Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-10-30

in their place it was bestowed upon set
of men who we're entirely ignorant Of the
value and responsibility OF the voting
power, who knew nothing about any of the
principles in regard to which they were
voting. Suppose such class OF men were
to be put over you, of course you would
not like it; you would feel uncomfortable
and disagreeble, and you would not suffer
their rule if you could help it. Yet this is
precisely the condition in which South
Carolina is to-day. She is governed by
set of men who, if the people were left to
themselves, would have no more chance OF
holding the Offices of your government
they now hold than I should of being
elected King of Great Britain in place of
Queen Victoria, If were to go to England
tomorrow. Laughter
And these officials having no hold upon
the esteem of the people, as they call them
down there in their expressive, though
slightly inelegant language, "scalawags :"
md "carpet- baggers, cannot command
any of their respect and confidence. The
consequence of this is that they have to
be supported III their places by the bayo-
nets Of United States soldiers. And as
there are not United States soldiers enough
at the South to keep the people entirely
contented," nor enough to mako the
government thd3oughly democratic, so
every day or two they are calling for more
soldiers in order to support these
thoroughly democratic and Repub,i
can " governments, and that is reconstruc
tion My Southern Democratic friends
down there greeted mo in way which [
shall never forget to my dying day. The
kindness, the warmth, the consideration,
the order which they showed in welcoming
any Northerner, especially from Massachu-
sets, who would go down there and say to
them kind worldwide would not treat
them like boys, and call them rebels, trail
tors, miserable rascals or yillains-went to
my heart. They asked ne to say to my
felIow-citizens at the forh that they fought
you in the war they believed that they
were right that they fought you as hard
as they could and v7hen the war was done
they frankly abandoned. that they had
fought for They said we had whipped
them we had conquered what we de-
manded during the war, and they were
ready to give it up. They would fight no
longer, and all they asked was friendship
and kindness. What they deserved from
us at the North was mercy, the hand Of
kindness, good fellowship and brotherly
love- Loud applause.
They want no moro contest, no more i'll
blood; they want merely to shake hands,
y 1OuSo1lt, fsAAt boN tiiO H9AO 10
done let us be friends. That is the feeling
of the mass of the whole people [ met at
the south. saw no unkindness, no sort
of feeling indicating unkindness towards
any of the people of the north. That
they may be treated in decency and kind
ness they do ask, and that is what [ pray
of every one of you to labor for. APP
plause It is the thing, it seems to me,
that we need here at the north as much
as they need it at the south. All that they
ask aud all the Democratic party at the
north seek to accomplish is that we may be
allowed to come together once more in
peace and amity; that this incubus Of re-
construction may be taken off the people
that these soldiers may be taken away from
between us, and that VEAL of ns-once
more may feel-north as we'll as south
white man as we'll as black mantle ben
efts of union under the old system of
government.
Mr.. Adams retired amid the greatest en-
thusiasm and m est tumultnous cheers.