kind feelings which many in the North would have,
toward them.

"I do not credit all these stories about the general feeling of
hostility in the South toward the negro. So far as I have heard
opinions expressed upon that subject, and I have conversed with many
persons from that section of the country, they do not blame the negro
for any thing that has happened. As a general thing, he was faithful
to them and their interests until the army reached the place and took
him from them. He has supported their wives and children in the
absence of the husbands and fathers in the armies of the South. He has
done for them what no one else could have done. They recognize his
general good feeling toward them, and are inclined to reciprocate that
feeling toward him.

"I believe that is the general feeling of the Southern people to-day.
The cases of ill-treatment are exceptional cases. They are like the
cases which have occurred in the Northern States where the unfortunate
have been thrown upon our charity. Take for instance the stories of
the cruel treatment of the insane in the State of Massachusetts. They
may have been barbarously confined in the loathsome dens, as stated in
particular instances, but is that any evidence of the general ill-will
of the people of the State of Massachusetts toward the insane? Is that
any reason why the Federal arm should be extended to Massachusetts to
control and protect the insane there?

"It has also been said that certain paupers in certain States have
been badly used--paupers, too, who were whites. Is that any reason why
we should extend the arm of the Federal Government to those States to
protect the poor who are thrown upon the charities of the people
there?

"Sir, we must yield to the altered state of things in this country. We
must trust the people; it is our duty to do so; we can not do
otherwise. And the sooner we place ourselves in a position where we
can win the confidence of our late enemies, where our counsels will be
heeded, where our advice may be regarded, the sooner will the people
of the whole country be fully reconciled to each other and their
changed relationship; the sooner will all the inhabitants of our
country be in the possession of all the rights and immunities
essential to their prosperity and happiness."

Mr. Thornton, of Illinois, feared there was "something hidden,
something more than appears in the language" of the bill. He feared "a
design to confer the right o