Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1862-04-12

| Territories. Permit me to make an inquiry
lin no offensive sense, but simply that
may be nderstood-anothcr inquiry. What
| right has been denied, what privilegs with
| held, what pIprogatives lost, undsy the Con
stitution Of the United States, by any citizen
| thereof, and particularly citizen OF Tcnncs-
see What onc2 Can you tell Can you
! point it out Can you take up the Consti-
tuition and call attention to any right there
guaranteed which You lave lost Can you
Sce it--smeil it--taste it--ftcl it. Youmay
tax all your faculties, and cannot tell what
right has been lost
What excuse, then. is there for all this
turmoil of warl What has the South lost
under the Constitution. that palladium of
our liberties. framed by the patriotic fathers
of another century slavery is the reply
Where has the Institution of slavery been
invaded! Can any one tell Here GOV.
johnson alluded to the fact that he and others
who had determined to stand firm by the
principles of self government, had been de
nominated traitors and read the Constitu-
tiUnul definition of treason If. continued
he, it be treason to stand hy ones country.
| am here to-day traitor in Your presence.
| was making the inquiry Why all this !
direct your attention to some facts in our
history. In the fall of 1860, you remember
the memorable contest for the Presidency
. Three candidates were put before the people
Bell, Breckenridge, Douglas. A fourth
was nominatcd-Mr. Lincoln, hut he had no
ticket in the State | asked for Mr.. Bells
friends, What position did you takel THE
Union, the Constitution and the enforcement
ot the laws What did the Douelas men
propose Of your approval The Union, the
Constitution and the enforcement of the laws.
How did Breckinridge stand The same
voted for Breckenridge bccaUec thought
him a better Union man and a stronger can
Ci.latr than either Douglas or Bell And
here let me ask those Bch. Douglas or Brcck-
inrdgc men present if they did not cast their
votes under the impression that they were
trying to elect thc strongest Union candi-
date Ny belief was that Brcckinridg was
Il more eligible man tl.an Bell that from his
well known position in the eyes of the nation
he could dttcat and put down Secession
He Was a stronger man III the South than
Douglas. while ii WAS agreed that Douglas
was stronger at the north. We had reason
to hope that 10y combination of their
strength Lincoln might he defeated. If all
were defeated but Mr.. lincoln. he would
give him Il trial If he administered the
affairs Of State wisely and conS;itutionally.
lie world hc thankful; if not - ii lac attcmp-
ted To encourage sectional legislation and
administered affairs disparaeingly TO any
part of the country. turn him out.
was not for breaking up this Govern
mcnt because, for>ucth. the aims of any set
of ro.iticians had miscurricd If we are
not to have revolution upon such a pitiiuI
prctcNt, wha; stability Of government DO we
possess To yield 20 the lisplcasurc of Il
i,,. =.
poliiiCa. -trus;Urr o. ,u,l, Grandeur Us oU...
would be To follow III the 5ootstcps of dis
f4nMfhiG"mrI tnidct..E copntrXUga to
invade their rights or compress their free
dom. elect another; the ballot box, and not
the sword, was the instrument TO WELD. In
the support of Breckin,idgc for the prcsi-
dcncy had labnred through tatguing
canvass. exposing myself to all the unplras-
antncss of travel and the cXhars;ion of de
c!amation was enlisted in his fortunes
for the sake of my country. believed him
to I've the safest for the crisis; and can
produce evidence from many sources to iusti-
is the hrlrt. Threats were boldly made to
destroy the country if Brcckinrilgc waa not
elected.
To avoid this calamity, would make the
sacrifice Of MY health nay my life. my all
Bell men, how can you Justify yourselves for
the part you are cnactirg in this bloody
drama Let me ask, Douglas supporters
how could you 80 off into the dismion
! cause WAS witness of the reign of ter
ror which followed the defeat of Bell, l}rcck
inridgc and Douglas, and when the election
WAS over ! repaired to Washington. 1t was
| there that Breckenridge showed the cloNcn
! foot. South Carolina was baScly and adroit-
/ " attcmptin" TO dcsoyc tbs Union. ! saw
| l}rcckinndgr and conver>cd with him told
/ him the people were all disappointed; that
we had been caught in snap; SccCssionistS
would break up the Union. What was the
Frcplyl Can we coerCc n State :" | re
marked, 1T is our duty to save the Govern
mcnt." Will you cOcrcc r he again dcnan-
dcd. told him not to deal in technical
/ ties the laws must he enforced
| If one man in South Carolina should rob
| the mint, counterfeit money, or commit any
other crime against the laws Of the United
States, he would be punished; and ii matters
not whether the law was broken by one
man. or twenty, or Il hundred or even hy the
| State itself the Government must be Nlndi-
Gated. The soul of liberty is tn" love OF
law. If this be so, and You have no author
ity TO enforce it, YOU have no law 10 protect
the weak and defy the strong My interview
with BrCckinndCc waS Ike an Iceberg III
my bosom. | was deceived in him, and
discovered that Brcckinridge had no hope
of being elected, no hope but for Kentucky
and the Southern States | asked him il
he was willing to diSunite the States because
of Mr.. Lincolus success, and because diScon
tented South Carolina agitateS the subject
To this question Breckenridge replied in az
captoHdum slang about suhiugation and TIN
horrors Of civil conflict, convincing mc tha
he had gone into the arms of disunion.
As he could not he President Of all tn
States he was willing to divide them anC
become President of Part of them. W
separated. ! turned my back on him an'
said, You deceived me then, that was you
fault but when You deceive me again, i
will he mine. Let me ask Bell, Brrckinridg
! and Douglas men what duty is left for yo
to perform Only one. If you cannot fn'
out what rights you have lost, come forwar
like a band of brothers, gather around tn
r altar of your country, and say the Constitu
) ton shall he preserved. In returning to m
native State, ! offer the olive branch in on
, hand and the Constitution in the othe
| With and for it ! have come TO perish,
e need be-to pour out my blood, free lib'
t tion for its preservation. The Federal Coy
= ernment is made responsible for this war b