen who oppose this bill transported to Lon¬ 
 don or to Paris, and ther? engaged in argument 
 
 with intelligent lawyer#, or public men of Eng¬ 
 land or Franco upon this grievance of the 
 Freedman’s Bureau. In such debates I have 
 been at a loss to conceive of the reply which 
 North Carolinians would make if the foreigners 
 sustained the tribunal upon the plea that in it 
 negro evidence is heard in controversies between 
 persons of the different races, whereas in the 
 State Courts it is excluded. The British and 
 French Empires contain within them races false 
 to the lowest standard of modern example— 
 races separated from the ruling class by religion 
 as well as by blood and color,—yet no objection 
 is made to hearing their evidence in courts of 
 justice. I submit, that in such discussions, it is 
 eminently proper that we bring ourselves to the 
 bar of public opinion in the Christian world — 
 that opinion \vhicli in the most highly cultivated 
 countries liOTf*decided such cases as that before 
 us in the rmmner in which I have endeavored to 
 maintain that it shall be decided. 
 
 Of similar, perhaps greater, value are the 
 conclusions of our Southern sisters in this mat. 
 ter. States which were so potent with us for 
 (war in 1861, may surely have some deference 
 paid to their examples where these lead to 
 peace ! With one or two exceptions all the late 
 Confederate States have admitted Negroes to 
 testify under the circumstances here provided 
 for. There is in particular t-he State of Geor¬ 
 gia, with whose views our own have in times of 
 trial been so greatly in accord. It has adopted 
 a provision identical, I believe, with the one 
 now before us. So have Alabama and Mississip¬ 
 pi. In Virginia the papers tell us that a pro¬ 
 vision is favored which goes much farther than 
 ours. In Tennessee, where the radical politi¬ 
 cians of the East are credited with a former de¬ 
 feat of this project, a very recent decision in its 
 favor has been arrived at. 
 
 But gentleman turn from these examples and 
 quote to us Indiana as worthy to be followed 
 in her policy of excluding the Negro from the 
 witness box. Some change has come over the 
 face of things in North Carolina, when the ex¬ 
 ample of Indiana is claimed as fit to weigh 
 down those of Virginia and Georgia. I am 
 willing to put the case and leave it without 
 comment, excepting the remark that if Indiana 
 has such laws at home it were well for some of 
 her missionaries at Washington to be reliever!, 
 an l turned over to the domestic field. This is 
 but another*instance of the inconsistency of 
 sentimental philanthropy, and must be very far 
 indeed from tempting to imitation. 
 
 It is said however that if gentlemen were 
 only convinced that restoration, or even the re¬ 
 moval of the Freedman’s Bureau would follow 
 the admission of this testimony they would at 
 once give it their favor. They ask with some 
 air of triumph whether such removal has follow¬ 
 ed the passage of similar laws in the South- 
 
1 
 
 ern States. They refer to programs for restora¬ 
 tion as contained in proclamations, or editorials 
 or speeches some months ago, and ask whether 
 the adoption of these programs has resulted in¬ 
 restoration. They represent themselves as en 
 tirely out of heart, and say that it will be time 
 enough to act in this matter when we shall 
 have seen good fruit from it in other States, or 
 at least, when we have had proper results from 
 | the concessions that we have alrt^dy made. To 
 what I have already had occasion'to urge upon 
 [this topic I will only add here that as noble 
 | growths are always slow, we have to hope that 
 ! our tardy progress will result in a restoration 
 perfect and lasting. It is the part of children 
 to be visiting our seed bed every halt hour to 
 watch the results of our labor, or at short in¬ 
 tervals to dig up what has been sown in order 
 to observe whether it have sprouted. No good 
 crop can come of such industry or such continu¬ 
 al curiosity. And then if predictions be under 
 consideration it may be well by way ot ac¬ 
 curately defining our present condition to recall 
 some passages in the Proplites of the other dis¬ 
 pensation as to the condition of tne South in 
 any case of restoration. In suen event I be- 
 dieve, every acre ot land was to be confiscated 
 and the very trees would be too few to bear 
 •the bodies of those who should be executed ! 
 pOur condition iascertainly not a joyous one, but 
 Sit is infinitely better than leading men 
 rconstantly represented that it would necessarily 
 be—and that too under the very circum- 
 istances which other persons thought it would be 
 |jjudicious to avoid by some settlement alter the 
 ?close of the campaign of 18(54. T he consequen- 
 jees which have befallen us when regarded as 
 the incidents to an absolute mbjtujatio/i are 
 surelv not very wonderful. Ihe South showed 
 \\Xao\fimplacdbU towards the United States to 
 I the very last moment that it was a free agent, 
 and the important results from this color upon 
 its conduct might perhaps have. been , avoided 
 lit those who had its destinies in theii hands 
 [had made a proper use ot that inteival which 
 in all great controversies comes between the 
 loss of a cause arid the tearing down ot its flag. 
 Of all the circumstances of the case that tact 
 has perhaps been as potent as any in producing 
 the evils with which we are afflicted. 
 
 I do 'by no means allude to this in any party 
 spirit. I produce it as an element worthy of 
 being considered in determining the problems 
 around us. Nor in bringing it forward am I act¬ 
 uated by a wish to evade the question so trium¬ 
 phantly urged upon what is thought to be the 
 ill-success of our former policy upon restora- 
 1 tion. Upon that point 1 submit that whilst 
 much that we have wished for has been de- 
 ferred on the other hand no little has been ac¬ 
 complished. Is not the machinery of the State 
 oucq more manned, and in general operation { 
 
 Is not this a legislature sitting under the civil 
 law ; have we not a Governor under the civil 
 law; are not the judges just about proceeding 
 upon their circuits,—and is not the hand of vio¬ 
 lence and fraud already somewhat in check by 
 the fear of criminal law 7 now about to be set in 
 motion under the wholesome authority ot North 
 Carolina ? These are things of first rate im¬ 
 portance. It is true that the freedman is not 
 wholly subjected to the laws of the State, and 
 that military orders throw their shadows over 
 the State tribunals—but a considerable progress 
 may be summed up by saying that where in 
 last September there was no civil law and no 
 civil jurisdiction,now civil law is the the rule,and 
 military law is the exception. I believe that 
 what has been done by North Carolina towards 
 restoration has been wisely done, and that the 
 results are in a good degree answerable to 
 the design. 
 
 AnTl here I must be allowed to dissent irom 
 the position assumed in this debate, that we 
 ought to await President Johnson’s express and 
 direct declaration that he will require the ad¬ 
 mission of this sort ot testimony as a prerequi¬ 
 site to reconstruction. By no means ! No man 
 who has informed himself upon this question, 
 can doubt that the President expects this boon 
 to be conferred upon the Negro. He has said 
 as much in the course ot several conversations, 
 had upon formal occasions, and in this he but 
 represents the view r s of all conservative men at 
 the North. Is it fit then that we wait to be 
 commanded to do this thing ? Does it corres- 
 pondend with gentlemen’s notions ot dignity 
 or good sense to await a telegram upon this sub¬ 
 ject from the President? I confess that my 
 own experience in this matter has inspired me 
 with no great relish for such applications. ■ 
 The State Convention on the 17th of last Octo- 
 ter, had less reason to believe that the Presi¬ 
 dent required an actual repudiation ot the 
 war debt than we have at present to know 
 his views* upon Negro testimony. I sub¬ 
 mit then that our character demands that we 
 shall use the faculties which God lias given to 
 us in discerning the necessities ot our situation, 
 and that we shall act in accordance with that 
 discretion without awaiting an application ot 
 force. I submit further that a hearty desire to 
 strengthen the President in the position which 
 he has taken as regards these Southern States, 
 will inspire such as wish to co-operate with him 
 to meet his policy halt way instead ot hanging 
 back as an incubus upon his efforts. Among 
 other reasons which influence me to support 
 this bill is a desire to sustain the administration 
 of ANDREW JOHNSON. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I look forward with great con¬ 
 fidence to the speedy coming of a period for ua 
 and our fellow-citizens that will be the very re 
 verse of that which hangs ©ver our heads. Nor 
 
 
 
$ 
 
 do I suffer that confidence to be at all disturbed 
 by the variations we experience in the tempera¬ 
 ture of any single days occurring as we advance. 
 These may be brighter, or more threatening— 
 but in the meantime what concerns me, is that 
 the seasons are going forward ! I fancy that it 
 is much the same with the political as with the 
 physical skies. In this month of February 
 we know that the sun is upon his track towards 
 the northern tropic. To day we are enjoying a 
 clear and temperate atmosphere, by to-morrow 
 the weather may be inclement, yet for that no 
 one will doubt that the intervening hours have 
 advanced us towards the breezes, the flowers, the 
 fruits and smiling skies of Spring and Summer. 
 Too minute attention to the rise and fall of the 
 mercury only serves to confound one’s judgment 
 of the weather. “He that observeththe wind shall 
 not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall 
 not reap.” For one sir, I practise myself in look¬ 
 ing across this fleeting revolutionary present^to 
 that not distant time when North Carolina 
 shall be taking her part in that Miracle-drama 
 which is now going on upon this continent 
 from shore to shore; when the voices of her 
 
 - 
 
 citizens, the hum of her prosperous industry 
 and the clash a lu clang of machinery in a 
 thousand forms through her borders shall swell 
 the volume of that mighty harmony, that 
 concordia disc&i's —which rises to Heaven from 
 the occupations and achievements: of this so 
 great a people. 
 
 For the present I would have the State con¬ 
 sult for the welfare and interest of all within 
 her rule uninfluenced by the hubbub and folly 
 which surround#her. Having nothing to blush 
 for or repent of in the sad past, I would have 
 her in all calmness and without care await the 
 recognition of her just claims. I recall the elo¬ 
 quent reference by Macaulay to the portrait ot 
 Hastings as it hung in the old English Hall— 
 and to the noble motto upon the coat of arms, 
 and pray that hereafter in contemplating the 
 whole course of our State in this revolution 
 past, present and to come, nothing may appear 
 upon it out of character with her old resolution 
 and serenity —nothing unworthy of that mens 
 ..equa in arduis of which her recent course fur¬ 
 nishes abundant proof. 
 
 ft 
 
 M • 
 
Photomount 
 Pamphlet 
 Binder 
 Gaylord Bros. 
 
 Makers 
 
 Syracuse, N. Y. 
 PAT. JAN 21, 1808 
 
 UNIVERSE OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00037547093 
 
 This book must not 
 be taken from the 
 Library building. 
 
 THIS TITLE H 
 
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