Year: 1864

: by right Of discovery, and when she es-
tablished colonies in it, the charter ol


every colony contained grants that the
inhabitants should have tho rights Of


Englishmen-and that embraced the Sc
curity Of property, the security Of person
and the freedom cf action, zaoA colony
was entirely Independent of tie others,
with a right to make its own laws and to
administer them. When they rebelled
against the government Of England-for
it was rebellion, and go I call it-When
they rebelled by united action Of all, that
instant they become a nation for the pur


pose of war. When the colonies became
united as States, for the purpose Of a
civil government, with the power of
peace and war, and the regulation of
commerce, they not only retained their
separate and exclusive right Of making
the laws of property and The laws Of per
sons, but all of them became bound that
each should be protected in It's rights,
and that fugitives from Justiee and from
labor should be delivered up. They gave
to Congress no power to make laws on
the subject of property, or Of persons, or
of contracts. Hence you see why it is,
that Congress has no power over Slavery
in the States, and why in the admitted
absence of the power it has been recently
declared to all whom it may concern that
there can be no peace until Slavery shall
be abandoned by the States in rebellion.
| I began by telling you that I made a
speech from this place in regard to the
prosecution Of the war, when it first be-
gan. But what was the situation of
things az that time. The war was then de-
cIared to be for the suppression Of Insur-
rectiOn-and during that summer it was
declared by COngress-in the Crittenden
ResoIution-that the war was for the
suppression OF insurrection only, and
that whenever the insurgents submitted
and stood out no longer against Us, tLcn
tho war Should END. VI Aed5n 5Sgross
declaration that there coa,d De no op-
preston. But how Is it nov? Both the
President and the Congress claim the
power Of reconstru3ting States, and each
claims the power to the exclusion Of the
other, AMI each claims the power of sup
pressing State law. Under the first pro-
fes5ion, and the callfor troops then made,
you got troops by the hundred thousand.
It was only necessary to ask for volun
tears and they came. But when you
changed the policy Of the var, when the
Government usu1ped the power Of eman-
oipation, volunteering ceased. Even the
magnificent bribes intended to purchase
volunteers have failed-(a strange kind
Of volunteering that, which is prompted
by money)-and you have had to resort
to conscription to fill the ranks ST your
armies.


But it is claimed that the Emancipa-
ton will supply your wants, and a The
same time weaken the enemy; and that
is what Governor Andrew has called


firing into the enemy's magazine The
gentleman who has Just now addressed
you, has happily referred to the delega-
ton of ministers from Chicago, who urged
upon the President the adoption of that
measure, and his refusal to adopt their
measure. His argument to those minis
ters, both as to his utter lack Of power
to do it, as well as to the impropEiety and
futility oft, 5the most forcible Z have yet
seen. But in thirteen days after, he did
the very thing lie had refused to do, and
had even ridiculed, and issued his Pro
clamation declaring the slaves to be all
free, One would suppose that soEls very
powerful influence must have been brO't
to bear, in order to produce sGch
change. But we now know better. We
know that as early as the month Of June
hehad prepared that Emancipation Edict,
and that he had consulted some Of his
cabinet about it, and that one Of his Sec
retaries advised him to wait for soue
military success. That success came with
the Battle of Antietam, and then he Is
sued the Proclamation which he then
had in his pocket. What are we to think
of the sincerity Of man in thus playing
fast and loose on measure which he
pretended finally to think of such vital
importance to the country? The Pro
clamation was prepared in June, 62-
the proposition derided and ri3iculed on
the 9th Of September, and finally issued
on the 22d Of September. Ii was the
consummation Of a scheme coacoctel be
fore the war began, and it was diligently
followed up; for on the 29th Of Noyem-
Der, 1862, the Secretary Of War made
his Annual Report to the President, and
the President as is usual, commended
his Report to the attentive consideration
of Congress; and in this Report it is
proposed that the slaves shall be used
for the purpose of cultivating the lands
they oceupy-that they should be pro-
tocted in the possession of them by the