New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-12-16
nEGRO vOTING-TMR CONDITION
or TER NATIONS SALVATION,
speech OF Gerrit Smith on tho Csun'rY In
ChicaaO.
November 20, 1865.

tht' 'iiftll, Nhices hpcedlI! PuV """J ~ IN"N~'
agencies, would go out i'll blood. icarned thi'
prediction with me into tho Halls of Congress.
argued that such q crime in such an nge-th'
greatest crime against human rights in an age sur
passing every other in The study and assertion Of
human rcht,--mnst necessarily be short-lyed
Then in the very first year of the Rebellion, chose
Tor my motto: "Whchcyor party gets The slave
rers the victory" l carried The motto, the same
wear INTO large assembly in tho City of New
! York; and announced It wherever else there val
occasion to announce it. For deeply did fear that
the south would anticipate US in this measure
measure rs important TO her as to us. But the
South would not consent TO win the slave az The
expense Of emancipaiing hun. She went lei
Slavery as well as for Independence. Wen was il
for u, That she graspcd at both. For, in grasping
M both, she lost both. She could have saved Slay
cry BY conseuting to foTego Independence. She
could have achieved Independence by giving ~
Sl.yerv. And alas how slow, bow wcll-niSh id'ai'
" slow. we were TO cmancipatc and thereby To WIN
tho s'ayei This slowncss cost tn. nation hundreds
of thousands Of lives and thousands OF millions "
dollars. What is more il was oil deeply uelnoi"'@'
in, Influence on the nation This influence Is not
iy.t spent. The nation may never DO ehtirci!
llo,l,J oft. The chief excuse for this slowncSS Is
that ho people wcro not yet prepared ior the meas
ure. Bur it is q false philosophy ont oi "hich 'i's
Irxcu>e grew. Tho people are always prepared ior
tlair leaders TO do rights and e.p cally IN those
Sns where the doing of IL requires mafAel bravery
and mark i honesty. Tho doing 81 IL IN tho,"
casc, .ocs very !lr 20 interest them "a inc nght,
and Ia lift them up 20 the Level Of TIE nght. To
I e. oh ff
lprers,stiou fort Happily, the south "as AS stupid
I'm Inns natter Of emancipation as tho North was
.'ow. How very stupid IA her to believe ihai she
could ,ain her udcpe nd nee. not o4y Wlihoht iht
help & the slave, but even against ms hep' Anu,
So Ia any delay on our part being cxrcdient, the
nc,t Instant aitcr slavery made war upon the "a
top. The nation should have made var upon u. he
iir.t answer To the firing on sumter sIpuld have
been from the big throat of tie biz gun LmanciPa-
tDu.
I have atycricd 90 two of my predictions. Now,
were J a dozen yoarS Younger you'd be- going
over lie country with % third prcdiction-wiih the
cr,. IA loud as my lungs could make n-that this
nation will surely perish lift shall persist IN indulG-
ing the caste-sprt aud IA shutting the negro OUT oil
HI human family.
beg Won not 90 think nat | am setting myscl'
I'D for 4 prophet. | claim no special iofeiellne
raw.is. II j.. only those obviously necessary con-
..Ygcacrs which the dUiicst can iortsee Il they
Il, IN byt open iher owes, tlN | claim 10 be able 10
rbat the nation still INDUCES tbs muIierous
caste-spifit. and allows II 10 ogcrato most crnely
t,.sri me Southern negro D. mau!e,i from It's de-
ln.ine him al, political power and giving IT CIT to
m. Old oppre>sor. The "Pnh Of EecOn-irncion
contains NOT the sl giuc recognition oi he poh'i
cai rights. l. TINS respect lt Leaves lm on icN'
with The ox aud the ass. II throws him again under
th" feet Of those old oppfe-.Vlt. II SHUTS I'M
again ont OF tho human family
An the speech of Secretary Seward i1 AnhpTn, iGt'
month the country l. favored with t0telnnrl'a
defense 81 the Governmental policy oi not requiring
the Rebel States 30 let the negro share ih pontlcl
no,gsr 1 call ID a Governmental DEF lsf, not ao
much because IT was pui forth by the Secretary, ~
because o. It's tone aud character. Great Is %" I'm
p,rtapce Of this defense, because II rejects iht
mind OF the Government. Much stress also ~ u
be- laid upon it, because being proscrtCtby siAies
man Of very eminent ability Of fervent patriotism
and ncrous philanthropy, IT may fairly be regardcf
A. he best possible argument On that SIDE OF il'
uuestion-tIc best expression q ad aud heart 10
It's behalf. This omission Of The GOvnument v
require the Rebel States 20 lot The negro participate
IN tueir political power, Mr seward virtually just
ics: ist GA the ground tAgt the Government ha
no light TO require IL: and, ID, on The ground tla
the requirement, II rghtInl, would De uunocsstl!
> inasILsch a. v may confidently argue tom tr
4 pe = progress OF the nation in ths direction tia
. she viii go on to the fulnes- OF the polidca
b. equality OF al men.'
And now. first, 10 tho point Chat the Goyornmcu
: hes no night to make this requirement. ON ih
question whether the Rebel States ere sil IN y.
u Union there are two parties. One Of them hold
y that although in several respects they may be =,
,e Corded as still in the Union, they have neyerth'
less, far broken their proper relations 10 II Us
!. be 10 longer Constitutional States. ms par
:, holds that these States IN hingng away the Coi
" stiiuiOn flung away all Their rights under II. IL
other holds that they have not ceased TO be Cons
Is tuional States and that they are still, 10 all N
a tents and purposes, in The Union. Not little l
- INV surprise Mr. Seward puts hiUs self III tho latte
party. | do not say this merely, nor mainly, b'
cause he di.cOurses in the speech ia question abou
the "absOljfte existence Of the States which cor
{ stftute the Republic" | say IL rather because b
e laws down in il that, Congress and the Admins
tratiOn have power to levy war against i0rcig
States for Whgiercr cause they miy see M
Congress and the President have night 10 accep
or even make war against any part of the people u
the United States only under tho Limited power u
suppress seditlon aud instruction, aud for tina
purpose only Mr.. Seward clearly means by TIN
language that, az every point in this war, duriII
tho whole four OF five years, we have been undc
Constitutional limitations, trammeed with Ccnstl
tutonal restrictions and that, all the way through
the WAY, the Rebel States hayO never for one mo
ment lost their Constitutional rights and i'm
muniiies.
readily admit that u whisky lnsurrcction," 1
! " Shav's Iusurrccti0n," Hartford Convention
Scditon" II that were Scdiion, are all 10 DO Inc
and disposed OF BY tho Constitution only. But
where the dsahcction il 30 wii3slrcad end fonnid
able az to threaten the life Of ne naiion-and es
Ilecelly where the dsglicctiOn has grown into 2
nation ne facfO--there - a case which rises above
tho limited law Of The Constitution into the sphere
o. he unlimited law Of war. There is ease whore
, Congress can, in the words Of the Constitution
" declare war absolute war-waf with no re-
strctOus upon the powers OrprOsecuiingit-war e
be carried on not by municipal but byinterna'iona
law Surely, Mr.. Seward errs in saying TIA, such
warcanuot6c Constltutionally declared against any