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the first families of Virginia at seeing their sacred soil thus culti- 

 vated by Yankee laborers. Then Farmer Lincoln, at Washing- 

 ton, determined that Uncle Sam's great farm needed a change of 

 crops ; and determined to introduce the modern system of rota- 

 tion. "'■ The South," said he, " has produced a crop of slaves till 

 it is worn out ; it is time to give it another crop, of freemen." 

 And now the Yankees have gone down to try new fertilizers on 

 that exhausted soil ; they are teaching the South an agricultural 

 chemistry they never heard of before — planting freedom and en- 

 riching the soil with Y^'ankee schools. We think we shall get a 

 good crop of loyal minds and hearts by-and-b3^ We have four 

 million colored people there, who are loyal ; who love the Union 

 which has freed them ; who have shown themselves patient, 

 orderl}' and brave ; who have fought in our armies ; who have 

 died for the country which had neglected them all these years. 

 These four million men are to be made into loyal voters, to help 

 keep the Union and freedom safe, which has been rescued by all 

 the sacred blood and costly treasure. Unless we are more foolish 

 than the cattle in our fields, we shall make use of this loyal ele- 

 ment to save the nation. I do not think that having conquered 

 the rebels, we are going now to give them back the power to des- 

 troy the country. They must be held, yet longer, by military 

 power, till the foundations of Union and Freedom have been so 

 firmly laid that they are safe. The colored freedmen of the South 

 must vote. I do not care what the prejudices against color are, 

 the logic of events will overcome them. For if the colored people 

 do not vote, then these things follow : — First, that every white 

 rebel in the slave States has as much political power as two or 

 three loyal white men in the old free States, and there is no 

 equality. Second, we shall do the mean and absurd thing of let- 

 ting the rebel soldiers vote, and the Union soldiers not vote. 

 Third, we shall put a power in Congress which will try its best to 

 repudiate the national debt. Fourth, we shall bring on insurrec- 

 tion, civil war and massacre at the South. The blacks must pro- 

 tect themselves, either by ballots or bullets — give them ballots 

 and they will not need bullets. The freedmen are often armed, 

 they know their rights, they will not allow themselves to be 

 trampled down again ; and if we do not give them suffrage, we 



