Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-04-07

their independence there is no better set
tied rule in the law of nations than that
foreign recognition of them is an act OF
war. And no country is more sternly
bound to that view than is England which
held the recognition by France of our own
independence to be an act of war, and de-
elared war accordingly. What, then, is
the duty Of neutrals? Let US take for
example the English nation. They have
no treaty with the rebels, no open relations
with them. They have treaties of amity
and commerce with US. A contest arises
between us and our enemies to whom
they are strangers, and they claim to ex-
ercise the same neutrality as If the con-
test were between two nations with which |
they had treaties of amity. Let me illus |
trate: have two friends who have got |
into fight. 1 am on equally good terms |
with both, and do not choose to take part |
in their quarrel. I hold myself neutral |
But suppose one of my friends is fighting
with 4 stranger, of whom know nothing
chat is good; have seen nothing except
that he would fight; is it my duty then to
stand perfectly neutral? 1t is not the
part of friend as between men nor be-
tween nations. The English say, we will
not sell you any arms, because we should
have to sell the same to the Confederate
States. To that answer, You have trea-
ties Of Commerce with US by which you
agree to trade with US. You have no
treaty Of commerce with the Rebels. l
insist that there is a greater duty to US,
considering this as a separate nation-an
| interloper trying to get admitted into the
| family of nations. There is still another
logical consequence which which, in my
judgment, follows from this view of the
case. A great question put to me has
been: How are We to get those men back2
how are we to get this territory back?
how are we to reconstruct the Union?
1 think that is much better answered upon
this hypothesis than upon any other
| There are but two ways in which this
| contest can be ended. One is by re-rey-
olutioniZing given portion of this eoun-
try, and having them ask to be admitted
| into the Union; the other is to bring 1t
back by the triumphal car Of victory
| Whenever any portion OF the inhabitants
of the South shall become again part Of
the Union, and shall erect themselves into
a State and ask us to take them back
with such a Constitution as they ought
| to be admitted with, there is no difficulty
in its being done. There is no Witchery
about it. This precise thing has been
done in Western Virginia. She went out,
and stayed out for while. By the aid OF
our armies, and by the efforts Of her citi-
zens, she re-reYOlutiOniZed and threw oil
the Government of the rest of Virginia
and the Confederate yoke, erected herself
into a State, with Constitution which
believe is quite satisfactory to you, espe-
cially with the amendment, came back,
and has been received again into the
Union. This is the first, the entering
wedge, of the series of States which will
come back in that way. But if they will
not come back, we are bound to sUbju-
gate them. What then do they become?
Territories Of the United States. [Ap-
plause.l We acquire them precisely as
we acquired California and Nevada; not
exactly as we acquired Texas. Was there
any difficulty in dealing with the State OF
Ca ifornia? Viii there be any difficulty
in our admitting, as new State, Nevada,
when ready to come in and ripe to come
in? Was there any difficulty in taking in
a portion of the Louisiana purchase?
Will there be any difficulty when her peo-
Pile are ready, in our taking them back
again? Win there be any difficulty in re-
constructing the Union, when those that
have gone out without cause, without
right, without grievance, that have form
ed themselves into new States and taken
|
to return2 am not for taking them back
without readmiSsion. Ifeel as husband
might feel, whose wife had run away with
another man and divorced herself from
him; / should be unwilling to take hel
again to my arms until we had gone be-
fore the priest and been remarked. !
have the same feeling with regard to
those people who have gone out. When
they repent and come back, am ready tC
receive them, and not till then. Ap-
plausel Toyour fHttering illusions, Sir
to my acts in the Department Of the Gulf
will answer q single word. When Ilefl
that Department, 1 sat down deliberately
and put In the form of an address to the
people of that Department an exact ac
count of the acts had done while there
and I said to them: You know 1 have
done these things; no man can deny 1t
1 have waited more than three months
and have not yet heard any denial from
that Department that those things were
done. To that fact point as the justih
cation of your too fattering eulogy, as al
answer forever TO every slander and every
calumny. The ladies Of New Orleans
knew whether they were safe. Has any
one of them ever said she was not? The
men of New Orls ans knew whether theil
/
man ever said it was not? The poor o
n. Orleans know whether the money tha-
was taken from the rich Rebels was fec
out to them. Has any one Of them denieC
it? TApplause.l To this record 1 point a.
the only answer shall ever make to the
calumnies that have been poured uponme
and upon the officers every where in tha
Department that aided so successfully il
carrying out every effort for the goOC
ofthe country. [Applause.l l desire nov
to say single word upon the question
what are the prospects ofthis war? Ny
opinion would be no better than that o
another man; but let me show you the
reason for the faith that is in me that thi:
war is progressing steadily to a successful
termination. Compare the state Of the
country on January !, 1868, with the STATE
of the country on January l, 1862, and tel
me whether there has not been progress
At that time the Union armies held nC
considerable portion Of Missouri, of Ken
lucky, or of Tennessee; none Of Virgins
except Fortress Monroe and Arlington
Hights; none of North Carolina save Hat
teras and none Of South Carolina save
Port ROYAL. All the rest was ground
4 of struggle at least, and all the rest fur
nishing supplies to the rebels. Now they
Hfhold none Of Missouri, none of Kentucky,
none of Tennessee, for any valuable pur-
pose of supplies, because the western
portion is in our hands, and the eastern
portion has been so run over by the con-
tending armies that the supplies are gone.
They hold no portion of Virginia valuable
for supplies, for that is eaten out by their
armies. We hold One-third Of Virginia,
and half of North Carolina. We hold our
| own in South Carolina ; and hope that,
before the IIth of this month, we shal
hold a little more. [Applause.l Wehold
tWo-thirds Of Louisiana, in wealth and
population. Wehold all Arkansas and all
of Texas, so far as supplies are concern