The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-04

sovereign States would have been an i'm
 possibility. They found this institution 1 recognized in the Holy Scriptures. witf
 those whose office 1t was to hold up tc
 them the Word of Life, not oEiy approv.
 ing slavery. but acquiring. owning and oisposing of slaves; such men AS Whit.
 Held, Wesley. Jonathan Edwards. and
 bishops and clergy of all denominations
 in this country and in other countries
 were unable to see either sin or moral
 tufpitude in the ownership of slaves. and Edmund Burke, who united with exalt. ed moral worth and elevation of char. acter, the profoundest of all the intellects of his generation, considered that the best that could be done was to provide by Judicious legislation to ameliorate, as far as may be, the condition of the slaves
 When, under these circumstances. an institution had become fastened upon oui people. passing from father to son, and from generation to generation, when. as an agricultural people it had become SC interlocked with our business occupa. tions as to seem indispensable to ali prosperity and development, l submit it is not passing strange that there should be found good and true men. pa triots and statesmen. who might, before God and the forum of conscience, feel that they were not without Justification in undertaking to stay a movement for its utter desruction witho.t compensa- ton, a movement inspired and led by men with whom they had long been in antagonism.
 among us who has the good of the State at heart-whether he be of this or an- other generation-who would restore it if he could. The right of secession, as up- held and maintained by our fathers, no longer exists. That, too, was settled by the arbitrament of arms. But our love of country, our fidelity to the Union as 1t now exists. our character as citizens. will not be strengthened by viewing with complacency a construction of the con- duct of the illustrious men who led the thought of the South in the great strug- gle, which will subject them to unjust censure. and will lead future generations to turn from them with reproach and condemnation.
 Secession at the North.
 It is not uncesnmon in this latter day to find the Federal Constitution regarded as a dead letter; and any argument bas- ed upon the rights of the States and the limitations imposed. in the formation of the government, upon the powers of the Federal Government, is, in some quar- ters, more apt to provoke smile than command approval or commendation. Such was not the view of the Constitu- ton held by our fathers. The American Colonies emerged from the Revolution, after a long and protracted struggle against the tyranny of George H.. deep ly impressed with the blessings of lib- erty, and with the necessity of hedging 1t about with every safeguard which the ingenuity of man could place around 1t! The Colonies achieved their independence not as one Government, but as distinct and separate sovereignties.
 We hear much discussion nowadays of sectionalism, and the enthusiast who Is ever ready to usher in the millennium, would have no North, no South, no East and no West, but one vast brotherhood of men. without prejudice, without jeal- ousy, without selfishness! My friends. such condition of things has never ex- isted and never will exist, as long as human nature remains as it is, and has ever been. There was rivalry and jeal- ousy between the Colonies long before the Revolutionary War. There was ri- valry and jealousy between the States at the formation of the Federal Union There Is rivalry and jealousy between the different portions of the States themselves, and even between the differ ent portions of the counties composing the States. The great scheme of all pop ular government. the supreme guaran- tee of peace and harmony between all sections and all people. is the preserva- tion of the equilibrium of power. When this Government was formed, the rela- tive strength of the sections, both in wealth and population, was more evenly balanced. And the first suggestion of alarm, the first threat of secession, was caused by an apprehension that the equilibrium in. tne Government was about to be destroyed on account of the Louisiana purchase. The next cry of alarm and threat of dissolution was caus- ed by the annexation of Texas. These threats of withdrawal from the Union did not come from the South, but from New England: and, mark you. the issue of slavery played very little, if any, part in giving point and emphasis to the movement. at the outset.
 The master-stroke of statesmanship ex- hibited in the formation of our Constitu- ton rested in the fact that 1t preserved the equality of the States. Without that supreme condition, this Union would not exist. The acquisition of Louisiana in 1903 was resisted by New England, as ex- plained by an eminent citizen and United States Senator from the State of Mas SacHuSeIlSs kMT. OdDOIJ WhO SaiO' AhO influence of our (the northeastern) part of the Union, must be diminished by the acquisition of more weight. at the other extremity"
 Another distinguished citizen from the same State, (Mr. Pickering) who repre- sented her in the United States Senate about the same time, even more aggress- ively proclaims the same doctrine. '1 will not despair" he said, '1 will rather anticipate a new federation, exempt from the corrupt and corrupting influence and oppression of the aristocratic Democrats of the South. There will be (and our children at farthest will see iD separa- tion."
 The opposition of New England was renewed with even greater emphasis up- on the proposition to admit Louisiana as q State. In 1911. pending the discussion of the bill for the admission of Louis- jana as a State of the Union. the Hon. Josiah Quincy. a member of Congress from Massachusetts. said:
 If this bill passes it is my deliberate opinion that it is virtually dissolution of this Union; that 1t will free the States from their moral obligations; and, as it will be the right of all, so 1t will be the duty of some, definitely to prepare for separation-amicabiy if they can. violent ly if they must"
 And we find. my friends. during the War of 1872. when this beloved Union of ours was engaged in hand to hand con hict with Great Britain. the greatest maritime, commercial and military pow CT of the world-engaged in a struggle