The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1862-10-03

stand now? We have already mustered ii
six hundred and ninety-three thousand and still
there is room for more. Laughter. Ah ms
friends, tlise men were never more mistaken il
their lives than when they assumed to place
such slight value upon the rebellion and the
people of the South. 1t is no particular cred
it to any American to say that he will fight
that is one quality whichis common to the whole
American race.--They have always displayed
| that characteristic wherever they have been
These men, therefore, when they told you that
Southern people would not fight, either did not
exactly understand the subject, Or they willfully
| misled you.
| Well what next? They come now, after they
have found out that Southern soldiers viii fight,
they come to you again and cry, "We have
been mistaken this time, but we have it now
just arm the negroes, and the work will be fin
ished in short order,' Fellow citizens, as often
as | hear man talk in that way, Leone to the
conclusion that he wants to find some excuse
for changing the issue so as to get some one
else to do the fighting. don't want to volun-
teer. Laughter. No man of common intellect
can be induced to believe that the negro, natu-
rally an inferior race, and debased by ignorance
as he is, can ever compete with the white man
upon the battlefield, any more than he can any
where else Set them against each other, three
to one, and the white man will be the victor all
the time
In Mexico where our soldiers fought mixed
race, they were victorious on every battlefield,
although outnumbered in ratio of five to one.
Now if the African is afraid of anything on
this earth it isgunpowder. In what estimation
can you hold that man who tells you that the
liberty, independence and Constitutional Gov
ernment of the country depend upon al few mis-
cradle, ignorant, cowardly negroes? We have
population of twenty millions of white peo-
pie, and immense wealth; properly directed,
we are capable of beatinc any army the world
ever saw or ever will :, and he who has. the
etfrontery TO say that we cannot maintain our.
Government without the help of negroes, utters
libel upou the American nation.
1t is false thai slavery is the cause of the
present unfortunate condition of things. The
cause does not lie there; it lies in another
place, The mischievous legislation OF these
abolitionists in Congress is the cause. speak
plainly, but speak precisely what l think,
Now eeiQ eisw VT wtiHgt iHgt one year agoin vongress both
branches pledged themselves that the war should
be prosecuted for the preservation OF the Union
and the Constitution, and for that alone. All
of these abotioniss either yotedf for the resolu-
ton which was adopted embodying that senti-
ment, or ran out of the House to avoid voting
at all We'll the resolution was adopted. The
President issued his call for volunteers, and six
hundred and ninety-three thousand rushed to
arms, upon the faith of the solemn pledge which
Congress had given to the people Time rolled
on, and success seemed to smile upon our Efforts
Our Western armies had won great and glori-
Gus victories. The Southern people were still
divided. Just at this juncture Congress meets
The dominant party goes Immediately to work
to undo all the wise legislation OF the called ses-
sion. Every proposition that is brought for
ward is for the negro. 1t soon became appar-
ent the majority in Congress was no longer
bound by the Constitution. Instead of COM
ING forward with measures of peace and con-
citation, they came with contiscation, fire and
sword, and by these measures they at once fred
and united the hearts of the Southern people.
Thus far we conservative men had gone hand
in hand with these hypocrites, in good faith
but here we left them. We parted from them
with great sorrow and pain. Then it was that
| became satisfied that the majority controlling
Congress medtatcd the destruction OF the Gov
ernment-that they preferred divided Govern
ment, with the chances of power and plumber
History is full of examples that 60 TO show
that Governments are never destroyed by means
of either rebellion or foreign foes without some
fault upon the part of their own ruler. You
may turn to the scriptures and you will lind nu-
merous instances in point The children OF Is
rael were not, nor could they have been, divided
by the wickednesss of Jeroboam, the son OF
Nebat, who rebelled against the Government
but itrequired the mad folly of Rehoboam, their
rishtful sovereign to divide them:
When the wise men who had been for many
years the faithful advisers of his father came to
Rehoboam and endeavored to persuade him to
respect the rights of all his subjects and admin
lister the Government without partiality to any,
his answers was: "NIy father lashed You with
whips, but will lash with scorpions, and my
little finger shall be thicker than my fathers
thigh" From that day forward Israel was a
divided kingdom, shorn of its glory and of its
power. This last Congress has done for us, as
far as was in their power, the very same thing
that Rehoboam did for the kingdom of Israel
AS have said before, therefore, there was
large Union sentiment at the south one year a.
90. In view of this fact, what should have
been our policy! Should we not have endeav-
ored to convince these people that beneath the
flag of their country all their rights of proper
ty were secure? do not know how you are go
ing to reconcile this Union without some basis
to place it upon. Such basis we might have
had in this strong Union element at the South.
Who does not know that two-thirds of the Sc
ceded States were carried into the wickedness
of secession absolutely without the consent of
the people and against their will
The hearts of these people were for the old
Government, in which they had always trusted,
o1> ho1