Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-04-20


those who secuted the idea, forgot that thel
never yet was civil war in which either PAL
ty gained clear victory. Ten years henC
1 History will look back and say of the loya
g States, what superb opportunity the
= had, whether it shall be added, land the,
: imp owed it, it is for US to say.
!; Mr.. Phillips proceeded to consider wha
d were the conflicting principles at issue whiel
e led to the war, and what ought to be settled
I by it. The Northern civilization with it.
dominant principles offree labor, everything
for the people and by the people, had in
. open trial Of arms beaten the Southern sys-
: TEN which claims that capital shall own
; labor, and that all political and social pow
er shall be concentrated in a class The true
law OF reconstruction after such a conflict is
that the conquering idea has the right to
hold exclusive possession Of the government
till the issues OF the war are settled beyond
a question ThIs, understand to be the
central idea Of radiealism There is anoth-
er plan based On "magnanimity (which is
not even cousin german to Common Sense,
Two men 60 to law about the boundary line
between their farms. For ten years they
carry 1t from court to court. Tie question
is finally settled by the court of last appeal.
What next? OF course nothing remains
but to call in the surveyor run the line where
the court las said it should be and let the
winner take possession. This is the method
Of common sense. The "magnanimity"
plan, urged by the President and the Apos-
tie Of Plymouth Church, would be to have
the winner ssy to his opponent, Come, our
lawsuit is ended now let US sit down TO.
gether and decide where the line shall run"
There were a thousand men IN the South, |
whom if God had seen ft to call to him,elf. |
or drop them the other way, there would
have been no rebellion Some Of these men
are dead, some in foreign lands, one or two
in prison. The rest arc in their old positions
Of influence in the South The brains which
welded therctellion still control the Southern
States. The time for hanging any Of them
has gone by. Davis and the class he repre-
sents can neither be hung, banished or con-
yertcd. They must be counted in, to our
problem. And now in what mood do they
come back They have deserted none Of
their old TrJudieos and principles. The
Presidents conditions, in the adoption Of
tie anti slavery Amendment and the aban-
d1nment OF the right of secession by the
uullilyiug Of the ordinance of secession,
had been fully complied with by but three
States. The rest deliberately and meaningly
rPsa'sd their acts Of secession, reserying
the right TO ro-tnact them. Their laws still
MAINTAIN in substance the supremacy Of the
slave masters over the blacks, whatever
more than they used to enjoy is granted
them, Is given not a right but as a boon. The
laboring class mus; not be consulted and can
have only what the aristocrsuc class
see fit to allow them. And it Is little safer
for Northern men at the South than before
the War. Carl Schurz in his lectures tells
our young Northerners to % South and tells
them ho'0 to g0-in companies Of not less
than a hundred, with one pocket full of
grcenbacks and the other full Of reyolyers,
and when you stop at night, throw out pick
cts. President johnson, in whom we trusted
to guard the fruits of our long and bloody
fight, has gone over to the enemy. The
line which cnce ran between the headquar- ]
tiers Of Grant and Lee now runs between the {
Senate chamber and the White House. The :
Executive mansion is the headquarters Of q
tie rebellion. For eight months the Presi- S
dent has given no indication that he accepts
Northern civilization and ideas. His idea
Of freedom for the blacks, is freedom 10 work :
for their late masters We can hope for t
nothing from him. Congress is now our !
only bulwark. But Congress, doing well as /,
it Is, can rot be expected to take higher t
ground than the people they represent. 1t as
composed largely of men who whisper at !
home what they would not dare to have told
IN Washington, and who whisper at Wash
ington what they would not for the world C
have heard at home The people must hold
them to their duty. Nh. Phillips proceeded {
TO develop the danger of Reputation of the a
public debt from the return Of the Southern v
ers to their seats in Congress, and in closing d.
said his plan Of reconstruction was TO put Z
Jeff. Davis with his treason, Wade Hampton t
with his hatred, and Gov. Aiken with bis
ignorance, into the one scale put int, the '
other the negro, with his ballot, free school 5
and forty acres, add Yankee labor and capi-
tai and the rebel scale Will kick the beam. :
Mr.. Phillips spoke about an hour and c
half, ana held his audience intent and inter b
ssted to the end. His case and grace Of ut :
terance, the pithinoss of his matter, and i
be aptness and wit Of hishllustrations, have t
been too often described to need recounting. = =
they were as noticeable as ever, and for /
once were not greatly marred by the admix- b
.ure Of the bitter personal denunciation, '
which, applied as freely to good men as to d
bad, has too often injured the influence of
Mr. Phillips public lectures. {
FATAL r. r. AccIDEST.-A very serious n
accident occurred on the Vermont Central 5
Road, early on Friday morning, near the !
Williston station, resulting in the smashing O
up of a train-the night train from Boston q
the death Of one passenger, whose name
we have been unable 20 learn, the severe in .
jury of Conductor G. c. Appleton, and the '
injury in slighter degree of Mr.. V. B. !
Shaw, of this place, and three other passen- $
gers We understand that the disaster was 1
nncasinnod hr HE c-ixlnn way of n cnlyert. |