Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1864-03-23
Shall the Republic be Divided 2
SPEECH OF HON. G. W. sCOFIELD,
OF PENNsYLvANIA,

In the House of Representatives, Feb. oath, 1864
The House being in the Committee of the
! Whole on the State of the Union-MR
! SCoFIELD said:
Mr. Chairman, my colleague Mr. Daw-
sonI who addressed the House this morning
informed us that it was just eight years
since he had spoken here before. [ knew
that. not because | have followed his per-
sOnal history, but | knew it by the tenor of
his speech. He must have turned down a
leaf Just eight years ago, aud begun to-day
where he left off then. The speech might
have been appropriately made during the
earlier years Of the administration of Gen.
Pierce | wish to remind him that the
question involved in the struggle now fur
nishing so many sad pages for history is a
question of division: Shall the great Re
public be divided into two small ones %
| That is the question now before the country.
Those who took the affirmative of this ques-
ton, in the first place, took up arms with
which to defend it. They knew they could
not maintain it in debate. They knew they
could never satisfy the American people that
Government always SO tender of the inter
ests Of its poorest citizen, and so strong to
defend him, could be as useful when divi-
ded into TWO natiOnalitles not more than half
as strong, territorially ill-shaped, and polit-
ically hostile They did notify, but haught-
lily said to the country:
Think of division as thou wilt,
We try the question, hilt to bilt'
They gave but one reason for it. They
said that some people, believe they said
a great many people-had spoken unkindly
Of their system of labor That was ALL |
defy any gentleman to point out any other
reason given by them for the position taken.
But do not misunderstood me. | do not
mean to say that SO large number of gen
tlemen, talented as we know, honest as we
formerly thought, were moved to espouse
disunion from trivial motive. Their mo-
tive was as [ have stated 1t to be. But, In
my judgment, it was very far from being a
trivial one They wished to preserve that
system OF labor, why? Because they had
81, ,0O0, 900, 900 in it. They kad more than
that, for l believe they We're never distin-
guished as an avaricious people. Their ar
istocracy, family pride, political power, "a
great item, their habits of life, and what
Is as valuable to them as anything else, their
cherished vices, ease, and ldleness, all were
in it. Of course they wanted to preserve
it. They knew, however, that the institu-
tion was founded IN wrong, and could not
bear to be talked against. In free forum
it must go under. Allow me to use figure.
An iceberg breaking away from the pole and
floating down into warmer lattitudes gradu-
ally loses its frigidity, and dissolves in the
warmer elements around it. So slavery,
in the barbaric periods of the
world and floating down to this benigner
age, was beginning to melt away in the
warm breath of debate To preserve sla-
very. therefore, debate must cease or slavery
De taken out of hearing-silence or seces-
,ion seemed their only alternative. When
silence could not be obtained they chose Sc
,ession.
| know some other things were said.
Know they said that the North would not
urn out with constitutional alacrity to catch
md return their fugitive bondsmen; but
hey. like other similar complaints, were rath
IT incidents Of the main trouble than original
auses of dissatisfaction. They were thrown
,ut only to catch the minnows found IN the
,reat ocean of northern politics The great
eaders cared nothing for this small percent
ge of loss, smaller than IN many other kinds |
# investment They cared nothing for the |
ew leaves that were here and there detached |
nd lost IN the ordinary breeze it was the |
title streams of thought that were slowly |
Washing the soil away from the root of the |
rec that alarmed them. Therefore, while |
We of the North talked about walling sla- |
cry in, lest freedom should be contamina- /
ed, they were considering how to wall free
om out, that slavery might remain pure.
hey decided upon disunion. They stated |
heir purpose clearly, and took name that
Indicated it honestly. They called themselves
isunionists. They even pointed out the
ne where the surveyor should blaze the
rees and separate the free from the slave
epuble. They kindly gave to the twenty
r thirty millions of unnixed white popula-
ION the sterile hills of New England, the
leak shores of the lakes, and the head
treams and fatboat navigation of the Mis-
ssippi. The body Of the Mississippi, with
S stream of commercial wealth. untallIng
! IFS own waters, the long Atlantic and
Iulf coast the vast country lying below