Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1866-09-05
Plain Lessons for
Union Men.

4
Mr.. Shellsbarger, one of the
most elear-headed and uncom-
promising of the Union mem
bers Of Congress, made a
speech at Springfield, Ohio, a
few days since, every word of
which is worthyto be publish
ed and treasured up rs a clear
and unanswerable exposition
of the duty of Union men to
be firm to their principles, and
of the folly of trusting rebels.
We have room only for few
of the most forcible passages
Here are two propositions
which are incontrovertible;
Here at the outset l say 10
you, that from all our country,
and from the most intelligent
of our people, there comes to
US the warning that the re-
sumption by the leaders of the
rebellion of a controlling pow
er in this Government can now
be prevented by enc of the
other of two wayS-cither by
such an overwhelming display
of the firmness and strength
of the loyal people as shall de-
ter the leaders of the rebellion
and their allies from attempt
ing the revolution they medi-
tate, or else by another civil
war waged in resistance of
their forcible and revolution
ary accession to power which
is already arranged.
Ishall not attempt TO show
that if being in rebellion ena-
bles q rebellious minority of u
popular Government to de-
prive the loyal majority of the
power to create q legal Con
gress or to make laws, then the
being in rebellion adds to the
governing powers Of the mi
nority, and there is literally
an end to all popular Govern
ments, should minority be
found iii rebellion.
This is what the movement
which eliminated at Philadel-
phia last week has brought us
to:
Men turn from the story Of
this monster treason, this stu
pendous wickedDess, with new
ideas of the poverty of speech,
and appalled, by their proxim-
ity to the crime Of history
And, to-day, scarcely sixteen
moons removed from that
crimes fitting end, when they
killed off the President of the
United States, we are here
tasking our logic to show that
the authors of that crime are
not by pre- eminence the pa
triots of the land to whom it
is safe and fit to surrender the
Government without condi-
tions," Wrestling it for the pur-
pose of the surrender from
them who defeated the treason.
Mr.. Shellabarger reads IN
history II lesson which must
not be unheeded, as follows:
Look, l entreat, you, men
and women Of America, at the
cup now rendered to your lips,
and know its contents before
you drink. See and realize
what your nation has done and
forborne to do, and what it is
proposed to do and forbear to-
wards the most stupendous
crime and criminals of human
history; and in the name of
that reverend chronicler of
the grave" and holding up full
to your gaze his awful scrolls,
l entreat you to tell me what
nation ever before, in the long
line of that history, submitted
to receive the traitors knife
into the hearts of three hun
dred thousand of her bravest
and best children, slain in de-
fence of their Government
against a rebellion striving for
the nations death, and yet the
nation not try or execute one
single traitor for his treason ?
No nation ever did but yours.
What nation ever endured
such an injury from its sub
jects, that did not annihilate
with perpetual civil death and
banishment of the leaders of
such a treason whom it may
have omitted to put to death?
Nonation did but yours. What
nation ever before omitted to
visit upon the authors of such
a treason confscation and for
feiture of estates? No nation
but yours. What nation ever
before saw those whom she had
cherished and educated to be
commanders of her armies and
navies, or whom she had chosen
and sworn to be her ministersof
State and her legislators, con-
trive and execute against the
nations life such a Conspiracy
as this, and yet the conspira-
tors be suffered to live? No |
nation but yours. What ma
tion in history has been found !
strong enough to endure the /
crime against its life of having
its rulers SO far elevate treason
toward the excellence of 10y
atty as to suffer the leading
traitors to even exist ? No
nation, alas! not even yours.
Why, Americans, what you see
to-day in your country was
never seen before in the world.
To permit the Lees, the Dick
Taylors. the Semmeses, the
Alex. III. Stephenses-these
chief architects of their coun-
try's ruin-to live at all in the
country, is a spectacle of folly |
absolutely new in the history |
of nations. To permit these |
and their allies in the rebellion |
to wander at large in the |
porches and halls of this tenn
pie Of your freedom, mingling /
as honored ones among the un-
suspecting children Of the re-
public, with no other instru-
ments Of mischief in their
hands than the torch, the pis-
tol, and knife, which they use
to-day in numbering the sur
viving loyalty of the South, as
at Memphis and New Orleans,
is a crime against your coun-
try of which history furnishes
no example. But to add in
their hands to these instru-
ments of mischief the power
of both cleeting and becoming
tho President CopaEor- - I