Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1865-06-01

JOHNSON has said or written within the
past four years. The Copperhead organ
of this county in its last issue quotes
from the speech of Mr. JOHNSON in the
Senate in January, '61, to prove that he
is not an sbolitionist, but don't quote
from his speech to meeting of negroes
held at Nashville, Tenn, on the 22d
day Of Sept, 1864, in which he said in
substance: The President of the Uni
ted States has excluded Tennessee
from the effects of the Emancipation
Proclamation, therefore /, ANDREW
JOHNSON, Governor of the State of
Tennessee, do hereby proclaim that
Slavery or involuntary servitude shall
no longer exist in said State except for
the punishment of crime. Nor does it
quote from his speech TO the delegation
of colored men who waited upon him,
to congratulate him upon his elevation
to the Presidency.
The extract from JoHNsoN's speech
out of which the Copperheads seem to
derive the most consolation in the hour
of their greatest trouble and danger,
is the following:
I'VE have it in our power--yes, this
Congress here tonight has 1t in its pow.
er to save this Union, even after South
Carolina has gone out. Will they not do
it? Who is willing to take tho dreadful al
Tentative with making an honorable effort
to save this Government This Congress
has It in its power to arrest this thing, at
least for a season, until there is time to con-
slider about it, until we can act disereetly
and prudentiy, and, | believe, arrest 1t al
together"
And the writer Of the article upon
which we are commenting, after quo
ting the above, either in ignorance of
the truth Of history, or presuming upon
the credulity of his readers, exclaims
in civilizations:
Now, what has the Abolition press got
to say against this testimony, branding the
forsheads of the Republican leaders with
the responsibility of this war, and pointing
20 the blood Of guilt on their heads?
The Abolition press has simply this
to say: If JOHNSON was right in his
theory that the difficulty that then
threatened the country could be settled
by any compromise in Congress, which
we very much doubt, and which theory
he has long since abandoned, then the
opposition to what the Copperhead
press is pleased to term the Abolition
party, have no grounds Of complaint
that compromise was not effected;
for in that Congress assembled OH the
first Monday Of December, 1860, in
which ANDREW JOHNSON made the
speech from which the quotation is
made, there was a clear working ma
jority against the Republican Party
A majority of thirty live on joint bal
lot A majority that could not be ef-
fected by the secession Of South Car
olina. A majority large enough to
pass compromise measures "even alter
South Carolina has gone out. Will
they not do itf" They did not try to
do it, and yet this very silly, very ig-
norant, Or very impudent Copperhead
scribbler, would try TO make his read
ers believe that JOHNSON was "brand-
the foreboads of the Republic2u lead
ers with the responsibility of this war"
and this too, in view of the fact that
ANDREW JOHNSON, ever since that
speech was made, has been acting and
cooperating with these same "Repub-
lican leaders," and fighting the men to
whom he then appealed-the opposi-
ton in Congress-in all their efforts to
carry out their purposes-the disrup-
ton Of the Union.