Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1871-07-13
John Quincy Adams.

, John Quincy Adams.
Some short time since Mr.. ]. 4
Treaevant editor of the, August
(Arkansas) Bulletin, wrote lette
to Hon. John Quincy Adams, of; Mas
! saohlsetts, npon political matters, .ez
: pressing, among other things, therap
prehension that, as he puts it, "witl
Grants vast patronage, most unscru
pulously used, he would not yield tn
Presidential chair, ,reyen il defeated
before the peoplein 1872; and tha
our Republic, like its predecessors { .
DID,. is So. rapidly drifting into thu
channels ofrorruptions that the peo
pie, in despair; may look to one mill
tary leader as the only means Of sav'
ing them from the utter ruin, threat
enied by another" This was the
general scope Of the letter.. to. which
the following.is a reply: a;a,
QUINCY Mass, June S, 1871.
I eaa. si7--I cannot pass ovsr, 81
lently, letter which gratifes me as
much as yours, which I received to-
day; and yet, /. feel shy Of speaking
to you or any citizen of the I" subject
Estates" l dislikee.to earn the re-
tort, ",Oh; it is very easy to, preach
but, suffer as we have, and then tell
us how you feel, and we. will listen"
I do try to take it home to myself;
and I do not doubt that, in similar
circumstances, I should be to-day an
unrepentant rebel"-sore, angry,
beaten and defiant. And, with me,
it would doubtless havebeen as it has
been with you, that tbetender mer-
cies of reconstruction had been hard
er to bear than all the horrors Of in
vasive war" l should have been
CALLED by misgovernment. robbed by
imported knavery Of the pittance
which the war had spared, eS,lspera-
ted by wlfal and persistent nisrep-
resentation, and cruelty condemned
toshopeless impotence for:the imputed
guilt:of cowardly crimes l ablorred
I,should have beenr condemned, too
to hold my personal liberty at the
NOD Of a mercenarycarpet-b -bagger&cr
the whim of a military satrap. Isay.
that 1 fear / should have been an
" irrcconciIable." Inssuch o case I
think | should be sullSy, but I know
I.should be silly if yielded to the
feeling, for whence must my relief
come If my last estate is not to be-,
come worse than the first? Is there
asmarr outside sn asylum who thinks
by such a.course the lost cause" can
be regained? By whom, then? If
by the North, believe Inc chat the eX
pertinent oil secession has satisfied us
that no cause is worth civil var.
That war has confirmed. beyond "a
shadow: of IL turning, The destiny
which decree,l that there shah be but
one contederated people OF the North
America Union. No. Rebellious !
might be-; but weak enough to await
the resurrection OF secession l do not
think I could be. You and and
your friends and neighbors AMI mine
are of one blood; We were once
:. fellow.c citizens !" and the old-time
kindness must linger yet in spots.
Our fathers were . brethren, and
they must count for something. The
whole. political problem Of the future
turns upon the answer to the qnes-
ton, Shall we live together as friends
or enemies q Now, the whole inter-
nal policy Of the present admlnistra-
tion says war. Reconstruction meant
war, and the Ku:Klux bill declared
war. This Union is now held togeth-
er by force. Certainly, if this is to
be permanent, it would have been
better to have parted at first: If the
struggle to cast out slavery overthrow
the constitution, what chance is there
for free government, if tlle
North is to rule the South 2. South
Carolina is to-day the most shameless
parody on Republican institutions
since Republican Rome bestrode all
the nations of the ancient world, put
the sword to their throats, stripped
them bare, and then lacked words
To laud the loyeliness Of liberty.
You cannot be subject, and we be
long free. The uptrammelled exer-
else of local self-government by the
people Of the States is the salt which
preserves our system. Take that
sway and our frame of polity wi
rapidly rot into despotism. There
fore, it is, that, not as y partisan, but
wholly as a fellow7citizen, I trust
that all the good citizens Of the sece-
ded States will frankly and honestly
ac,eptthe revolutionary changeswhich
have been forced upon the constitu
ton, and With them, cheerfully adopt
the new relations Of amity and politi-
cal and civil equality toward the
emanoipated class which these chan
ges involve. And, therefore, l am
glad when i see the noble spirit of
your letter perv ding the Southern
people MS it does, despite the malig-
nifty of n partisan press, while the
sterling sense of Mr. Vallandigham
has reformed the Northern Demoera-
cy. And it matters not what man
may choose to lead us, so long as his
heart is large enough to hold his
whole country; his soul brave enough
to embrace a Confederate asa broth
er, and his platform vide enough for
every American citizen to stand upon.
To compass this end something Of
sacrifice is required Of us. all; much
of self-control is demanded Of the
South. You and Ill I hear assure
me that the attempt will be made;
and if made honestly and in earnest,
it caunot fail. Again thanking you
for vonr letter. I am, very respect