Montgomery County sentinel., 1876-01-21

ing benefit" Mr.. Hill then quoted II letter
from Junius Henri Browne in the New York
Tribune TO the effect that General Butler had
stated in speech at Lowell, Mass., that he
had been prompted by Mr.. Stanton TO put for
ward the negro question in order to compli-
cate the exchange of prisoners, Mr.. Browne 5
comment upon it being that Mr. Stanton was
the digger OF unnamed graves which crowded
the vicinity of every southern prison with
never-to- be-forgotten horrors. Mr. Hill then
proceeded to sum up his argument, and said
What have we proved ! have proved that
the federal authorities broke the cartel delib-
erately. have proved that they refused to
reopen that cartel when approached by Mr..
stephens ms a commissioner solely on the
ground Of humanity. have proved that they
made medicine n conraband of war, and
thereby left us to the dread necessity Of sup
plying prisoners with such medicine as could
be improvised in the confederacy have
proved that they refused TO allow the surgeons
Of their own army 10 accompany their prison
ers 10 the South. have proved that the con-
Federate authorities proposed to return your
sick and wounded without an equivalent in
August, 1864, and that you never deigned to
reply until December, 1864.
have proved that your high officers in
command gave as a reason why they would
not exchaege prisoners that it would be hu-
soldiers In the field. 1t was part of your
military policy 10 let your prisoners suffer
rather than that The confederacy should have
an in increase OF its military force. | have
also proved that with all the horrors which
you have made sush noise about as occurring
at Andersonville, greater horrors occurred in
the prisons where you held our troops, and
that the percentage of death was three per
cent. greater among our prisoners in your
hands than among your prisoners in our
hands. When the gentleman from Maine
rises again to give birth to that unmi'gated
effusion OF genius without fact to sustain il,
in which he says "And here before God,
measuring my words, knowing their full in
tent and import, | declare that neither the
deeds of the Duke Of Alva in the Low Coun-
tries, nor the massacre of St. Bartholomew,
nor the thumb-screws and engines OF torture
of the Spanish Inquisition begin to compare
in atrocty with the hdeous crime of Ander-
sonvile'-let him add 10 it-"And the
atrocities of Andersonville do not begin TO
compare with the atrocities at Elmira, of Fort
Douglass, or Of Fort Delaware" And OF all
the atrocities both at Andersonyllc and Ell
mira the Confederate government stands ac-
quilted rom all responsibility and blame.
Mr. Hill then quoted from the speech made
by Jefferson Davis TO the confederate soldiers
after the retreat Of General Mcclellan from
before Richmond, in which he said that the
crowning glory of the soldiers was their hui
manity to the wounded and the prisoners who
had fallen into their hands He also referred
to the fact that The Richmond Examiner
(Which Mr.. Blaine had quoted yesterday as
authority against Mr.. Davis) had stated that
the humanity and generosity of Jefferson
Davis would inevitably ruin the confederacy.
The gentleman from Maine had introduced
that witness to prove Mr.. Davis guilty of in
humanity and yet the witness said that the
humanity and generosity Of Davis would ruin
the confederacy. Mr.. Hill also qnoted the
following from the Richmond Examiner:
The enemy has gone from one unmanly cruel
ty to another encouraged by their impunty,
till they are now and have been for sometime,
inhicting on the people Of this country the
worst horrors of 5arbarous and uDciviized
war. Yet in spite of all this Mr.. Davis in his
dealing with the enemy, isas gentle as a suck
ing dove.
And that--continued Mr.. Hills the truth,
those of US who were there at the time know
j, to be the fact. One Of the most persistent
charges brought by the Richmond Examiner
Rn1 some others against Mr.. Davis was his
humanity. Over and over again has Mr.. Davis
cen heard 10 say, when applied to to retail
ate for the horrors inflicted on our prisoners,
q quote his very language, "The inhuman-
lty OF the enemy TO our prisoners can be no
justification for disregard by us of The rules
OF civilized warfare and christianity" There
fore he persisted in it, and this paper cried out
against him that he would ruin the confederay
cv. But why bring up such subjecls2 War is
always horrible. War always brings hard
ships death, sorrow, ruin devastation. And
he is unworthy to be considered statesman
looking 10 the pactcaion of the country who
will parade the horrors nseparahle from war
for the purpose OF keeping ur the strife which
produced those horrors. My message to the
gentleman from Maine is this There are no
in this House. There are no con-
federate ambitions, desires or purposes in this
House. But the South is here and here she
intend TO remain. Enthusiastic demonstra-
tons hn the democratic side and in the gal
leries Let fanaticism do lis worst Let it
pass its nulifyng acts, trampe on the Con-
abnegate pledges of the fathers, in
cite raids on our people, multiply inhdelites
until they shall be like the stars of heaven or
the sands of the seashore, without number;
but know this, that for all your iniquites the
South never again seek a remedy in the mad
ness of another secession. Renewed APP
plause. We are here. Weare in our fathers
house. Our brothers are our companions, and
we are at home, thank God Enthusiastic
applause, We come 10 crafty no vengeance
10 retaliate no wrongs, to resent no past in-
suits, to reopen no strife. We come with
patriotic purpose. TO do whatever in our po
litieal power shall lie to restore an honest,
economical and constitutional administration
of the government. We come charging on
the union no wrong to US. The union never
wronged the South. The union has been an
blessing 10 every section, to every
State, to every man of every colorin America
We charge all our wrongs TO that "higher
law fanatacism, which never kept pledge
or obeyed law. We sought to leave the as
socia:ion of those who would not keep fidelity
10 covenant. We sought to go by ourselves,
but so far from having lost our fidelity TO the
Constitution we Rugged it to our bosom and
carried it with us. Brave union men of the
North followers of Webster and Gilmore, of
Cass and Douglas, you who fought for the
sake of the Union, you who ceased to fight
when the battle was ended aud the sword
sheathed, with you we have no quarrel We
felt your heavy arm in the midst of the strug-
gle, but above the roar of the canon we heard
your voice of kindness calling: brothers
come back" We are here to cooperate with
you, to do whatever we can in spite of all our
sorrows to rebuild the Union, to restore peace,
TO be a blessing to the country and to make
the American Union what our fathers intended
it should be-ihe glory of America, aud the
blessing of humanity. But you, gentlemen,
who prosecuted us hy your infdelites until
you drove us out of the Union; you who then
claimed 10 be the only friends of the Union,
which you had before denounced as a "league
with hell, and covenant with DEATH" yon
who follow up the war when the soldiers who
fought it have made peace and gone TO their
homes, to you we have no concessions 10 make.
Martyrs owe no apology to tyrants And
while we are ready 10 make every sacrifice for
the Union, secession, however defeated and
oppressed, will confess no sin to fanaticism
however bigoted and exacting. Yet, while we