Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1865-07-01

ADDRESS BY HON. 0ERRIT nth
| --1lls VIEWS ON THE THE CON.
DITION OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS.
.-MR. LINcoLN's PACIFIC POL
| ICY.
Hon. Gerrit Smith having been invited
BY persons Of every shade Of politics in
New York 20 give bic views on the Sub.
jset Of paci6cation and reconstruction,
addressed a. immense audience ia the
Cooper Institute, on Thursday evening
last, 10 presence Of that invitation
Among those whose presence on the stage
gave eclat to the meeting we're the Hon.
Hiram Ketchum, the Hon. Horace Gree.
ley, DR.. Driscon, President Of the New
York Society for the Advancement Of
Science and Art, and other dignitaries of
New York, city. We quote some pass.
ages from the speech that our readers may
see the line Of argument
Mr.. Smith, il bis Opening remarks said:
1.-THE South, in piunsing he nation into
this horrid war committed the greatest
crime Of the age. The North, under ,he
persistent clamors Of the press and pulpit,
TO punish the South for treason, is in dan.
ger Of com hitting the mean crime Of the
age. (Cheers.) Lips and pens no more
influential than mine can do but little to
avert this danger, but what little they can
do ehall be done; for If this mean crime
shall be committed. shall want the con
ISOLATION of knowing that Ut least have no
responsibility. (Cheers.) All over the
North there 10 clsmor for the blood Of
the leading rebels whom we have captured
and those whom whom We hope yet to
capture. l have no sympathy with this
clsmor. The South fully surrendered, let
qlood shsd cease, and ell punishment.-
(Applause. OF course have 20 refer
ence here to the assassi n alton Of our be.
loved President, nor to the starving and
numbering Of tho prisoners; let oil merit
ed punishment fall on those who are guilty
OF these infamous and internal crimes.-
(Cheers) Ny position is simply .ha. the
South shall not BE- punished for the rebel.
lion, or in other words, tina. tho South
shall not be punished for treason.
l do no. say it because the South has
not been guilty Of treason; sue has been
guilty of treason, but say It, that she
shall not b. (Cheers.) We ca me Into
the agreement very reluctantly, l admit,
to conduct this war by the rules Of war, by
the rules Of international war. Now
hold our coming into that agreement was
. waiver and entire surrender OF our right
to punish the South fos treason. Gap
plause. That We came into the agree
ment to conduct the war according to the
rules Of war, is manifest and indispu:able
We followed other nations, and according
to the South belieerent rights. The Su
preme Court Of our nation unanimously
Acknowledged these rights At the South
Then We have acted upon this agreement
and instead Of Furnishing prisoners or con.
vict;ng them for treason, We have treated
them As prisoners Of war, as enemies in
war, aud thus, from time to time. Ne have
exchanged them for those the enemy has
taken from us, and there have been emu.
merable truces between tho enemy and
ourselves for burials and other Purposes,
and formal as we'll - informal Eegotia
tons for peace between the North and
South. Here on one occasion We recog.
nized their de .facto nation and all it's
rights, by choosing for the condition Of
peace the President himself and the SEQ
Rotary Of State himself, and these gentle
men did not wait to have the Southern
Commissioner come to them sueingly,
but they honored those Commissioners by
going more than half way to meet them.
| (Applause) Now all this, and mach moro
.han:'his, including especially our blockad'
ingt be Southern ports goes to show. beyond
controversy, that We agreed with the en-.
envy to conduct this war according to the
lap Of war. But such an agreement is
virtually an agreement to treat prisoners
~ merely enemies in war.
| Mr.. Smith proceeded with an elaborate
argument and citations from Tattel, Hal.
lam and Carl Waiter, to show that the
laws Of war required us so to to conduct
this war, aud proceeded to say:
When nation is broken into two parts,
and each vesy considerable part, the
beligsrsnts on each side arc too numerous
to be treated 10 traitors. Il confess"
says Edmund Burke, II know not how to
frame IN indictment against whole peo.
pie. (Cheers.) They are too numerous
to be treated - anything else than prison.
ers Of war; and the objection to treating
then ~ saytAins else than prisoners Of