The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1866-09-12

delegations passed the Press Office, which was
most clabOratcly decorated, they acknowl.
edged the compliment. Aftcr them ca,ne the
Northern delesationS--thc 'rcvolutionists and
the usurpcrs." The great North had sent them
to welcome the tried Un;onists Of the South.
The Republican lnvinciblcs followed them in
fifty platoons, as fine n body Of young men
they were rs ever marched. The iircmcn, with
hose carriages and engines decorated, were
out in force, and each company had those Of
their number who had enlisted in the war,
and had returned crippled, in ambulances be-
hind them. All Of Philadelphia which could
arrange itself in the line Of march, were out
to sec and shout welcome.
AS the procession passed in front Of the
Union League House Oh Broad street, which
was decorated with hunting, the reception
speech was delivered by Mr. Charles Gibbons,
Chairman Of the Committee Of Reception.
There must have been over ten thousand
people in the street while Mr.. Gibbons was
speaking. Mr.. Gibbons greeted the delegates
from the South substantially as follows:
"l.oYALISrs, FELLOW .CrTIzESs FurxSpS AND
BRE7iIRES There is no loyal blood on
your hundS and your souls nrr free from
the guilt Of trclSon you have held fast to
your integrity, although your homes have been
dcso!atcd, the pleasant places laid waste, and
yourselves and your wives and children driven
into exile. The sympathy which the men Of
the North felt for you at that time was
flashed from million Northern layOncts, and
pronounced by the mouths Of Northern can.
non. ] proclaim it rs the honest Scnti.
mcnt Of the North that when the South re-
turns to her duty she must come in new
robes, with new covenants for liberty, cqnali-
| ity and Justice, lcl by her own loyal Union
lists, who aro free from the guilt of treason.
| What hope have you in the future, or what
security have you, if unpuniSlcd and
! impcnitcnt traitors alr to bc rrinstatcd in
power by the arbitrary and bcSottea will OF
one man, under Constitution deliberately
for>worn ? Tho answer is already writ
ten in the blood Of the murdered loynlStS of
New Orleans. You, the men Of the South,
are her, on the high and solemn mission of
r.c<,alli,hing the American Union on The
broul and sur foundation of equal and exact
Justice to all mrn. 1t can Sta'd upon II"
| other. You can not he 50 umninlGul "i
all the lessons OF the past NJ to be lc'i by
ya.,nn, pOlitirians into another compro'nIS"
with crln", instead Of lifting up from drsra'ln.
ton those who have been its victims" lie
closed his remarks hy II rcitcrai"n OF hls
words Of welcome to the city Of PhlaclpIIin
where a Government, based on the equality
! oc man has been inar.uratcd, anh where the
Government has been administered justly,
and in its purity, by that illustriouS man
whose name alOno strikes every traitor dead.
Gov. Hamilton, in behalf Of the assembled
loyalistS Of the South. returned thanks for
the welcome which they had received
lie said il would be mn unmixcd pleasure to
do so, were it no, that they could not but re-
mcmlcr the cause Of their assembling. They
had hoHd that after the triumph OF the ma
tional arms, those who had suffered 50 long
would have somc indemnity cor the past. ut
least security for the future. They had hoped
to be permitted to return peacefully TO Their
habita,ionS, and renew those associations with
the friends from whom they had been so Ion"
parted; but the experience Of the twelve
months had taught them, III bitterness OF
heart, that the spirit which animated the re-
bcllion was as rampant to-day as on the day
when the rebels first drew the sword. The
prescription of all who aided the Government
was rs rampant and incorrsiblc at tho South.
rs defiant, as denunciatory, rs rindIctive und
rs cruel as it was at any period during the re-
bcllion. Seeing this, and realizing that so lar
from being rrmittcd to their homes they were
rcmittcd to the same element which had
wrought the destruction Of the Government,
some Of them who happened to be at the ma
tional captnl, deemed the time proP't'ous 70
call on the Unionists Of the South 10 SEND
delegates to meet and consult together MS 10
their own condition and that Of the country.
They believed that they saw not only danger
to themselves, but cloud, though no bigger
than a mans hand, on tho verge Of the hor'.
zon, which might ultimately spread over the
entire country. They therefore determined
to make the cali. The question then present
cd itself whore should they inectE They
knew there was not u cangenlnl spot'o Soil
for them in MI the south no place where
they could meet except they followed the fate
Of those who met in convention month since
lin New Orleans 1t had been truthtully said
in ono Of tho leading Administration papers
that they would not have dared to meet on
Southern soil. He who uttered that truth
did not know how important 1t would be to
attempt to disabuse the mind Of the American
ncople rs to that repeated falschood, that
the South has returned in complete faith to
her allegiance to the Government But their
eyes turned instinctively to the goodly city
Of Philadelphia. .'-r-r p. ~. =
They had come assured Of welcome, but
that which they had received had far out.
stripped their expectations. For that vel
come he returned grateful thanks,
This convention had been called because
they realized the fact that no practical pr'ncI.
NJ. Of administration had been settled by tho
late contest. ,
They found that they were only rcnlittcd
"a tho tender mcrcics OF States which might
At their will and discretion strike down the
tdearos, human rights, while no protecting
nowcr was to be found in the Government.
as 20 their fortunes they llad long since been
eYpendcd, aud they had nothing now TO give
20 the cause but their lives and honors, and
thcso they pledged.
Aftcr the conclusion Of Gov. Hamilton.s