New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-06
ale,r Orleans 8epublieaa.
OFFICIAL JOURNAL or THE UNITED STATES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL or NEW ORLEANS
Horace GreeIey's speech in jackson.

SpCCtht ~ o~-i w SASA~Nt Inv ava
lowing:
never held to a sentiment, never argued
a point that the South could not have lis
tened to. In peace | never haIbored tn,
belief that the people of the North had any
right to interfere with slavery at the South
And not many did believe that. There wa,
prevailing opinion here that those of us a
the North were bent upon the destruction
of slavery everywhere. That was wrong
Now never believed that. but | did be
lieve, and now believe, that we had the
rightto discuss the question with the SAINT
freedom that have always discussed the
question of intemperance. which is an evi
that, | fear, is as prevalent here as it is al
the North. And in talking or writing upor
that subject, | came i n conflict with mel
and talked against their interests and
against the rights of liquor makers and
liquor sellers. l believed that had the un.
doubted right to show the evils of the ira tic
and why it should not be let alone. The
same IN regard to the slavery question
We thought it great mistake and a bar to
intellectual and moral progress and
growth. As Mr.. Lincoln once said, - do
not remember the time when did not so
feel"
| was young, but can remember when
the Missouri compromise question was be-
fore the people, and had the advocates of
the doctrine succeeded, had the subject of
slavery been allowed to be quietly and
calmy discussed, II would have died an EN-
tirely natural death. | always belonged to
the conservative school i'll politics. / be-
leved III and still admire the administra-
ton of George Washington. And l have
reason to admire our present chief magis-
trate, and there has been no substantial I'M
provement in our mode of government from
that day to this. | doubt if you will ever
see a more able man on the Chief Justices
bench than Salmon p. Chase. and he is no
greater and no better than John Marshall
of Virginia. | am eminently national man.
and there were those who supposed that |
once taught the doctrine of secession. never
believed that a State had a right to Sc
cede from the United States any more than
one spoke could be separated from a wheel
or county secede from State. ] simply
held that the time might arrive when a
whole people mil ht arise and do away with
a government, and form for themselves a
new one, or change their style Of constitu-
ton, as a man might change his old, worn
out coat for new one, and the drift of all
my arguments in 1850 and 1861 were to this
effect and went thus far only. All | asked
was that this Southern effervescence might
have time to 60 off, and that the subjects of
difficulty might be freely and openly and
ner We might eventually arrive at the truth
We were one people. The government was
as much yours as ii was ours at the North
So, when we held the peace congress and
recommended convention of the States to
modify or recast the constitution of the
United States and form such government
as all, both North and South, could stand
upon, and took this action by the recon-
mendation of Kentucky, what was the re-
NV i
States opposed to Us in Congress. and even
The very State that had made the proposal
voted adversely to her own proposition
And they said to us, Give us slavery in all
the territory south of So 40 or fight"
William G. Rives, not himself naturally
secessiOnist, advocated it. For nv part. |
felt like cOnceding almost anything but
that. So, we drifted into war
The idea at the South was that the cleo
ton of Abraham Lincoln meant coercion.
But tell me what is government without
coercion! In my humble Judgment the CO.
ercion was on the side of those who wished
to overthrow and subyert our government:
who captured the government property at
New Orleans, took United States vessels.
arms and ammunition, who attacked our
army IN Texas and disarmed it, all to build
up confederacy. There was really the co.
erciOn. At the North there was want of be-
lief that thele could exist tie man in this
country who would shoot at the United
States flag, or that there was the man who
could raise ten thousand men who would
take up arms against that flag. | know
there were those who felt bitter toward the
North because they had not succeeded in
bullying 1t into conceding the slave territory.
do not think Mr.. Lincoln had a different
belief from mine. In fact he told me that he
thought that his inaugural-which you will
all remember was remarkably calm and
III tone-was calculated TO dis
arm all rancor and opposition, and that
upon its broad ground all could peacefully |
sta nd. He was mistaken, and | was mis- |
taken, and IN fact all were in error. re- |
member but one man who rightly appre-
;iated the then existing affairs. That man |
was Montgomery Blair. He believed differ |
entity from the rest of us. He was essen
tally Southern man, carefully noted the
ceiling, and said we had to fight or give up
,ur government and 90 north of the Al
eghanies and there remain. | called upon
hr. Lincoln not more than twenty DAYS
liter the delivery OF that inaugural. He
eceived mckinley, as he always did. and
informed me that he did not believe there
would be war, although our troops in Texas
lad already been given over to the embryo
onfederacy, and not until Sumpter had
,een fired upon, could the idea penetrate
he North that there would be any fighting.
Here we were in error. Had the North
'een better acquainted with the South. and
he South known really more of the senti-
nents Of the Northern people, there never
would have been war. Its terrible results
you'd have been avoided
l hope and trust that that war is lesson
Which will last us for all time. | hope that
he people of both sections have learned
he lesson and been taught better things
or the future. And it must be understood
hat although the North was successful. it |
vas SO at terrible cost. There is no little
North or East that does not
CUNT its dead, killed in that cruel war.
What you feel at the South we feel at the
'orth; and now that the battle is over. do
e understand each other any better than
efore | think we do. 1t is. however. be-
eyed here, see, that there is a bitter feel
lg at the North, but that is an error. And
Jme think that there is a desire to punish
ne people of the Southern States. | will ,
)ntess that soon after the killing of Presi-
ent Lincoln, which at first was believed TO
ave been the act of those fighting for the
onfederacy-and Booth was known to be I
cart and soul with the South-the deed
linded the popular judgment. But it was
mistaken charge, and is known to be such I
ow, and at present, if | am capable of
iuSlhS' tleIe Is Ho rdnhIInS IeeiInS vi Hdle
r vindictiveness at the North toward the
len who fought for the confederacy. There
a feeling of insecurity, a fear that the
tterness OF the South has not been abated.
l. for one, deeply regret that the general |
nnesty has been delayed, and think that
is a misfortune that the people can not
ave a chance to elect to office whom thev
ay choose. But one or two acts at the
outh have retarded this matter In Geor-
a the putting out OF the cOlored represen-
tives, and then the operations of those
He'd the Ku-Klux Khan, have had their
feet in keeping back such amnesty. | do