American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1851-1863, 1861-08-03

ana with the utmost diiflcuiIy->IXty-flve
Republican members, with the resoIute and
determined gentleman from Pennsy lvania
fMr. Hickman, at their head, having voted
against it and fought against it to the very
last.
And not this only: but as part of the
history of the last session, let me remind
YOU that bills were introduced into this
House proposing TO abolish and close up
certain Southern ports of entry; to author
ize the President TO blockade the Southern
coast; and TO call out the militia and accept
the services Of volunteers, not for three
months merely, but without any limit as to
either numbers or time, for the very pur
pose of enforcing the laws, collecting the
revenue and protecting the public property;
and were pressed vehemently and earnestly
in this House, prior to the arriroE Of tie Pres
ideat IN this city, and were then, though
seven States had seeded and set up gov
eminent of their own, voted down, post
poned, thrust aside, or in some other way
disposed of, sometimes by large majorities in
this House, till at last Congress adjourned
without any action at all. Peace then
seemed to be the policy of all parties.
Thus, sir, the case stood at II o'clock on
the 4th of March last, when, from the East
ern portico of this Capitol, and in the pres
ence OF twenty thousand of his eountrymen,
but enveloped IN crowd of soldiery which
no other American President ever saw,
Abraham Lincoln took the oath of Office to
support the Constitution, and delivered his
inaugural address, message, regret to
say, not written in the direct and straight
forward language which becomes an Ameri-
can President and an American statesman,
and which was expected from the plain,
blunt, honest man of the Northwest, but
with the forked tongue and crooked counsel
of the New York politician, leaving thirty
million people in doubt whether it meant
peace or war But whatever NAV have been
the secret purpose and meaning of the inau-
gural, practically, for six weeks, the policy
of peace prevailed and they were weeks of
happiness to the patriot and prosperity to
the country. Business revived; trade re-
turned commerce fourisbed. Never was
there fairer prospect before any people.
Secession in the past langushed and was
spiritless and harmless; secession in the fu-
tire was spiritlcss and harmless. BY over
whelming maj orities, Virginia, Kentucky,
North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri all
declared for the old Union, and every heart
beat high that in due course of time, and
through faith and patience and peace, and by
ultimate and adequate compromise, every
State would be restored to il. 1t is true,
indeed, sir, that the Republican party, with
great unanimty and great earneStness and
determination bad resolved against all com
promise and Cancellation. But on the other
hand, the whole Democratic party, and the
whole Constitutional Union party, were
equally resolved that there should be no
civil war upon any pretext, and both sides
prepared for an appeal to that great and
final arbiter of all disputes in a free country
the people.
Sir, | do not propose to inquire now
whether the President and his Cabinet were
sincere and in earnest, and meant really to
persevere to the end in the policy of peace,
or whether from the first they meant civil
war, and only waited TO gain time till they
were fairly seated in power, and had dis
posed, too, OF that prodigious horde of spoiis-
men and office-seekers which came down
first like an avalanche upon them. But
do know that the people believed them sin
cere. and cordially ratified and approved of
the policy Of peace; not as they subsequent
" responded to the policy of war, in
wbirlwind of passion and madness, but So
berry and calmly, and as the result of their
deliberate and most solemn Judgment and
believing that civil war was absolute and
eternal disunion while secession was but
partial and temporary they cordially en-
iorsed also the proposed evacuation of Snm-
ter and the other forts and public property
within the seeded States. Nor, sir, will |
stop to explore the several causes which
either led to change in the apparent policy
or an early development of tie original and
real purposes of the Administration. But
there are two which cannot pass by. And
the first Of these was party necessity. or the
clamors of politicians, and especially of GER
tain wicked, reckless and unprincipled con-
luctors of partisan press. The peace poll
CIV was crushing out the Republican party.
Under that policy, sir, it was melting away
like snow before the sun. The general cleo
tons in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and
municipal elections in New York and in the
Western States, gave abundant evidence
that the people were resolved upon the
most ample and satisfactory constitutional
guarantees to the South as the price of
restoration of the Union. And then it was,
sir, that the long and agonizing howl of de-
feafed and disappointed politicians came up
before the Administration. The newspaper
press teemed with appeals and threats to
the President. The mails groaned under the
weight of letters demanding change of pol
icy, while secret conclaye of the Govern
ors of Massachusetts,, New York. Ohio and
other States, assembled here. promised men
and money to support the President in the
,rrepressible conflict which they now in
voked. And thus it was, sir, that the ne
cessities of party. in the pangs OF dissoiu-
tom in the very hour and article of death,
demanding vigorous measures, which could
result in nothing but civil war, renewed Sc
cession and absolute and eternal disunion,
were preferred and hearkened to before the
peace and harmony and prosperity of the
whole country.
But there was another and yet stronger
impeIling cause without which this horrld
calamity of civil war might have been post
poned, and, perhaps, finally ayerted. One
of the last and worst acts OF Congress
which, born in bitterness and nursed in con-
vulsion. literally did those things which II
ought not to have done, and lett undone
those things which it ought to have done,
and was the passage Of an obscure, III consid-
cred, i'll digested and unstatesmanlike high
protective tariff act, commonly known As
the q Morrill, tariff" just about the same
time, too, the Confederate Congress at
Montgomery adopted our old tariff OF 1891.
which we had just rejected to make way for
the Morrill, act. fixing their rate OF duties at
eve, fifteen and twenty per cent. lower than
ours. The result was IS inesifabie IS the
laws Of trade are memorable. Trade and
cQmmerce-and especially the trade AMI
commerce Of the West-began to look to
he mt If n