New-York tribune., 1902-06-18

| the view of the trainers Of the constitution ds "
the original scope Of that instrument accep'e1 E
Professor Smith and Mr.. Lodge was hTst SET 40i '
| The principles acted upon by South Carolina on
December 20 1860 enunciated 10y fNei'ucAS
November lo 1873. The dragons teeth We're 'lei
sown. Washington at that time hying ass III r.
later the cbaranter Of those resolutions became
known to him he was deeply coIlceIe5 5i,,s 70 their
interpreta ton of il. would BE mere Cll,, Eli
more strongly in a letter to Patrick Henry; Meas
Systematically and pertlila clodsIS 'l-t -
duce coercion" Coercion Washington thus looked
to as the remedy to which recourse eoid alregsinn
But the trainers of the cOnst1tt - =
acting as wise men of conflicting views naturailE
would act they did not care 10 eut nv -. Undertaking
to settle. distinctly and in adLance bt vii
danger In so far they could they. with erehe at
practical shrewdness left those qutsli"sI uIves 80 in
settled. should they ever prtstht Ciiib might
concrete form. under the conditions Whlcn hIls M ~
those conposing the convention Of I7S7 working un-
der the guidance OF few very bic and eASeeols5E
harmonize trade differences; they ended by per per
fecting scheme of political union that had broad road
consequences of which they little dreamed II tn thea
been completed. That Madison, Marshall and Jay
They probably designed a nation. If they did
however they Were too wise to take the guoHc ,
dent of our constitutional history doubt for
moment that each State ratified the of gov
eminent submitted in the firm belief that at any
time # could withdraw therefrom- Probably, now
alone count-shared with Washington in the belief
fat IN IniS And after all is said and
done the legality OF secession is somewhat OF a
revolution is inalienable. AS matter OF fact it
to II might g and and r f9 coeaton aa 5he the
ment of the Union had recourse So. with TINS @ suo
Instructive and unerring. in respect to which , he
almost nc @ aonf M 9on h dScrne Of
secession as heresy; but none me less II wa was
Virginia only but in New-EngIand also pinned their
political faith. Even the devil is proverbially en-
So far. however. as the abstract question is Of
ana Mr. Lodge concIusivey show, the secession
lists of 1861 stand in history court by no means
pcitly believed From generation ,i TO geneIaen 9IIc
m 64ey sIn9 had Togn T a up and Tf @ much
part OF their moral and intellectual being as was
were right as Governor John A Andrew said Of
John Brown. Meanwhile. practically. as common
world of actualities. John Brown was not right ne
merited the faith meted out to him. It was the
same with the secesSi2nists That IN iSoi tney
the real working efciency-ot that peaceable seces
b S9R mfe Rey MeSed of % aG Sf beeve
find in the record no real evidence thereof.
Moreover. what .availed the views intentions
tered it in 1860 whether they, in 17S7, contem-
plated nation or only a more compact teGeraldoh
ant way of asserting their existence HoWeSer low ] "
have been in lISs. in 1860 a nation Gtd grown
impossible The complex system OF tissues am, lig.
he gently taken apart without wound or hurt; the
separation if separation there was to ne ihnoa'f @
wthstanding this the Southern leaders failed not to
realize In point OF fact therefore. believing fully
in the abstract LEGALITY Of secession and the Jus
acted. their appeal was TO the nalienable right Of
right could be upheld Let US put casuistry, meta
physics and sentiment aside. and come to actno %
sword. and the sword 1t meant to have re-
course
VIRGINIA AND ROBERT E. LEE.
Having not discussed what have seemed to me the
necessary prelinnares ! TO the particular
cases Of Virginia and Robert z. Lee. or
him might. and in justice must. be said that he
more than of the essence; he was o: the very
ouIrtessence of Virginia In his the roots and
fbres struck down and spread wide In the soil,
making him OF 1t part. A son OF the revolution
ary Light Horse Harry" he had married CUstis.
His children represented all there was of descent
blood and tradition of the Old Dominion. made up
as the Old Dominion of tradition. blood and de-
scent The holder of broad patrimonial acres, by
birth and marriage he was a slave owner, and d
slave owner of the patrarchal type. holding slavery
institution. moral and political evil" Every
sentiment. every memory. every lie c3nceiVaoe
bound him TO Virginia and when the choice was
forced upon him-had TO he made-sacriicing rank.
career the flag, he threw in his lot with Virginia.
quences. He ar least INDUCED in no self-decepton
rticai ysiczNnourished no deluson as 10
an early and easy triumph. SecessiGn as rh ne
trainers of constitution never exhausted so
much labor wisdom and forbearance in its forma-
tion. and surrounded it with so many guards and
secnrtles II It vas intended to ; DC broken ,i 1g
to talk OF secession" But he also BELIEVED h that
her secession. though revolutionary. bound all
Yirgnians and ended their connection with and
Tsm4n il Ugi5ed ssss yGna bs
being
his commission, at the Same time writing TO his
state of war which viii Yield to nothing The whole
GINA GINA. after long struggle. has been drawn and
though ] recognize no necessity for this state of
the end for redress of grievances real or supposed
Whether should take part against my native
State With al my devotion TO the Union, and
citizen. I have not been able to make up my mind
6e 10 raise my bo mana thSreor my my ch
commission in the army. and, save in defence OF
% o draw my now s he he eG had been
f 5endsrea 90 & on behalf of P+ssdent f Lin
ately to be put in the field in front Of Washington
Mcdowell
LEE AND WASHINGTON COMPARED.
So thought and spoke and wrote and acted Robert
z. Lee in April 1861 He has for the decision thus
reached, been termed by a traitor. a deserter
almost an apostate. and consigned TO the "aveng-
ing pen Of history I cannot see it; con-
fdent posterity will not il. The name and
conditions being changed. those who uttered the
OF censure, invoking the avenging pen did
not so see it-have IL Let us appeal
the record. What otherwise did George Wash
ngton do under circumstances not dissimilar? What
would he have done under circumstances wholly
similar? Like Lee, Washington a soldier: like
Lee. he Virginian before he a soldier
He had served under King Georges flag: he had
sworn allegiance 10 King George; his ambition had
been to hold the royal commission. Presently Vtr-
ginia seeded from the British empire-renounced
its allegiance. What did Washington do? He