The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1875-05-21
SPEECH OF HON. B Il. HILL.

On Wednesday night, the 18th
inst, BEN Hill, the newly elected
Congressman from the Ninth Dis
trict, in response to an invitation
from the citizens of Atlanta, made
one of the grandest and most elo-
quent speeches of his life-prudent,
temperate and conciliatory. Ben
talks like a man and statesman
He says he has no grievances to re-
venge, and he intends to SO act
that those who opposed him would
regret it. He was in favor of prop
erly organized conventions.
He believed strongly in the or
ganization, and would never do aught
to destroy the organization of his
party. "The man." said he, "who
in view of the grand struggle just
ahead of us, would lend himself to the
disintegration of the party, when
above all other times discipline was
necessary, deserved to be beaten
This is a period when self must be
abrogated, and the good of the party
made the leading principle"
He further beautifully said:
The one great work of craftsmanship in this
generation, in this country, Is 10 make peace
between the Northern and Southern people
Without that nothing else valuable can be &c
oomplisbed. With that everything that Is good
will follow. How is that peace to be madef
Mark my language, TO make peace between the
peoples Of the respective sections lie is a stu
pid visionary who supposes he can ever make
peace between the politicians Of the two sections
No peace can be permanent which contains
in liz stipularons any terms dshonorabIe to
either party to it, and he IL unworthy to be
called statesman who would undertake to
make peace between the people OF the North
and South by proposing or accepting anything
dishOnorabe to either section.
Upon taking my seat in Congress, l shall
take the oath to support constitution Of the coun-
try. | shall take the oath without mental reser
walton, and shall keep it without Partially or
prejudice | shall concede to Massachusetts
everything that claim for Georgia, and shall
claim for Georgia, everything concede to Mas
sachusetts. The man who spins cotton in New
England, will be as much my fellow citizen
the man Who grows cotton in. Georgia. The
man who cuts ice in Massachusetts will be AS
much entitled 10 my protection a. the man who
gathers oranges in Florida / shall realize the
great fact that Massachusets and Georgia, are
parties to the sane Union, under the same con
stituton with exactly the same right and bound
exactly by the same obligations. And | shall
feel, and shall delight TO feel, that this whole
country from sea to SEA and from the lakes to
he gulf, is my country, aud there is not foot
| of its soil ! would DIES crate nor being in il
whose rigln | would impair
II is impossible for us TO require the North
to Justify secession. Equally il is impossible
| for the North to require us to say that we are
rebels and traitors There il no necessity for
MS 10 require the NortL to Justify secession, for
we ourselves have abandoned secession, and
what the Southern people profess they mean.
1t could accomplish no good to the North, or
| to the Union, and while the blood Is warm, the
heart is true and life il worthy, Southern PEG
pie will never admit that those who died to
them as heroes shall be remembered by them
as traitors
As to the wrongs of accomplished aud exist
ing reconstruction. accomplished in passions
we cannot ask the North to confess they were
| vror Q and recaut it. leave that question ex-
clusively to time. | rest with implicit faitL in
the conviction that when passion shall sub-ide
and patriotism shall be terminated and reason
shall reassert its sway. the Northern people
will confess shame at the work.
Why can we NOT let the past go, and unite
our hands and our hearts for the purpose Of
repairing the wrongs done, and make him the
.I,oll IL, 10, H..
repeat these wrongs must stop, or peace is
! impossible OF that there can be no doubt
Thieves must cease to be taX.gatherers.-
Usurpers must cease to be rulers. Louisiana
must + e unclaimed. Sun light must be let in
on the Swallowed face of South Carolina. Ar
kansas must be as fee as Massachus IT'S
Georgia must be the political equal of New
York There must be no hand cuffed sover-
eighty at the celebration Of Libelty'S Ceuttn-
NAL
TIE people of the North must be made to see
that all these harsh measures which have been
adopted toward the South, under pretence that
! they We're necessary to keep down rebels
were really adopted to keep up otce-holders.
1t never has occurred to the masses of the
Northern people yet, that While they defy
ing the Union a. a fact, they may utterly de
stroy it as d principle. The Union as prjnci-
| pit. may be a very different thing from the Union
as a fact. The Union rs fact may be an EN-
pire it may be a despotsm it may be a mon
I alchy While the Union as priaciple il a
! Union under the constitution and can only be
| Republican in form.
Thus it has happened that, while the South
! has rndeavorrd To preserve the principle at the
expense of the fact, the North has been expect
/ ing to preserve the fact at the expense Of the
principle.
And this much I,wll say: If the North will
covenant that the Union shall be constitutional
! the South will covenant that the Union shall be
| ct,rHui
Fellow citizens l am charged with being am
| bilious. SO | have been ambitious; but for
whatf To save the South from the abyss OF
secession; the Union from the horrors of war
| Liberty from the perlls ot sectional hate, and
my own race from the iuftmy o. self degreda
| ton. am ambitious; bnt for what Simply
| 10 hold office flow pity the poor creature
who could think SO. live high above the man
WHO could fad qualification OF mere personal
vanity in the fact of holCiu9 an Office / am
ambitious once more to see peace! Peace be
tween the sections; peace between the States
peace between the races aud peace-fraterual
peace between those who love the Constitu
tou and those who love the Union. And il.
before del can We permitted 10 see States
accordaut sections rccouciled, the rights OF all
cur people preserved, with the honor of none
furnished or destroyed, and the rich legacy Of
tree constitutional government hequeathed to as
by oar fathers. transmitted uuimpaired to our
| children, shall &c TO my grave with a con-
fort which the diadtms of kings could not con
fer and which the wealth and power Of cmpei-
ors could neither buy nor take away.