The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-01-31
COMPARATIVE TABLE. =.


Theseeleven great States, with ten million
people, which produced, annually, four mil
lion bales of cotton, and are capable OF pro-
ducing double that number, where are they,
and what are they2 That they once constr 1
tuted part of the States of this Union is
certain. Do they nowa That is the ques-
ton President Lincoln, during his admin
istration, and President johnson, and those
who sustain their policy, say they do. The
Senator from Massachusetts,, Mr. Sumner]
the honorable member from Pennsylvania,
Mr.. Stevens, who oppose that policy, and,
to my sincere regret, my colleague, say they
do not. !g.it ..7 .....,-is..... f
Before giving my views, ] win notice what
is sometimes said, that this question, namely,
whether they are States in the Union under
the Constitution. or are Territories, is a mere
abstraction-an idea of no practical impor-
tance. While yield to none in the desire
to secure practical good and avoid practical
evil, Icannot forget that ideas rule the world.
They are the spiritual forces which bring on
wars, lea d in revolutions, and underlie every
great movement in the scientific, religious
and political world. 1 need go no further to
find an instance than to this great rebellion
against the United States. 10
a Two radical ideas-radically false, howev-
er-brought on this civil war, which has cost
this nation more than half million lives,
and untold millions of treasure y '''
q. First, that States had right to secede;
and, o,'f 4-t.,
Second, that slavery is blessing.
The surrender of those two ideas by the
South is now the basis of permanent peace.
il.Sir, this question, whether those States are
still States in this Union under the Constitu
,tion, Or not, is no vain abstraction, no idea
without immediate, practical, and most grave
Is it of no practical consequence whether,
to adopt an amendment to the Constitution,
it requires the ratification of twenty or
only of twenty y-one States .aa ,s.-.0
-n Is it of no practical importance whether
eleven States, with their ten million people,
shall be taxed and governed without repre-
sentation With less than one-third of that
number of people our fore-fathers, because
the Parliament of Great Britain, in which
they had no representation, passed laws to
tax them, declared the independence of these
States. F..--s ........+
1t is of no practical importance whether
these eleven States and ten million people
shall govern themselves under republican
form of State government, subject only to
the Constitution, of the United States, or
whether they shall be held as subject yassals,
to be governed for an indefinite period by
the unlimited will of Congress or by the
sWord2 t..r,,. ~,
1t is of no practical importance whether
the flag Of our country, for which half a
million have laid down their lives, and
which bears thirty-six stars as an emblem Of
Union of thirty-six States, speaks a ma
tion's truth, or is a monstrous falsehood2
These and many like questions are involv-
ed in this discussion, and depend upon the
answer to the first Sai,, ,.'.g..,.,
tits, therefore, in my Judgment, question
of the first magnitude; a question which
must be met; question which neither men
nor parties can avoid or put aside 1t de-
mands and will have an, answer. 1t is a
question, too, upon which there is and there
can be no compromise and no neutrality
They are States in the Union under the Con-
stitution, or they are not. !, We must affirm
the one or the other, We must stand upon
one side, supporting the Lincoln and John
son policy, maintaining The Union of the
| States under the Constitution to the- I'M
broken, or we must take our stand with the
Senator from Massachusetts upon the other,
and maintain that the Union is broken; that
secession is success and not a failure, SO
far at least asito withdraw eleven States
from the Union, or reduce eleven States to the
territorial condition. 5,o.i lr,,sis.r..,,. s.
zl First, / call to mind the language of Presi-
dent Lincoln's proclamation of December g.
\ 1868. In that he said;izf-oa4sa i; i,,,ir
gJ"I do further proclaim, declare, and make
known, that whenever in any of the States
of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South.C Carolina
and North-C Carolina, a number of. persons
\ not lessfthan one-tenth in number of the
ivotes cast in such States at the Presidential
4 election of the year of our Lord 1860, each
1 having taken the oath aforesaid and not hav
ing since violated it, and being qualified
1 voter by the election lew of the State exist
ing immediately before the so-ealled act O.
secession, and excluding all Others, shall re
| establish a Stateo government which shall b.
| republican, and in Iowise c0ntravening sale
\ oath; such shall obe recognized as the tru.
4 government of the State, and the State shal
4 receive hereunder the benefits of the, con
Institutional provision which declares that th'
'I United States shall guarantee to every Stat,
in this Union o. republican form of govern
+ mentand shall protect each of them agains
4 1nyHslon.H T9fizn69 Iifsidonf sats rs,T
n 9iThei policy thus, announced was enterce
lfupon atiOHce inthe States of Louisiana, Ten
nessee, and Arkansas. It received the unani
nous support of every member of his Cabi
net. While that great man was always opel