The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-07-16

men who made duty passion, a relig-
ion dear to the posterity of those who
were foremost in sacrifice, in the es-
tablishment Of the Republic, in the in,
crease of its area, and in the vindica-
ton of principles Of government, in
herlted from their forefathers and ac-
cepted as correct for the first fifty years
of the Republic.
l cannot hold him wise who would
willingly wound the patriotism of any
citizen of the Republic. To brand such
men as Albert Sidney Johnston. Stone
wall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, or JEFF
ferson Davis as traitors is not to stain
the whiteness of their lives, but rather
to spoil the word, or any useful pur-
pose to make of traitor title which
Hampton or Washington might have
borne as we'll had the fortunes of war
gone against them. AS Fox said to
Lord North, ''The great asserters of
liberty, the saviours of their country,
the benefactors Of mankind in all ages,
have been called rebels.' "We owe
the constitution which enables us to
sit in this house to a rebellion.'
11o" III SON EDERAC1 BEtAN.
The future historian will note with
| astonishment that the Southern strug-
gle for independence began not with
committees Of public safety, with dec
laratlons of the rights of man, or enun-
Citations of the mighty doctrine that
governments derive their just powers
from the consent Of the governed,
but it began with public statutes gen.
eral elections, and constitutional con-
victions. Mr.. Davis himself rested, in
his inaugural, the case of the new ma
ton at the bar Of the public opinion of
the world not upon revolutionary, but
upon legal right. He said: "The rights
solemnly proclaimed at the birth of the
States, which have been affirmed and
reafiirmed in the bills ofrights OF States
subsequently admitted into the Union
| of 1889, invaribly recognize in the peo-
pie the power to resume the authority
delegated for the purposes of govern
ment. Thus the sovereign States here
represented proceeded to form this
Confederacy and it is by abuses of Ian
guage that their act has been denom-
mated revolution" He might also
have said that the very Constitution
of the United States was adopted by
acts of secession, violating the articles
Of confederation.
The South learned it's conititutional
law from Jefferson, Madison and CAL
houn; not from Hamito and Marshall.
| They considered secession as a consti-
| tutonal remedy in 1861. They believed
a seperate confederacy with their con-
stitutional rights retained, better than
union with these rights trampled
upon and ignored, or held together by
physical force.
| The junior Senator from Massachu-
setts has written these words: "When
this constitution was adopted by the
votes of the States at Philadelphia,
and accepted by the votes Of the States
in popular conventions, it is fair to say,
that there was not man in the coun-
try, from Washington and Hamilton,
on the one side, to George Clinton and
George Mason; on the other, who re-
| garded the new system as anything but
an experiment entered upon by the
States, and from which each and every
State had the right to peaceably with
draw right which was very likely to
be exercised" The Southern States
only exercised right which had often
been threatened by New England, and
which was generally conceded to be a
constitutional right. But in 1861, the
Union had grown with the growth of
the American people, and strengthened
with its strength, until like a young
oak, it had burst the old constitutional
rocks asunder. The South was fight
ing against the stars in their courses.
But standing on this sacred spot, l
should be false to the memory of the
dead, if did not remind you, that he,
the man we all adore, battled for the
constitutional right to dissolve the
Union, not for revolution, not for
slavery-that the war was fought upon
legal, not a moral issue, and it is sig
nificant, that slavery is not mentioned
either in the Confederate inaugural, or
in Lincon's Gettysburg address.
1t is a pleasant reflection to-day that
the feelings which human nature can
not repress in the sad hour of defeat
have found the gentle and sure medi-
cine of time. A new generation has
risen underneath the healing wings of
peace, that are strangers to the discord
Of their fathers, and the gray-haired
veter rams of Gettysburg and Chlcamau-
ga, conscious of their rectitude of pur-
pose and lofty patriotism, now yield
loyal allegiance to the government,
not having dlsowned their manhood,
| IL,
were wrong. They have reserved their
self-respcct and won the respect of the
nation.
Fox what then shall this monument
stand? Jefferson Davis was truly
throu Gu his life, the representative of
his people, and the monument repre-
sents the love of the Southern people
for him. Such sentiment hOnOrs
them even more than it honors him.
Southern people to their leader, Tor bet
ter or for worse Rather than suspec-
ted is that people to be honored, and
trusted, whose attachments defy the
vicissitudes of time and fortune, and
. reach in loving fortitude beyond the
grave.
WHY DO WE LOVE DAVIS.
Let us consider on this occasion the
! reasons for our love for Jefferson Davis
and why we honor him. First, above
I all, he is dear to us for the incompar
+ able beauty of his character. 1t is a JOY
. to the South, that its great typical fig
, ures of generation ago, such as Davis
p Lee, and Jackson, were men who wore
: the white flower of blameless life
p men of clean lips and spotless names
p 1t will not surprise you when l add
y they were each of them ofstrong Chris
4 tian faith. Permit me to quote tn
!. words of two distinguished men VIII
:, knew jefferson Davis most intimatel,
-, "a, al u-on fo liFo Sfo nd