Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1873-10-18
Condition Of the Souih-Hon. X. NJ. II.
Hunters address.

ing as follows:
mo people ever had to discharge the
daily care and usual duties of life under
greater difficulties, or with less assist
ance from those from whom they had
perhaps right to expect it, than has
been our case since the war. The whole
country was nearly stripped of its cattle
and stock, the negroes emancipated
without cent of compensation, the
whole system of labor disorganized, the
capital of the country lost, and nothing
left but debts and the naked land.
Scarcely dollar was to be borrowed
abroad for their was no security to offer
but land OF little value.
mo aid could be Obtained from the
State, itself poor and in debt The fed
eral government, which emancipated
the slaves, offered no compensation as
the other governments had done when
trying the experiment "lndeed, NJ.
Hunter said, lit seemed to be their pur-
pose to make all these changes oper.te
on us as harshly as possible, as if it had
been their design to depress still further
the country and the people, already poor
enough, their course of action could not
have been much better suited to that
end Such were the difficulties under
which we had to begin the work OF re
constructing our entire system OF indus
try and production. Deeply as we were
in debt, our government was debarred
by the constitution of the United States
from attempting to readjust the con-
tracts OF the country 50 rs to adapt their
performance more easily to the changes
of the times and the true spirit OF the
original agreement in the contemplation
of the parties to 1t.
lie referred to the action OF other
governments for the relief of the debtor
class after war, and called attention to
the United States constitution to show
that such relief as was deemed just and
necessary in other countries was impos-
sible in this. Here the poor citizens
had been forced to pay heavy taxes up
on their productions, especially of to-
bacco, from the cultivation Of which the
people of Virginia hoped to derive the
means to resusciatc their agricultural
interests. lie had seen it recently re-
ported that Virginia had paid in internal
taxes since the war $3O,O0O,OOO, OF
which by far the greater part had been
paid on tobacco Such fund rs this,
iudiciously distributed in loans among
the people, would have done much to
build up the industrial interests of the
State.
MIR LINCOLN AND SLAVE CoMPENSA ALTON
SIN the interview at Old Point Com
fort between Mr. Lincoln and MIR. Sc
ward and Commissioners Of the contcd
crate States, (ot whom | was one) this
subject of compensation for emancipated
slaves was introduced by Mr.. Lincoln
himself. lie said that prominent cit
izen of the North, whose name If given
would probably surprise us, had written
tie him to say that if the slaves were
emancipated S40O,OOO,000 ought to be
distributed among their former owners.
The money, as well Us | remember, was
proposed to be given to the State in
proportion to the number of negroes
freed within their borders, and by them
to be distributed among the individual
owners. This would have been very
inadequate compensation for 4,50O,O0O
slaves. But who can estimate the relief
which it would have afforded to the de-
spoiled South ? If distributed among
them just after the war it would have
been of incstimabie value.
"NIr. Lincoln said he had no authorl-
ty to speak for any one but himself, but
he himself wUs in favor of it. Mr.. Sc
ward expressed some impatience, saying
that the government paid enough inthe
expenses of the war, which | suppose
he felt to have been wagcd for negro
emancipation-a poor excuse tobe made
in regard to the claims of any Of the
States, but none certainly in the cases
Of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and
Delaware, which never seeded, and
were never even called rebelliouS. To
this Mr. Lincoln replied with equal ear
nestness l know you all say that 1t
was sinful TO hold slaves, and as there
was no right to do so, there was no JUS
tice in the claims for compensation.
Now" said he, 'if it was sin in the
South to hold slaves, it was sin in the
North to sell them, which they did to a
very great extent, as we all know.
The orator then spoke at some length
to prove the last assertion of Mr.. Lin
coin quoting, in its support, from Dr.
Danby's defense of Virginia and OF the
South" and said {:
"Therc was no point of view in which
we could be considered as deprived OF
the claim to compensation. If we were
still citizens, and States, within the Uni
on, the spoliation was unconstitutional,
and we were certainly entitled TO some
compensation for damage sustained. II
we were separate and independent be-
ligerents, such an act of plunder was
not justified by the laws Of war, and we
were entitled to compensation upon the
precedents of both wars with Great
Britain. She solemnly bound herself
by the treaty of 1888 to pay for all our
slaves whom she carried away, and she
was found liable to do the same thing
for those she took away in the last war
by an award of the Emperor of Russia,
decision made upon the very terms Of
the Treaty of Client.
New England" he continued, SIS
mistaken if She hopes to escape all NOR
al responsibility at the bar of the public