The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-10-06

| of civil liberty.
But if the south had not seeded "
might have made a successful defense {
our constitution though the powers of th
government were in the hands of its Ell
emies. With the aid of the souther
people, if they had been true TO thei
duty, we would have organized an oppC
sitiotl so formidable in its moral and pC
litical power that you would scarcel
have dared to assault us. No wOnde
that we were "union savers" for to u
the union meant personal liberty, fire
thought, an independent press, habea
corpus, trial by jury, the impartial ac
ministration of justice--all these grea
legal institutions which our forefather
had shed so much of blood to build up.
The south deserted us at the crisis O
our fate, and left us in our weakness t
the mercy of the most unprincipled ty
rants that ever betrayed public trust
Secession was not mere folly and mad
ness; it was something much worse. w
could not but feel that we were deepl,
wronged. There was no remedy for tn,
dire caIamities with which we wer,
threatened except in bringing the Sc
ceded states back to their places in the
union. Our convictions of legal duty
our exasperated sense of injury and {
proper care for our best interests, all i'm
PEELED us to join the new administration
in the use of such force as might be found
necessary to execute the laws in every
part of the country.
THE WAR OF THE PHARIsEE.
But the abolitionists wanted a wal
for the destruction of the union, for the
overthrow of the constitution, for the
subversion of free government, and foT
the subiugation of the whole country to
that "higher law" which imposes no re-
straint Upon the rapaCity and malice OF
tt e ruling power. To such Il war the
national conscience was opposed: The
soul of every respectable officer in the
army and navy revolted at it, and every
virtCOus man in private life felt it to be
an unspeakable outrage. To those who
doubted before, the disaster of
Bull Run made it plain that
TIE war could not be successfully
carried on unless it was put upon
principles consistent with the usages of
christendcm and the safety of our own
institutions Therefore, it was that on
the 22d of July, 1861, congress, with
almost perfect unanimity, passed a reso-
luton through both houses, declaring In
the most explicit words that the war
should be conducted to preserve the con-
stitution, and not to revolutiOnize it. /
give you here the words of the resolu-
ton itself from the Congressional Globe;
p. 223:
Resolved, That the present deplorable
civil war has been forced upon the
country by the disunionists of the south
ern states, now in arms against the con-
government, and in arms
around the capital that in this national
congress, banishing all feel
ng of mere passion of resentment, will
-ecollect only it's duty to the whole
country; that this war is not waged on
heir part in any spirit of oppression, or
or any purpose of conquest or subjuga-
ion or purpose of overthrowing or in
erfering with the rights or established
of those states, but TO de-
end and maintain the supremacy of the
and to preserve the union
With all the dignity, equality and rights
# the several states unim paired and
hat as soon as these objects are accom-
,lished the war ought TO cease"
COnfiding in this assurance democrats
rom every northern state rushed to the
ront by the hundred thousand the
,order states of the south gave in their
ormal adhesion to the government; and
ur great military leaders drew their
words with alacrity in support of the
rec institutions to which they had shown
heir fidelity so often before.
With what base perfidy this solemn
,ledge was broken | need not tell you,
or this speech shows that you know it
veil. You expressly declare that so far
rom sustaining the government you
evolutionized 1t. Instead of a war for
he union. YOU claim that it put the
tates out of the union, and you had a
light to keep them out as long as you
pleased or admit them to their places on
my terms, however degrading, which
-ou choose to dictate. Inst ad Of re-
toring the supremacy of the cOnstitu
ion all your politicians held, and so far
S | know from their public declarations
till hold, that the victory of the federal
orces abolished the constitution not only
n the south but in the north, and there
ore they were not bound to observe its
either in their legislative,
judicial or executive measure. Instead
f bringing back the states with their
lights unimpaired, according to your
,romise, you crippled, enslaved, subju-
ated and disfranchised them. Instead
f using the war power for the just and
awful purposes to which you were
ledged, you converted it into black
epublican job to put the rights of all
he people permanently under the feet
f an unprincipled party.
l submit this part of the case to your
/ ask you to say whether
-ou can find in the whole history of the
uman race another instance of similar
'erfidy on scale so large. The base
less of the Massachusetts authorities in
elling the surrendered PequOds into
laveTy after a solemn promise to the
ontrary was but the "germ of an idea,"
m which you acted in the fullness of its
.rowth. Their act was in its nature and
character nearly as bad as it could be;
,ut only eight score of helpless people
uttered by it; the victims of your
reachery are counted by millions.
THE CORRUPTION OF THE PHARIsEE.
The offenses which you are now en-
,aged in committing upon the public
reasury are the natural sequence of
your crimes against popular liberty.
Universal experience proves that power
lsurped will always be dishonesty used.
Seeing that the abolitionists were led by
nen whom no oath could hold TO the
and whom no pledge could
bind to an observance of its principles,
We had no right to expect decent re-
,ard for justice in their administration
IF the national finances. ] do not mean
hat. the masses of your party were. or
ire now, destitute of common integrity.
But that was overruled by the political
doctrines of their leaders. Having once
set aside the established law OF the land
they had no standard by which they
could measure the moral conduct OF
or others, and they became
of seeing the difference between
right and wrong in public affairs. The
'higher law" threw the reins loose on
the neck of all evil passions. 1t not only
abrogated the constitution, but the dec
alogue as we'll and the eighth command
nent was nullified with the rest.
You have consequently made ours the
corruptost government on this side of
Perhaps you will say
this is a mere general assertion. But !
am ready to maintain the truth of it
against all epposers. You may take the
rottenest monarchy in Europe, go over
its hi tory for hundred years and pro-
1uce the worst act YOU can find of fraud