The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1910-01-27
SCHENCK'S LEES
BIRTHDAY ADDRESS

venerable Veterans, Ladies and Cen
flemen-My Friends:
TO meet with the veterans who bar
cd their breasts to the fury of battle
in defense of Southern thought and
Southern traditions under any and all
circumstances has been a great pleas
ure to me, but to meet with them on
q day set apart as Lee and jackson
. is a privilege of which n South
ern boy should be proud, and for
which he should be willing to put
away the pursuit of modern day COM
mercialism and turn his thoughts to
the deeds of heroism performed by
his forefathers in defense ST their in
herent and constitutional rights.
The study and contemplation of the
history Of a country which was born
in honor, and which lived il defense
or right, and which died with a rec
ord unsullied, cannot but be an uplift
to the sons and daughters of the men
who gave four years of their life to
prove to the world that Southern
blood did not produce men who would
sit quietly down and see their rights
uampIed underfoot.
There is an expression which we
constantly hear which doubtless had
III origin among some condescending
friends of the north, and which has
been used Ct fear carelessly) in the
south, which, to my mind, should be
avoided. 1t is the expression that the
Confederate soldier fought for the
cause that he thought was right
~thought was right" He fought for
the cause that was right. Right un-
der the constitution; right in equity
~wm 3~nC&34ns ~4nA& - %6nE. aoHrGn IF
right What was it for which he
tonight? 1t was the right of a ver
elgn state to secede. BY whom, when
and where was this right first assert
ed and defended ? BY no less a per-
son han a duly elected representa-
i've from the sovereign state of Mas
sachusetts, Josiah Quincy, in q speech
IN the national congress in 1911, when
he used the threat that the New Eng
and states would withdraw from the
union in a certain contingency,
Deaceably if they can, forcibly If
they must Again this doctrine Of a
seParable union was advanced by the
hartford convention In 1854. The OBJ
ject of this convention was to de-
nounce the war of 1912 with Great
Britain. 1t consisted of delegates
from Massachusetts,, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New Hampshire and
Vermont. They were opposed to the
a because, as they thought, it
wrought great damage to their COM
mercia1 interests. They denounced
the policy of the government in draft
ing men for the army and demanded
reforms in the direction of states
rights. This convention laid Town the
general principle that sit is as much
n duty of the state authorities to
watch over the rights reserved as of
the United States to exercise the pow-
eB that are delegated" The resolu-
lions of this convention were Endorsed
by the legislatures of Connecticut and
Massachusetts and pressed upon con
Tesss And although the right of Sc
cession was openly asserted and de-
tended in New England SO years be-
fore you men went forth to battle for
the very same rights reserved to your
state under the constitution, New
England now has the hardihood to
stand up and say, with a ~patronizing
smile, that you fought for the cause
you thought was right" You fought
for the cause that was right and that
their ancestors thought was right. It
was all right for their ancestors to
threaten to withdraw when their COM
mere was endangered or their men
called upon to fight the country's
common enemy from without; but,
~f0rsooth, when Southern liberty, ira
ditions and property were threatened
and taken, then the right of with
draway did not exist except in the
thoughts of those who fought.
That courageous. patriot, Jefferson
Davis, in his inaugural address as
provisional president of the Confeder-
states, voiced the reasoning of
the mind and the feeling of the heart
OF the South when he said:
Sustained by the consciousness
the transition from the former
Union to the present Confederacy has
not proceeded from a disregard on
our part of just obligations or any
failure to perform any constitutional
duty; moved by no interest or passion
to invade the rights of others; anxious
to cultivate peace and commerce with
all nations, If we may not hope to
avoid war we may at least expect pos
terity will acquit US of having need
leSSly engaged in it. . = . The con-
stitution formed by our fathers is
of these Confederate states in
their exposition of it, and in the judi
COOSA - Z 4AIS 4OSC1NC0 VIC 4
have a light which reveals it's true
meaning"
There can be no wonder then that
on April IS 1861, two months after
this utterance of Mr.. Davis, when
Governor Ellis was notified by the sec
rotary of war of the United States
North Carolina would b. expect
to furnish two regiments to make
upon the seeded states, he very
promptly and very positively sent his
refusal to obey the Ubiquitous order to
bear arms against his neighbors, andj
his refusal with these pertinent
words: IT can be no party to this
wicked violation of the laws of the
country, and to this war upon the lib
critics of a free people. You san get
troops from North Carolina"
This, my friends, brings me to the
phase Of the civil var about which II
chosen to speak to you. There
were SO many deeds of heroism and