Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-26

able, as well as the most p1ejudiced, ms
torian against the South, who has written
about the war, said in the Atlantic
Monthly of this year:
Few who have looked into the history
can doubt that the Union originally was,
and was generaiiy taken by the parties
to it to be, compact, d1ssoiuoie, per
haps most of them would have SAID. at
pleasure, dissoluble, certainly on oreacn
of the articles Of Union.
WHAT CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS
SAID.
And that liberal and cultured states
man and writer, Mr.. Charles Francis
Adams, of Boston, in an address delivered
by him in June last in Chicago tWhlIst.
as we understand him, not concedlnS the
right of secession as existing in 1861. SAID.
quoting from Dana Peers Life Of General
George H. Thomas, as follows:
To-day no impartial student OF our
constitutional history can doubt LOT
moment that each State ratified the form
of government submitted in the firm beile1
that at any time it could Wlthdra" there
from
With our uuondam enemies thus tell
ing the world that we had the right to DO
what we tried to do, and only asked to
be let alone and when we know that
when we did go to war we only went
to repel ruthless invasion of our MONIES
and firesides, our case could not De mace
stronger And we have the right. there
fore, to insist that our children shall be
told the truth about it, and we Should De
content with noting less
Dr. Jones, in his history, says:
1.-THE seeding States not only had a
perfect right to withdraw from the Union.
but they had amply sufficient cause for
doing so, and the war made upon them by
the North was utterly unjustifiabte op-
nressive, and cruel. In fact the South
could not honorably have pursued any
other course than to resist force with
force, and make her great struggle for
constitutional freedom"
Is there any doubt in the mind OF any
southerner that this is the truth? II not
then let it be so told to our children. we
suffered and did and dared enough to en-
title us to have this done, and that We
were unsuccessful makes it the more i'm
portant that it should be done. A sue
cessful cause will take care of itself; an
unsuccessful one must rest only on It's
inherent merits, and if it can't do this,
then those who supported 1t were rebels
and traitors. We feel. then. that we can
not do better than to repeat here what we
said in the report Of 1900 on the import
ance OF the trust committed to our hands.
We then said:
'Appomattox was not a judicial forum;
it was only a battlefield, a test of ply
steal force. where the starving remnant
Of the Army of Northern Virginia, 'wea-
ried with victory surrendered to over
whelmins numbers and resources. We
make no appeal from that judgment on
the issue of force. Bu, when we see the
vjctors in that contest meeting year By
year and using the superior means at
their command to publish to the world
that they were right and that We were
wrong in that contest, saying that we
were rebels and traitors in defending
our homes and fresdes against their
cruel invasion; that we had no legal right
TO withdraw from the Union. when we
only asked to be let alone. and that we
brought on that war. We say. when these
md other wicked and false charges are
brought against us from year to year and
he attempt is systematically made to
each our children that these things are
rue and therefore, that we do not de-
serve their sympathy and respect be-
cause of our alleged wicked and unjust1-
liable course in that war and in bringing
t on, then it becomes our duty-not only
o ourselves and children. but to the thou
sands Of brave men and women who !
,ave their lives, 'free-will Offering"
n defence of the principles for which we !
ought-to vindcate the jus,lce Of our
cause, and to do this We have to appeal |
,nly to the bar Of truth and of Justice
Respectfully submitted.
GEORGE L. CHRISTIAN,
Chairman.