Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-04-18
Senator shsrmsn on IN. state Of sh.

,aIt1u Country. 3ti.1If..
Senator Sherman, Of this State, ad-
dressed the Union League Club of New
York, on last Thursday night. In the
course of his address he said:
Perhaps ought to say of that Con-
gress, which i was member, that no
political body ever had more difficulties
TO deal with than the Both Congress,
which has just expired. At the very
beginning of the session we were quite
unexpectedly brought into collision with
the President of our own choice. If we
had then yielded to the evil counsels that
prevailed with MIR. johnson we should
| by this time have had the rebellion re-
stored, and war by this time might be
again desolating the country. / tell you,
solid men of the city of New Y orlS, that
the action of the Thirty-ninth Congress,
which has been so often called a Radical
Congress, was conservative of all the
great interests which were involved in
! the struggle. >, If we had yielded, the re-
bellion would have been q success instead
of q failure. 1t was, therefore, necessary
to lreorganize society in the Southern
| States. Moderate and reasoning men
complained atone timethat Congress was
| seeking to prevent reconstruction instead
of promoting it,. But after the expert
ence of the last two years, / feel justi-
| fled i'm saying that If we had been in too
great hurry we should have had to
commence the strife over again. Only
yesterday received letter from Gov.
Brown, of Georgia, stating that the
movement toward reconstruction in the
Southern States is going on happily, and
that soon they will acquiesce in the
measures proposed by Congress If such
is really the, case, and l do not doubt it
is, there will soon be a full and complete
settlement of all the difficulties between
the North and the South. Within few
years from this time the Southern States
will be, believe the most radical States
in this Union. We have some illustra-
tions of this in the history of Missouri
and Tennessee. On the other hand, /
believe the most conservative States in
the future will be New York and Ohio,
who still cling to their prejudices, even
after the reason for them has ceased.
do not, then, gentlemen, anticipate any
further trouble between the North and
South. The present Congress, 1 have no
doubt, will be as prudent and conserva-
tive as the last. When L use the word
conservative, L mean, of course, to con-
serve that which is good and to destroy
that which is bad. 1t is idle for any man
to say that we should be governed by the
WiSuoii tilaU pIeNdieu Huuureu years
ago. Alexander Hamilton and George
Washington were men of mark, and far
in advance of their time, but the wisdom
of masses of men is greater than the
Judgment or wisdom of any single man,
and the enlightened spirit of our age and
generation is wiser than Washington or
Hamilton /. believe that the move
ments inaugurated by the Thirty-ninth
Congress will stand as landmarks to
guide and direct this country, and will
be as celebrated as the movements of the
Continental Congress. The Thirty
ninth Congress will, believe, receive,
as it deserves to receive, the same eulo-
gums that are properly bestowed upon
the measures of the Continental Con
gress.