The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-18

| slaves as long as they found them pro-
ntable. and then. instead Of setting
them at liberty, they sold them to the
South. put the money into their pock-
cts. and afterwards began bitter. per-
sistent and relentless crusade against
slavery and Shareholders.
| Through long years Of excited and
oitter controversy over this question
the South submitted to compromise
| aiter compromise. in which she yielded
almost everything, only to find fresh
demands from the other side. Finally
sne saw the constitution and the laws
OF tne land set at defiance by the Per
sonai Liberty" bills of many of the
Softnern States, the decisions of the
nupreme court defied. and its judges,
ah, "mv ~, that DAY were stainless ermine,
abused and villified, the constitution ~
the United States denounced 40 n
league with death and covenant with
neil the doctrine of the Higher law
proclaimed, her territory floo,led w.ith
| lncendiary literature. and Invaded bv
an armed band. whose avowed object
was servile insurrection, murder. arson.
umr iapine; abolition leaders proclaim.
sI shs tnat tney would have IAN anti.
slavery God and an ailti.slayery Bible I"
ana announcing as their platform "in.
euglpiIity OF slaveowners for every office
great and small, no co-operatioi, with
them In religion. or society: no patron.
age TO pro.slavery merchants, no guest.
| snip In slave. waiting hotels, no fees
20 s pro,slavery lawyers. physicians. par
slaves; and to cap the climax, a sec.
| tiohal climax. sectional party avowi d
these principles and took possession Of
| the government by electing q sectional
| effect. - "
The tariff. the fishing and other boun.
ties. the distribution of the proceeds
OF the public lands. the establishment
of four well-equipped dockyards at the
North to one at the South, the expendi.
ture or immense sums of money for
lighting. buoying, improving and for
Trying the Northern coast. and very
much smaller sums for similar purposes
along the Southern coast. although
there are four miles of sea front in the
South for one at the North, and the
very patent fact that the trend of legis.
lation, since the North and Northwest
had gotten the control Of congress. had
been to discriminate against the South
and In favor of the North--all these
things had brought the ablest men of
the southern states to conclude that the
South would be better off out Of the
Union.
Add to these and other facts that
| might be mentioned the pregnant fact
| that the General Government was fast
drifting from the principles Of Its
founders and being changed from q
Republic Of republics" into a consoli-
| dated nation. a great centralized plu-
tocracy, and that the new party which
had come into power utterly ignored
the Old doctrine Of State sovereignty"
anu II IL not to be wondered at that the
southern states should feel that the
time had come for them to resume the
powers originally granted to the gen.
eral government and peaceably estab.
lish new government Of their own.
But Virginia and the border states
stili clung with ardent love to the old
Union. and were driven out only when
Mr.. Lincoln inaugurated a war of sub.
)ugation against their sister states, and
called on them to aid in the onslaught.
The frequent declarations Of the Con-
federate states that they wanted peace,
ana not war. We're strongly embodied
In the close Of President Davis's mes
"a, 1861. in which he said: I'VE pro-
test solemnly, In the face Of mankind.
that we desire peace at any sacrifice,
save that of honor In independence
We seek no conquest. no aggrandize-
ment, no concession of any kind from
the states with which we have lately
been confederated. All we ask, is to
power over us shall not now attempt
our subjugation by arms. This we will,
we must. resist to the direst extremity
The moment that this pretension Is
abandoned, the sword will drop from
our grasp, and we shall be ready to
enter into treaties Of amity and COM
merce that cannot but be mutually
beneficial. So long as this pretension IS
maintained, with firm reliance on that
Divine Power which covers with its
protection the just cause. we must
continue to struggle for our inherent
right to freedom, independence and
lf-government"
We conclude, therefore, that the Sc
ceding Of states not only had perfect
right to withdraw from the Union, but
that they had amply sufficient cause for
doing 80. and that the war made upon
them by the North was utterly unjusti-
fable. oppressive and cruel. and that
the South could honorably have pur-
sued no other course than to resist
force with force and make here heroic
struggle for constitutional freedom.
We have not space enough to permit
US to follow to any greater length this
curious so-called history which 1t Is
proposed to introduce into the school,
rooms Of the southern states for the
vitiation Of the younger generation and
the perpetuation Of the false glamor
surrounding treason and secession. If
the south likes this kind Of history,
with its alternating perversion. suppress
sion and manufacture of facts, we sup.
pose the north has no legal right to oh.
ject: but just the same II is mighty
sneaking way in which to try to Justify
what many Of the south's most eminent
citizens have voluntarily admitted was
q colossal mistake.