New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-10-06
BLAINE IN CINCINNATI.

that in speech that evening, at political
gathering, Hon. James G.. Blaine referred
as follows to Hon. Charles Francis Adams:
observe some political letters of Hon.
Charles Francis Adams, the Democratic
candidate for Governor Of Massachusetts,
are being disseminated through the Aeso-
ciated Press and circulated as campaign
tracts by his brother Democrats of the
West In these letters Mr.. Adams goes out
of his way quite gratuitously to speak Of
myself in tone that is personally offensive.
l have neither the time nor the desire to ex-
change personalities with any one in this
campaign, but there is q very important
chapter in the political life of Mr.. Adams
which at this time should be recalled.
commend the facts which am about to set
sound Of Mr.. Adams name to give heed to
this counsel. shall speak from the record
and by the record.
After the Republican victory of 1860,
which resulted in the election of Abraham
Lincoln to the presidency, Mr.. Adams, then
q Representative in Congress from Massa-
chusetts, sought with all his influence to
deprive the country of everything that had
been gained by the struggle. If anything
had been settled by that election, it was
that slavery should be put in the course Of
into tree territory: and yet, as soon as the
Southern Democrats in Congress began
their threats of disunion, Mr.. Adams
knees were smote with fear and his
tongue became palsied for any utter
auce except in support of slavery.
His whole course during the closing
session of the Thirty-sixth Congress,
intervening between Mr.. Lincoln g election
and his Inauguration, was one Of treason to
the cause OF liberty and desertion from the
cause of the Union. He offered every hu
initiating concession to the South-agreed
to abandon the prohibition of slavery in
the Territories, and as the climax OF de-
grading and dishonoring conditions, he Of
tered to amend the constitution of the
United States 90 az to render the abolition
of slavery impossible 90 long - . single
slave State should object. The amendment
60 warmly urged by Mr.. Adams declares in
effect that no amendment to the c0nstitu-
tiOn in any way interfering with slavery in
the State should ever be even 20 much a.
proposed. except by one of the slave States,
and should not be adopted except with the
consent of every slave State.
When in 1886 Arkansas applied for ad-
mission into the Union with Q constitution
which forever prohibited the Legislature
from touching slavery, except with the con-
sent of the Shareholders, John Quincy
Adams declared such q provision to be in
famous beyond the power of expression,
and yet Charles Francis Adams, in 1861,
offered and urged and entreated and
pleaded for an amendment to the constitu-
ton of the United States, which applied to
the whole country . far more infamous
principle than was contained in the Arkan-
sas constitution of 1886. Every franchise
YOU enjoy under the constitution of the
United States-your right to vote, your
freedom Of religious opinion, your trial by
jury, your right even to representation
were left open to change BY the Or
constitution; but Mr.. Adams pro-
posed to give slavery q far more
sacred guarantee than has even been given
to liberty, and to enshrine it as something
of superior right, placing 1t beyond the
power of ninety-nine hundredths of the
people of the United States to abolish it,
unless slave State should propose it and
every other slave State vote for it. There
is no parallel to this in history; no ukase of
Russian despotism in the darkest days of
Romanotf tyranny ever SO bound its own
hands and placed it beyond it's own power
to do much and work righteousness in the
future, ss Mr.. Adams proposed to bind the
hands of the United States and deprive our
own government for all time of the power
to emancipste single slave so long as one
slave State should object, and Mr.. Adams
has never forgiven Abraham Lincoln for
defeating this atr0cious measure.
Fortunately, by Mr.. Lincoln's silent in
f1uence, excited from his Illinois home
through Owen Lovejoy, Elihu Washburne
and other representative friends in Con-
gress, the 0di0us proposition was strangled
without even coming to vote, but not
until Mr.. Adams had made an elaborate
plea for it, and years after Mr.. Lincoln had
gone to . martyrs grave-s grave be-
dewed with the tears of millions, in
cluding those emancipated negroes whom
Mr.. Adams had sought to keep in eternal
bondage-Mr. Adams took occasion in a
eulogy of Mr.. Seward to deprecate, belit-
tie and dishonor the grandest man that has
sat in the presidential chair since George
Washington. Mr.. Adams, in this petty and
paltry course, was seeking an ign0ble re-
venge over the dead patriot, who, when llv-
ing, would never refer to the constitutional
amendment which Mr.. Adams advocated
without chill of horror. Mr.. Lincoln, in
deed, often declared that NO crisis of the
war was go terrible and no possible issue of
it go destructive as the proposition of Mr..
Union on the remOrseless and hopeless and
endless eervitude of an entire race of men.
Mr.. Lincoln did not believe God would per-
NIT the perpetuity Of Union founded on
such an atrocious wrong and crime.
In view of Mr.. Adams course toward Mr..
Lincoln in his grave, the friends of Cover
nor Hayes will estimate his criticism of that
honorable leader and true man at precisely
it's Just value. But for the honor of New
England, desire to say that of all her rep
resentatives, Mr.. Adams stood alone, l
think, in supporting this infamous PROPOSE
ton. Every other Massachusetts Represen-
tative was opposed to it, including Hon.
Alexander II. Rice, the present Republican
Governor of that State, and candidate for
reelection against Mr.. Adams. Indeed,
from all New England, as l have already
said, in that hour Of supreme trial, no other
Republican proved false to her principles
and her teachings, save only he whose in
heritance should have made him the fore.
most defender of the right; and after Mr..
Adams had made this fearful offer of the
eternal permanence Of slavery to the rant
ing Democratic disunionists Of the South,
he superadded to it in q formal speech the
intimation if it was not acceptable to the
South he might himself favor some scheme
of disunion, if it could be of q peacesful
character, and now with this record Mr..
Adams naturally and properly supports Til
den, and the lengths he would 60 to cOncili.
ate the rebel Democratic element may be in
ferred from the extent to which he was
willing to 90 in 1861, when he was ready
and eager on the heels of q national Repub-
lican victory to concede more to the slave
interest than it's extremest fre-eating ad-
vocate had ever demanded in Congress.
Imagine it you can, tell me if you will, one
possible condition the South would impose
on the legislation of Congress that Mr..
Adams would not gladly support; one pos
sible exaction the rebel Democrats could
make that Mr.. Adams would not gladly
concede. Would he hesitate at anything q
of any amount of rebel claims7 Would he,
l ask in all sincerity, ever enter protest