The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1867-04-11
The Duty Of me Hour.


The Duty Of .hc Hour.
We have always believed the Sout
was right in her Struggle with her en-
mics Of the North, and that the rigl
would ultimately prevail. We still b,
licye 50. We ms confidently believed
North has done wrong that her pcopl
have sOwn to the wind, and that the
will reap the w%Lirlwind, and that to
right speedily. But these are onI.
opinions. There are certainly indispl
tableIoc staring lis in the face, wit
which we have to deal. Slavery is abOl
islcd and that forever; and no one dc
sircS its restoration. The former slay,
has become invested with the high p"iv
iIcge relationship. With his co-Opc
ration we have to govern the country
or be governed by him.
This i%naugUratcs II crisis for the man
agcmcnt Of which, all the wisdom o.
the aged and experienced and all tho
prudence Of the rash and DISCONTINUED
will be required.
The races are now equal Jefore Tie
lar. We may believe that God in his
wisdom made the negro our inferior,
and that it is folly in Congress to at
tempt to make him our equal. But we
must dismiss the dogmas Of the dead
past tits with the living prescl4 that
we have to grapplc. We must Jena be-
fore the storm or be drokea by it. "
There is nothing left us bnt to obey
the law. This we n do by 4 digniti
ed, do-nothing, course; or we can avail
ourselves Of the law aud convert it to
our advantage. True wisdom demands
that wc elect this latter course and con
troll this new political power that ON
fronts Us.
There wasa time in The history of
the Confectionery when the negro popu-
Iation might have been converted into
an element Of strength, and might have
done good service in the cause of our
country, and theirs but we adhered to
an idea that, however much it was in
harmony with the laws Of Cod and the
Constitution oil the country, was dis
countenanced by the greater part Of the
world, and we failed to avail ourselves
ofthe opportunc momcnt--our enemies
seized it, converted oar natural allies
into enemies and hurled them against
us with, we all know what, effect. Let
us not commit that blundcr again. :
We must control the negro vote for i
his good, for our good, and for the |
good of the country, or our enemies Il
will control it for the destruction Of /
both races and the ruin ftllc country. a
There is no Sacridce of principle in Il
this course. We did not make the law. W
We only accept a situation that we can Il
not a0eH. And our submission to n
is not ~ endorsement thereof. t.
Neither can we blame the negro for u
The situation for it is not of his crca- ii
lie is certainly excusablc for &C "
liberty and citizenship. +"
In the days OF slavery his interest and p
lis masters were identical. They are
10 less so now. II we are to live to- W
rs citizens of the same country o
icfwill have n common interest and ID
ught, if possible, to act in concert and fl
g what w have always been, friends. h
The negro prospercd in slavery I'M L
er our control. If he proves TO be W
nable to compete with the white race d'
freedom, and falls by the way it will
no lault oil ours. r.
II We pursue any OTHER ours than IN
lie one above indicated, do We not yir nj
ally fold our arms and suffer ON en- N,
MES to govern us through the instru frt
equality of our former slaves? Com to-
ION sense forbids that we should make CT
ich a surrender Of ourselves. But let ia,
S rather seize the instrument and use be,
as best We may. ca,
We Of the South are not responsible Tn
the situation. We fought for n pb
were o%vcrpowered and sub.
to the government. We did
hat We conceived to be u duty. Wei we
an do no more than accept the situa so,
on. of
The faith Of The Government was re. ha
plishted to the sole object of m,
estoring the Union of our fathers as IL VIC
'a'. hhas been and is now in the est
OF the North to restore that In. pa
gl it, Oh.