Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-11-18

HN
GERRIT SMITH is ont in a long letter 1
Professor TAYLOR LEWIS, Of Union Co
lege, Schnecieday, on the situation Of ma
tional affairs. lie says:
Il see that Won continue to write for I'll
salvation Of that dear country. Well yo
may for she is, this day, mere fearfull
imperilled than she was al any time durin,
the clash Of arms ] have read your pam
phlet entitled, The Heroic Periods OF
Nations History wish every one couIt
read lis wise and high-souled pages. Their
is, however, one blot upon il. They savo
the shedding Of more blood. You WoulC
have the South punished, after she had laiC
down her arms. Some Of her most promi
uent men you would have had punished
with DEATH
/ wonder that you, who are so familiar
with the writings Of the most approved pub
iicisis, do not fall in with the conclusion
that a strife which has reached the dimen.
sions and dignity Of civil war, and espe.
cially civil war, which, like our own,
divides people into distinct and completed
national organizations, has outgrown the
crime Of treason. Their arguments FOR this
conclusion, { getheT with such as would sug-
gest themselves 10 a mind as enlightened As
your own, must, it would seem, lack moth
ing to convince you Of its entire soundness.
! need hardly add that dissent from your
definition Of civil war.
1t is mainly the fault Of the Government,
when one-half Of nation breaks away from
the other. Had our Government been. ever
wise and just the great secession, which has
soaked our soil with blood, would not have
been. When one-half Of England, or France,
or Spain shall break away from the other,
The worlds sympathies will pretty certainly
be with the insurgents-for the world will
pretty certainly infer that the insurgents
were wronged. Moreover, if the insurgents
should fail TO maintain their cause and to
right their wrongs, the world will pretty
certainly feel that their failure il of itself
their quite sufficient punishment Who is
30 foolish as to believe that, had the whole
history Of our Government been brightwith
wisdom and beautiful with Justice, there
would have been this throwing off of its re-
straints and this defiance Of its power?"
Pity for the South, not punishment, is
then urged by Mr.. SMITH, who then con
tinues.
Ever since The surrender Of the South,
! have felt that the first duty Of the North
und the South was a common repentance for
IA common sin. The discharge of this duty,
together with the mutual forgiveness which
would have instantly followed, would have
proved a might" upward educator Of both
North and South and it is for the lack of
this very educator, that the character Of both
North and South has all this time been going
downward. From such repentance and for
giyeness peace would have come long ere
this, and it would have been permanent,
because pure peace. Such peace can
now hardly be looked fora peace which
cannot come until each section shall con-
denim itself and forgive the other"
Next follows some good advice to General
BUTLER
"Mr DAVIS has indeed, wrOnged his coun-
try; and, through his misapprehensions of
him, has particularly wronged Gen. But
I.ER. But so, also, have tie country and
General BUTLER wronged Mr.. DAVIS. The
country-the North as well as the South
moulded his pro-slavery character, and is
largely responsible for what has come to
him and his country from that character.
Our guilty nation, in looking upon Mr..
DAVIS, should rather pity than hate its own
legitimate offspring. And Gen. BUTLER,
instead Of invoking punishment on the head
of Mr.. DAVIS, had better fall ON his knees
before him in penitent remembrance Of his
own prominent connection with the exceed
ingly wicked pro-slavery Democratic party"
Then as 10 JEFF. DAVIS himself
JEFFERSON DAVIS is kept in prison be-
cause the North still refuses TO repent Of her
pro-slayery wickedness. Upon that wicked
ness far more than upon all other causes, Is
the ruin Of JEFFERSON DAVIS and Of the
South chargeable. Repentance for it would
quickly open his too long CLOSED doors.
surely. surely, il the South will forgive the
North. the North can well afford to forgive
,he South. But | am asked whether the
North should forgive the crueltes of Ander-
souyille and Of the other terrible prisons of
the South? Even these unparalleled cruel
ties she should remember were the crimes
of slavery, and that slavery was her own as
well as the SOutlis crime-ay, that even her
churches were blood-ged with il. The
North, no less than the South, had the max
ing Of the monsters who ruled in those
prisons"
Next. as to the demand for the President S
impeachment:
dBut who is .here TO impeach him? With
what decency could Congress impeach him,
both houses Of which are guilty Of the same
Injustice and inhumanityY Grant that the
Presidents plan Of reconstruction is one
which, il adopted, would throw the black
sayiors of their stupendously- ungratelul and
infernally-wicked country back again under
the feet of their old oppressors. So, too,
would the Congressional plan. Grant that
the Presidents plan would, by refusing to
the white lovalists Of the South the shield Of
black votes, leave these loyalists 10 be de-
stroyed. SO, too, would the plan of Con-
press. It's plan is, indeed, not SO bad as his.
Bnt in respect TO their violations Of the
principles OF Justice and humanity, there is
certainly too little difference TO them to leave
il at all decent for Congress 10 impeach the
President. Those great principles impeach
and condemn both. Let them not be so self
ignorant and shameless as to condemn each
other At any rate, letnot Congress impeach
the President until il has first tried the pow
or Of its own repentance upon the heart OF
the President While for one Of these fell
lows in unrighteousness 60 cling TO the I'M
Righteousness is 10 lead the other TO cling to
il. the giving it up by the one would, more
than anything else, promote the giving oil II
up by the other ! greatly wonder that the
noble and clear-cyed WENDELL PHILLIPS
who is always Cor working with clean tools,
should urge Congress 10 undertake. WITH ITS
dirty hands the impeachment of the Presi-
dent. The undertaking would carry with 4
no moral power, aud therefore do no good.
There would be nothing in It TO inspire and
elevate the people, but much 10 disgust and
degrade them II would not pass for COM
manding duty, but Cor an unprincipled party
movement Ii would not allay or prevent .
hazardous popular oommotion, but would
excite it,
Then. as TO the 50 called constitutional
amendments
"Now, of all political denominations,
know OF none more abOminable than TN
amendment Ii adopted there will he az
implied constitutional permission for a STATE
10 disfrauchise amy race, African, German
ar other. Aud then comes what Is worse
tlN. cot stitulioual obligaton-not permls
si.p-to strike out the DISTINGUISHED rae
FINN All political count, and reduce u 10 o.
r,,mplete a political noneulity as If il wer
, r,ce of bruics. Surely, il is better togo will
IL democrats against all the amendment
IN The Constitution than 10 go with the Re
publicans for such a blot upon Il as would 10
his amendment
81 need saw no more The North an,
s,utb must love each other, ere they car
D., Al peace with each other. Statesmen ar
slow, 10 learn that love is the cure OF all Ills
,sveu those which are national as thos'
which are individual. Indeed, they regarc
il as entirely out OF place in the province o.
.tatesmanship: and all pleading Tor IT.
"