Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1867-08-14

These bills 1.-THE Military Bills) propose al
every step to abrogate the Constitution-tram
ple upon the State and its laws-to blot Out
every hope-to perjure every man who &C
cepts them, with every principle of honor
justice and safety disregarded, trampled upoE
and despised-to perpetuate the power O
their wicked authors. Can this scheme sue
ceed? Will it succeed? That is the ques
ton. feel truly thankful in my heart tina
] have an answer which lifts my soul amids
all the gloom and apprehension of the hour
Some OF you may not appreciate it, but t.
me it is the only oasis in this desert. Thi!
scheme will 7lerer, NEVER succeed, and pro
claim its ultimate failure to-day in your hear
ing. [Unbounded applause. l know thai
some think it will The air is full of the
words of those who proclaim that there is nc
power to prevent it. Men have, before this
been weak and foolish, and towards and trait
ors have before believed as you talk now, but
have reason for the faith that is in me-
which is absolutely sublime in the strength Of
its foundations.
lst. 1t will fail because it is not possible tc
pcrpetuate a government Of force urder the
forms of a democracy. 1t may take some
time to comprehend this thought, but yon
will not forget it. That which is now pro,
posed is force. 1t is proposed by men who
do not live in this State, and whose agents dc
not live here; and it is sought 10 be accom-
pi<hed by military power, but under the pre-
tense of your sanction-not to please your
selves, but them. There is not an instance
in history where government of force ba;
been perpetuated under the forms of free in
stitutions. 1t is an impesStJilHy, and car
pever succeed. Applause.]
%. But it is sought to be accomplished by
deceit and fraud, which cannot much longer
escape detection. The masses of the people
of the North love the Constitution and fought
for it and the Union, but the Leaders did moi
fight fer it, and do not love it; and they now
seek to destroy it under pretcnse that vi
must give some further guarantee for our. tu'
,ure good behavior than merely supporting
the Constitution. As soou as the mea1s by
which their deceit and fraud have been GOV.
cred rp are removed, the scheme will be
crushed 70 death by the people. 1t is double
shaped monster, like the sentinel at Hell gate
Which can live nowhere except in politica
pandemonium.
And what must be the result? do moi
say we will come ont Of all this with free in
s;i,utions preserved, but this scheme can nev,
er succeed A despotism over the whole
country and over all the people guilty and in
nocent alike may ensuc You'll fail, but you
may bring ruin upon all Whenever you
pull down the temple Of liberty you also will
be crushed by the fall. You cannot level Or
lower us and elevate yourselves. we must
either all rise or all go down together. Des-
potism NAV come, empires may rise aud iail
among us, but whether they do or not, we
shall not have the reign Of a Radicn1 party
Understand me: If say man cannot live
high up in the air, 60 not mean he cannot
60 ny in balloon ard remain for time !; OF
r say man cannot live under water, dc
not saw he cannot 60 down in q diving bel
and remain awhile; but tie Radicals will a:
certainly fail to perpetuate their power under
the scheme, as that a man will fail who at
,empts to dwell in the cir, or drown who
makes his home under water Such gov
ernrpent would be unnaiural-a political mon
strosity, and cannot possibly last; but yo'
may destroy the forms as vel! as the princ,i
piles of free government, and then You vii
have monarchy, an autocracy, an empire, OIL
despotism, as the case may be.
This very scheme was attempted in Rome
by much better men than you Radicals are
and for a much better reason than you give
It's not original with you. You arc bu
plqqiQrizing traitors at best, and get youl
scheme from the criminals of lopg ago. If
did steal, would try to steal something bet
ter and from more respectable source.
If you will examine, and compare with
former times, the productions of such men q;
Stevens, Phillips. and Sumner, and their les
ser followers and secondhand plaglarlzer'
down South. you will find all their miserable
iargon about "liberty and equality" the
{ natural right of man." and born right o.
manhood suffrage" are borrowed from the
men who fomented social and civil wars IL
Rome, and which have been repeated in every
age since, by those who have no statesman
ship but the deyilish ability of exciting ig'
norant men to cut each others throats. Re-
publican Rome had o large number of slaves
and freedmen, and non.voting citizens. She
had landed aristocracy embracing compara-
lively few of her people.
An agrarian law was proposed, and Tor
time was immensely popular, but it failed and
its first author was slain. His brother re-
| newed the law and enlarged it by proposing
suffrage to the slaves and freedmen withequal
political rights. II was said there could be
no f.eedom wi,houte equality" But the brother
also perished. Then great general became
The leader Of the Radicals of that day. and he
had more fame and merit and ability and
honesty than all the Radical party of his day
combined. but lie also failed And why did
they all fail? Because they were attempting
to crgraft a government Of force and robbery
upon republican forms-attempting the ab-
snrd task of making equal, things which God
had made unequal-attempti equality by
taking that which industrious and frugal meH
had made and giving it to thriftless vaga
bonds. ard by deposii;ng in the keeping o
Ignorance and vice powers and trusts which
intelligence alone can know how to exercise
and preserve
But by the struggle Republican Rome per.
ished and never knew liberty again. Nor was
this all; her history from the beginning o
the arrarian attempt WIS one of blood, and
faction. and waste, and ruin, until the goal o
Emn;,e was reached. In the social and civil
wars which marked the struggle, more than
seven hundred thousand of her best citizens
we're slain: and besides these, whole popula'
tions of some Of her most populous terrific
RIGS we're exterminated.
It NAV be that we Of the United States
have been so crazy in leaving the Consitu
tion-,he only Ark of safety-that our Heav
eply father has doomed us to perish, but | am
pratifcd with a nope that it is notso. Ii not
there is but one method for our rescue, and
that is by prompt restoration of the Con-
stjtution. Will it come? Will we escape an
agrarian war with resulting despotism, and
save our institutions for our children