Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-07-18
Che Obio 5tatesmra,r
Secretary Stewards Washington Speech
A Full Report. q

, Secretary Stewards Washington Speech
4. A Full Report.
The following ID full report of the remark
made by Secretary SEWARD In Washington, o.
Tuesday night, after the reception OF the new
Of the fate Of vicksburg:
u When saw commotion arising in civil lif
l thought 1t consistent with the duty OF patrio
and Christian to avert the civil war IL It wa
possible, and tried to do 80. II this was
weakness, found what seemed an instruction
excusiDg 1t In the prayer Of our Savior, that th
cup, the full bitterness Of which was understood
BY himself alone, might pass. But found, also
ON instruction to duty In bis resignation: "Never
theless not my will but thine be DONE" Whe
1t Nes clear that without fault Oh your part O
mine the civil war was inevitable, l then though
i consistent with the duty of patriot and
Christian TO take care that the war should DO be
gun not by the friends of the Union. but by III
enemies-eo that IN maintaining the Union VI
should not only maintain the cause of our coun
try, but should be maintaining it in righteous
self-detense. Aggression, unjust aggression, il
In every case weakness. Self-defepse In a right
eous cause is the strongest attitude that an indi
vidual or nation can have. The weakest ma
ton may resist powerful adversary, while /,
occupies an attitude Of selt-defense. Powerful
natiops lave been ruined in making an unpro-
vocked attack upon one infinitely weaker thar
themselves.
thought, farther, that IL was consistent with
my duty as patriot and Christian to do what
was In my power to render the war as light in ite
oalamities and as short in its duration as possi.
Bile. Therefore proposed to retain on the side
OF the loyal States as many Of the States which
were disturbed by elements of sedition as could
be retained by course Of calm and judicious
conduct. would have had, If possible, the in.
surrecIion confined to the seven original 90
called seeding States. When all these copdi-
tons had been secured, so for as was possible to
secure them, thought, still farther, that It was
conalstant with my duty, as q patriot and a
Christian, to combine the loyal States and con-
solidate them into one party for the Union, be-
cause knew that disunion had effectually com
bined the people of the disloyal States to over
throw the Union. thought that this could be
done only through the sacrifice OF individual and
State and sectional opinions, interests, preiu-
dicee, and ambitions.
A nation cannot be saved from death whose
individual citizens lack the virtue to make
these aacrifcee. Unwilling to ask of my fellow
citizens sacrifices had not the resolution to
make myself, l determined to wait until should
be called upon to make them. said, l give up
myself, my family, my friends, my party, all
shat have laid up of character In the past, ell
the interests that now possese, and all the fu-
ture that l had thought was IN store for me.
take for my associate and leader the first brave
and disinterested man who leads the way, aud
follow his guidance and share his fortunes |
found leader In Andrew Johnson, of Teunes-
see, man who tolerated and excused II he did
not justify slavery. As openly as all the world
knew that l then abhorred and desested IL, God
knows abhor and detest It now. said, the
country shall be saved by the Republican party
II it will, by the Democratic party If IL choose,
without slavery If it is possible, with slavery II
1t must.
Once engsged in the contest, was prepared
to demand, as l have demanded ever since, that
no treasure, no amount of human life necessary
to save the nations life, should be withheld. I
thought that the war might be ended in three
months-in six months-in yesr--and laber.
cd to that end. But, as you will all reoollect,
that IL was the people, and not only one man Or
any combination Of men, that could bring 1t to
an end, then or ever, and the people could only
do so by showing 20 much zeal, determination
and consistency as would not only keep envious,
or interested, or ambitious foreign nations aloof
from the battle, but should make It their obvi-
ous interest TO frown upon and discourage the in
surrection. We failed to make that exhibition,
and 80 the war has been protraoted into it's third
year, through the encouragement and aid the
insurrection has received from the fears or the
lstlessness Of portions Of our own people, and
the influences of the enemies of the Republic
and of human freedom throughout the world.
It was doubtless ordained that IL should be so,
and therefore 1t may be believed that It was beat
that it should be go, although we may be allow
ed to indulge our sorrows over the augmented
sum of miseries which the war has inflicted
upon the land. a .,.,,-
l say it is perhaps best, because think that
this ought to be the last insurreclion in the
United States-the last effort ever made to dis
solve the Union. The more severe the suffer-
ing that attends this attempt, the less likely it
Ia to be repeated. But We have reached, I
think, the eliminating point at last; we have
ascertained the amount of sacrifice which 10
necessary to save the Union, and the country Is
prepared to make 1t. The force Of secession Ia
exhausted. There are no more States to 20
out in the insurrection. The insurreotionary
States have no more soldiers to bring into the
conflict. On the other hand, in the loyal States
the plow has twice passed through the ground,
and each time IL has yielded the necessary har-
Neeh VI ueIcuuerb VI buo Ouiou' NC puusuA IL
deep, and is as rich in the elements of military
strength and virtue as that which has already
been twice furrowed. IL is for the disloyal cit-
Izsns TO decide whether they will give up the
contest now, or abide farther aud more CON,
,lusive trial. But, fellow citizens, / have In.
run into speech and will noW stop.
'"Go on, go on.' "We want to hear you"
. What Of Vicksburg7"l aHu
y Vicksburg! Why, that is just what was
speaking of. Vicksburg fell on the 4.h of July,
and Port Hudson, do not doubt, will fall be-
fore the 4th of August. When both have fallen
The United States are the masters of the Mis-.
,issippi. TIE power that navigatss the Missis-
,ippi dominates In North America, and makes
! division of the United States Of America i'm
possible. Then think that Rosecrsns either
las by this time, or soon will have, occupied the
mountain passes of East Tennessee; and thus
,y the two successes the new slave Confeders-
lion becomes divided into four separate, discon-
lected Territories. What kind Of q Confed-
grafton will that be2--a chain broken into four
and this is only the beginning.-|
Texas west Of the Mississippi, detached from
he Confederation by the Mississippi; and Ter
q A. ~