Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-17


many worthy but timId men have been az
fected BY such miserable means IS not 10 De
deuied-but the best answer 10 these MOUNTS
OF the mob. who sought to prevent lawful
meeting. called in the sacred name OF our
cOuBtFy's peace, is the assemblage now UeloFs
me. Never in this State bas It been eXcee1el
in numbers and responsibility. We nave. II
is true. 10 high Judicial ofncer 10 leaFe tho
bench and take part in the excited scenes
OF politics; we have no delegation OF persons
from the city Of Philadelphia; but we nave
the substantial citizens Of Delaware, win as
great stake in her fair name and prosperity
as any others in her borders. Ia times OF Dan
ger and distress ike the present the country
needs most the intelligent aid OF her best cltl-
zeus and now If ever. should they give her
the best efforts OF their hands and hearts, IN
deferred by the wild passions and 1renZled
violence which have swept over the Northern
states like a whIriWlnd. Inc question Iof
every good man now to ask Is: my country,
what can do to restore your peace ana nap
piDessf" The past and its lessons should not
be lost upon us; but to inquire now into the
original cause or causes OF our troubles would
not be within the scope Of these remarks or
useful at present. The practical question be-
fore US fOrbids mere speculation; II stares Us
in the face-a nard, stern fact.
Eleven States have Withdrawn from the
Federal Union with solemn and deliberate
action and have united under new govern,
ment. They have made their declaration OF
independence Of the government under winch
we live. and express thesr determination 10
maintain 1t at every cost. With tins seces-
ever name it may be called, the state OF
Delaware has had naught to do. To our con-
stitutional duties toward each and every
member Of the Union we have been falthIul
in all times. Never, never has a thought.
word, an act OF ours been unfaithtul 10 the
Union Of our fathers-in letter and IN spirit
il has been faithfully kept by US. But the
stern fact is still before us. and but Two alter-
natives present themselves. snail we MAKE
war upon and subjugate this new eonfed-
eracy, or shall we peacefully treat with them
cons aFaff n
ing to time, which is the great healer OF all
wrongs and passions, to bring them again
voluntarily into common government win
usf
Take the proposition Of war-the hOrrid
civil war, my cOuntrymen Grant TO the
Northern arms complete success. suppose
that every Southern city DC reduceu 70 sl I
| " ruin, every peaceable southern nome oeso-
late. and every Southern man slain OF maue
captive This Is the evident cOmpletest realI-
zation OF that dream OF conquest 50 horribly
satisfactory to those minds who control the
Northern press. But what them VIII union
with slaves and the possession OF a desert sat
isfy your You do not and cannot expect love
and aid IN times OF your necessity IRON tnOse
states YOU have so cruelty subdued. lt Is too
plain, therefore, that your success IN such
war would be the most fatal injury to your
| selves And is such q war necessary for
| the peace and happiness of the United
States? For half a century we have lived at
peace with Great Britain, with her Cana
| dian possessions upon our northern border.
TTDou the south Mexico holds her government
with no threats of trouble TO us or our
citizens. Why, then. may not two American
cOnfedcracies exist side by side without con-
| fict each emulating the other In the progress
Of civilizations The eO-terminOus Kingdoms
of Europe offer many examples OF similar
peace and prosperity. with such slckenlng
alternative as civil war, why should not the
experiment at least be made? 1t ia this ques-
tion we are to pass upon to-day. believe
with the late Senator Douglas, VINO mas before
| been quoted to-day, that "a war ls dlsunion,
fafn fms q. |
| oppose it.
/ believe solemnly that the war inaugu-
| rated By Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet Is
worse than frutless-that it will prove more
disastrous to the North than to the South, and
never will accomplish its professed objects.
Already il has driven out Of our Y MON four
| States, while others stand in doubt. When l
| take up the public papers and see the markets
OF the world disordered and depressed by the
mere apprehension Of this war; when turn
| to our own business circles and see men OF
wealth reduced to poverty. our merchants
bankrupted. our mechanics and laboring men
| threatened with absolute starvation, would
| fain hide nv face in grief But, confront
| ing this wide scene Of human distress, L
| sadly seek to find relief from it. II war,
or the mere prospect Of 1t, has in three
short months worked all this distress, what
| an increase of trouble are we to anticipate
should it proceed in all its details OF oppres-
sive taxation, destruction. Generalization ana
sorrowf Human governments were ordained
for the happiness and p oteetlon OF society.
| to the people of the Mi ed States, even though
a number Of their former associates have gone
Off under new and Independent organlza-
| ton, in the name OF heaven let us raise our
voice for it. Shall this earnest cry for peace
be stifled at the bidding Of a host OF fanatlcal
and cowardly editors, aided by an army OF
| greedy contractors and public leeches, stlmu-
| lating an ignorant mob to denounce and at
| tack US as TRAITORS and secessiOnlstsf We know
| it shall not, and this day do we proclaim our
| duty to our country and our intention to
ha Cabinet Abraham
\ coin have affected to treat all the seeded
| states as still members OF the Union. IL so,
| surely they are entitled to all those privileges
| which the constitution gives them, while they
| are also subject to its penalties. Yet war IN
| all its forms. by land and sea, with all its Sc
| yeritles. has been levied against these States,
| ana the forms and most positive limits OF the
| constitution, which is the supreme law of this
| land, to the President and Cabinet as to the
humblest private citizen, have been steadily
| and CONTEMPORARY disregarded in its prose-
| cutiol. The act Of war is a solemn act at any
/ time; in a war against cur brethren OF the
| South it is surely tenfOld so. BY the express
| terms Of the constitution, the right to declare
war is delegated TO Congress. The President
| has no such power. But he has. without even
| the forms Of submission TO Congress, in pal
pable violation OF the charter OF government,
| which is his guide as well as II IS ours, sum-
moned a gigantic army, and that too, for an
! extended time, exceeding the term limited by
| the constitution for the appropriation to sup
| port armed forces. The question OF peace or
IL
| dent or Cabinet. Congress alone possesses
| the power to declare war, and in the present
| case / protest that our people have never
been allowed any opportunity to vote and eX-
| press their wishes on this momentous and ter
| rible issue. Had it been given them last win
| ter / believe our beloved Union would this
day have been firmly. knit by the bonds Of
| good will and good faith WHICH originally
| formed it and alone can preserve it.
But the infractions of the constitution by
| those officials into whose hands the Feins of
70 M or I'D
| The inYasions of personal liberty In our sister
| State of Maryland have been such as to justify
alarm and almost dishearten those who be-
| lieved our free institutions were not mere
forms to be blotted out at the caprice or ty-
ranny Of our temporary rulers. The seizure
of telegraphic messages, the invasion OF the
privacy Of the mails, the arrest and imprison
neDt without Judicial process of citizens,
have followed each other in startling sGcces-
sion. These acts are simple usurpations,
not only without color OF law, but
against express rights. You and 1 are
citizens Of Delaware. TOher laws of govern
ment we owe allegiance. Through our State
we owe allegiance to the Federal Govern
ment OF which she Is a member. But as State
officials can command us to no duty unknown
to state laws, neither can Federal officer
claim any authority over US in matters not
within his constitutional and legal control. A
papable infraction OF our written charter OF
government by our rulers, justifies disobedi-
epee upon the part of a citizen as much as
lawful orders are entitled to loyal cQmpli-
ance,
And. fellow .citizena. never IN our nations
history were her citizens called upon more
strictly to call their agents to account than
now The sO-called military necessities' are
beguiling and dangerous in the extreme. The
conquest Of the South will be a poor recon-
pense to the North if our system of govern
ment be the price we are 10 pay for il, ODE
dience and good faith toward government
which protects him is the primary duty of a
good citizen; but where that government is
one of limited power, and those limitations
created for the preservation OF individual lib
ertv against the agrees ions Of rulers or ma
jorites, let us take heed lest in seeking to
place yoke upon others we awake to find one
upon our own necks. Who can say, with the
present war measures Of the administration,
long trace Of constitutional liberty will re-
main for the other states In the Union and
how soon stern military uespotlsm may
usurp the place OF the constitution and the
laws. Let us as freemen stand prepared in
all lawful WAYS to resist the Inauguration OF
such degrading condition Of affairs, no matter
how plausib e or speciOus may be the plea under
which it is urged. Let no man believe that he
may ever safely violate "a great principle. The
poisoned chalice will some day be commended
10 his own lips. And If we to-day pass lightly
over the outrage upon the rights Of John
Merryman, we may tomorrow mourn in our
own persons Of similar wrongs to hia. II he
has transgresEed the laws, let them be fully
Vindieated. But it has been our boast that
the humblest person, nay. the meanest felon,
has civil rights preceding his punishment,
which no ruler can justly deprive him Of. Let
us stand by the laws.
The matter, in conclusion, ask you to hear
and consider carefully. A gentleman from
Newcastle county, who has been your United
States Senator for more than ten years past,
have the honor to call my father. II there
be one thing he has tried fully and fairly to
DO. II has been TO represent me people OF TINS