The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-10-06

State Governments, that they should
expressly repudiate this rebel indebted
ness. He held that the whole of il was
Illegal because the whole Rebellion was
Illegal. lie held that their State gov
ernments were illegal for the same rea-
son because they were organized for the
purposes of the war. Following out
logically his own doctrines, lie held,
therefore, that this Rebel debt was in
itself illegal and utterly void, and he
recommended provisions to be put into
the Southern Constitution that ii should
never be assumed or paid in order to
terminate and fOrcclose forever all de-
bate and all question on the subject.
State after State of the South did this.
In the reorganization of their State
governments the first step was the form-
alton of new State constitutions, and in
every Southern constitution the whole
of the Confederate or Rebel indebted
ness was expressly repudiated and its
payment forever forbidden. This was
the solemn act Of the whole population
of the South acting in their sovereign
capacity in the formation of new fun
damental laws for themselves.
Let me call your attention to one
other point and then | shall pass from
this topic. l have already suggested to
you that according to your experience
and mine there is very often difficulty
in obtaining the payment of just indebt-
edness. We have sheriff., and consta-
bles, and courts, and legal process for the
purpose of enforcing good faith among
our people as to debts which are legal in
their origin and unquestionably due
from the debtor to the creditor, against
the payment of which there is no legal
bar or impediment-dcbts which are
just and lawful in the fullest sense of
those terms. Now how ridiculous and
absurd it is to suppose that the time can
ever come when the people even Of the
South themselves would willingly as
sumo these rejected obligations and rem
der themselves liable to their payment
And how much more unreasonable and
unlikely it is that the people of the
United States should assume and pay
any portion of a debt which was con-
tracted in contempt of their authority,
against their interests, in fragrant viola
tion of the Constitution of the United
States, and in violation of all considera-
tions of propriety and legality as held
by us!
Understand, then, here is debt moi
due and which can never become due
a debt repudiated by Constitutional
provision in every State concerned a
debt which in itself was Il speculative
one because the foreign creditors loaned
their money somewhat as Il gambler
would put up stake. They loaned
their money rs sort of bet on the issue
of the war. For a very small sum OF
money loaned to the Confcderacy they
obtained securities for a considerable
amount, say five dollars for one. If the
Confederacy triumphed in the war and
the United States should recognize theif
independence, these creditors would
make enormous fortunes upon small
sums loaned, while on the other hand
if the Confetieracy failed in the war the
time of payment would never arrive
and they would lose their money. 1t
was a gambling transaction; if the
gamblers were fortunate their gains
were to be large, but if the chances OF
war turned out to be against them, the
amount loaned WAS to be total loss.
So the world will regard this question
in all future time. So it will be regard
ed in the United States North and
South. So it will be regarded in Eu-
rope. These creditors bet upon the war
and they lost their stakes. Nobody
North or South would ever think of
paying that debt. Besides, there are
all necessary guarantees against its ever
being paid-guaranties in human ma
ture itself, that our people never will
pay debt so odious, so illegal, always
undue, and in which there are no equi>
ties on behalf of the creditor, nothing
upon which he can appeal to our good
faith. He stands in the attitude of q
gambler, instead of a creditor as to us.
His securities are worthless upon their
very face. He has no reason, no shad-
ow of justice i'm his claim, and human
nature itself would everlastingly rise
up in all parts of the Union against tht
payment of any portion of it. And
yet these Constitutional tinkers pro
pose gravely that we should pause il
this work of restoration, of bringing
our country and our States together, o
and harmonious from Ocean to Ocean
until we say in the fundamental Law
that we will not do what is morally i'm
possible, what no reasonable man il
the whole country believes ever will b'
done--pay this illegal, irregular anC
odious debt contracted by our enemie
in the prosecution of hostilities agains
us,
Now why was that put into the reso
luton of amendment? 1t was to catcl
ignorant and silly people, to make mel
who do not reflect much, think tina
there was something valuable here
some great security against mischief ii
the future. 1t was put in for that rea
son, to leaven the mass of amendments
to give an odor of popularity and o
merit to the whole mass and yet yol
see how absurd, ridiculous and unnec
essary this clause Of amendment is!