Mr. HUBBARD, of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I did not expect to speak on this subject until last evening, and therefore I shall occup the time of the House but for a short perio, when I shall ield the floorto my friendfrom Illinois, [Mr. ilOUI. TON.] Perhaps, sir, it is impossible to frame a law upon a subject of such vast importance as is involved in this bill that at the outset will be satisfactory to all. Even the friends of the bill who are not of the committee, and who have not found time to study it, may think the see some faults in it, while it is to be expecte that our friends on the other side, who are opposed to all legislation on the subject, will be very sharp in their criticisms. I consider the bill as perfect as we can get it. Itwill be at all times under the control of Congress, subject to amendment or repeal. The great events which have just now transpired, and which have in so high a degree changed the condition of public affairs, require in my jud cut the adoption of the provisions of this bill, at least for a temporary period. It does not abridge the right of anyone. Some of our friends on the other side used to declare that if we gave freedom to the slaves all at once, even in one year, the would erish from off the face of the earth. he gentlemen did not seem to understand, or they were unwilling to acknowledge, that the highest interest of the Republic for all time to come required emancipation, although 1,000s upon 1,000s s iould perish in consequence thereof. The object of the Freedmens Bureau is employmentto the emancipatedwith compensation secured for their labor. This is one of the leading features of the bill, to give employment to these unfortunate men who are now wandering over the country homeless and friendless, so that the prohecy that they would all perish under imme iate emancipation shall not come to pass. nother object is to give them an opportunity to learn to read and to protect them reasonabl in their civil rights. hey ought not to be left to perish by the wayside in poverty and by starvation when the country so much needs their work. It is not their crime nor their fault that they are so miserable. From the beginnin to the present time they have been robbed of their wages, to say nothing of the scourgings they have received. I think that the nation willbe a great gainer by encoura ng the policy of the Freedmens Bureau, in the cultivation of its wild lands, in the increased wealth which industry brings, and in the restoration of law and order in the insurgent States. The Gentfrom Illinois some 20 times in the course of his eloquent speech this morning called upon some one to tell him where Congress cts the power to enact such a law as this. I will endeavor to answer him in my poor way. and, in the 1st place, I commend to him to read the 2nd section of the article of the immortal amendment of the constitution givng to Congress power to pass all appropriate laws and make al appropriate legisation for the purpose of carryin out its provisions. I commend to his carefu study the spirit of the 2nd section of that immortal amendment, and I think if he will study it with a willingness to be convinced he will see that it has given to. this Congress full powerin the premises. More over, sir, I read in the constitution that congress has been at all times charged with th. but of providing for the public welfare, and if congress shall deem that the public welfare requires this enactment, it is the sworn duty of every member to give the bill his Sir, there support is an old maxim of law in which I have very considerable faith, that regard must be had to the public welfare; and this maxim is said to be the highest law. It is the law of the constitution, and in the light of that Constitution as amended I find ample power for the enactment of this law. It is the duty of Congress to exercise its power in such a time as this, in a time of public peril, and 1 be u that nobody upon this side of p the House wi i be so craven as to want courage to come up to the question and give his vote for the bill. It is necessary to provide for the public welfare. Mr. Speaker, I feel proud of my country when I behold it stretching out its strong arm of power to protect the poor, the ignorant, the weak, and the oppressed. I see in it the prosecution of a rigiiteous purpose which cannot fail to secure the favor of heaven. I see in it that which will bring my country a richer revenue of honor than all the eloquence of her forums or the glory of her battlefields. I see in it infallible evidence that the nation is fast becoming what it was intended to be by the fathers the home of liberty and an asylum for the oppressed of all the races and nations of men. The words caste, race, color, ever unknown to the constitution, notwithstandin the immortal amendment giving freedom to a l, are still potent for evil on the lips of men whose minds are swayed by prejudice or blinded by passion, and the freedmen need the protection of this bill. The era is dawning when it will be a reproach to talk in scorn about the distinctions of race or color. Our country is, and must be, cosmopolitan. The fathers invited the oppressed of all nations to come here and find a happy home. Many of them, from man nations, have come, and more are comin. hey have come from the continents, and om all the isles of the sea. Jew and Gentile, Christian and P an, are here. Africa; once the home of Hannibal, Moor, benighted Africa, so long groaning in bondage, so long eering with dim eye into the darkness in searcii of the light of the one true God, came with a clanking c ainl But, by the aid of a strong Arm from on high, we have been able to set her children free; and they are now American citizens, all. Wehave among us men of all nations, of all kindreds and tongues. They all meet here to worship at freedoms shrine, and the constitution intends they shall all be made politically free and equal. It is in vain that we talk about race, caste or color; in vain that we proudly talk about the Puritan, with his stubborn courage, his love of God, and his fidelity to man; in vain that we boast of the Cavalier, whose motto was “He either fears too much, Or is deservingsmall, Who daresnot put it to the touch. To win or lose it all;” in vain to boast of the AngloSaxon stream, when 1,000 rivers, from 1,000 sources, are running into it ever. I repeat the sublime declaration that “all men are born free and equal.” This was a proclamation of political freedom and equality to all the races of men. The sooner the South gives heed to it the sooner she will be reconstructed. The sooner the North and South both give heed to it the better for all. It bears the seal of inevitable destiny, and whoever fights against it fights against God, and strikes in vain. Our Republic is yet in its youngyears, but the divine principles implanted in its bosom will not cease to animate it till all the men of all the races and bloods in our wide domain become politically free and equal. Whenever this desirable attainment shal be achieved and realized, the sword may be beaten into plowshares, and the spear into pruning hooks. This hill is as perfect as We can get it. it is intended to cast the shield of protection over 4 million American citizens, includin old men, young men, and women and chiltren. They are loyal and faithful, every one. Their young men have searched the battlefield for our wounded soldiers, and nursed them, when dying, into life; while their old men and women and children have prayed to God for the success of the nations banner. They need schools and protection. They are not permitted to sue in the courts or testify against a white man. We owe them protection in return fc" their faithful 1866 "HM? 651 allegiance, and I be e the bill will receive the undivided support of this side of the House. I now yield) to the Gentfrom Illinois, [Mr. Mounrosn]