Year: 1867

which requires Of some classes time suitable for pro


To give ii indisc rininsteIy to q new class, holl,
unprepared by previous habit and opportunities Il
the trust which IL dcmands IL to degrade Il
be assumed that no poltcs truth is better establish
ed than that snch indiscriminate and sllenLracinl
extension Of popular suffrage must ind at last in ii
oyerhrow and repeat the expression
scope Of our constitutional authority, winch prons
to better the condition Of the in the eouth
by encouraging them n industry enlishtenment, the
improvement Of their morals, and giving protection
to all their just rights treedmen but to transfer
our political inheritance to them would, in my opn
ion, be abandonment OF duty which We owe alike
the memory OF our fathers aud the rights Of oul
children.


The plan Of putting the southern states wholly and
the federal government partially into the hands Of
erOes, 10 proposed at time peculiarly unproptious
The foundations Of society have been broken UP by
civil war. Industry must be reorgsnized, justice es.
tablishcd public credit maintained and order brought
out OF confusion To accomplish these erds would re
quire all the wisdom and vtue Of the great who
formed our institutions originally. confidently bs
leve that their descendants will be equal to the ardu
task before them But II is than madnt tC
expect that negroes will IL do for us.


Certainly we ought not 10 ask their assistance un
til despair OF our own competency. The great diff
ference between the two races, In physical, mental
and moral will prevent amslgama
tion and tusit Of The N together in ore honogeni
If the ihfer:cr obtains the ascendency ov
the other II will govern entire ~ with refer.nce ia
its own interest, and create such tyranny aa
this continent hns never yet witnessed. Already
the negroes are iusnced by promises Of
my every white man who has any respect for the
rights Of his If this continues IL must be-
worse ard rse, until ell order will be subvert
ed all industry cease and the fertile fields Of the
south grow up int" wilderness OF all tho danger,
which nation as yet encountered, none are equal
those bich must result from the OF the Of
fort now making to Africapize half our country.


would not put considerations Of money in compe
tiion with justice and right but the expenses Incl
dent TO reconstructon under the system adopted by
congress aggravate what l regard ss the intrinsic
wrong Of the measure ITSELF II has cost uncountcd
millions already and, persisted in, will add largely
to the weight OF taxation already too oppressive 10 be
borne without just complaint and which may finally
reduce the treasury OF the nation 10 condition Of
bankruptcy. We must not delude ourselves. twill
require strong stanGing army. and probably more
than two hundred millions OF dollars per annum to
maintain the supremacy Of Legro governments. At
ter they are established, the sum thus thrown away
would, If properly used, form . sinking fund large
enough to pay the Whole national debt in less than


fifteen years 1t is vain to hope that the will
maintain their ascendt ncy themselves ~thout mill
tary power. They wholly incapable OF boldinc in
suljecton the Whole people Of the south. ! submit
to the Judgment Of congress vi ether the public cred
it may hot be inuriorsly affected BY system Of meas
like this. With on debt and the vast private
interests which are complicated with we cannot bs
too cautious of policy which might, by possibility
impair confidence In our ROvell nent. That conn.
d+nce can only be retained ty carefully inculcating
the principles OF justice and honor the public mind





nients Of every sort.


Any serious breach Of the organic law,
persisted in for any c: nsiderable time, can.
not but create fears for the stability of our
institutions. Habitual violation of the pre-
scribed rules which we bind ourselves to
observe must demoralize the people. Our
only standard of civil duty being set at
naught, the sheet-anchor of our political
morality is lost; public conscience swings
from its moorings, and yields to every i'm
pulse of passion and interest. If we repu-
date the constitution, we will not be ex-
pected to care much for mere pecuniary
obligations. Violation O. such pledge as
we made on the 22d of July, 1891, will as
rsuredly diminish the market value of our
other promises. Beside, if we now acknowl-
edge that the national debt was created,
not to hold the states in the union, as tax
payers were led to suppose, but to expel
them from it, and hand them over to be
governed by negroes, the moral duty to
pay it may seem much less clear. ! say il
may seem so, for do not admit that this OF
any other argument in favor Of reputation
can be entertained as sound; but it's influ.
ence on some classes of minds may well
be apprehended.


The financial honor of great CONNER.
cial nation, largely indebted, and with q
republican form of government, admins.
tered by agents of the popular choice, is a
thing of such delicate texture, and des-
truction of it would be followed by such
unspeakable calamities, that every true
patriot must desire to avoid whatever might
be exposed to the slightest danger. The
great interests of the country require i'm.
mediate relief from these enactments.
Business in the south is paralized by q
sense of general insecurity; by the terror
of con6scation and the dread Of negro su-
premacy. Southern trade, from which the
north would have derived SO great profit
under government of law, still languish.
es, and can never revive until it ceases to
be fettered by arbitrary power, which
makes all its operations unsafe. This rich
Countrywide richest in natural resources
the world ever saws worse than lost il
it be not soon placed under the protection
of free constitution. Instead of being
as it ought to be, source Of wealth and
power, it will become an intolerable bur.
den upon the rest of the nation.


Another reason for retracing our steps
will doubtless be seen by congress in the
late manifestations Of public opinion upon
this subject. We live in country where
the popular will always enforces obedi.
ence to itself, sooner or later. 1t is vain
to think of opposing it with anything
short of legal authority backed by over.
whelming force. 1t cannot have escaped
your attention that, from the day on which
congress fairly and formally presented the
proposition to govern the southern states
by military force, with view to the ulti-
mate establishment Of negro supremacy,
every expression or general sentiment has
been more or less addressed to it. The af.
fection of this generation cannot be de-
tached from the institutions Of their an
cestors. Their determination to preserve
the inheritence of free government in their
own hands, and transmit it undivided and
unimpaired to their own posterity, is too
strong to be successfully opposed. Every
weaker passion will disappear before the
love of liberty and law for which the
American people are distinguished above
all others in the world.


How far the duty Of the president to
preserve, protect, and defend the constitu.
ton requires him to 20 in opposing All un.
constitutional act Of congress is a very
serious and important question, on which
l have deliberated much, and felt extreme
ly anxious to reach proper conclusion.
Where an act has been passed according
to the forms of the constitution by the
supreme Legislative authority of the coun-
try, executive resistance to it, especially in
times Of high party excitement, would be
likely to produce violent collision between
the respective adherents of the two branch
es Of the government. This would be
simply civil war, and civil war must be
resorted to only as the last remedy for
the worst Of evils. Whatever might tend
to provoke it should be most carefully
avoided. A faithful and conscientious
magistrate will concede much to honest