Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1865-11-23

personal motives Of the Ten who insugu
rated secession (for among them were man,
that | numbered amongst my neares
friends), il was my deliberate judgmen
that Il was unwise, rash unto madness, snc
destructive Of the best interests and happi
ness Of this people. Never during the bloody
progress of the unfortunate strife that fol
lowed its enactment was there q day that
would not, had possessed the power, have
arrested the horrible revolution; and | ap
peal to the gentleman from Baldwin, whs
tells US be, too, was Unien man in that
unhappy day that wrought our ruin as
people, If he, bad he possessed the power
Of an autocrat, would not have arrested in
its mad career the cruel, relentless, heart.
blighting, hope-crushing war, so waDtonly,
80 insanely imposed upon us. frankly
avow had been able TO oppose successful
and immediate destruction TO its frightful
progress, i would with alacrity have dsne
it. From FIRST TO last. could never discern
any reasonable prospect Of the success of
the contest; nor could perceive any bone.
fits that could flow from it. Thinking as
did, feeling as did, loving my kind as ]
do, how could but deplore the infatuation
that brought upon this unhappy land this
unmitigated calamity. A desire to preserve
from needless sacrifice the poor, unofend-
ing youth Of the land, OF itself, wore enough
to have made me mourn the unhallowed and
damning act. thought and said that the
material interests Of our people, and espec-
tally the cherished institution Of slavery,
withdrawn as it was from its ancient protec-
tor, the Constitution OF the United States,
the only power by which it could have been
preserved or perpetuated, we're by one full
swoop destroyed and lost forever. What
sane mind could see safety and prosperity
| in country surrounded on three sides as
with a corden Of avowed advcrsaries, and
with it's ocean fro1t making a circuit of
more than 5000 miles of exposed border2
This. Of itself, were enough to mark the
measure as one of infatuation.
Il recall an interview with Com. Blake,
| Of the American navy, who had surveyed
his cOuntry's coast, and whose maps and IL
ustrations are part Of his country's history,
in which, In my solicitude on this subject, [
asked him the favor to inform me of the ex-
tent of coast from the mouth of the Potomac
river to the Rio Grande; and, as | now re-
member. taking pair Of dividers and a
scale, he gave me the result, and it was
more than 1000 miles. In my mind, | then
ascended the Potomac to its passage through
the mountains thence west on the crest of
| tuO hUckudulth 10 lb lutuCc
to El Pasco and down the Rio Grande to the
gulf, and contemplated, in all its magnitude,
the frontier to be guarded. Without arro-
eating any superior wisdom to myself, had
others paused to consider this and other in
surmountable difficulties that loomed up
like mountain submits, this deplorable,
miserable, ill-conceived, unjustifable, self
destroying revolution could never have had
existence. From it sprung the Confeder-
acy. could not and did not rejoice at its
creation; and l never saw the day while it
lasted when | loved it better than when it
began. l asked nothing of it; for, as an
honorable man, l could not. 1t owed me
nothing; and when my poor boys volunteer
ed enthusiastically to fight for what they
deemed the cause of the South, said to
them with their muskets on their shoulders:
Remember, my children, you go into or
ganized military commands, with no power
on my part to afford you promotion; for, if
it cost me the life Of every member of my
household, will not seek favors of Gov
ernment that, if left to me, would never have
existed. What results could to me have
afforded compensation for what have lost?
The wealth of the world, if coined into dia-
monds would be as nothing to soothe the
griefs l bear about me. How can recnr
to the horrid past but with feelings Of un-
dying regret, of endless condemnation
''Eulogies have been expended upon the
extinct Confederacy. 1t thas gone, and with
it has gone its miserable act Of conscription
that ruthlessly tore from the hearth-stone
the youth of the South, and dragged them
to bloody fields, and deprived them of their
young lives. With it, thank Heaven! have
died its infamous laws of impressment that
seized the hard earnings of honest industry,
that plundercd the peoples barns, deprived
them of their grain, and gave them worth
less paper in exchange. | am not revenge
full. Whatever wrongs have suffered by
the mad folly of others will try to forget.
There are those prominent in this work of
destruction that know will have the mag
nanimity to acknowledge themselves indebt-
ed for my kindness.
1.-The Convention will excuse me if have
trespassed on its patience in giving utter
anoe to this feeble expression of my feelings
and opinions. cannot add any new rea-
son to what I. on former occasion, have
urged why desire reference made to this
address of the Convention to the President
Of the United States, to cur action OF to-day,
annuling the war debt. do not say pub
lie debt, for l chose to distinguish between
the legal obligations of the State. incurred
before the war, and that incurred after, ia
dependent and irrespective OF its prosecu-
tion, and the mountain Of debt imposed on
the people as the result Of SECESSION. Let
no man infer from this that tolerate, in
the slightest degree, disregard for any OBJ
legation, public or private, rightfully incur
red. He who labors under this delusion
does me great injustice. -.
''The gentleman says the President looks
with more favor upon those who fought fer
the rebellion than those who refused to do
\ SO. do not believe it; but even were it
trus, it would not induce me to say one
word or think one thought in favor of that
hideous wickedness, or check my heart or
tongue in denupciation of the damning deed.
| never fought for it; l never courted its
favor; never deprecated its wrath. All
that could do for my country while the
storms of passion and treason were raging
round me, cheerfully did. l mske no spoil
ogy for refusing to. take arms in that un-
hallowed cause. If,he who fought beneath
the flag of the rebellion is preferred before
me, let it be so. To standing by the Union
of the States, risked moro than the loss
Of goods or political preierment. I staksd
my life upon the issue. For sooner than
raise my hand against the Government. |
would have thought It happiness to die ~