The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1867-12-06

At the second annual meeting Of n
|"Socie,y Of the Army Of the Tennessee,
held 10 81. Louis on the 18th, Genera Shel
man delivered the address. In consequenc
Of his name having been suggested ia cor
nec'ion with the Presidency, considersbl
interest jus, now attaches to General SheI
mans political views: we therefore lay be
fore our readers that portion OF the speec
which refers to the political situation:
| have often been asked BY my fellow sol
diers. when troubled by this reports OF th
disturbed condition Of things at the South
whether, after ell, our labors bad not beef
vain, whether we might no, again be cslIe,
on 70 repeat the scenes OF 1868 and 1864
or whether the rebels. defeated 10 battle
might not. In the hurry burly Of time and poll
Tics. regain their "lost cause and their los
pride.
Oa these points feel no great soliciiudci
but whether ! can convey to your minds
the same convictions l will not say. His
tory rarely goes backward. aud events in
the past are usually ss real ss the granite
rock on which we sianI. Surely no men
ever had a more glorious cause than we
and never, in my judgment. did war 90 CON.
ple.ely ful6ll its natural office. When we
laid down our arms and each man returned
to his chosen vocation, not an armed rebel
remsined to question the; rational authority,
and if perfect subordination snd-trsnquility
have not resulted. we must look for the
cause in the nature OF things or in the civil
administration Of our Government. The
former lays within province, but the latter
IL not fair topic OF discussion for the sol.
der. who i sworn 70 obey The Isws Of his
country duly enacted. and the orders Of his
superiors.
That questions Of great interest should
have resulted from our war was to be ex.
pected. such ss concern the rights Of States,
and the rights Of citizens therein. On
these questions, you who we're formerly OF.
fcers and soldiers, but are nov ci.izeus,
should form and express your opinions ss
freemen. unbiased By the cIamor OF the
hour, AMI should leave to others sn equal
right. bearing in mind that there is room for
doubt. and that men may differ and differ
widely. and yet be honest; but when a con.
clusion is once arrived at BY due course OF
law, the subject 10 no longer an open ques.
iion for discussion, but should be Submitted
to, simply because Il 10 the law OF the land
| Applause, Each and every one OF you
can recall periods 10 your own history. when
you supposed those 10 authority were sc,ine
wrong; but BY pa'ien., silent discharge
OF your own clearly defined duty you saw
these doubts and coniusions clear asay like
a mist cloud. and reveal to you the truth tri.
umphans. So will /. be in your civil expert
snce, when similar acquiescence 10 events
will produce the same result. But for .
more comprehensive understanding Of these
important questions, we must turn from our
limited experience TO that Of others ss re-
corded in history.
A. early az 1851. a hundred years before
our civil war. virginia. under the influence
u Richard II. Lee. st,empted,o TO stop the i'm.
Oorss,ions Of slaves BY . prohibisory duty.
bot her action was vetoed in Englsnd. 10
South Carolina similar attempt was made
with like result. Ia Georgia, General
began his colony for the express
purpose Of limiting the existence Of slavery
10 that direction. Sill later, st the time of
our revolutionary war, the sentiment op.
posed to the institution Of slavery wss nearly
universal, 90 much so that the slave trade
sas prohibited after 1908, and the word
slave wss not written st all In our Consli.
luton.
Slavery would surely have been exiin.
guished 10 this country By gradual and
natural process, and We might have bee nI
spared our civil waT, had not other csusesI
come into plsy. Il wss found that the soill
md climate Of the Southern States were
adapted to the growth Of cotton.
The power Of steam wss discovered and
pplied 10 mschinery Of al kinds. especially
In Old and New England. and Ell Whitney,
81 Msssachuse,,s, invented hs cotton gin.-|
These created sn immense demand Tor ,hsl
staple and seem TO hsvs chsnged the whole