The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1866-10-31

OF the word she IS loyal. W nat IS
"loyalty ?" 1t is nothing moro or
less than NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
to thclaw ofthat Government un-
der which you live. Have any pco-
pie on earth manifested a higher
faith, or been moro obedicnt to the
laws Of the land, than We have been
since our allegiance to the Gov
crnmcnt has bcenrcncwcd ? Many
Of these laws we regard as illegal
and unconstitutional, but to not
one Of them has the shadow Of re-
sistance been made. We have
yielded our implicit ifnot a cheer
full obedience to all, trusting that
time would rcctify the evils un-
der which we labor. What high
cr proof Of loyalty could be given
than this ?
But, fcll0w-citizcns, was the
South ever disloyal to the Consti-
tuition Of the United States? |
deny that she ever was, and l
challenge her most bitter enemy
to adCucc one single instance in
which she has been. From the
adoption of that Constitution, up
to the time when she framed one
for her own governancc, no one
can lay to her charge q single
violation Of any clause Of that
instrument. Did she ever propose
to change it? Did she ever evade
any of its provisions ? Did she
ever denouncc it as a ''league with
hell and covenant with the
devil?" Nay more, when she
framed a Constitution for herself
did she not adopt the old and
honOred one almost word for word?
Had the North been but half as
loyal as the South has ever been,
no war would have dcsolated our
country, and the Union would be,
What its founders intended-one
Of equal and sovereign states,
bound together by the strong ties
Of patcrnal affection, instead of
what it now is, q consolidated
despotism Of the stronger States,
ruling with a rod Of iron, the
weaker ones. The South is, and
ever has been loyal in the proper
sense Of the word.
I am aware that the North has
given a new meaning to this word
when applied to the South. For
the South to be loyal in the eyes
of the North, she must admit her
self to be inferior in all points; she
must declare that she has Sinned,
andlikc arcpcntant child. she must
humbly sue for forgiveness. She
must pronounce State Rights and
States Sovereignty fala!cies.and she
must forget the teachings ofPatrick
Henry: Of Jefferson, and ofMadiSon.
You. men Of PiclcnS, must forget
the ilIu>triouS son you gave to our
State, and you must brand Calhoun
asa traitor. Thcnamcs of fMcDuffie,
ChevrS. Hayne, Hamilton, Harper,
must no longer be held in reverence
in their own State, as those Of
great statesmen and pure patriots,
but the men who bore them, like
their immortal compatriot, are to
be called traitors, and their doc
trines Scditious. You will not be
loyal until YOU import, along with
everything else, politics, your
morality and your religion from
the North.
F l know not, fellow-citizcns, how
it may be with others, but for my
self, prefer still to cling to the
political faith taught by her great
Apostles Of Liberty. 1 rcpudiatc
as hcrctical and damnable that
morality which inculcatcs "highcr
law" than the Bible teaches. And
as TO- religion, | confess that after
the way they call hercsy, so wor-
ship | the God Of my tathcrs."
We obey the laws OF the lana: we
pay the taxes levied on us; we
support the Constitution; and we
acknowledge the supremacy Of the
National Government. The North
has no right to demand or to
expect Of us, more than this. She
has no right to ask that VIC should
give up the divine right-which
even slaves cnjoy-of freedom Of
opinion; that we should deny the
principles We hold sacred; that we
should abasc ourselves in the dust |
Z y ,,,.ODitirtn brr GOOD will nl that |