Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1865-09-21

LEITEh .FhOm OLNhnAh IL. IA "4oE
TO GENERAL GRANT.-Our readers will
remember that General Wise recently made
application to General Terry for permission
to return to his home in Princess Anne
county, as under the terms of his parole
General Terry (tbrough General Mann re-
fused for specified reasons. F-ee eee. /; /;
Under date of seprembur IstJ General
Wise has written letter to Gen. Grant,
forwarded through Gen. Terry, from which
we make extracts. Heireplies in succession
to the points made in the letter of refusal,
and after declaring that he never "abandon.
ed his home" except in going to camp to
defend it against invasion, with the full
determination to return to Il as soon as the
chances of war should permit, he says, 81
found no new home for my family ; they
we're simply refugees from the old" He
then writes as follows:
"If General Terry was governed by ear
nest and honest convictions Of. duty, of
right and authority in all he did-so was l..
If he was a patriot-so was I. If he gave
proof of his devotion-so did I. If he
thought be had the shield of constitutions al
law and political sovereignty to protect him
against the charge of rebellion and treason
80 I thought I had. IF he loved and
cherished the Union of these States, 1 loved
and cherished it so cordially that l never
from choice would have seeded from it,
but prepared to fight 'in the Union;' and
if be wonders how uow can truly declare
these sentiments, after voting for secession
and taking up arms against the acts of the
Federal Executive and Congress, l must
beg him to remember that he and | have
been taught in different schools of politics
and that will account for our differences
of opinion, and ought to allow large mar
gin for charity at least, if not toleration.-
If he was trained in the school of Hamil-
ton and the elder Adams, I was in that Of
Jefferson and Madison; and he would bold
ly expose himself to the charge of bigotry
and presumption who would charge either
school with teaching rebellion and treason.
It is dangerous to either to adopt the dog
mas of treason and rebellion against the
other; alternating in domination as they
have done so often already in our history
Each might shoot and hang the other by
turns in the course of half century.
If Gen. Terry believed in consolidation,
1 believed in States rights and powers. If
he believed that the Federal Executive and
Congress, and the judiciary, possessed alb
solute, I believed they had only relative
and delegated sovereignty. IF be believed
that they were unchecked and unbalanced
by other powers, I believed that the whole
system of the United States, State and Fed.
jeral, was composed of reciprocal checks and
balances of the Federal Government. ]
was taught that the States were not ununa,
but pla.ribus ununs, and this many IN one,
one in msany. When called rebel, I shall
point to the of. Virginia's buckle1
and claim that my sovereign State is sole
sponsor for the acts of her own citizens and
subjects. am no rebel traitor, and never
was, and my State cannot be either. She
has still sovereignty by the constitution
of the United States, and by the Original
authority before it ever existed, unless she
is now utterly demolished by subjugatlon
and unless that is destroyed by any force
which has demolished her.
! These are still the tenets of my faith, ane
believe these truths will perpetually revive
and prevail to preserve the republican
freedom of the people Of the United States
When the civil liberty for which | devout
I.ly pray really comes again, I can, withou
hindranoe, fall on the bosom Of my countr.
and weep with her "fOr any wrongs VI
have done" I am now prisoner on par