The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1862-07-18
A Bold Speech in the Lincoln Senate

Doiu speech in the Lincoln Senate
8 IN the Yankee Senate on the 24tb Ill
MI. salisbury of Delaware, expressed
his views in thcfollowing strong language
/ lio said that history would hand down
70 the luturc, with execration and con.
oen'nation, many acts Of tho present day.
an arbitrary and despotic power. now.
not satisfied with trampling ON every con.
sur,tiohal right of scitizens. has dared
proianely to enter the temple OF Justice
and drag her ministers from the nitar.1-
he who thus invades court Of Justice
! proves himself a tyrant, capable of any
assa nit on the liberties of tho people,
1 Unuer the pretence of suppressinp a
causessss rebellion, the Executive De-
partn ut of this Government, in his
lJuds' iqhs, were daily engaged in The
| groif Z yiolations, of the Fundamental
law.
/ Who are they who are thus murderipg
CIVIL llberty? Those who, in the pretence
OF philanthropy, have plunged the coun-
Try intoall the horrors of civil war, and
now evidence sincerity by shouting loyal
ty, while engaged in destroying the lib
critics OF the people, and even 90 SO far as
to dare TO impeach the loyalty of those
men who stand by the Constitution. He
said it was his deliberate and solemn con.
viction that either abolitionism or consti
tutional liberty must forever die--the
two cannot exist together. Abolition
ism has for The time beng. dissolved the
Union, ami while it lives it will remain
dissolved. No free people eitherwil or
ought to submit to its sway. 1t has been
the authorof all our political. woes.
| Abolitiorism always has been agrees
sive on the Vliberties of the Government,
and had eliminated in an attempt to in
wade peaceful State. Then; the Repub.
lican party, h the same aggressive spirit,
nominated aman who declared that "a
house dividedpgainsti itself cannot stand"
Tho war CLOTHS Immediately began to
threaten. Ex-senator Mr.. Crittenden)
offered compromise, which would have
avertcd the war but the Aboltionists re-
fused compromise, and deliberately chose
war; Then arose the cry son to Rich
mond, " when il WIS met with bio ,dy
defeat'at Manassas. Then Congress pass
ed resolution that the only object of
the war was. to suppress rebellion and
nothing else, and the loyal people of the
Border States took heart and courage
How has Congress kept this pledge?
They abolished slavery in the Dis
trict Of Columbia, and established pa
rade for free negroes from Delaware and
Maryland, where theywere supported by
taxing white men. They are paying ne
gro teamsters thirty dollars per month,
while our white soldiers are working at
thirteen dollars per month. They have
legalized negro testimony and established
diplomatic relations with Hayti and Lii
IBERIA. The council chamber of the ma
ton has been turned into house Of
wailiHg for the wrongs Of the negro. He
fconterded that the present was not Encre-
ly an Instruction or a rebellion, but a
great revolution.
He would take the admissions of the
Senator from Vermont, (Mr. Collamer. J
and Pennsylvania, Mr.. Cowan,) and as
sumo that the present Confederate Gov
eminent Is q government de- facto, and
contend that when the old Government
was fully ousted and new one firmly
established, those who give allegiance to
the latter cannot be punished for treason
to the former. The right of revolution
has been asserted in this country, and he
thought it settled, that where a revolu-
ton is inaugurated under circumstances
where success seems probable, it may be-
come the duty of every citizen to yield
allegiance to the new Government, and
where there is only q reasonable proba-
bility of success, such support to d new
Government is not felony which would
subject them to prison and death, or con-
fscation.
Z i vas not right to visit severe punish
ment on men for doing what they con-,
scientiously believed to be right. A
large mass Of these men at the South be-
lieve'that they have the right, and that
they owe allegiance to the State as we'll
as to the Government, and they had al
ways given great weight to the former
Humanity, charity, and all the usages
of the civilized world cry out against a
severe punishment to those who yield al
legiance to Governments dc facto, where
a Government dc jure ceased to protect
them or have any power.
He denied that there was any iustif-
cation or cause for the present revolution.
He admitted the right of the Govern
ment to prevent the secession of any
State, but such right was not derived
from any authority in the Constitution,
but from the right OF selfpreservation.-
He thought that if there had been no
slavery in the Southern States there new
er would have been any confscation
bills. The passage of this bill will only
tend to prolo1g the war and make the
separation complete.