Wilmington journal., 1876-01-07
1876.

| decade has been the most eventfui IL
their history. Even the close of the
war between the States, which rem
dered changes more eventful than the
work of centuries ordinarily marks il
the history of people, did not make
30 decided a change in the laws and
customs of a country as has the legiF-
Iation which followed. And the vi.
gorous orders of military copqunror
have not been softened by the deliber-
ate enactments of the civil depart
ment of the Governmt Mt, and to-day
our relations with the adri inistration
are almost as doubtful and delicate
as when the armies of the Confedera-
cy surrendered.
In the meantime we have made many
pledgca, which have been faithfully
and reiigiously keut of orr renewed
fidelity to the union and of our deter
mination to perform honestly and con ,
scientlously our fnll duties as citize us.
Then we had just emerged from a
long, bloody and exhaustive civil
strife, our cities burned. our fields
de spoiled, our homesteads dismantled,
our people impoverished, yet rich III
the valor of their sons and the virtues
of their daughters. Even the craven
traitors, who have since abandoned
their people, and "bowed the pregnant
hinges of the knee that thrift might
follow fawning," had not then dis
graced themselves, and brought sor-
row upon their people. Thus en-
dorsed, we gave our honorable char
acter as foes AS security for our con-
duct as citizens character for gal
lantry end valor that brought from
the great Commander to whose wei
appointed hosts the ragged and half
starved and haIf-armed veterans, the
remnants of LEES great army sur
rendered, the confession which did
credit to his heart, before it had been
closed to its better impulses by an in
satiate ambition and by ignob,e ad-
visers, that "they were men, whose
manhood, however mistaken the
scause, performed Hurculian deeds
OF vaIor." these we did pledge and
entered upon the duties stern ne
cessity imposed upon u, with many
hopes and with some misgivings.
During the past decade we have per-
formed truly and conscientiously all
the duties incurred as citizens of the
United States. and submitted with
quiet and dignitied conposure to cv-
cry honorable demend made upon US.
Our act Of secession, around which
ciue tered most of the theories and
much of the realities of state sover-
eighty our slaves, embracing ma
terlal part of the remaining property
of our exhausted people our war
debt, in which was invested in many
instances every farthing Of widows and
whose husbands and fathers,
without name and without a stone,"
fill unknown graves upon every battle
field which lad rendered immortal
the short lived Confederacy. have
been freely offered upon the National
altar IN atonement for defeat. With
out dishonoring the memories of our
noble dead or making Infamous the he
roic living. with no pretend ed rejoicing
oveI the defeat of the 'lost cause
and with 10 hollow peans in honor of
the victors, we have redeemed fully
our pledges and performed every duty
a just Government could demand.
And what has been our reward ?
To-day we enter upon the second de-
cade since the cessation of hostiIities.
We find our people still oppress-
with heavy burdens and unjust laws;
their very industry and enterprise
have been the most frightful sources
of evil and losses; the result of their
labors and tolls do not yield the cost
of production. The tramp of hostile
soldiers yet eel oes through the land,
and in some States the entire people,
and in all, some of them are held in
abject political servitude 10 their for
mer slaves. The whole power of the
and, in chains. some of the
sieterhood of States are invited to at
tend the great national festival dedi-
Gated to the memories of a century of
liberty and freedom.
And where is this to eud ? The legis-
Iation which was conceived and adopt
ed to punish the South has reacted
upon the whole country, and the shock
has been felt by every branch of III
dustry in every section of the land.
And to-dsy bankruptcy and ruin stare
the people of tire United States in the
face. To present so dire a calamity
the attention of every department of
the Government is turned. When too
late the result of past viz dictiveness
is seen in the dark clouds which now