Year: 1861

lie said the end Of that war was dissolu.
ton and dsunion If he said truly, if he
Judged wisely. then in Gods name. let u.
leap over the intervening agony of war
and come to the end and conclusion al
once.


If George III had conciliated his colo
nies now much wiser a man would histo.
ry have proclaimed himl If, failing 10
conciliate, he had allowed the separation
without the disgrace and defeat of the
revolutionary war, how much wiser a man
still would he have beenl


Mr.. STANTON. | would be glad 10
know Of my colleague if there is any
power in any department of this Gov
eminent to recognize the secession Of a
State under the Constitution? As to the
matter OF Cancellation and compromise
the people Of the seeding States say they
want none, and will accept none: and
therefore it is useless to talk Of it. |
again ask my colleague whether there is
any power, under the Constitution, to
recognize the secession of a State, and
recognize them as foreign nation.


Dir. PEsDLEToE. What may be the
constitutional power of this Government
to recognize the secession Of State,
decline TO discuss at present. But this /
say: if we should be engaged in war with
a foreign enemy. and portion of our
territory be captured and reduced to pos
session by the enemy, and we should be
Obliged to make treaty Of peace on the
basis of retaining what each party had
acquired-sti poSsidefiS-acknowledging
the sovereignty Of that territory to have
passed away from us, certainly the Fed
eral Government would have the power
TO conform to our restricted limits, and
to contine its jurisdiction to our admitted
boundaries. If war be dismemberment,
as my colleague declares, has not the
Federal Government as much power to
treat that question now as at the end Of
war? Will conflict Of arms confer a
constitutional power upon the Federal
Government? do not know-I do not
beIieve-that the people of the seeding
States desire no conciliation, no com
promise. Try them; think they do
The position Of STEPHENS and JOHNSON
and HousTos, the declared intention OF
! TooMBs and DAvs-to say nothing ol
CRITTEEDEN and ETHERIDGE-leave no
reason to doubt. How have they been
met? By voting down in this and the
other House every proposition looking
to conciliation; by adopting every resc lu-
ton threatening coercion by force OF
arms. Before my colleague repeats that
statement, let me make him tender OF
compromise.


Mr.. Chairman, I say again. that my
constituents are in favor of conciliation:
they are in favor of peace. They love
the Union beyond all things; but # disso-
luton is inevitable, they want it in peace
Peace may preserve this Government;
peace may reconstruct this Union; peace
will preserve friendship, and gives us an
opportunity for acts Of reciprocal kind
ness and good will. If these southern
States cannot be conciliated, if you gen.
tlemen cannot find it in your hearts to
grant their demands, If they must leave
the family mansion. / would signalize
their departure by tokens of love; | would
bid them farewell so tenderly that they
would forever be touched by the recollec-
tion Of it; and if, in the vicissitude of
their separate existence, they should de-
sire to come together with us again in
one common government, there should
be no pride to be humiliated, there should
be no wound inflicted from my hand, to
be healed. They should come and be
welcome to the places they now occupy.


But, Mr.. Chairman, if none of these
things can be; if there is to be no concili-
atiep; if there is to be no compromise; if
there it to be no peace, | ask gentlemen
to-day to pause before they go further
"Now is the accepted time" Learn a
lesson from history When the Samnites
entrapped the Roman army in the Can
dine forks, without the possibility of ad-
vance or retreat, the victors took counsel
OF the wise Herennius. "Dismiss them
all unharmed.'' said he. But they did
not rise to that magnanimous act Of
craftsmanship; they thought there had
been some mistake, and sought him again.
"Exterminate them all to the last man"
They were appalled, at this gigantic act of
cruelty, and sent for him to come into the
camp. He came, his limbs all trembling
under the accumulated experience of a
long and chequered life, and spoke to
them: 1.-The first course, which is best,
would have made Rome your friend, and
consummated perpetual peace: the last
course would have destroyed her power,
and so have preserved your State for
many years. There is no middle course


\ ou only preserve those whom You ex-
asperate-Servate modo. qaoS tgnominia ir-
rotagertiS. This Roman people know
not how to remain quiet under defeat,
The ignominy their present necessity
compeis them to endure, will rankle in
their breast until they wreak manifold
vengeance on your heads" \ middle
course was pursued; the Roman legions
were sent under the yoke. Before two
summers had passed away, that same
army returned to devastate the country OF
the Samnites, destroy their cities, sack
their capital, and obliterated even the
name and being Of their State.


Gentlemen, to-day you must make
your choice. To lay aside all thoughts
of war, and cultivate the arts of peace
To-day determine upon course of concil-
iation and compromise. If you do not;
if you insist on drawing the sword and
dipping it in your brothers blood; il you
insist upon this unnatural and unholy war
prepare to wage it to the last extremity;
for warn Won that eyerv wound which