The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-10-04

" w va. "a lss vi III SSNs u
ii~>urrcrt;nn and 4 general butcl.cry 0!
the southern people WAS II part Il
their pru4r"niulu from lhc beginning.
Fle leaders t. wii"m they gave
their highest admiration were the
iuCu whose feet were the Swiltrst i'll
running 10 shed innocent blood. Sc
ward won their affections in his ear
~ manhood by proposing measures
from wiicl, he promised that negroes
should he melted to rise in blacklist
inSurrcc;inn.' They ~arplaudcd john
Brown to ihc echo for Il series Of the
hasrSt murders on record. They did
not conceal their hostility to the Fed
eral and State Governments, nor de-
ny their cnmity to all laws which pro-
irrtCil the liberties Of white men.
The Constitution stood in their way,
and they cursed it bitterly; the Bibie
WAS quoted against them, and the re-
vilcd God Almighty himself. ! know
that The mind OF man, like his body,
is ttarlully and wonderfully made; |
understand all the difficulty OF analyz-
ing human passions, and i admit we
should not judge halshly Of motives;
but nos these hrarllcss OpprcSsors oi
their own race could have any care for
the rights of the Ecgro, passes my
comprehension. Unless you cal 'eN-
plain it otherwise. the Judgment of
history mast inevitably be Il against
the sincerity Of their anti-slaEcry pro-
fcssions. IN the present aspect Of the
case, il seems impossible to believe
THAT The love Of the negro WAS not as
-umcd as Il mere cXcuse for ~enelaving
tic white race, just n their ancestors
put on the pretrnSe OF picty to crafty
their appetite for the property and
blood OF better people than them
selves. You must positively recon-
slider this subject before YOU undertake.
again to present the :AbulitiOnalists to
the world in the respectable character
of fanatics. | think you will find
That the crew of the Mayilowcr
brought w and planted no germ Of
an iuca' which has tlouri>lled with
more vigor than their cantlng hypoc-
risy.
Here let me say again, that the
vice and wickedness of the Ply
mouth colonists are not to he visited
on the heads of their children, accord
ing to the flesh. Among them, in cv-
cry Part of the country, are great
statesmen, brave soldiers, true SER
wants of the church, and virtuous, pa
triutic Democrats, who are no more
responsible for the crimes Of their all
ccstors than a peacpahle ~Scotchnian is
for the raids and robberies which in
past generations were committed by
his elan upon the English border.
Bat You acknowledge that you gel
u political ideas from thenl-Sou
boast that your party has no doctrines
of public law, and notions Of public
duty which were not planted atp Iy-
mouth. Therefore, it is mot..only prop
or, but necessary, to show what those
doctrines and ideas were.
4 FUNDAMENTAL REPUBLICAN LIE.
I pass o to a later period. You
say that there were two radically diff
rrrent theories about the nature OF
our (iovernment--''the North bellcv-
ing and holding that We were Il nation,
the South insisting that we were only
= confederation OF Sovereign States
1t is not true that any such theoretical
conflict ever existed between the sec
lions. That the Articles of Confcdera-
ton first, and the Constitution after
wards, united the States together for
such purposes therein enumerated,
and thus made lis q nation among ma
tons, was never denied that | know
Of by any party. But this national
character was given to the Gcneiai
Government by sovereignt States, who
confrderatcd together for that pur'
pose. They bestowed certain powers
ON the new political corporation then
created, and called it the United
States Of America. aud they expressly
reserved to themselves all the sovcr-
eign rights not granted in the charter.
Democratic statesmen had no theory
about it. They 81 their duty written
down in the fundamental law, they
Swore to perform it, and they kept
their oatlis. They executed the pow
ers of the General Government ill
their whole constitutional vigor, fol-
that, as Mr.. Jefferson said, was "the
sheet-anchor of our peace at home and
our safety abroad" and they carefully
guarded the rights of the States rs the
only security we could have for JUST
administration of our domestic affairs,
This WIS universally asscnted to IL
right and true. No counter theory
was set up. Difference of colstruc:
ton there might be, but all admitted
that when the line of power was accu-
rateIv drawn between the Federal
Government and state sovereignty,
the rights on n side were as sacred
as those on the other. But within
two or three years last past the low
dcnagogucs Of your party have got l'
putting in their platforms the aSser-
ton that this is q nation, and not u
G ,nfedcralirn. What do they mcan ?
What do you mean when you Undo &c
and reproduce it: DO you deny that
The States were sovereign before they
united? Do you affirm that then
sovereignty was wholly merged in the
Federal Government when they as
scented to the Constitution? i the
Tenth Amendment i mere ue!uSlCn
DO you mean to assert that the Stalr-
have not how, and never had, any
rights ut all except what are conceded
to them at the mercy OF the "natlon ?.
! No doubt this new article was inserted
in the creed of the Abolitionists, be-
cause they supposed it would give
sort Of p~lauSibility for their violent III
%terventiou with he internal affairs o.
the States. But it is so false, so shall
low and 80 destitute of all respectable
authority that it imposes upon no
body.
SECESSION A YANKEE PRODUCT.
AS part Of this conflict Of theories
and resulting from it, you describe the
South as "insisting that each State hat
4 right, ct its own discretion, to hreal
the Union, and constantly threatening
secession, where the full rights Of sla
very were not acknowledged" Ii
fact andintruth secession, like slavery
was first planted in New England
Thercitgrcw and fourished aud sl'reat
it's branches far over the land, long De
fore it was thought ofin the south ant
long before 1.-The full rights of slavery
were called in question By anybody
The anti Democrats of that region, il
! former as well as in later times, totally
misunderstood the purposes for which
this Government WAS made.
They regarded it rs Il mere CONNER
cial machine, by which they coule
make much ''gaynefuil pilladge,nM* al
lowed 10 run it their own way. When
they were disappointed in this ly. GER
tain perfectly Just and constitutions
regulations OF their trade, which the
common defense and general welfAr.
made necessary, they Immediately fel
! to plotting the dismenlberment ofthe
Union. Before 1907 they organized d
n,ror;,oc, With thp British authOri-