ed into the family of States by the law-making
power of their conqueror; second, it should now be solemnly declared
what power can revive, re-create and re-instate these provinces
into the family of States and invest them with the rights of
American citizens. It is time that Congress should assert the
sovereignty and assume something of the dignity of a Roman Senate."
He denounced with great severity the cry that "This is a white man's
Government." "If this Republic," said he with great earnestness, "is
not now made to stand on solid principle, it has no honest foundation,
and the Father of all men will still shake it to its centre. If we
have not yet been sufficiently scourged for our national sin to teach
us to do justice to all God's creatures, without distinction of race or
color, we must expect the still more heavy vengeance of an offended
Father, still increasing his afflictions, as he increased the severity
of the plagues of Egypt until the tyrant consented to do justice, and
when that tyrant repented of his reluctant consent and attempted to
re-enslave the people, as our Southern tyrants are attempting to do
now, he filled the Red Sea with broken chariots and drowned horses,
and strewed the shore with the corpses of men. Sir, this doctrine of
a white man's Government is as atrocious as the infamous sentiment
that damned the late Chief Justice to everlasting fame, and I fear to
everlasting fire."

The speech of Mr. Stevens gave great offense to the Administration. He
had not directly assailed the President by name, and had even assumed
to construe one of the paragraphs of the message as referring the
question of reconstruction anew to Congress; but this assumption was
simply for effect and was well known by Mr. Stevens to be unfounded.
The Administration did not misapprehend the drift and intention of
Mr. Stevens, and its members saw that it was the first gun fired in a
determined war to be waged against its policy and its _prestige_. They
were especially anxious that its defense should not be undertaken by
Democrats, or at least that Democrats should not take the lead in
defending it. Mr. Stevens spoke on the 18th of December, and Congress
had already voted to adjourn on the 21st for the Christmas recess. The
Administration desired the Mr. Stevens's speech should not be permitted
to go unanswered to the country and thus hold public attention until
Congress should re-assemble in January. It was important