The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-01-31
h;net and t5e wbole rebel CONGRESS could

:
places have been starved to death by thou
sands, and that upon the authors OF SUCH
barbarities no punishment is too great? All!
can ever forget, until this heart shall cease
to beat, that my eldest son, the pride of my
life, has been sacrificed in this war, caused
by these guilty conspirators? However
strong NV indignation toward the guilty
leaders, will not allow myself to forget that
the great mass of the people of the South
were honestly misled by the teachings of Cal
houn and his disciples, the press the schools,
and the clergy upon the right Of secession
and the blessings OF slavery. Nor will
blind my eyes to the fact, equally true, that
now the mass of the thinking men of the
South, and especially whose who,were in the
rebel army, have not only surrendered their
arms, but have surrendered those two ideas,
upon which alone they made the war. Up
on this subject the concurrent testimony OF
Generals Grant and Sherman, and all the
great officers of the army, is conclusive,
They have morally surrendered their cause.
Toward the mass of the people, then, do
have sympathy. In my Judgment it is our
duty and our best policy to carry out in good
faith the terms of paciieation rendered by.
President Lincoln. and President johnson,
and accepted by them. Let us at once rec
ognize them as States in the Union, entitled
to representation, and take up for considers
ton each State by itself, and inquire into
the election returns and qualification of those
who claim the right to represent them. 10 Let
us begin with the State of Tennessee. ss'
My colleague assumes to say that he speaks
the voice of loyal Wisconsin. Sir do not
doubt his sincerity. But 1 venture to say
that, in my opinion, he will find himself
greatly mistaken. l know that the late con-
vention of the Union party in that State I'M
animously resolved that the States of the
South were still States of the Union, and that
neither by peaceful secession nor by force of
arms could they be taken out of this Union
under the Constitution -1'j -.4 o. i'f
The third resolution adopted by that con-
vention reads as follows: 10 ll = t.-ura 81 =
That the 0namus which caused the late
rebellion against the United States was born
OF the pride and ambition of an aristocracy
founded upon slavery, which the war and the
emancipation proclamation of President Lin
coin has rightfully destroyed; but we deem
1t essential to the regeneration of the late
slave, but now free, States, that they should,
IN good faith accept their new situation as
free States not only by abolishing slavery in
their State constitutions, but by the ratifca-
ton by their Legislatures of the amendment
to the Constitution of the United States, sub
mltted by Congress and now pending, which
forever abolishes slavery in every State, and
empowers Congress to pass all laws necessa-
ry to secure liberty to all the people, black
and white. By its adoption the cause of the
rebellion will be removed, slavery DESTROYED,
and liberty established upon a foundation
which neither State, nor President, nor Con-
gress, nor court, nor change of parties, can
shake-as enduring as the globe itself, BY
Its adoption by the people of those States all
the world will know that they accept free
dom as their situation, and give up slavery
and all hope OF restoring slavery forever"
That through the influence of certain news
papers and speeches OF certain men, there
may be some division of sentiment among
them now is possible But when my collea-
que goes before the people of Wisconsin with
the proposition to reduce eleven States to
the territorial condition; to tax and govern
eleven States and ten millions of people with
! out representation; when he proposes in eff
\ feet to do what the rebellion could not do
tear the national flag in twain to take eleven
stars from that flag and reduce the number to
twenty-five, he will find, in my humble opin-
ion, that he was utterly mistaken the people
of Wisconsin. "a -'fs
If he had said that they look upon treason
as crime, and that some of the guilty
leaders should be tried and convicted; if he
had said that they insist that under the con
stitutional amendment Congress should SEE
that the freedman is protected in his civil
rights OF life, liberty, and property. if he ha6
said that since the abolition of slavery in the
Southern States has disturbed the basis O.
apportionment in the House of Representa-
ftives, more just apportionment might be
made having reference to the voting popula
ton of the several State, would agree with
him. But upon this proposition Of his he
would find himself in minority of less than
one-third of the voters of Wisconsin. The
loyal people of Wisconsin and of all the
States, have been fighting for the integrity
of the Union and the entirety of the FLAG fol-
pacification upon the basis of the union of tht
States under the Constellation Ifthis Congress
will not act upon that basis, the next Con
gress will That is the corner stone. Who
soever shall TALL upon that stone will be
broken in pieces; but upon whomsoever il
shall fall it will grind him to powder. Men
and cliques and parties may oppose and fol
time postpone. But as sure as to-morrow's
sun shall rise, it will come. Whatsoever
stands in its way will be trampled in pieces
In conclusion, from the beginning, and
from before the beginning, any separation Of
destruction OF the States was made impos
sible Under the old Confederation. th,
union of the States was made g perpetual.
And the Constitution was formed to max,
"a more perfect union" To admit, there
fore, either the right of States to secede. o.
the power of Congress to expel them, would
be to admit into our system principle O.
self destruction wholly at war with a per
petual or perfect union. The Constitution
every part of it, and the spirit which gives il
life, are against peaceable secession; and thai
Constitution clothes the Government which
it creates with every human power to prevent
separation by force of arms. Those gigan
j tic powers, which had slumbered SO long thai
they were wholly unknown to the world, ant
hardly dreamed of by ourselves, have beer
lately brought into full play. z5| 49,
Whatever may be said of the crime of thu
rebellion, history will record it as one of tn,
most persistent, selfsacrifcing and tremen
dous struggles the world ever saw. both or
the part Of the rebels and on the part of tn,
! Jleyal people of the United States. No othel
people upon earth could have SO resisted. ant
no other people and no other government
hoould-have eyefc0me such resistance.
-. But we did overcome it. We did proven
the separation oftheseI States from the Unio1
by farce Every law of Gongfess,l every &C
OF the President, every bloW we struck, eyer,
1l,Ok - IL L