Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-05-15
Speech Of Frank II. Blair ON The
slavery Question.

On the llth Of April, COL Frank p.
Blair, the Representative from St. Louis,
made q speech il. the House Of Congress
on the policy of the administration touch
ing the negro question. Col. Blair is the
son of "BIair Of the GioJe," and the
brother of Montgomery Blair, who is in
the Cabinet, and is said to enjoy the con =
fdenco of the President. The leading
points of the speech are the following =
|. Col. Blair is decidedly opposed to
the abolition Of slavery in the States by
arbitrary exercise Of unconstitutional
power He says "the constitutional au-
tholities" alone can deal with this ques-
ton with any hope Of salutory results-
"My belief is that any assumption Of az
Mority to expedite it, would stay the
work, and might restore the slaye dynasty
to power"
3 He denies that slavery is the cause
Of the war, and that its abolition would
end the struggle. He says:
Every man acquainted with the facts
KNOWS that it is fallacious to call this
"slavcholder's rebellion" If such was
the fact, two divisions of our army could
have suppressed it without difficulty; the
negroes themselves could easily put down
the two hundred and ff,y thousand slave
holders; but it is matter Of history that
the savch hJlders, as body, were the last
and most reluctant to Join the rebellion.
3. In the following passage he re as
serts the theory Of the rebellion
1t was the negro question and not the
slavery question which made the rebel
lion-questions entirely different and re-
quiring different treatment; and it is nee
essary to understand :he distinction to
enable us to deal with it successfully, as
it is that the physician should know the
disease which he is called on to treat and
to cure. If the rebellion was made by
two hundred and fifty thousand slave
holders for the sake of perpetuating sla-
very, then it might be complete remedy
to eXtirpate the institution ; but if the
rebellion had grown out of adherence
Of The non Shareholders for emancipation
and amalgamation, and their dread of
negro equality" how will their dscon-
tent be cured by the very measure, the
mere apprehension of which has driven
them into rebellion?
4, Col. Blair charges that the "ultra
anti.slavcry men corporate with the slave
interest in making questions affecting sla-
very, but for directly the contrary pur-
pose. He says;
The North is a unit, and the South is
divided on the question of the Union
Could the gentlemen who are advertising
for policy for the Administration i'm :
prove this condition by a policy which
would divide our friends and unite the
South ? They imagine, indeed, that by
dccrccing emancipation they could get
more efficient help from the negroes ? If
thoy could show any reason for suppos-
ing that the negroes would run away in
any greater numbers than they now do,
under such decree, there might be some
ground for debate but there is not the
slightest ground for supposing this All
run away now, | believe, who can get
away, 1t is only when our armies invade
the slave regions that they can get away,
and it would still require that the forts
they are compelled to build should be ta-
ken by our armed men. We could not
strengthen ourselves at the North by this
measure certainly we have already the
whole force of that region aud we could
not strengthen ourselves at the South,
for we cannot reach the slaves by such a
proclamation except by force, and we
should add to the force of the free men
to oppose us.
Col. Blair holds that the separation of
the two races and the colonization of the
negroes is the true policy for the Admin
istration-a policy which will open the
fertile territory of the South to the labor
of white mon.