The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1866-10-31
we should kiss the rod that smites
us.
s'Shall free born men, in humble awe
Submit to Servile shame,
Who from consent and custom draw
The same right to be ruled by law,

Submit to servile shame,
Who from consent and custom draw
The same right to be ruled by law,
Which Kings pretend to reign"
Shall we, who were trcebOrn men,
be so base as to declare that our
country has met the fate it de-
scved? Shall we submit to the
shame which would cling to US
forever, if we admit that we have
been guilty Of treason? Shall we
cover ourselves with eternal infamy
by branding as traitors the men
who died for us and to whose
memory you are now paying
honor? Never! Never! Ncvcr!
Let any fate, however hard, be our
lot, rather than that such dishonor
should be ours! When the gallant
warrior-kiny Of old, saw in the
defeat Of his brave army, the ruin
Of all his hopes, proud, though
conquered, he could still exclaim.
::all is lost save honor" Let us,
amid the failure Of our hopes, the
wreck Of our fortunes, strive to
save, like him, what is far more
precious than all else, our honor.
Ihave given you the record Of
the South. I have shown how
we'll she has kept her faith un-
tarnishcd, how closely she has
observed her obligations. Let me
turn now to the record Of the
North. Bear in mind, that in
giving this, [ shall simply state
facts, leaving you to draw your
own differences. I propose to say
what the North has done. I do
not intend to discuss the morality,
the honesty, OF the Justice Of her
actions. When the tyrant disputed
the assertions Of the philosopher,
and endcavored to draw him into
an argument, the reply Of the
latter was Il do not choose to
argue with the commander Of thirty
loSivno. o."-Wit1rUut being It pi,iivo-
ophcr, I can recognize the force Of
this answer, and waive argument,
as totally inappropriate in a dis
cussion Of this sort. Facts, which
are said to be stubborn things,
will be amply sufficient for my
purposes at present.
For four years the North wagcd
war upon us, only, as she solemnly
declared, to bring us back into the
Union. More than q year ago the
South expressed her willingness to
return, and yet she is now as
ctfcctually out Of the Union as if
she had never formed a part Of it.
The North professcd to fight fNr
the Constitution. AS soon as she
had the power to do so, she
changed that Constitution, and
she violated its sacred provisions.
The North protested that She did
not fight for conquest, or for plum
der. The Southern States are at
this moment practically conquered
provinces, and more Of their move
able property is now in the hands
Of Northern soldiers, who stole it,
than in those ofits rightful possess
ors. The parole which Southern
soldiers received promised, as I
have already said, that they
should not be interfered with, so
long as they obcycd the laws Of
their own States. And yet on their
return to their States they were
not allowed to exercise any right
pertaining to free citizens, until
they had, under oath, endorsed all
the Acts Of Congress and declared
the abolition Of slavery fixed,
irrevocablc and constitutional.
Amnesty for the past had been
repeatedly promised to the South,
yet how many Of her citizens are
still, in the brothcrly language Of
the Radicals, only ''unpardoncd |
rebels" whilst her most honorcd !
and best beloved son lansuishcs
in a felon's cell, denied the sacred j
right guaranteed by the Constitu-
ion, ola "spcedy trial by an i'm
partial jury" The Southern
States were to by recognized as !
,qual members Of the Union. They :
,rc still excluded from that Union;
md even in the imposition oftaXcs,
here is no equality: for the cotton
If the South has to bear heavy
discriminating tax. for the benefit .
# the North. All the rights Of
he South were to be held sacred. !
She has only the right to live,