Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-04-27


laws as they choose to have the American
opinion as | have told you before
was to be the supreme law 1t wa
dethroned great many years ago
! and YOU have = nos been governed
! for the last twenty years bv American opin
ion you have been governed by buster, BY
threats by menace. Undoubtedly, in 1851
| if your President had called the Legislature
/ together, and YOU had written such laws and
made such amendments to the Constitution
as the rebels saw fit TO dictate TO you, they
would not have fought you. As long as YOU
would do as you were told TO do, there could
be no reason for fighting you but, Sir, when
you allow battery to be planf.d on the
banks OF the Potomac or the oanks of the
+, Ashley river to dictate your legislation to
you, and you make your laws and your con-
situations so as To prevent that battery from
opening fire on you, you are slave, yor are
not free man. When you come TO make gOla'
haacs not TO suit yourselves bit to S,tt Others clea
go" come to gote not as your judgments bit as
yoea' fears persuade you 1t ,cH be bit geyy teao
days after thar before yoas aciH begin to Dig pota-
toes and caativate cotton for the same reasons
Such, then, find to be the cause and the
purpose of the rebellion. 1t was not to Sc
cure the independence of Shareholders. but
TO subject you to abject dependence upon
shareholders. 1t was not to build new capt.
tot for new government, but to place a new
government in possession of your Capitol.
1t was not TO frame new constitution for a
new republic, but it was to impose a new
constitution upon the Republic of the United
States. 1t was not to secure federation for
slavery within the seeded States, but to
compel the adoption of slavery by the nation
II the cotton-gin had not been invented
slaveholding would not have been profitable
Ii slaveholding had not been profitable slave
holders would not have Eeen rich If slave
holders had not been rich they would not
have been arrogant. If they had not been
arrogant four hundred thousand shareholders
would not have presumed to challenge domin-
ion over twenty million freemen Slavery
without the cotton-gin would have been a
monster wrong, but it would not have been
dangerous to the Republic. The cot gin
without slavery would have been of twice the
value it has been and still would not have
been dangerous to- any one. Together they
have proved fatal to the peace of the nation
do not advise to destroy them both. | add
wise that slavery be destroyed and the cotton
gin doubled in value
glove has ordained it that whatever dav
Makes man slave takes half his worth away"
# four million negroes were worth So ,OOO,-
100000 as slaves, they will be worth So 600
100000 as freemen. Take that immense
wealth from the hands of your mortal enc
mics and double it in the hands of your i'm
mortal friends.
Now, Mr.. President, l must not close with
out remarking that all shareholders have not
participated in the guilt of this rebellion. l
know that very well and if there is any
class OF loyal men to whom l am more CRATE
full than another class, it is that class which
has been true to the Constitution and true to
the flag, Notwithstanding the membranes
OF slaveholding. Wherever you find me a
man who, IN spite of his being a stakeholder
has proved true to the Constitution, l can
tell you the fitting epitaph to put upon his
tombstone whenever he dies, and such men
| hope will be very slow to die: place upon
his tombstone the epitaph that in spite of
slavery he was found true to the principle of
Democracy during the great struggle of 1861.