The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-09-17

just before Georgia took the plunge into
the gulf Of secession. Alexander a. Ste
the. s'Confederacy," delivered . speech to
the Georgia Legislature denying that the
South had any justification for secession.
denying that the North had wronged them;
denying that the North had assailed any
Of their 'srights'-much less depriving
them Of any; denying that there was any
cause or justification Of separation from
the Union. We want every Copperhead to
read this extract: +
pause, / entreat you, and consider for
moment what reason you can give that
will even satisfy yourselves in calmer mo-
ments-what reasons can you give to your
fellow sufferers In the calamity that it will
bring upon us3 What reasons can you give
to the nations of the earth to justify it r.
They will be the calm and deliberate judges
in this case; and to what cause or one
overt act can you point on which to rest
the plea Of justification What right has
the North assailed? What interest of the
South has been invadedf What justice
has been denied and what claim founded
in Justice and right has been withheldf-
Can either Of you to-day name one govern.
the Government at Washington OF which
the South has rightto complaint ! chal-
lengo the ansWerl While on the other
hand, le; me show the facts land believe
me, gentlemen, Lam not here the advocate
of the North. but am here the friend, the
firm friend and lover Of the South and her
Institutions, and for this reason speak
thua plainly and faithful to yours, mine.
and every other mans interest, the words
Of truth and soberness,) of which wish
you to Judge, and I will only state facts
which sre clear and undeniable, and which
now stand a. records authentic in the his
tory Of our country.
"When we of the South demanded the
slave trade, or the importation of Afri-
cans for the cultivation of our lands, did
they not yield the right for twenty years?
ton in Congress for our slaves, was it not
granted? When we asked and demanded
the return Of any fugitive from justice, or
the recovery Of those persons owing labor
or allegiance, was it not incorporated In
the Constitution, and again ratified and
strengthened in the Fugitive Slave Law
|of 1850. -
.sDo You reply that in many instances
thev have violated this compact; and have
|not been faithful to their engagements? As
and local communities they
msv have done so, but not by the sanction
Of fhe Government, for that has always been
trwe 70 SONtkeEn tatereses. Again, gentle
men, look at another fact when We nave
asked that more territory should be added,
an Ne miRht spread the institution ofsla-
verv. nave Sheynot yielded 70 our demands
and oven us Iouisiana, Florida, and Tex
=, ont of which four States have Deen
| g be sdded ii duo time, II you, BY this un-
wise and impolitic act DO not destroy this
hope, and, perhaps, by II lose all. ana have we
stern military rule, BY the vindictive de-
Gree If \ universal emancipation which
may reasonably b expected to follow .! Sv,,s
| to gain bv obs proposed change of our re-
lasion Is the General Governments We
have always bad the control, and and. can yet
have been. We have had majority OF the
Presidents chosen from the South, as wei
as the control and management q those
chosen from the North. We have had six
I ty wears of Southern Presidents 70 their
twenty -four, thus controlling the kxecu-
tive Department.
"No man has controverted or can con-
vert these facts. Who then so base a. 20
Justify the rebelliou2"