The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-07-01
SPEECH OF HON.. L. Q. G. LAMAR,
~. Of MISSISSIPPI. "'' .',..

1llc elOqueuI SPeeSA VI C1S 1Aon.
L. G. G. Lamar, of Mississippi, de-
livcred in the House of Represen-
tatives, on the Louisiana contested
case, has elected the commentator
Of men of all political parties and
sections, and is regarded as per,
haps the ablest defence yet made
of the cause of the South. He
shows colrclusively that the cause
of the South is that of the whole
Union, and that the destruction of
free institutions here must involve
the whole fabric of constitutional
liberty. .a ...a ...-
lie states clearly the issues which
were involved in the war-the doc
trine of State sovereignty, and the
right of secession on the one hand
aud the indivisible sovereignty of
the United States, with the power
to maintain the national unity and
integrity on the other hand-and
that these have been adjudicated by
a tribunal from which there is no
appeal. The result'of the contest
is to embody two great principles
in the .constitution-the indissolu-
bility of the American union, and
the universally of human freedom
on this continent. These princi-
Piles are everywhere recognized as
legitimate results Of the war, and
there is no disposition on the part
of the South to set them aside.
There is no class ofspeopletwho en-
JOY more liberty than the : colored
race, morally, mentally and politi-
cally, with full equality before the
law; and to coneedc them more,
would be to make them a prlviieg-
ed class. But the orator asks, has
American craftsmanship exhausted
itself in the establishment Of the
Union and the enfranchisement of
the blacks? and is "no regard to
be had for the white population i'll
these Southern States;' to the seven
million Of men in whose veins run
the blood of. the races that uphold
the Christianity and civilization Of
the world; population in which
reside the intellectual calture, NOR
al strength, the material 3 interests,
the skilled labor, the, useful capital
Fof that entire section, as well as its
political experience; a population
which, 'whatever" heated partisans
may say it, has in every, period of
your country's history furnishedTits
due proportion of Presidents for
the Federal Republic. Ministers
in your: Cabinets, Judges upon
your bench, Statesmen in your ma
tional legislatures, Generalsin your
armies, and troops of unsurpassed
jbrarery upon your battle fields; a
population whose leaders guided
your country for sixty out of seven
ty years,of her existence, and only
fifteen years ago surrendered her
Ito your control, to use the language
Of one of them upon that occasion,
smithout.a stain upon her honor,
matehless in her: glory ,eincalculable
in her strength, the pride and ad-
I.miration OF the world 2" ' ..... ;;
VI The. whole't theory on which the
war was waged at the North was
fthat secession was the destruction
of American liberty, and that it
was as much for the good of the
Souther, people total, as for the
Northern to succeed; and assum-
ing now that is the desire of the
North to guarantee good govern.
ment to the South, ,l,ow far has
euch an end been attained. 'Coffis-
cation followed by good govern
,ment, said the speaker, would has
been q less erii,r than anarchy and
corruption, which bring decay and
There Is only, one
principle which can prevent the
taxpayers from being despoiled
and ruined by those who impose
and consume the taxes, and that is
to. make the latter responsible ,tol