The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-06-24

and laws of the United States. of pre-
serving the rights of the several states Il
regulate their own domestic policies ant
of protecting the people against spoila
ton and robbery by dominant ma jority
some of whose members, because the Hol,
Bible sanctioned slavery, declared tina
they wanted an "anti-slavery Bible ant
an anti-slavery god" and who becaus
the constitution of the United States rec
ogniZed and protected slavery, declared
that it was League with hell and /;
covenant with DEATH"
Whatever may have been said in tn,
past in the defense of the institution OF
slavery, and whatever may now III
thought of the means by which it was
abolished in this country, the spirit of the
present age is against it, and it has pass
ed away and / suppose no one wishes
its restoration, if that were practicable
| Certainly | would not restore it if | had
the power | think it better for the
black race that they are free, and l am
sure ii is better for the white race that
| there are no slaves.
Some great McCauley of the future will
tell these grand truths to posterity better
and more forcibly than / can in this brief
address, and will, by reference to history
| to the sacred scriptures, and to the con
stitution of the United States, as made
| by our revolutionary fathers. vindicate
the patriotism and the heroic virtues and
| struggles of our people.
Why the War Was Not Avoided by
Compromise.
| In later times those NOT familiar with
| the facts to which | am referring. have
asked the question, "Why was this great
| IL
| it would not have cost a fifth of the money
| to pay for and liberate the slaves that
| the war cost, and that in that way the
| tens of thousands of valuable lives of
| good men might have been saved, and all
| the attendant suffering prevented
The first answer to that question is that
| the slaves III the United States ut the be-
| ginning of the war; were estimated to be
| of the value of $4,000, 100000, and if they
| were to be liberated common honesty re-
! quired that it should have been at the
expense of the nation which was respon-
sible for its existence. The republicans
and the anti-slavery people were then a
majority of the whole people and had full
| possession of the federal government, or
| were ready and authorized to take pos
| session of it. And they demanded that
| the whole loss, to arise from the freeing
of the slaves, should fall on their owners
and on the southern states. They never
proposed and would not have consented
| for the federal government and the
northern people to pay any part
of the cost of freeing the slaves. Their
patriotism was not of the kind which
would cause them to assume Il part of
| the burden of correcting what they claim
| ed to be a great national wrong. And,
| that, too n wrong, if it was wrong,
which we inherited from other and older
nations. and which was incorporated in
| our social and industrial systems and
sanctioned by our constitutions, state and
| federal, in the organization of the govern
ments. The agitatOrs were willing and
anxious to be patriotic and just at the
| expense of other people.
The second answer to it is that the in
dustrial and social systems of the south
ern states were so interviewer with the
interest of slavery that the people then
believed the freedom of the slaves, with
out compensation, meant the bankruptcy
OF the people and states where 1t existed,
to be followed probably by war of
races. | am speaking of what they then
believed. As an evidence that our own
people, in the earlier years of the republic,
recognized the necessity of acquescing in
the social and industrial conditions which
had grown out of African slavery. His
tory tells us that Gen. Washington, who
was an extensive stakeholder, was made
commander-in-chief of our revolutionary
armies. He was the president of the con-
vention which formed the constitution of
the United States, and was elected as the
first president of the United States and
was reelected to that position. Mr.. Jeffer-
Jackson, Mr.. Polk and Gen. Taylor were
each elected president of the United
States, and all of them were the owners
of slaves. They. like the trainers of the
constitution, recognized that this country
had inherited II condition of things in this
respect in which it became necessary to
acquiesce. | do not assume to know
whether if II proposition to pay for the
slaves had been made it would have been
accepted.
Such a sacrifice as that, which was de-
manded of the southern people, has not
in the worlds history been submitted to
by any people without an appeal to the
last dread arbitrament of war, and ours
| were chivalric, intelligent, proud and
| liberty-lOving people, and if they had sub
| mittod to this sacrifice without Il strug-
| gle they would have proven themselves
| unworthy to be free men and unworthy
of the proud title of being Americans,
And / say now, with deliberation and
| sincerity, in view of all the calamities of
that war, if the same condition of things
could occur again, | would rather accept
those clamities than belong to race of
towards and surrender the most sacred
rights of self-government to the clamor of
II majority overriding the constitution
and demanding terms so revolving to our
sense of justice.
| The Hampton Roads Conference.
In this connection, desire to say that
it has been frequently asserted of late
years that at the conference between
| President Lincoln and Secretary Seward
of the federal side and Messrs. Stephens,
Hunter and Campbell of the confederate
side, at Hampton Roads, on the Bird of
January, 1865, that President Lincoln
offered the confedcrates S400,000,00O for
the slaves if they would abandon the war
and return to the Union. This story has
assumed various forms to suit the rhetoric
of the speakers and writers who have
given it currency. | wish to assert most
solemnly that no such offer in any form
was made. All the papers relating to the
Hampton Roads conference are given in
Mcpherson History of the Rebellion"
rs he calls it. They show that the joint
resolution for amending the constitution
of the United States was passed by con-
gress, submitting to the states the Ques-
ton of abolishing slavery in the United
States, two or three days before the date
| ~ hot e f1n