The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1866-04-26
TESTIMONY OF MIR. STE
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PFF,ES.
On our first page viii be found por-
ton of the testimony Of A. II Stephens,
/ late Vice-Presilent Of the SoutE2ss
Confederacy, before the Recon i.g ,.yu
Committee Of Congress. II that c1A.
mittee has succeeded in getting ccasid
cradle testimony prcjudcial to thc
South, we fud occasionally some Of
contrary claEnctcr The testimony Of
Gen. X. +. Lee was plain aud sincere,
carrying conviction Of It's truth to every
mind That Of Mr. Stephens must also
carry great weight ar it is that Of one Of
the ablcst Statesmen Of the country, and
one apparently DESTROYS 10 learn aud
give the truth. If we had 10 such ,cs-
timony, every ones honest convictions
should lead him 90 believe that the mass
Of the Southern people ,rcrc fully I'M
pressed that they were doing nothing
more than their duty to sustain the ac.
ton of their States in rcbciliug against
what they considered the tyranny Of thc
North II anybody believes that they
had no cause to be cstraugcd FROM tie
| North We do uot know how he can come
to such conclusion honestly. Those who
are conycrsant with the history of the
time must know TINT between the sCDu.
mcnt Of the North aud South eve mrau
of the majority on the question oi sla-
very, there had bccu opened a moral
chasm just as distinct aud i,up,ssa bic
as if nature in one Of her earthquake
commissions, had opened a u1'ur; ] chasm
along the whole line between the li,s
and the Slave States In such % ooufi-
tion Of affairs. it made lrilc difference
whether the Southern people believed
in the right Of peaccablc secession, or
the right Of rebellion against arbitrary
power and oppression, Ms 1t was imPoss-
4 bic, in that state Of feeling, for them 10
stand by the anti.slavcry government Of
! the North against any Of their own
States or people, who chose to rebel
If we wish to do justice we must look
into the Stat, Of feeling, in the Northa AZ
well as the South, previous to the rebel
lion; and, if we do, we shall discover
much that was wrongon both sides aud
much to condemn that petty maliguity
which now cannot be appcascd short Of
the shedding of the blood of the South
ern leaders, and the deepest humiliation
of the whole South Hon. +. Thomas,
in his speech at Westminster, said that
there never was 4 more wicked, atTOclOus
and unproyoked war--whcD he knew
that the anti slavery majority Of the
North had pushed the whole South to
the wall, aud finally occupied the Gov
ernmcnt at Washingtonby conspiracy,
which was a shameless breach of faith
on the part Of the North The North
innocent indeed Far from it, They
could not have done more to provoke
the South than they did. On no other
subject could they have driven the South
to unity of purpose against the common
Government and in no other way bet
ter than by Selling that government
through a sectional combination Of the
more powerful Northern vote They
could convert the right of suffrage into
an engine of oppression against the
South, they could form Northern par
ty, with an uncompromising platform,
against the South--a South all along
sore on that question, as they well kaew
and yet, when the South is irritatcd
to the last degree, and naturally follows
the lead Of her prominent States aud
politicians then, il is the most unpro-
cohed war ever heard of, andal engaged
in it the most consummate villains and
traitors in the world. Ex-Governor
Thomas went 50 far, also, as TO say that
if these traitors are not to be punished
we oughtto throw open our jails, and
let all murderers, assassins and crimi-
mails go free. How he comes to such
conclusion we cannot see. The world
will judge differently.
We think, with Mr.. Stephens, that
: though the South had great proyoca ion,