National Republican., 1880-05-31

constitution aud by implication
whether congress has the constitutional
power TO make war against one or moro states
and require the executive Of the federal gov
ernment TO carry ii on by means of force TO be
drawn from the other states Is question for
congress to consider 1t must be admitted
that no such power Is expressly given, nor
are there any words in the constitution which
imply It, Standing here amidst these graves
at Arlington, l would not be unjust to the
living or the dead, nor am l when declare
that the attempted betrayal of the cause of
the colonies by Arnold furnishes but faint
parallel IN iniamy to this. And now Lincoln
came-the calm, patient, but heroic repro
sentative Of u new dispensation. He found the
rebellion organized. consolidated, defiant; the
government stripped ofits resources by the con-
sent aud completely Of the outgoing admins
tration, and the red hand of rebellion on its
throat. The crisis presented its stern alterna-
tives-war was one. The surrender of tho
popular will, by which he was fairly aud con-
stitutionally elected, and to whatever demands
the rebellion in arms might dictate the other.
One force or the other must conquer. God
did not make room for two separate national
itics between the lakes and the gulf No
peaceful line of division could be indicated or
imagined. Any such line would be line of
war itself, crowned with forts aud bristling
with bayonets; n line of constant incursiOns
ubNl HOllu anu bOuNil waste ana DlOOu, u blJ-
uation ending IN military dcspotism and on
veloping all in ruin. The rebellion, beyond n
doubt, compassed the subversion of the whole
nation to its power and its control; first, by its
superiority in the art of war; second, by delec-
ti0n in its favor In tho free states growing out
of flong.continued political alliances. In it's or
gnnic act IL made no provision for the location
oil permanent scat of government, aud con-
tanned no reference TO territorial limits.
la N1,, all lone
and
ITS OBJECTIVE CAPITAL,
It early declared IF Maryland secedes the
District Of Columbia will Etll to her by revcr-
sionary right, the same as Sumter to South
Carolina, Pulaski to Georgia, and Pickens to
Florida. When we have the right we will de-
mand the surrender of Washington, just as
we did in the other cases, and will enforce tie
demand at every hazard and at whatever
cost Montgomery and Richmond were only
the approaches to a scat of power that conf
manded the continent, and If besieged, taken
and held, crowned the cause of rebellion with
success The loss of our constitutional seat of
government, in such war, would have been
far greater than that of Paris or Versailles to
France, or Berlin to the German empire. And
this was fully comprehended by each of the
cDntending forces.
I'm this great contest the rebellion fired the
first gun, and the nation the last. But the first
shook tho FREQ states to their very centre;
shivered party lines and crystallzed anew the
patriotism of the people of the north. Each of
the contendIng forces underrated the strength
of the other. The regular army was domoral-
lied and divided in sentiment. The people
| must save their government, or it must fall.
Liberty hath ever found her defenders among
the yeomanry of the land, and to the nations
defense in this hour of imminent peril, from
al, ,,rl tL,,, q
| the magnificent number of over 2,250,000 of
men, who served nearly two years and a-half
| each.
"Thcre was another and deeper meaning to
| this conflict Two civilizations found them
selves face to face in u gigantic struggle for the
| possession Of n continent. The civilization of
| the north was the outgrowth of long and pa
| tient industry, of resources gathered by con-
| slant hardship, and saved by tho most rigid
economy; n civilization of schools, churches,
cities and workshops of skilled, intelligent
and trained labor in shop aud field; patient
in all things and enduring all things. The
grand result of the development of that
germ of power planted at Plymouth Rock
augmented in its growth, through wilder.
ness and hardship and storm, outward and
onward by the sturdy emgrant from the
despotisms of the old world joining its march
and sharing its fortune. From this develop
ment came president and cabinet leaders
| worthy of the great cause they held in Charge
Lincoln, Chase, Seward and the treless Stan
| ton, who came not too late for service as Car
not came to Napoleon. From this came alsl
a corps Of generals fresh from
THE HOMES AND AFFAIRS
of the people, as learned in the civil polity OF
| free government rs in the art of war, with nc
dreams Of ambition beyond the faithful ser
vice required TO maintain that government
and the dearest rights of man, whose names /
need not mention in your presence, for they
are enshrined in the hearts of the American
people. From this source came tho armies OF
| the union, representing the learning of the
professions, the skill of the artisan aud the in
dustry of the farmer. 1t embraced all
classes, from tho scholar who could read the
| language of the stars and trace the constel
lations Of the heavens, to him whose only
learning was duty to his country. These
soldiers could make books. print newspapers
build bridges and construct canals; build
navics for the sea and railroads for the land
Indeed, the armies Of the union were the en-
bodment of fertility Of resource and endur-
ance of hardships they were organized foI
efficiency and for victory. In this, and not in
greater valor consisted our superiority over
| the armies of the rebellion. 1t was this that
| enabled us to maintain our armies in the field,
better fed and paid, hettcr led and armed,
| better clothed and cared for than any army OF
any war in the worlds history. The very law
of free labor which the leaders Of the rebel
| lion had despised became in the end the ma
| tion's defense and the rebellion's destroyer,
TO the southern armies has been awarded
great praise for holding the field so long and
so well against the power Of the national gov
ernment. Far be it from me to detract in the
least degree from the difficulty of their under
| taking aud the strength and endurance they
evinced in protracting the great struggle. On
the other hand, is it just to ourselves, to you,
veterns of the war; to the inanimate dead here
buried, that we should uudcrrate the great
work we undertook, the obstacles we overcame
aud the magnitude of the success we achieved ?
The problem was n mighty one to solve.
Eighteen millions of people, schooled only in
the arts OF peace, undertook TO overcome and
subdue ten millions of people in their own
homes aud mountain businesses, amid natural
barriers of great strength, in territory con-
siderably larger than the combined countries
of Austria, France the British islands, Italy
and Germany Il territory that must be en-
compassed both by land and by sea. Four mill
ions Of this number were the most docie and
faithful laborers in the world, working unre-
Quilted day aud night upon the broad aud fer
tile fields of the south TO maintain the lami.
lies mt home and the armies in the field.
"rhis population OF the slave states was
solidifed in the interest of the rebellion,
except from the mountains of East Tennessee,
where love for the union was still cherished