The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-08-07
Maj. Robbins al Campfire
The Southern Side Representative Eloquent Representa-
ton of the Lost Cause at Gettysburg.

when the constitution was framed IN
| the convention of 1877 the proposition
| to give the new government the power
| of coercing States and compelling them
| to remain in the Union was raised, but
| the convention voted it down and re-
| fused to adopt it. We remembered that
| when the States ratified the constitu
| ton. and thereby formed the Union.
Virginia. New York and one other-1 for
get which just now-in their ordinances
ratifying the constitution and entering
the Union, reserved. in express terms, the
| right to withdraw from the Union, it,
after trying it, they found themselves
dissatisfied; and as they were admitted
into the Union with that reservation in
| their ordinances of ratification, we
thought that, according to all principles
of law, that reservation Injured to the
benefit of all the States, and the Union
was voluntary compact.
Another point: In the convention of
| 1877 it was proposed to stop the African
| slave trade Immediately upon the adOp-
| ton of the constitution and the fOrma-
! ton of the Union, but substitute prOpO-
:, sition was carried to extend the African
| slave trade for 20 years after the ratif-
| cation of the constitution, so that this
slave trade was not forbidden and did
not end until June, 1903.
"By whose votes was this proposition
carried to extend that horrid traffic 20
years? My friends, it was by the votes
of Northern States. Only South Caro-
lima and Georgia voted for it among
the Southern States. Delaware. Mary
lang and Virginia voted against it;
North Caralina was evenly divided and
her vote. therefore, was blank. The
| Al,
came from New England and the Mid
die States. Glorious old Massachusetts
alone. | believe, voted against it in New
England. This was a point of his
tory which came to our minds and made
us feel how unfair it was that we should
be denounced as we were on account of
African slavery. We candidly believed,
upon the aforesaid grounds. that a sover-
eign State did have the right to withdraw
from the Union and set up. with other
States, a government of their own. We
foresaw possible evils arising from it; but
we felt somewhat like the hen-pecked
husband on his death-Ded. who. when
asked how he felt about meeting the king
of terrors, replied that he had been living
a long time with the queen and he didn't
suppose the king would be much worse.
''On the other hand, you Northern men
believed the Union, once formed, was
ndissoluble. Whether technically true
or not you insisted that it ought to be
practically so considered, because, as you
said if a State is permitted to withdraw
at will from the Union. this great fabric
of free government which has been es-
tablished here. is only held together by
a rope of sand, and il will not be long
until it will dissolve into original frag-
ments. If the doctrine of optional Sc
cession is admitted, this fabric, the hope
|, Of the world, instead of standing as a
!. beacon light of liberty and good govern
ment. will soon be split up into weak,
, warning, hostile provinces and the hopes
of mankind be destroyed forever. 1t
must be admitted that there was great
: force in the idea as you insisted upon
/ it.
snow these differing views of the ma
!, ture of our constitutional Union were
debated in every form for three gener-
, ations, and were as far from being set
tied upon a solid and satisfactory basis
at the end as at the beginning. An
. appeal was made to arms, and the great
question, which was never settled by
argument was settled on the battlefield
. here at Gettysburg, and elsewhere, dur
! ing the four years of strife. We who
belong to the defeated section recognize
the decision, and | reach out the right
hand tonight and stand with you upon
the doctrine that this is an indissOluble
i Union of indestructibe States Such
seems to have been the will Of that di-
vine Providence who rules the destinies
i Of nations as of men.
| I'VE Southern people bowed to it, be-
lieving it to be the will of heaven. We
did this when we were defeated. l well
remember how, at AppOmatox, a great
many of the old, bronzed soldiers around
about me when the surrender took place,
fell down upon their faces and wept
aloud like children for a long time, say
ing: is is possible that, after all we
/ have done, and after all we have suf-
fered, this is the end; hopeless defeat at
last?' But l observed, after while.
many arose and dried their tears and
i said: We'll, we not only surrender to
the superior power Of General Grant.
but we surrender to God Almighty. 1t
could not have been the will Of heaven
that this country should be divided, and
the will Of the Lord be done We bow
submissivey and humbly to that Decree
i We know He is too good TO be unkind
and too wise to make Mistakes And
ttll Sou, III. lIlcUuS, tidL We SOutHtIh
people rcconciled ourselves to the issue
much sooner than you believed. We did
it because-let me say to yOu-that with
all our faults we are interrupted in one
thing-we believe in the Bible; we be-
i lieve in the old-fashioned Gospel; we
believe in Divine Providence, and, proud
as we may be, we bow to Him as the
all-wise ruler. / have sometimes thought
we got into good humor over the results
of the war sooner than you did, because
many of you seemed to be angry for n
good while because it took you so long.
And let me not forget to add that the
knowledge of the kindness of heart of
t Abraham Lincoln, who bore us no malice,
and the magnanimity Of General Grant,
!. who imposed no humiiating terms at orr
. surrender, have done more than all 9TH
err human agencies to reconcile the South
to the triumph of the cause of which
they were the leaders. So true it is
that, after ALL love is the mightiest
+ power on earth.
r Il speak to You tonight as. n soldier
who, perhaps, saw as much of the war
|