The crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1877-1878, 1877-09-27
NO APOLOGIES.
What the Robert General Wade Hampton
Has to Say About Himseli.

agriculture, but he dld atherr say some
pointed things about Reconstruction,
from southern soldiers standpoint.
he said he had no concealments TO
make for thepast He continued: Nor
would your respect for me be increased
were l to offer any unmanly apology for
1t. did what you did. obeyed the
command OF my own state, rs you did
yours, and you men OF the north were
guided by your own consciences aswe OF
the south were guided by ours, and
say to you that up the beginning OF that
war | used all my influence to preserve
the union. Cheers was aunion man.
| did all | could to preserve 1T, did all
1 could to avoid war, and when South
Carolina called her sons. as Illinois
called hers, obeyed her command, and,
men of Illinois, fought you rs long and
as hard as | could; and have no apollo
gi"s to make for it. | remember es-
pecially that / fought the Sth Illinois,
and l thought it one of the best regi-
ments in the federal army. l fought
them very hard indeed. Great cheer
ing and laughter and voice You did
we'll Now, my friends, We went into
the war believeing we were right, bnt
when the war ended We surrendered,
and | want to impress that upon you.
We surrendered in good faith, and L
challenge man living to say that from
that day to this that ! have violated in
any degree the tenor of my parole, or
done anything inconsistent with my
honor as a soldier or citizen. When
sheathed my sword renewed my allie
glance to the United States government,
L pledged myself to support the consti-
tuition of the United States. When L
took my official oath the other day as
governor of South Carolina swore to
uphold it as it now stands, and so help
me God | intend to keep it. We sur
rendered in good faith. We accepted
the constitution of the United States
with the amendments.
Now, we opposed the amendments
when they were offered to us, and We
had the right to do so. think some
OF these northers States opposed them.
We opposed them on account of their
tenor and on account of the mode in
which they were offered, but they be-
came part of the constitution and of
the organic law of the land and as such
we accepted them as an integral part
and parcel of the constitution of the
United States. If remember right it
was said by one of the greatest soldiers
and statesmen of England, the duke of
Wellington, that it was the duty of every
citizen to stand by the laws of his coun-
ty whether right or wrong. Now we
propose to act upon that. We propose
to obey the constitution of the United
States and to stand by it, and we ask,
and we have a right to ask, that the con-
stitution shall stand equal for the pro-
lection of South Carolina and of Massa-
chusetts, of Illinois and louisiana; and
we have the right to ask that every citi-
zen in every State should be equal be-
fore the law and under the constitution
of the United States. So much my
friends, for the views we entertain.
Then we come appealing to you for
peace.
We come appealing to you because it
is no. only the highest wisdom to restore
peace, not only because it is statesman
| like, not only because the very theory of
statesmanship and politics requires the
restoration of peace We appeal to you,
because it is the very handspring of pa
triotism, and if there is anywhere the
handspring of patriotism moving strong
and perpetual it is i'll the hearts of the
people of Illinois. Your State itself is
the offspring of the noblest purpose and
the noblest patriotism that was ever in
spired in the human heart. When your
great mother, Virginia, gave this wide
western domain to the country, you re-
member why she did it. 1t is on the
record that she did it because she said
country to her individual aggrandizc
mcnt; and you, men andwomcn of Hi
nois, you would be unworthy of your
proud lineage if you forgot the lesson
taught to YOU by so heroic an ancestry
and proved yourself unworthy of it.
These are the conditions upon which we
propose to stand Now we recognize
that the constitution is paramount
We recognize that our union is re-
stored. propose to be good citizens,
and come from the Palmetto State to
the Prairie State to take the hands of the
men of Illinois in peace and fraternity,
and reconciliation. l believe it will be
met in the same spirit in which it is
offered. | must say to you-I should
not. perhaps, have alluded to it but that
some newspaper reporter-and they