The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-10-13
BY TELEGRAPH.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
BOSTON TO SOUTH CAROLINA.
A GREAT SPEECH.
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DAILY NEws.]

gerly anticipated and 80 often deferred-the
address Of the Hon. John Quincy Adams, OF
Massachusetts, to the people Of South Caro-
ina-took place tonight. The throng in front
of Carolina Hall, where the speech was deliv-
cred, was simply immense; and the utmost
good order prevailed throughout the proceed
ings. Mr.. Adams appeared soon after seven
o'clock, and spoke as follows:
THE SPEECH.
My Fel1ou-cuizens Of South Carolina: 1 have
come to speak to you here to-day, from my na-
tive home in Massachusetts, at the earnest re-
quest of your State Central Executive Com
mittee, to consult with you upon the living
principles OF our i1ee institutions, and that our
meeting may in some degree, however small.
tend to promote better understanding, q
kinder feeling, and ultimate harmony between
the mass Of white people here and very large
portion OF the people of the North, and espe-
cially from my State. Aud I am here also to
learn from your own lips Your wishes and in
tentions upon questions of public policy which
must nearly affect you.
You have, perhaps, been told that am
grandson of one of the earliest opponents OF
your peculiar institution. I will tell you that
was an ardent though humble supporter OF
MIR. Lincoln, hearty friend OF his admlnistra-
ton, and always in favor of an energetic prose-
cution Of the war while it lasted, and that
hailed with profound gratitude the abolition
of slavery. had long regarded it as most
dangerous element in our federal policy and
certain, at some time or other, to jeopardize
the existence Of the Union and the authority OF
the constitution Sooner or later the conflict be-
tween the two systems Of labor-the free labor OF
the North and the slave labor Of the South
was sure to come. It did come, and has pass
ed away with terrible sufferings and convul-
sions; and row the South, cast down, bleeding,
faint, and almost despairing, looks vainly for
the sign of promise in her dark hour. You
ask each other in vain what shall we do; where
can we go; whence cometh our salvation!
will tell you frankly, my friends, at the outset,
that I believe that your redemption must be
by your own act; that your fate is in your own
hands at last. I do not mean to deny that
your condition from time to time may be favor
ably or injuriously influenced by the fuctua-
tions OF the heated political fight at the
North, but suspect that your permanent
welfare will mainly. depend upon the power
you may develope now to grasp firmly and en-
brace sincerely the fundamental principles of
our government as settled by the war-a Con-
stitutional Democracy. That principle seems
to me q reorganization Of the equal rights OF
all men under the Law, or, stated as broadly as
possible, tho right Of every man to think,
speak and act as he wishes, provided he does
not by so doing infringe the equal right of his
neighbor. I do not regard political privileges
as rights in this sense at all. The general well
fare of the community must regulate their dis
tribution. This is all very well, you will say,
but it offers no present and perpetual solution
of our difficulties. 1t is very much like telling
q man who is suffering terribly from intempe-
rance that his only permanent cuIe must coma
from an adherence to the laws Of health. And
r agree to that view OF it. We are suffering
now terribly, both North and South, from po-
litical intemperance. You were guilty OF 1t
when you did all in your power to rup-
ture the Union by force, because you
would not trust the question of slavery to the
people under the constitution, and We are
galty Of it now when We will not restore the
Union under the constitution, because we dis
trust the people. What is needed in the first
place is moderation, calmness and habit OF pa
- Ua tO
pulsive, headlong and desperate in our devices.
Waiting and watching. relying upon slow but
sure processes, has never been very popular
with any people Of our race, and is peculiarly
distasteful to us. But, my fellow-cit!zens, this
disagreeable discipline is, in my Judgment,
precisely the training we are, all of US. most IN
need of; and think it essential to your happy
dehverance.
Let us come down to the actual facts of your
case, and try to look ct them together calmly,
dispassionately, and without prejudice. 1t is
always foolish to deceive ourselves, and in your
case to mislead you knowingly would be q
crime. I shall, therefore, speak with perfect
franlness and plainness.
You began the war down below here at Sum-
ter, under claim of right to defend yourselves
40 an independent State which had exercised a
reserved right to secede from the Union, and 1
knew it; but no one denies that the cause OF
that action was the apprehended danger to
slavery from the result Of the election of
1860. You fought for your side of the con-
troyersy for four years with desperate
determination Of courage, until at last you
were compelled by the fate Of battle to surren-
der. You had allied yourselves with other Sc
ceded Staie.,. and formed a confederacy which
claimed an equal rank among the nations.
You proclaimed slavery its cornerstone. In
the stress of conflict, as war measure justi-
fed BY the emergency and as means OF dis
tressipg you, your slaves we're proclaimed free,
and the North insisted that no State could se-
cede under the constitution, and that the whole
proceeding on the part of the South was an
insurrection Of a portion Of the people OF the
seeding States. 1t is tar from my intention
to review old controversies cr reopen settled
disputes. but must state the facts to bring
us to our present position. You claimed to be
o sovereign State, and, on your own showing,
were, by the laws Of war, subject to any terms
the victor might impose. 1t did not lie in.
our mouths, therefore, to demand any rights
in the Union you had broken, or any immuni-
ty from the consequences of your own acts un-
Lod