Year: 1863

would not willingly and gladly lay upon the altar
of nv bleeding country ii il is needed as a sacri-
fee TO save that country-to save the Consttu-
ton and .he Union as they emanated from the
hands of our venerated fathers. Ii it is neces-
sary TO save these, say let every negro in the
land 90 free. | shall let no condition of negro
liberty or negro slavery stand between me and
my country. My allegiance is not to the negro,
free or slave owe no allegiance to party above
that which l owe TO my country. This believe
to be the sentiment of every conservative patriot
in the land 1t is the policy which l adopted
when this war broke out. 1t is the policy which
will maintain until il is brought to close. and
until life itself shall close


But, sir, | believe, as firmly as l can believe
anything, that the negro policy OF the Admins
traton IS disuniOn policy: and believing so, |
am bound as patriot to oppose it. No man of
even common honesty will deny that it was the
agitation of the negro question that brought these
troubles upon the country. But do not charge
that the Administration struck the first blow; nor
do charge that il intended to do so. | charge
nothing upon the Administration but what the
truthfcl history of the country will sustain. l
have ceased TO make speeches for partisan ends.
All the ends l aim Gods truths, and
country'sl" The truth is the Northern agita-
tors did begin the quarrel; but it is equally true
that the tcar was begun by the South, as have
already stated, because they wanted war, believ-
Ing that through it they would accomplish the
heliSh scheme of disunon.


In all this the rebels have acted basely and
without justification. | first became acquainted
with some of their principal, but unprincipled,
leaders ut Charleston in 1860. saw them there
commit their first act OF treasOn-tTedSOR against
their friends Of the North, who had always stood
5 a wall of fire betwe cen them and the Northern
radicals. They then, in the hour of our trial,
basey deserted US ] knew as soon as they did
that base and wicked act that they were traitors
Men who will desert their friends in the hour of
need, will desert their government and its flag
when an occasion is presented | came home
from Charleston and told the people that the rad


cals of the South were deeply in earnest, and
would rebel it the Northern sectional party should
succeed. They came to the conclusion that a tri-
umph of Abotionism could only be temporarily
postponed In consequence, therefore, OF the
existence of the radical anti slavery strength of
the free States, the secession element went into
the Charleston Convention determined to demand
terms and concessions which they knew we would
not grant.


Mr. March (interrupting): Why. then, did not
tie Democratic party make the cOncessiUng


Mr.. Wolfe: | am familiar with that subject,
and will answer the gentleman. as was just pro
ceeding to do. There were two reasons why We
did not concede what the fire. eaters demanded.
First, because they demanded us to do what was
not consistent with our convictions of right and
expe iency. They wanted us t. abandon the
Cincinnati Platform. But the second reason was
because we knew that making the concession
would have exactly the same effect in the end as
refusing to make it. Let me say to the Senator
from Delaware, Mr. March. and all Others who
are not informed on that subject that the fire
eaters went into the Convention for the purpose
and design of defeating the Democratic party
aud electing "a Northern radical TO the Presi
dency.


This they determined to do, so as to enable
them TO carry out their previously concOcted
scheme of disuniOn. But il was the Abolitionism
OF the North that created the disunion sentiment
in the South. 1t was to avoid what they regarded
as an impending'crsis " that they resolved to
break up the Union. know as well as you do,
that the resolve was a base and wicked one; but
it is of the fact that such resolve made, and
the cause of it, and not of the right to make it,
that am speaking To save them from the
impending criss-or supposed impending crisis
of Abotiunism and the destruction OF their
constitutional rights in the Union they resolved
before they went to Charleston TO break up the
Union and go out of it, They dislked M
Douglas not because they feared he would in-
terere with their constitutional rights. but be





scheme during his administration, and at the end
of hrs term they feared they might not have the
power to resist the encroachments of Abolition
ism, which they believed would never abate its
crusade upon their institutions so long as they re-
manned in the Union. They accepted the doc
trne of the " irrepressible conflict us fact, and
ordered their conduct accordingly. They looked
upon the time in which they acted as the propi-
tious time-the golden mOment-which might
not, if lost. again return To enable them to
accomplish their work, thev saw that il was neces-
sary to first defeat the Democratic party. This
they knew they could do in either one of two
ways. First, by compelling us to adopt II plat
form upon which we could not succeed; or, sec
ondly. by dividing the party This, sir, was their
program and they did not the toss of
copper whether the defeat was brought about by
The one or the other of these means. The rup
ture at ChareetOn was no accident; IL was "cut
and dried " long before the meeting of the con-
ventiOn. and it was worked out with the utmost
precision These things know TO be true, for
was there and saw and heard it all; and knowing
them, can have no sympathy for such base and
double treason. No, sir, l hate it and detest it
from the inmost receSses Of my heart.


But because hate the traitors and hate their
treason, and because they deserve the direst pun
ishment for their wicked acts it is no reason
why, Sampson like, / shall pull down the temple
of our liberty. and bring upon our own people
unnumbered woes, in order 10 punish these vile
Pnilstines. They spend their breath idly who
tell me that traitor deserves to die. | have
always known that; and would to God the Gov
ernment to-day had the power to hang every
leader and 'nstigator of this rebellion whether he
be an Abolition traitor or Secession traitor.


But, sir, passion is not wisdom, nor madness
/ care not for the Rebels; have
I Tv,lo fDrf
| am not their representative; nor am / their
guardian or counselor But / speak for my
l speak for the loyal people at home.
who are bearing the burdens; speak for the
brave soldiers in the camps, upon the march and
upon the battle field, who are enduring the pri-
vatious and the hardships OF the service. 1t is
in the name of these and in their behalf that
oppose the entire prolonging, disunion
scheme of negro emancipation | oppose it. not
because it hurts the Rebels. but because Il hurts
u.s. beIieve-apd act upon that belief-that
Mr. Lincoln, by his blundering policy, partisan
blunders and lack of craftsmanship, has done
more to make disunion permanent than jeff
Davis and all his accursed traitorous minions
have done, or had the power to do. They were
poweress until Aboitionism placed in their hands
the incendiary torch with which they were en-
abled to fire the Southern heart and light up the
flames of rebellion. Sir, until that torch is ex.
tinguished, | have no nope that the fires of re
bellion can ever be queuched.


But there is another branch of the subject Mr..
President, that we must not omit to notice. 1t is
the question of dollars and cents-or rather of
greenbacks. tell you, sir, however patriotic
you NAV be, this question cannot be evaded, can
not be pushed aside; it must be solved. This
Administration cannot prosecute this war for an
other twelve month upon its present programme,
and with she same amount of stealing, extrava-
pance and losses that have characterized its his
tory thus far, without hopelessly bankrupting the
and entailing upon posterity lega-
~. &c doI.. ,rhich they will neither he aI,Ia nor