The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1865-05-17

rs philanthropist, addressed to President
johnson an open letter under date Pc
April "a, in which he pleads
lgaiDst the exercise of bloody and vim
iic;ivo policy toward the Rebels. This
Is the way he talks:
The Southern half Of our nation, com.
bining many millions of people, broke
away from the Northern half, and be
came as manifestly a nation de facto is
was the Northern half. We could not
proceed against these many millions as
against traitors and pirates, and try them
by municipal law. The cass went i'm.
measurabIy beyond the scope Of the Con-
slitution,' and took its place under the
provisions of international law. Belliger.
ent rights were accorded to our enemy
by our own as well as by other nations
Thsre were truces, that the dead might
be buried, and for other purposes. Cap
tives were not killed, but held as prison
crs. of war. There were negotiations for
peace; and that on one occasion the
President and Secretary of State wero
our regotiators, and went to meet theirs,
not onl J our respect for the enc.
my, but how entirely We recognized the
law Of war in our contest with him. Both
parties were vitality interested in sub
jecting the contest to this law, and is not
letting it sink into an internecine and
p;ralical one. Both parties were equally
concerned to save life and towns und
and to have the war Of SO
civilized type, that their citizens would
no, shrink from becoming soldiers and
sailors. God forbid that now, when the
tide of war sets strongly in our favor, We
should be guilty of thrusting the Consti
tuition into tie place of the code of war
and cf holding and trying as traitors
those whom we (none the less really il
indirectly agreed to regard but as enc
mics and whom by all tho conclusive
reasons of the cas-, aside from such agree
meut, we are bound to regard in tba,
lisht only. We must not be guilty oil
this bad faith. We must not break this
solemn bargain. The South hate us fol
il! And would not tho North herself, i
not despising us for it, be ut least, fear
fully divided in regard to it? Greatly
should We all love our country. Blu
there is one thing We should all low,
more and that is fair dealing. "Ou
counlr? right !-should be our motto.
s. = The duty of the North is no
to punish the South, but simply to pro
vide for the future safety of both Norll
and South. | scarcely need say, tha
the main thing TO this end is to rid th'
land of slavery, and to restore to its vic
Tins the civil and political rights o
which it has robbcd them. To this
would add nc death, no Imprisonment, nj
misunderstanding but the retkinI
up Of the large landed estates Of tn,
South for the benefit of the needy, AM
tho perpetual withdrawal Ct political pow
or from the disloyal leaders, and the TEN
parary withdrawal of it from the disloya
masses. | admit that the probation il
the ono case wonll he liable to b
shortened, and the absolute denial in tn
other to be repealed. Nevertheless, sine
safety should be cur sole aim, l woul
sny let even this take place, whenevc
it shall be safe to have it take place.
X Il X
referred, at The beginning of my lei
ter, TO the apprehension that peace, which
only few days ago, seemed so very neal
is now quite remote. | cannot doub
that this is, If tho severe policy towar
the conquered rebels, which so many ar
calling for, shall be adopted. In thc
event, hardly in my day, or even in your
will peace return II ou. afflicted countr,
For once let it be known that the lcadin
rebels, who shall fall into our hands, wi
be doomed to punishment, be it deatl
imprisonment or exile-and immediatel
among their followers, sympathy vii
them and rage against us will know Il
bounds Tens Of Thousands will blr
with vengeance, and will care far nothiu
but 10 gruIify it, This will be true,
well Of persons under parole as Of other
In that case Of things the gucrri
warfare would cnsuc, which, ie not pat
fed by concessions. and such concession
too as would fatally invade national al
human ighfs, might run through maj
years, harassing and wasting our armic
and aiding fearfully, if not fatally, to o
already vast debt. 1t must notbe iorgott,
that it cost our nation many years, maj
ives, and thirty or forty millions of d.
lars to put an end to the guerrilla "
carried on in florida by handful Of |
dams ard negrhos Nor must it bo fc
gotten that the hundred thousand Domi
leans are just now enjoying complete aI
final triumnh over the many millions
Spain. Rome, like ourselves, was
J mighty nation But, though striving {
it through many years, she was not al
10 achieve an entire conquest over I
few Cautabrains The lesson of su
cases is, that q people, however gre
I should beware of driving to desperation
people however small 1t may be hop
that the ncgroesof the South would sta
:, in tho Wav of this nnnrr hendcd ruerri