Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1866-03-31

the principles of the Constitution .
lhn United States, to that system u
representative government of dele
gated and limited powers, that c.'
tabi;Shment in n new phase on ,thi'
con incnt olall the essentials of Eng'
lands Magma Charta, for the protcc
ton and security Of life, liberty anc
property, with the additional recog
niStion Of the principle. as II tunda-
mental truth, that all political pow
cr resides in the people, with Us
it was simply question MS to whcT,
our allegiance was due in the main
tenance OF these principles; which
authority was paramount on thc
last resort, State or Federal. A,
for myself, can affirm that no sen,
timent Of disIoymlly to these grca.t
principles OF sclt'govcrnmcnt re-
cognizcd and embodied in the Con-
stitution of the United States, even
beat or throbbcd in breast or heart
of mine. To their maintenance my
whole soul was ever enlisted. and t.
this end my whole life has hereto,
fore been devoted. and will continue
to be the rest OF my days, God will
ling. In devotion to these princi-
Piles ! yield to no man living. This
much | can say for myself. May
| not say the same for you and the
great mass Of the people Of Georgia;
and for the great mass of the people
Of the entire South? Whatever diff
tcrcnces existed among usarisc from
differences as to the best and Sure>t
means Of securing the great end
which was the object of all. 1t was
with this view and this purpose that
secession was tried. That has failed.
Instead Of bcttcring our condition
instead Of establishing our | berty
upon II surcr foundation, we have,
in the war that cnsued, come we'll
nigh losi',n the whole Of the rich
inheritance with which we set ont.
This is one Of the sad rcaizatiuns
Of the present In this to-, we are
but illustrating the teachings Of his.
tory. Wars. and civil wars cspcc-
ially always menace libcrty-they
seldom advance it, while they usual
~ cnd in its entire overthrow and
destruction. Ours stopped Just short
OF such Il catastrophe. Our only
now is either to give up
all hopes Of constitutional liberty
or rctracc our steps and to look for
its vindcnton and maintenance in
the forums Of reason and ustice;
instead of on the arena of arms: in
the courts and halls OF legislation,
instead Of on the fields Of battle
am frank and candid in setting
y"u right here. Our surcst hopes,
in my Judgment, of these ends are
in the restoration policy ofthe Pres
idcnt Of the United States. | have
little hope for liberty, little hope for
the success Of the great American
experiment Of self government, but
in the success of the present efforts
for the restoration Of the States to
'he'r iormrr Pri'c'ic''l re.al'o''S II, /"
common "oNer,''"r't y, u".,', u' '''
VI 'l'e . ''eu oI"'e:
we arc W'tn""t an encouraging
smile OF, inns inc III the h'S'ofy VI
''nc '''''ner country III ,"o "'>'',s
VI our ahceS'"rN' 'ro''' "i,'''' VIC "c'
rl'ea III great measure 'he Pr'",''
PIES !" w,i'c'l VIC arc NJ ''uri n,., oe.
Voted' nc 'rucsI 'r''l'uS u, 'ipG''S
IN England, once III lof-' hoaho"n
Ell the forum "f treason ana appeal
ed, rs we did, to the sword "a the
snrcst means, in their JUDGMENT, OF
advancing their cause. IhIS was
after they had made great progress
under the lead OF Coke, llampden,
Falk and and dotherS, IN the advance
ment OF liberal pr.n:IplcS, many
usurpations had been checked
many Of the rrerogativcs of the
crown had been curtailedi the pct-
ton of right had been sanctioned,
ship money had been abandoned;
court martial had been done away
with, hdbcdS corpas had been re.es-
tablished, high Courts of Commits
sion and Star Chamber had been
abolished. Many other great abuses
of power had been corrected and
other reforms established. But, not
satisfied with these, and not salts
fled with the peaceful working of
reason to 60 on in its natural sphere,
the denial OF the sovereignty of the
Crown was pressed by the ardent
reiormcrs upon Charles l. All else
he had yielded; tins he would not.
The sword was Appealed To to settle