The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-10-23
a I4istorian Come to Judgement.

ThA0A1 stssssssss =. = : ~ y -
A Historian Come to Judgment.
The Radical papers oil publish speech
delivered in Boston few evenings ago by
the Hon. JoHN LoTHRoP MOTLEY, ex-Min-
lister to the Court Of Vienna, and hlsto-
torian Of some reputation. A man VINO nas
studied the histories Of so many countries
INQUIRED into the motives OF SO h,sAy
prominent men, and analysed the eHeo,s %
20 many laws and CUSTOMS may @ =
called upon to instruct the people. Il nc
~ mn ) : nretender, his advice will be vaiu-
ah,a n he is one, the public Will detect
-. .rno character. A man qualified to-
v ,,s history should at least have the capa-
CITY to comprehend the nature Of the gov
ernment under which he lives. He should
not deal in "giittering generalities," but
come down to facts. he should be as much
at home in handling historical matters as
Professor MALLET is in dealing with scien-
tifc ones. Let those who expect such q
treatment of his subject from Mr.. MOTLEY
not read his Boston speech. It is worded VITA
better taste and has more gentility about II
than one Of WILsoN's; but it is marked oy
NO greater breadth of view and no clearer
evidences Of craftsmanship. It's : OF inc
earth earthly "a Boston speech ut'ereo ~
-. poston man to q Boston audience: wei
emitted to his hearers, but not very prothtt'a-
ble either to them or to anybody else.
One would naturally expect to hear from
Boston orator something about the Deeia-
ration of Independence. Boston mas spoAea
and written and poetized and sung aoou,
that famous production Of Distinguished
yirpinian's for many long years. OF course,
no speech would TO Boston crowd De .
finished one which should be destitute OF
some reference to 8. the Declaration" Ac-
cordingly we find Mr.. MOTLEY saying:
aWe can read the Declaration OF inae-
nendence at last, with its solemn ana ma
iestic opening clause, which peais through
the world like choral strain, procialming
. new birth to the nations that tins trut1
ia self-eyident, that all men are created
eoual. that they, are endowed by their Gre
ator with inalienable rights that among
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit OF
happiness '-withouta blush or o sneer o,
feeble sophism, once the sole response.
Here in the South are thousands OF dis
frsnchised and disqualified white men OF
native talent, of fine attainments, ana OF
experience in public affairs. There are
many excellent people still in prisons ana
confined on desert islands. All of us are
destitute Of these great rights. We ENJOY
in the sense in which Mr.. MOTLEY uses the
words, neither life, nor liberty, nor the
privilege of pursuing happiness IN our own '
way. We "live" because no Yankee ON
Ger chooses to have us shot. We have "ho-a
ertyn because no district commander mas
thought it proper to incarcerate us. We
SC pursue happiness" in our way only
30 long as we do not cross has path. we
are as truly slaves as were the serfs OF nus
sia before their emancipation. Yet tins
historian has so limited horizon
that he cannot see single feature In the
present condition Of the country which
would call for a "blush," justify "sneer'~
or point "feeble sophism."
Mr.. MOTLEY next proceeds to dispose OF
the heresy of the right. of secession, ana
he does it in this very satisfactory and
statesmanlike manner: - :" - 20
"In this school district, this townships;
this State, we, as portion OF that people,
are free to make our laws, to govern our
selves, to organize all the multiform and IN
finite details which make up the main sub
stance of cur political lives, 80 far as dis
trict, town or State has the right to inter
fere with the business or to trespass on the
domain of the individual; but in all that
we do we must submit to that universal law
which enwraps us like on atmosphere, ana
which we call the Constitution. Any ordi-,
nance or statute in violation OF that4a~'
whether by the selectmen Of 8 village, OF
nv the highest authorities Of the proudest
State. is null and void so soon as it 10 pro-
nonnced in violation by the tribunals to
which the people have eon6ded the right
and responsibility of decision; while, on
the contrary, all laws made blythe national
legislature in pursuance Of the Constitution
shall stand until the same tribunals, In
cases within their competence, shall declde
that they are not in pursuance OF 1t. All
else is rebellion and revolution, pure and
simple. And this it is to be governed by
the peoples law 2.@a
Ia the man knave or fool? Evidently
the latter. He 10 in downright earnest.
He thinks he has made o point an unan-
swerable argument that he has so,stated
the case as to compel the answer. He is
J. simpleton. He begs the whole question
assumes that to be, true which is false and
then builds up stale logical fabric. Every
southerner will concur in the conclusion if
you will only convince him that the pre-
mise is sound. If q State is nothing more
than county, or township, or q school
district, why your secession doctrines are
manifestly wrong. But how if q State be a
Is Staten indeed, and not o county or a
township? Again: We did not contend for
the right to pass any ordinance ior statute
in v;olation Of the Federal Constitution.
AS long as we were in the Union We were
bound to obey its laws, and no State had
the power to pass any law coming in con-
flict with that Constitution. We knew all
this as well before the war as now. But
we claimed the right to secede from the
Union-to throw off the constitutional