The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-10-29

feld-the field OF honor and the de-
cision thereon, can differ with me. !
Now the question, Has that been
done? Is it now SOP Did they, and
do they now, so conform themselves
AS L have said, the coming of the
white winged messenger of peace
caused the dark tempest-fillsd aud
tempest-glving clouds Of war and
destruction, to be driven from over
us. The glad tidings Of great joy
with which she was clothed electrified
the hearts of untold millions, North
and South, as the sweet anthems of
peace and prayer rose to the Throne
Of the Prince of Peace. A loyal ma
tons heart was TeiOiced that their
flag was still and forever there. Those
who had battled for and aided its
destruction thanked the God of bat
ties that their banner, weary though
it was, and bloody though It's folds,
was Withdrawn without Il stain or a
blur; that an honorable peace was
given them. They were content. Could
It have been otherwise? Gan it be
that men who had suffered so much
q served their cause so faithfully,
would content themselves with any
thing short of satisfactory and hon
orable terms? No, the spirit that
caused them TO <dare a thousand
deaths, would have caused them to
seek protection and save their honor
under another and a foreign flag. No,
gentlemen, we were satisfied, they
were satisfied. Well do | remember
my feelings, as day after day 1 met
them and received them ADD welcom-
ed their return. There were those
whom [ honor, boys with whom i
passed my childhood days. There, too,
were those in whose veins coursed the
blood that marked and characterized
my own. l met them, and with a fer
vent God bless you" fastened
their return to the loved ones, who
watched ftfully their return. I fold
them there-l urged them there
that, as now, there was no point of
dispute in substance, no point of hon
or between us-return, welcome!
THE eoNFEDERATEs' MISTAKE.
My only words of warning were, be-
ware ofthose false friends that,on your
coming home, with false feelings will
meet you-will tell you, you had their
sympathy and prayers. But those
who remained under sworn allegiance
to the Government, against which you
had so long and so valiantly battled.
l told them them saw it plainly
then, as too we'll [ know 1t now-they
were not their true friends, but would
use them for their own ~aggrandlze-
ment and for their own vile purposes.
I remember to have had the pleasure
of meeting one Of Tennessee's most
distinguished men, a Senator in the
Congress Of the Confederate States,
upon his return, and of telling him
of my apprehensions and fears as to
the snare into which our hitherto en-
emies, but now friends, would fall,
and the great importance for him, as
all others, to warn them against this
(by these designing men, much
sought after alliance with those brave
and to be respected men; that, should
they succeed in wedding with them,
the fruits of their alliance would be to
! cause the offspring thereof to be lep-
rous and unclean; that they, as a
T class, would thereby be led again into
dangerous places, aud the peace Of
the country again j~eopardized by their
gigantic schemes for power. They
! knew their subjects had fought once /;
they knew they could fight again, and
should a second war again (Which
GOO forever forbid there should be-
| be inaugurated, you and your COnfed-
!, crate soldiers would again be forced
to fight the battle and allow these
quodam friends to seek after the flesh
pots and do the cause more good by
remaining in the rear. Had [ pos.
sessed the prescience of a prophet. a
truer anticipation could not have
been made. The Confederate soldiers
came and welded, as | must confess,
it was apparently more ~congenial
for him to do, with those
: who to-day and then constituted the
{ Democratic party-that same party
that during the war fOstered and
formed the Sons of Liberty through
out the North. and yet sent
f no son to join the battle fray amongst
t you; that promised you, and yet sent
you none; that same Democratic party
tnat promised you foreign interior
ence, and yet failed to procure it in
your needy hour. When I saw you
oh, Confederate soldier, join hands
S with them, and unite heart and sou
with them, my own heart was sad.
dened, aud my eyes shed bitter tears
| felt the reed upon which you sc
willingly, so confidently, and so heav
| lily leaned was a broken one. [ knew
they would be powerless and faith.
). less. | knew, oh Southerner, that ]
that day as now, was to you a better
y friend than they. They it was who
t awakened new hopes, and ruthless
f ones, within you; they it was who
: caused you to hope that what your
r valor had failed to accomplish, then
schemes of strategy and of policy
would secure; they w0oed you and
5 won you here first In Kentucky; they
sent their invitations aud schemes tC
a a people South that by a wal were
d lett bleeding and desolate; they whis.
Y pered the evil r~eckonings into their
d ears; they told them to accept none
OF the restoring acts of the Govern,
q ment, magnanimous though they
might be; that they, the Democracy
who IN '64 declared the war a failure
IN the halls of legislation and out
would take them in, and they together
i would dethrone the power of the Iowa
/ nation, and, instead of receiving. give
to their common enemy laws and pol
IS lcles that counted treason no high
crime. The South needed, and with
them joined, aud consistently anC
d perslstently have they refused al
'e overtures. For three long years 1
.. Congress of civilized and enlightened
men-a Congress composed Of mer
/. that worship the same God that vor
It worship, reared under the same in
.e stitutions under which you wer,
/. reared, taught in the same school il
lie which you were taught-have beer
er unable to pass q single magnanimou,
st or constitutional act, taking the de
at signing men instead of the prope,
tribunals for the judges of mag