, 1863-02-18

there fs m organization within your boun-
tlaricy, tho ayowed object Of which j. to assist
The hcllisl, designs Of JEFF. Davis. The 6noncr
tlIs matter is looked into, the better: lave
done all In the power Of 1nnn to kcrp my
soldiers orderly, and now asl your co opera
tion in preserving our organization Intact,
Yours respectfully.
esigne1 co1 Kit Il Il RIFF MEiSM1nE; wa Vols.
SPEECH OF HON. 4. IT. MACK,
In the Stntc Ecnnte, on the Ar.
n.fstfce Resolutions, Ecbrafn1.y
18Th, 1868.
Mn. SPEAKER. II Is with feelings Of the
deepest sadness that I rise this evening to ad-
dress few remarks to the Senate upon the
question now under consideration III this
hour Of our country's greatest peril, when the
mightiest efforts Of all loyal men are demand
cd to save US from destruction; to find here
at home, in this great Free State, one hundred
and thirty thousand Of whose sons hare gone
forth to the battlefield; discord and dissc1l~
sions amongst those whose duty it is to stand
ever firm, unwaycring and united Is indeed
sad and dishearening spectacle. Standing
to-day nation composed Of an indomitablc
race Of men, "odcscendants Of the Norseman
men and Sea Kings who conquered the Celt in
Europe, overturned tn Roman Empire, and
spread havoc through its ancient cities" SONS
Of the Pilgrim Fathers, whose iron wil,ed
energy eubdued the primeval forest and found
ed an empire that sits cnthroned upon thu grail
tic hills Of New England, and hur,s her thun-
ders over the baoad Atlantic; children Of the
revolutionary heroes, who, through seven long
years of bloody war, maintained an unequHl
contest with the tyrant Of England, and con
4ucred our Independence; nation with mill
lions upon millions Of Intelligent and free
men, active and ingenious, witha fertility Of
invention unsurpassed by any milton Of the
earth, rich in ail tue elements Of material
wealth, shall VIC in this great hour Of trial, with
craven hearted imbecility, shrink from the
contest and abandon the Temple Of Liberty
reared by our flthers, that it may be brokeI,
into fragments and crumbled into dust, Sir,
am MI American citizen; I love my coun-
try, and though life, and family, and friends
are dear to ME, am ready to sacrifice them
a1l in the defence of freedom, and in the main
tenauce Of the integrity of the Union aud the
perpetuity Of our Government.
The Senator from Knox {slr. Mason) has
asked, ina sncering tone, how long It will
South, and finish the war, / answer that
while no man can tell how long this most u,,-
happy war may continue, yet this much all
history teaches, and oil men may know, that
civil war md revolution once begun iu any
country, conflict Of arms appealed to, 10 dc.
eide conflict Of ideas, and tie blessings Of
peace will never return to continne long with
that nation, until one or The other Of the great
contending parties is utterly conquered aud
subdued. ION may cry, "pcace, peace" but
there can be no peace, and those who in an
hour like the present, stand aside and take no
part in the contest, but with ceaseless voices
arc continually crying out for an armisticc,
and compromise and peace, are the sirens
whose songs are designed to lure us on to GER
tain ruin.
Willie do not charge, and do not believe,
that all the Democratic Scnators in this cham
hiLr mn re
know are; still must say, that in my calm,
deliberate judgment, the measure most dan.
gcrous to the country, most likely to lead to
final severance Of the Union, is the arm Is
tice measure proposed III the resolutions now
under consideration, and advocated By tue
Democratic members on this floor.
In the limited period allowed me, under tho
rules, for the discussion Of this question, de.
sire to call the attention Of tilc Senate mainly
to the consideration Of the ability of the Gov
crnncnt to maintain, and continue to a sue
cessfnl termination, the present war; but be-
will notice very briviy 4 point made by the
Senator Christian (Air. Vandcvcer). and rcp1y
to question Of the scnator from Peoria (A1r.
Linds1y.)
The senator from Christian, following no
doubt the impulses Of Ills heart, and directing
his blows ut the Government most obnoxious
to Ills feelings, has arraigncd the Federal Al
ninlktration upon y charge Of violating the
Constitution, and demands that we Should
answer to the indictment. Sir, to NIL these
charges that issue 50 yolubly from the lips Of
men whose indignation against the rebels
now in arms to overthrow tic Constitution,
though it may be deep, Is never uttered.
have but one reply to make, and that is this,
that no act, the object aud effect Of whicl, Is
| to sayc the Constitution, is, or ever can bc
| III itself Il violation Of the Constitution.
Abuses Of power: may and doubtless do
exist, and these it is not only our privilege
but our duty to correct; but the man who,
bccau SC the Administration in all excess Of
| caution TO prevent great anticipated danger,
las gone step beyond the real necessity of
tie oseasion' aud deprived some bar room
+ petty treason, tllerftre turns recreant to his
| duty and acnounccs the Government he Is
hound to support, and refuses to aid In the
defense of his country, steps fir beyond the
| line ofloyalty and becomes iii uder and abct-
| for Of the rebellion.
The Scnator from Peoria {Mr. Lindsay has
demanded that We should give the reason why
l.c has not the right to oppose the Proclanli-
tlon without being denounced as traitor. I
say to the Senator from Peoria that lie has
most undoubttd right to differ from the
President in reference to the legality, policy
or propriety of the Proclamation: but when
Ac ii,tkcs that difference Of opinion the pre-.
text for an open and most bitter opposition to
the war, and Tronouuces the rcstor.tion Of
Of submission to the demands of thu slave
power; then ifhe bc not at heart traitor, Ac
is Mt least most destitute Of that high spirit Of
unwaycring and enduring courage that belong
TO true American citizen, aud is unworthy
ofa blrtbright in Il country he is unwilling to
defend.
Twill now proceed to consider the question
Of the ability Of the Government to lnaintain
nud prosecute to Il successful termination the
| present war, and upon this point start out
with tie proposition, that the history Of the
world furnishes no instance of a civil war Of
between people Of the SAME kindred and race.
and in full proportion to tic magnitude of
| the contest, have been the magnitude of tile
preparation and tic real progress Of the Gov
| ernmcnt towards tile suppression Of the re-
bcilion. III order that We may fully conprc-
hend the ilnnlcnsity Of The results accom-
| p}lshcd, it is necessary that We should take ::
| retrospect Of the war, and then contrast. our
! present condition with the condition III which
VIC we're found at the commencement Of the
| conflict.
| For several months prior to Mr. Liucoln's
aided and abetted by numerous allies and CO.
eonspirator at the North, were engaged in
! plotting the overthrow Of the Federal Goy-
erninent, By the segregation Of all the slave
holding States and the formation Of South
crn CoDfederacy upon the Slave basis. Pos
| eEescA " aILIOst every tlEIntHt OL success,
and haying control Of every department Of
the Government, they laid their plans and
concoctcd their schemes witha skill and bold
ness that have no parallel in the history Of
revolutions among tic nations Of the EARTH
| The President {A1r. Buchanan) was the nil
ant tool OF the consp{rsltors and so cnthrallcd
BY their superior minds as to be incapable Of
resistance. The Secretary Of the Treasury,
Southern slave holder, having first exhausted
the pu9!ic funds, and stolen to aid the rebel
| lion, millions Of dollars, resigned his place
and took Office under the seccssionists.
Tue Secretary Of the Interior, also q slave
holder, having first By telegraph to Charles
ton, South Carolina, notified the rebels that
supplies were being sent privately to the g:r-
rlson at Fort Sumter, also resigned and -im-
me1iatcly jaincd his Southern friends.
The Secretary Of War, also a slave owner,
whose name has become moro Infamous, if
with most Internal cunning his part in the
conspiracy. The army, numbering in all only
some l0,C00 men, was scattered and so placed
IN tlc remote foftTesscs Of the West that thev
| could not be rallied to the defense Of the
Govcrnnlent, While every fort in the slarc-
holding States was left defvnselcss. BE- these
exploits Of the Secretary uf War, fortilica-
costing ovcr Sd,o00,000 were transferred to
the South. Not only this, but the public ar
| eenals at the North were robbed and the guns
! distributed to tile rebel States. One hundred
and fifteen thousand stand of arms were
| tins taken from Springfield, Mass. md Wa
| terrllet, n. +, and sent to the slaye States,
| The arsenal Mt Charleston, S. c., was filled to
rs utmost capacity and then turned over to
the Governor Of the State. Cannon, mortars,
shells, balls, powder, munitions Of war Of
every kind, wero furnished to the rebels, SO
| that the aggregate amount In the possession