Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Indiana) 1864-1865, 1865-07-27
..rhe Republic of wassmg,.a.,,

Among the mass of rebel archives
and documents which have fallen in
10 the hands Of the government, and
which will illustrate the history of
the rebellion, are the proceedings of
the original rebel convention, held
at Montgomery. Alabama. They
we're discovered IN private hands In
Athens, Georgia, and contain many
interesting facts connected with the
secession movement. The original
draft Of the So called Confederate
constitution was made by Mr.. Mem
minger, who was chairman of the
Committee on the Constitution, and
subsequently Davis Secretary of
the Treasury. The parts copied
from the constitution of the United
States are in the form of slips cut
from n printed copy of that i1stru-
ment. AS regards name for the
union Of rebel States, it was at first
proposed to call it The Republic
of Washington" which come within
one vote of being adopted, but final
ly, and after much discussion. the
title of "The Confederate States of
America was fixed on. 1t seems
the South Carolina delegation were
hostile to the name of Republic
in any connection. The preamble
to the Constitution was hard to get
through with. The expression, ''in-
voking the aid of Almighty Cod"
did not get dovetailed in permanent
ly until after much talk. One man
wanted TO amend by the words sin
voking the aid of Almighty God,
Who is the God OF the bible, and the
rightiul source of all power and
government" etc. But this might
take in the New Testament as part
Of the Rible and thus admit the
divinity of the Saviour, and this was
shocking to jew benjamin, and it
was finally voted down. The at
tempt was made to have recogni-
tion of the Christian Sabbath, thus:
No man shall be compelled to do
civil duty on Sunday" But it was
rejected Subsequently, an attempt
was made to have q recognition of |
the Sabbath engrafted on the law
with reference to carrying and deliy-
erv of the mails. A member from |
Louisiana moved as an amendment
that, inasmuch rs the people Of
Louisiana believed in permitting ev-
erybodv to worship God on the days !
and in the ways preferred, therefore
the State of Louisiana should be |
excepted from said provision. Texas /
desired the same exception, and in
this way the motion was killed. An
attempt was made, and nearly car
ried. prohibiting the admission Of
new States unless they recognized
slavery in their constitutions. and
provided for Its protection 10y law.
The proposition, 1t seems, was voted
down, simply as impclitic and likely
to repel foreign sympathy The
same mntive led the convention 10
prohibit the slave trade, but then it
provided that any slaves who might
be smuggled in, contrary to the pro
hibition, should he sold to the high
est bidder. All the votes in this
were taken by States,
regard to the number of
delegates representing them.
We presume these curious doou-
ments, giving so deep an insight into
The history of the rebellion, will all
be published, if not for the instruc
ton of mankind, as a warning to the
A strange episode in
the annals Of our country will be the
story Of this great rebellion, which
we are now beginning to regard as
thing of the far past.