The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-01
FRIDAY, JUNE j. 1900.
WE WILL NEVER AGREE TO IT.


The Rev. DIR. 2. NJ Palmer. OF New Or
leans, was the orator Of the day on "ed-s
nesday last a: Louisville, in the tSonfede-
rate Reunion there. The following pas
sage IS given by the Telegraph as Inc
keynote of his address:
1t is simple folly TO suppose that such
spontaneous uprising as that of our people
in 1860 and 1861 could be affected through
the Vaccinations Of politicians alone "A
movement so sudden and SO vast, instant
IL swallowing up all minor contentious,
would only spring from some great faiih
deeply planted IN the human heart ana
for which men were willing 10 die @hat-
eyer may have been the occasion OF the
war. its hcardo causae," the hinge upon
which ii turned, was this old question OF
State sovereignty as against national SUI
premacy. AS there could be no compro-
mise between the two, the only resort was
an appeal TO the law OF force, the ultima
ratio regum.'' The surrender at Appemat
tox, when the tattered remnant OF Lees
great army stood guard for The last time
over Southern liberties and, rights, drew
the equatorial line dividing the past and
the future of American history. When the
vii! of the strongest instead OF 1.-The con-
sent Of the governed" became the base of
our national structure. a radical trans
formation took place. The principle of
confederation gave way to that Of con-
solicitation, and the American nation
emerged out Of the American republic.
DIR. Palmer may or may not be right. in
his conception Of the causes of the war
SO far as the South was concerned. If it
be said that Southern leaders fought for
States rights because that was necessary
TO the preservation of slavery. then it
may be said that slavery was the cause
OF the war. Had there been no slavery
in the South, the question Of States rights
would. perhaps. never have been raised.
Certainly there would not have been in
such an issue casus belii.
As for the men in the ranks. the abb
stract question of State sovereignty was
moi considered by them. They realized
that the North was trying 10 force the
South into submission, and they realized
that the South should not be coerced or
whipped. That resolution 10 resist coer-
cion was the moving cause in the mind of
the masses of the Southern people. and
they thought very little about States
rights or slavery or anything else. They
looked on it as a fight in which they did
not intend 10 be whipped, if they could
whip the other side.
But ali of this may be said 10 be more or
less speculative, and it was not to COM
ment upon that part of DR.. Palmers adj
dress that we took It under consideration.
Ii was TO comment upon his. intimation
that this country is more nation now
than il was in 1851, that we took it up.
We enter our most solemn and emphatic
protest and remonstraace against any
such idea. With the exception OF The
three amendments added 10 the constitu-
ton after the war. that instrument stands
exactly to-day it did before the war.
OF those three amendments. the thirteenth
simply aboiishes slavery, the fifteenth
simple prohibits Acknowledgement of voters
on account of color, and the fourteenth
simple forbids the States TO deny. any
person The equal protection of the laws.
This prohibition was implicitly contained
in the constitution before the war. SO tina,
it cannot be said that the three war
in the theory OF our government. States
rights. therefore. stand to-day exactly
where they stood when our constitution
came from the hands Of George Washing
ton and James Madison. and as IL was
interpreted during his long career as Chic,
Justice. by John Marshall. and we shat
never concede tina; the rights OF the State:
under the constitution have been altered
or modified IN the smallest degree by thu
war or by anything that has happened
since the war. We were nation before tn,
war. as TO all of those matters that re
auire nationality-as completely a natior
as any that exists on this earth. bu; tn,
States were as completely separate gov
ernments. SO far as local affairs are cor
cerned. as any government can be. and
they are jus. as completely separate gov
arunsnts. as Ear as local affairs are cen