The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1902-05-16
GEN. T. G. CATCHINGS ON
THE RIGHT OF SECESSION.
Continued from page 4.


and that as to the power Of a State tC
cecede was undoubtedly terminated by
the triumph Of the Union armies, bu
truth is eternal and cannot be destroyed
If we were then right in our view Of
the constitution, that view is right now
There is no tribunal which can pass
Judgment upon it except such as may
be found in the opinion Of the coming
generations which can contemplate and
reflect upon 1t without prejudice or pal
tiality. have not undertaken to dis
cuss the theory which was generally
entertained by the people of the South
for the purpose of demonstrating its
correctness. My purpose has simply
been to present in brief and summary
manner evidences that at the beginning
Of our government it was commonly
entertained, and that it was then in no
sense sectional; that it had not been
contrived in secret OF expressed in whis
pers, but that it had been openly and
frankly advocated at all times and un-
der all circumstances. The judgment
of the impartial historian will never be
that in standing for our Interpretation
of the constitution, even to the extent
of maintaining it by force of arms we
made ourselves rebels or traitors
When the present generation has
passed away, and along with it the
fierce passions which were naturally en-
gendered by the great
Justice civil strife, when calm
to the and impartial enquiry
South is made into the cause
Certain. which led up to it. l
have an abiding faith
that this stigma will be taken from our
heroic and devoted people. No man
can now be heard to impung the loyal
ty of the South. l should be grieved to
believe that even a suspicion of that
loyalty can find an abiding place any
where. There has never been mo-
ment of time since the surrender at
Appomattox when there was the slight
est ground for Questioning it. We
knew, but for long it seemed that 9th
ers could not know, or unders:and that
the result had been accepted by us as
final and irrevocable. We knew chat
our destiny thenceforth was to be the
same of that Of our brethren Of the
North; and we had no ambition left
save. to preserve our honor untarnished,
to build up the waste places, to restore
law and order, to help to bind up the
nations wounds, and to contribute
what we could to its greatness and
grandeur. We cherished no animOsity
against the brave men whose armies
had been triumphant, and fOndly in
dulged the hope that the rectitude of
our purpose would be recognized. But
this was not to be, and perhaps, under
the circumstances, we had no right to
expect it to be.
The horrors of the civil war were
nothing, dreadful as they we're, com
pared with those which came upon us
during the process Of re-
Horrors construction. The right
of of franchise was confer
Reconstruc- red upon the negroes of
ton. the Southern States, who
had no preparation for
its exercise, and they easily became the
victims Of wicked and designing men,
who came down upon us to consume
the little substance which had escaped
the ravages Of war No good purpose
would be subseryed by enumerating the
crimes which were committed in the
Southern States during that dread per
iod, and that under the form of gov
eminent. Let me say, however, that
they are not justly to be attributed to
the negro race. They we're the work
Of bad white men, who preyed upon the
superstitions and ignorance of that
race, and made it a scapegoat for then
own wicked performance. 1t may be
that under the pressure of our environ
ments at that time, some things were
done by our people which had better
been left undone, but when reflect
!
upon the enormity Of our provocation, ]
realize that if it had not been for the
patience and fortitude displayed by the
veterans of the Confederate armies
which had come to them through theil
years Of discipline, they might, ant
probably would have been such analchy
and bloodshed throughout the South a'
would have shocked the civilized world
We have before us the gravest socia