The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-06-20
THE LETTER.

Right or wrong, God judge me, not
man. For be my motive good or bad,
of one thing 1 am sure, the lasting
condemnation Of the North. | have
loved peace more than life, have loved
the Union beyond expression. For,
four years have | waited, hoped and
prayed for the dark cloud to break
and for restoration Of our former
sunshine. To wait longer would be a
crime. All hope for peace is dead.
My prayers have proved as idle as my
hopes. Gods will be done! | go to
see and share the bitter end. / have
ever held the South was right. The
very nomination of Abraham Lincoln,
four years ago, spoke plainIy-war,
war upon Southern rights and institu-
tions. His election proved it. "Await
an overt act ?" Yes, till you are
bound and plundered. What folly!
The South was wise. Who thinks of
arguments of patience when the fin
gers of his enemy press the trigger?
In a foreign war, /, too, could say
country right or wrong" But in. a
struggle such as ours, when the brother
tries to pierce the brothers heart, for
Gods sake choose the right When a
country like this spurns justice from
her side, she forfeits the allegience of
every honest freeman and should leave
him uAtrammeled by any fealty so
ever to act IS his conscience may APP
prove. People of the North! To
hate tyranny, to love liberty and jus,
tice, to strike at wrong and oppres
sion, was the teaching of our fathers.
The study of our early history will not
let me forget, and may. it never. This
country was formed for the white man,
not for the black And looking upon
African slavery from the same stand
point held by the noble trainers of our
Constitution, for one have ever con
sidered it one ofthe greatest blessings
both for themselves and ns-that God
ever bestowed upon favored nation.
Witness heretofore our wealth and
power. Witness their elevation and
enlightenment above their race else
where. | have lived among it most of
my life, and have seen less harsh treat
ment from master to man than / have
beheld at the North from father to
son. Yet, heaven knows no one would
be willing to do more for the negro
race than /, could / but see way to
still better their condition. But Mr..
Lincoln's policy is only preparing the
way for their total annihilation The
South are not now, nor have they been
fighting for the continuance of slav-
cry. The first battle, Bull Run, did
away with that idea. Their causes
since then for war have been as noble
and greater far than these that urged
| our fathers on. Even should we al
low they were wrong at the beginning
of this contest, cruelty and iDjustics
! have made the wrong become the
right, and they stand now before the
wonder and admiration of the world
as noble band Of patriotic heroes
Hereafter reading Of their deeds
Thermopyle will he forgotten. When
l aided in the capture of John Brown
who was a murderer on cur " esterr
border, and who was finally tried and
convicted before an impartial Judge
and jury of treason, and who, by the
way, has since been made god, wa:
| proud Of my little share in, the trans
! action, deemed | was doing my duty
in helping our common country tx
perform an act of justice, But what
was crime in poor John Brown il
now considered by themselves as the
greatest and only virtue of the whole
Republican party.
Strange transformation! Vice to be
come virtue simply because more in
dulged In | Thought then, as now
that the Abolitionists were the, only
traitors in The land, and that the whole
! party deserved the same fate Of p,ol