The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-04

homes IN the 1af w est Wueiei 'oo. "o' ~
cd and respected. Slavery cursed every poor
white man more than it did the negro-lt
wrote upon his brow degradation upon
this soil, the earth itself, it wrote "ruin y
and the time is coming when this people
will see and confess it. I say the Republi-
can party wanted to keep the territories free.
We did not wish to see slaves go there and
school houses banished We had right to
say that those territories should be free-our
fathers had settled that themselves. Ours
then was a purely defensive position. But
because we said so much as that and were
determined to carry it out, certain gentle
men threatened to tear down the govern
ment and separate their States from the
others.
South Carolina had carried the flag OF
slavery from the foundation of the govern
ment up to that hour. She, too, was the
mother of notification and secession, and
she led in rebellion. In the first Congress
ever held South Carolina came in debating
in regard to slavery She came demanding
that the words in the declaration of indie
pcndence arraigning King George for the
African slave trade he expunged. Jefferson
himself has told us that North Carolina and
Virginia were forced to agree with her, and
the words were expunged. Then she forced
the Congress to continue the slave trade for
twenty years longer South Carolina led,
North Carolina and Virginia held back;
and so it WAS when the old flag went down
on Sumter, these States were dragged into
rebellion.
When Abraham Lincoln escaped the knife
of the assassin at Baltimore to die by the
hand of Wilkes Booth, he addressed an APP
peal to his cOuutrymen that will live in
=, ua tN1l tha,, hot No
had an oath registered in Heaven to maintain
the Union, and that they had none registered
there binding them to destroy that Union
and he told the leading Union men in the
South. that the government would not
plunge the country into civil war. This
spirit of moderation had its effect The reb
Ell leaders saw their danger. Then Walker
ordered that the first gun should be fired at
Fort Sumter-he knew that blood must
commence to flow and the Southern heart be
maddened to frenzy. They knew if they
awaited the overt act, it would never come.
And they trembled before the moderate pol
icy Of the good and great Lincoln.
But before that event. the Crittenden COM
promise had been offered to us as plan of
reconciliation. Before God and man we
dared not accept its propositions. We had
just voted in favor Of keeping the territories
| forever open to free labor and free labor only
This compromise proposed by positive law
to make all the territory South of 36 deg
30 min, slave territory. Had we consented
to that. we should have become personally
responsible for slavery. But we had already
organized three territories west and north
of Kansas, without admitting or excluding
slavery. We relied on the people to do that
for lis. This compromise further proposed
that masters should be allowed to carry their
bondsmen into the free States. thus making
Massachusetts slave State Toombs could
thus have carried out his threat to call the roll
ofhis slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill monu-
ment. We could not agree to that, for his
tory would have written us down as dis
graced men. And it further demanded of
us that we should never abolish slavery in
the District of Columbia without asking the
consent of old Virginia 1t further demand
ed that we should deny citizens of color
throughout the free States the right of suf-
trage. 1t was an insult to ask this thing of
us. For eighty years the negro had been
vested with the right of suffrage in Massa-
chusetts. In the revolutionary war, he had
fought for his country with heroic valor-
On land and on wave in 1912, his hearts
blood had mingled with the white mans in
defence of the National flag. Could we
consent to deny him Il right to which his
claims were so good and noble, without cov-
cring our names with iniamv? And then
it further proposed that we should tax the
people to send all the free people of color
away to Africa. Uaughter.) This, then, is
that which was required of US to do, or they
would plunge the country in civil war, and
arraign US before the tribunal of God for in
tringing their constitutional rights. Before
Him and all mankind. say we are not re-
sponsible for the war. That responsibility
rests on the system of slavery which per-
verified human reason and made millions of
men raise their hands against the govern
ment, and send their sons to the battle field
to shed fraternal blood. No, gentlemen, as
future ages roll on, the system of human
slavery will be held responsible for all this
sorrow. 1t was the giant criminal, and the
traitor that sought the nations life. And
it has sunk into its grave of intamy and dis
honor, never to rise again.
Now when the war commenced the gov
eminent called out $4,000 men to protect
the Capitol. You laughed that feeble force
to scOrn. l knew more about slavery my
self than to suppose that such an army was
sufficient. 1 was in favor of calling out 3OO,-
900 men Immediately. I was then for Wig
orous prosecution of the war. am now for
Il vigorous prosecution of peace. But the
government stood on the defensive 1t de-
serves censure for its moderation. 1t did
not act promptly or boldly enough in meet
ing this rebellion. Congress too is to blame
for another thing. When it met in 1861,
within ten days it ought to have declared
every slave a free man. Then the rebellion
would have been crushed within two years.
But see how careful it was in touching the
system. At Charleston, Beauregard had used
slaves to throw up his fortifcations--th through
out the whole of the rebel armies they were
used as teamsters, cooks, and to dig rife
pits This saved much labor to white men,
and also left them free to shoot down great
er number of our soldiers. There was bill
pending to declare such slaves tcontraband
of war. The judiciary committee reported
against it. But the next day after the bat
tie of Bull Run it was passed. John. c.
Breckenridge who was then in the Senate of
the United State, declared that it was the
beginning of the loosing of all bonds, and so
he ran away to the Confederate States
Oaughter) Six months after this we struck
another blow. Slaves were continually run
ming into ourlines Their rebel masters came,
and our officers gave them up. We passed
a law that any officer, who gave up slaves
that came within our lines for projections,
should be dismissed form service That rst a.