The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-10-26

had happened yesterday. 1nstinct1Vely
my reflections go back a few years pc
fore the struggle that began on April y:
1861. I was a young lad deeply interested
In the institutions and government Of tho ,
country. when !. went to the city OF
Washington with my .ather. who was IN
Congress. It was during the admlnistra-
tion Of General Pierce. The President,
as some OF you may remember. lose III, ,lr
only son just after his election. Mrs.
Pierce Imagined that / bore resemblance
to that son, and liked to have me at the
White House.
s KNEW DAVIS WE'LL.
In this way I met Familiarity many OF
those then in official life. The CabineI
Of. the President was composed OF great
statesmen-A1arcy was in the State De-
pa rtment, Guthrie in the Treasury, CALEB
Gushing Acknowledgement and JEFFERSON
Davis in the War Departmental OIL
them were great men; but possibly at
that time because the military idea was
strong in me. the last named attracted
me the most.
can recall the kindly manner OF MT.
Davis and his permission to me to Visit
the War Department whenever caIeu
to do 50, and was often in his private
Office A few years later he 1t was OF
whom my young enthusiasm cenIered lor
the nomination for the presidency at the
i'll fated Charleston Convention
At this same time it was my happy
privilege to be quite often at that beauti-
ful home on the banks of the Potomac.
where the adopted son of Washington
still lived. George Washington Parke
Gusts seemed to enjoy the society OF the
Young. and he would take me through the
3box-,edped gardens and tell me about
his boyhood days
Eut Arlington was then the home OF
slr-ot.lcr whose name is one indeed to con-
lire with It is idle for the valn-glorlous
Ioasters to shout Of treason, rcpei!on
ard traitors. A great wa, was Wased:
There was heroisn OF the nohlest KIND
on 10th sides, and names TO DC reveie =,
FOR, high virtues, as well from the North
az from, the South, but believe that a
Great majority of those living to-day in
these United States regard Robert E5sLes
as the one man who came through th:,L
fearful struggle. either from the Nortn
or from the South. with rcord beSonu
cayil or criticism
Heroic and magnificent In success, ne
was, possibly. even nobler in adVetSlls.
Ii, his walks in those gardens OF Ar
lineton he must have imbibed the spirit
Of the great Washington, for his char
actor bears so close a comparison Win
that of the "Father of his Country that
it seems to have been formed under
kindred influences.
NV friends. come before You as
Snrthcrn man. In the great conflict be-
tween the Confederacy and the Northern
States my State was opposed to you, and
all true citizens Of Pennsylvania were
loyal 10 the cause it supported The great
questions has failed Of peaceful solution
and one Of the severest wars OF any era
of The void had 10 be fought to con-
cluSioN.
' LEE WAS RIGHT.
When Robert e. Lee before the Nlr-
rinia Convention said ~ will devote my
self to the defense and service Of my
native state. in whose behalf alone would
! T have over drawn, my sword he defined
clearly the obligation of n citizen to throw
his fortunes with his State. Here and
there men saw their duties in different
light. and no cne should criticise harshly
an officer of the old army who held dif-
fcrant views.
Their position was complicated by their
environments: their training made them
less independent in thought, as we'll as
action, and undoubtedly the decision Of
George Il. Thomas to adhere to the North.
was as truly the act of an honorable
man as the course of Robert T. Lee.
When, acting in its sovereign capaelty.
a State withdrew from the Union, whether
such action&was a cause tor war or Hot'
and in my opinion it was certainly the
right of the States remaining in the Union
I" So decide, the citizen of such a State
was NV that withdrawal carried with 1t.
ii IS impossible to conceive of an eNclu-
s;y,. allegiance to q government wllch
guarantees none of the natural rights OF
its citizens OF course, under the rcd.
eral Constitution. SO long as a STATE IS
included in the Union. there are drtles or
CITIZENSHIP, TO both the State and the
United States. but they are distinct. To
his State alone can a citizen appeal 10
SECURE him in his home, ais domestic re-
la;ions and his rights of property. nor
can he tlivest himself of his Obligation
to serve his State i'll the protection Oh us
rights from, invasion, from rot or general
Obedience to its laws. Inc sup;ect Is 700
large 10 enter upon here. but 1t has an
,,;1rca sonahle view to assert that any one
tailed in his LOYALTY who chung to his
state on either side, under the conditions
which arose in 1861. 1t is probable that
our form OF government is tco coHpllcat-
Ell for the uninstrl1ctei citizens 70 comprc-
bend. and certainly few unframed III the
law can define the radical difference be-
tvee,, tll. powers OF a State Legislature
and those nf Congress. The Constitution
Of The United States. as originally framed.
was 4 marvellous creation. and to my
mind if strictly followed, would have met
every contingency that has arisen Bu.
from, the first, beginning with the nsld-
ions efforts Of Alexander Hamilton UNI
dor his doctrine OF implied powers" a
process of distortion of the meaning Of
its plain language and a subversion of
its safeguards has been pursued. The
States forming the Confederacy, believing
that their rights and interests We're no
lcrcer protected under the construction.
OF Tie powers Of the general government,
which had prevailed, through the section
a! preponuerance Of the. North and West,