Year: 1863

ehanan, and he would have been wise
man who could have foretold the re.
/ suit. f- s.s


Four years Of another Democratic
Administration rolled on, Southern
men had got bond and security for an.
other four years; but they were pretty
sure it could not be obtained again, for
there was nobody would give it. Du-
ring that administration it is notori-
GUS fact that men were called into the
Cabinet from the Southern States who
made themselves busy as bees prcpa-
ring for this conflict The Secretary Of
the Navy sent forth all the ships Of the
fleet to far distant seas whence they
could not be recalled short of year or
two. The Secretary of War, took from
the arsenals, in the North, all the guns
and munitions he could get at, and
crowded them into Southern hands,
who had been taught to use them
For four years they were busy disarm-
ing us, andquietly engaged in placing
them among themselves Yet, in the
face OF these facts, it is said that they
seeded only because Mr.. Lincoln was
elected. Well if they did they made
an almighty good preparation for that
event. Laughter. More than that,
they actually went to the existing Ad-
ministration and asked the President,
how far will you let us go in our peace
able measures of separation before you
bring to bear upon us the power of the
Government? Don't you wish Old
Hickory had been there to have been
asked that question? He would have
taken his pipe out of his mouth, drawn
himself up and sworn, if you 20 sin
gle step, by Heaven, l will hang every
one Of you. Applause Isay to you
my friends, that right sorry am /. that
when the pen Of the historian fills this
page of our history, there will be found
manya record OVER which the.patriot
will shed tears of shame; and it will
not be in the power of the recording
angel to blot the record out. ..s ...s =
~ Suppose weadmit that they had not
madeGpreparation. Let lis prove the
point from other circumstances. When
Mr.. lincoln came totake his seat in
the Executive chair, what reason was
there still for Southern men toraise the
hand of suicide against this nation2-
Why they said, you have been sacri
ficing and tramplmg upon our rights
all over this country" Pray how p =
Pray where? Whathave we done?-
The people Of the whole country, in the
regular and Constitutional mode, had
elected the President Just as every 9th
er President had been elected. Had
we repealed any of the Fugitive Slave
Laws? Not one; for the week after
Mr.. Iincoln's inauguration, slave
could have been taken back to hismas-
ter as easily as before. Had we enact
ed any obnoxious laws that interfcrcd
with their rights? Oh no; but you
were just going to do it. You have
brought the Abolitionists into power,
and they will ruin us. A very small
body they have been for long time
| used to fight them very hard but,
many years ago, l found out that | was
fighting a windmill. HBut" they said
you brought the Abolitionists into pow
cr and we are compelled to secede in
order to protect our rights in tho fl-
,ture. Why? You have the President
Well, he was Kentuckian by birth


and as to his opinions on slavery, |
know nothing and care less You have
the. President, what else? Well you
have the Abolitionists. Had we the
Senate? No, they held a working ma
iority in the two branches of Congress
and they had two-thirds of the Judges
in the Supreme Court of the United
States. Now, what was there to iusti-
fyrebellion under that state of things?
Nothing, more than the fact that they
had determined on it beforehand. Let us
see if they had determined on it before
hand. There was held in 1860, after
the old usages Of the Democratic par
ty, Convention in Charleston. There
were great many men who knew be-
forehand what.was going to come to
pass at that time, and what did come to
pass, and were not considered very sa-
gacious for all that. What was it?---
There We're men there who had deter
mined to create division between the
North and the South, in order to re-
gain this political power; but there
stood between them a bulwark more
powerful than anything they had en-
countered before. They stole the guns
and the money and everything else, ac-
cording to their capacity, and that was
by no means limited; but there still
stood before them power they must
strike down, and that power was the
Democratic party That power had


stood before them for quarter Of o


century. 1t must be broke down and


ground to powder. And at that Con,


vention they struck down the Demo


cratic party, because it was in their


way. They knew well enough that i


they had nominated Douglas, or james


Guthrie, or either of half a dozen 9th


er man, and given him an honorable


support in the South he would have


been elected. But if he had been elect


ed, secession would not have had pre-
text for inaugurating this rebellion


They, therefore struck them down by


Offering them terms that they could no
I, submit to-terms that you would no
submit to to-day if offered to you al
terms of poace-terms which if you
delegates had submitted to, you woulc