The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-02-29


ing can ineite another rebellion at the
South, for they have no power TO organ
ize one against the Government, and
will not have for many years to come.
Upon this point allow me to read an
extract from a letter of Hon. Benjamin
Fitzpatrick, formerly the Presiding OBI
Ger of this body, and known by the
older Senators as being opposed te Sc
cession, a gentleman of the highest
honor and undoubted integrity. Hear
what he says:
1T is said BY some that it was made 20 keep
down rebellion. What have the people OF the
South to commence or carry on rebellion with
Our slaves are all set free our fields barely cul.
tivated under the new systems of labor, and
many of them grown up in briars and weeds
since emancipation, and almost everything IN
q state of dilapiiatiOn and decay. The cry ior
bread which comes up from almost every hlIl
and valley in the State has scarcely ceased ring
ing in our ears and il is only hushed by the lib
cral donations from the benevolent of the North
and West No people of the Old World in any
of their long and desOlatinE wars ever lOnged
for peace more than We 10. We want peace,
| but not degradation. We wish 10 be left free 10
act for ourselves and free from the inter
meddling of those who do not live among US
but come here TO fOment discord and speculate
upon oLr trOlblSs.
Sir, this is the language OF one who
knows the white people OF tue South
and speaks for them.
And why, sir; why should they not
desire peacei For that rebellion,
into which in an evil hour the rad
icals of the South plunged them,
they have been punished already by the
sacrifice of all their slave property,
valued at three to four thouand million
of dollars by the sacrifice of more than
three -fourths of all other personal prop
erty, probably two thousand millions
more by the sacrifice of their public
and private credits--at least q thousand
millions more by the depreciation Of
the value of all their real estate at least
seventy-fve per cent.-amounting prob
ably TO more than two thousand mil
! lion dollars more-making in all sac
rlfice of property, credits, and values In
the Southern States alone Of at least
nine thousand million dollars.
But there is another bloody and terri
BILE page in this account-a page in ac-
count with death. 1t is estimated there
have persisted in battle by disease, cX-
posure, or other cause incident TO
the war, at least three hun
dred thousand able.bodied white
men of the South. take no
account of the unutterable anguish of
millions of crushed and bleeding hearts.
No language can express, no figures
measure that. For that rebellion the
white man of the South has been most
terribly punished! Nine thousand mil.
| lions of values are gonc-lost forever !
Three hundred thousand able-bodled
white men of the flower and strength of
| the South now lie in their bloody or
premature graves! Great God! Is this
net punishment enough' Must we 60
fnrthcri Mast we now punish the
white men of the South by placing them
under the domination of half-civilized
Africans! And in order TO do that
shall we punish ourselves by giving
over to stolid and british ignorance the
control of one fourth of the States, and,
| it may be, under the control of the Ar
my the balance of power in the United
States! Shall we Africanize the South
and Me&icanize the whole RePublici
| know these measures OF Congress
have done much TO wound, nothing TO
heal. Yet, notwithstanding all that
| Congress has done TO embitter Their
hatred toward the radical policy, there
iS neither thought nor wish nor hope to
restore slavery, nor to separate from the
Union, nor of rebglliOn against tho au-
thority of the Governments; all evidence
proves the contrary.
In the whole rebel army which snI'
rendered | challenge any Senator to
point me to single instance IN which
a rebel officer has violated his parole;
or to single man, of any position oT
prominence ut the South, who after
taking the oath of allegiance has vio-
lated his plighted faith.
! No man can more deeply feel than ]
do the great and mOustrous folly aud
crime of that rebellion, which brought
50 much Of agony and of blood upon all
parts of our beloved land, which robbed
us OF cur sons and dearest kindred aud
threw a shade of sorrow over our hearts
which will never pass away until they
cease 10 beat. Bur, now that blood has
ceased to flow; now that thr.o years oi
peace have elapsed; now that the whole
! South has surrendered and every inter
est they have or can hope for ~ 10 be
fouud in the Union and under the Con.
stitution; now that they have in good
faith pledged anew their allegiance,
and desire 10 join with us
/ in rebuilding the waste places
oyerrun by this desolating war;
now that they have, in fact,
ceased TO be rebels, why shall we
continue to denOunCc them as rebels,
and do all in our power to compel them
| TO be rebels, and To remain rebels ani
enemies fOreveri Is that the way 10
restore prosperity Is that the conrse
of wise statesmanshipi Will that bring
permanent peace
Sir, let me put the EXTREMIST case. Sup
pose that these States Of the South be-
! fore the war bad been foreign States,
and that we had conquered them by
arms would not wise statesmen adopt
! the policy Of cOnciliation Would not
they treat them as friends and make
! them fellow. citizens at the earliest pos.
sible nOmentf How much more earn
estly should we adopt that policy be-
cause from the beginning we have al
ways declared that Our purpose was
not to subiugate but TO maintain the
Union with the equality and rights Of
the States unimpaired.
We had a war with Mexico, resulting
in tho acquisition Of people and terri
tory. By treaty the people were made
citizens at once, with all the rights OF
citizens. We have had wars with Eng
! lishmen; but when the bloody strife
was over, when peace had come, what
course did our great ancestors pursue J
We all know the war Of the Revolution
was q civil war. Daring the strife,
confiScation and Acknowledgement were
the order of the day. Bot when peace
came aud they songht 10 lay the foun-
dations Of the Republic broad and deep,
what did they dol DO you find in the
! Constitution they formed or the laws
they passed under il any test-oatbs;
any bills Of attainder; any eI POst
Gact0 laws; any military Teconstruc-
| ltion billsi No, sir. Ne: they we're
too great aud too wise. They had
too much faith in man, aud liberty, and
truth, and God for that. On the con-
trary, they declared that no bills Of at
tainder, no eJ post fdctO laws should be
passed no man not In the military or
naval service should be subject to mill
tary trials under the arbitrary power OF
the bayOnet; aBd that even for treason
| itself there should be no corruption Of
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