Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-09-18

states, on his own responsibility, that "at
the close of the war the Southern people
laid down their arms and sought to re-
sumo their former relations with the
United States Government" This is not
exactly true. When the Southern people
had their arms taken from them by su-
perior force, and when their Generals and
their soldiers were captives. in the hands
of the Union armies, the war closed and
not before The Southern people never
laid down their arms, but it is true that
while their leaders and politicians were
going about, as it were, with halters
around their necks, they did seek to be
restored to office aud to the control, man
agement and direction of the government
they had fought to destroy. These men,
who upon oath abjured all allegiance to
the Union who had upon oath repudiated
the National Constitution, the moment
they were taken prisoners of war, and
were liable to be hanged for treason, de-
manded the right to cast two votes each in
all subsequent elections, one for them
selves and one for their liberated slaves.
The American people have put an end to
that anomaly, and, therefore, General Lee
and General Beauregard, and the other
recent rebels, doubt whether there can be
permanent peace. In 1S60-61, these men
said there could be no peace SO long as
the Union sought to, maintain its authority
against the objections of " sovereign
States" The American people, however,
found out way to enforce peace, and
they will maintain that peace, whether
Lee and his associates are content or not.
These men say that "if the advances of
the Southern people had been met in a
spirit of frankness and cordiality" the
wounds inflicted by the war would have
been healed In other words, if the rebel
Senators and Representatives had been in
vited to resume seats in Congress; it
Howell Cobb and Jake Thompson were
restored to the Cabinet; if Lee and Beau
regard were put in positions in the army
on terms of equality with Grant and Sher-
man; if the Southern dynasty were re-
stored to power and peace, then the
South might have, " in a measure" for
gotten the injuries she sustained in the
war. a.ef Lfi
These gentlemen rebels tell General
Rosecrans that the Southern people would
have no hostility to the Government were
they not deprived of their rights under
the Constitution; these rights they ask to
have restored to them. "Above al, " say
they, "they weuld appeal to their coun-
trymen for the re-establishment in the
Southern States of that which has Justly
been regarded the birthright of every
American-the right of self-government." "
This birthright of every American, these
rebels say, cannot be, by any possible
means, extended to four millions of native
born free people of the Southern States.
"The birthright of every American "
means, according to their logic, the right
of nine millions of persons to do all the
voting for themselves and for four other
millions of American citizens. -Four gen
erations of blacks have grown up under
the fostering care, the humanizing pre-
cepts, the Christian example, and the "mu-
tual kindness" rule Of the whites; and yet
these whites demand that they must con-
tinue to rule and govern these blacks, be-
cause the latter are sunk in the depths of
ignorance, and are hardly better than bar
barians. Experience is the best of guides.
The guardian who would claim that the
families of children reared under his
"kindness" were so ignorant and depraVed
that it was difficult to distinguish them
from barbarians would hardly be allowed
to usurp their political rights on that
ground. What the blacks are, they have
been made by their white neighbors, and
the greater their depravity and ignorance
the greater the reason for removing them
from the influences and control which
have reduced them to their present de-
plorable condition Chicago Tribune, 9Th.