The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1872-03-01
MR.. HILLS LAST,

lHeEe - nv SuSh tiihS 80 So
ing b. II. Hill. Like George Fran
els Train, he possesses such wonder |
full activity with such unequaled To-
quacity, that his 6gare is ever pTomi- |
ueut On the stage Of life, winning
comusiegled htsses and applause,
Seven mortal eelanas eg the C2@
stisatsoa embrace tie assss 2sseg~
aaces of alis remarkable Peil.lciaa.
Ela l#eils lgou 81 bis rels-eas 10
public measures past ana Presea.
aId eamniaoniiy concludes -aa- In
al mas history ie has lula< "a
gegeei-,iiat ielas tinrl ullilg b..
wQaiu lut ~ AGAIN
AMI Eae M. 9.iI. sfrs lis s''ia.:a.
l. mas laWr nj nI.te'fns. ne S--
ter ina IN al 1s changes as has
be<z an4,nlias BE- 6z1sences indie
pezde1s al, % 51 defiance, Of reason.
At leAss such seems 10 US the fact in
relation 10 the most momentous
event Of his period. Quoting ex-
pressions delivered by him in Jan
uary, 1861, he says:
Secession is a remedy for no
evil. 1t is an aggravation of every
evil. tits prosperity madly commit
ting suicide. 1t is made to defend
slavery, and yet it is the only posi-
bic plan for destroying slavery
Fer uttering those sentiments in
1860 and 1861, was denounced by
able, wise and doubtless patriotic
gentlemen, as traitor to my own
section and to the Commonwealth.
But was | traitor? Look at it in
the light of events and tell me what
the answer is. When, however, Sc
ceSsion was an accomplished fact, |
submitted to it.
"What should | do = TO go with
secession was to go for the ruin of
my people. To go against secession
was to go against my own people
| finally arrived at the conclusion
that would 80 with my own people
to luin, and 60 to the gaIlows and
to death, if need be, rather than so
against them and so anywhere"
Mr.. Hill did more than submit to
secession-he undertook to be a
leader in it. Perhaps, with little
reflection here, his political life may
not appear SO much of an enigma
Doubtless he was correct in believing
that secession led to ruin. Why did
he not stand by his convictions and
say to his people, 81 will have moth
ing to do with this madness, except
to share your sufferings. will
await the hour when you will hear
me and when | may be in a position
to save You frqnehe consequences of
your mistaken policy?" IfStephens,
Hill aud others had thus spoken or
acted they would have preserved a
rational consistency and saved the
South from its worst disasters
Many of the prominent secessionists
including the Cobbs, saw the folly OF
the step twelve months after it was
taken and it would not have been
difficult to have brought the South
back at an early day to wisdom and
moderation. But instead of this
these men say that duty required
them to aid all they could IN running
the South, and simply because the
popular current ran that way
The truth is they were never the
men to stem the popular CURRENT
Mr.. Hill knows how much easier
and more pleasant it is to be borne
forward by it, and when, in this in
stance, he was riding upon it, feel
ing all the time that he was enact
ing the ruin of his country, he was
demorali@ed and guilty of conduct
utterly at war with his matured con
victions. Here, Mr.. Hill, is the ex-
PLANTATION of the enigma. You did
not try, or try long enough, to save
your people from the consequences
of policy "leading to ruin