Year: 1866




From the National IuteHigencerl


There is one thing in the call for the Ma


tional Union Convention, to assemble in


Philadelphia on the l4th Of August, which
! gives rs peculiar satisfaction Il is the In


vatiOn 10 the South to participate in the
! convention.


Up to this time the people of the South,
| deprived Of their representation in Congress
by the most uniustihabls means and on the


most untenable pretexts, have had no OPP
/ portunity whatever Of participating in na-
tional politics. So far as the mOmentous
affairs Of Federal politics are concerned,
they have been compelled to an enforced
silence as profound as the grave.


The opportunity by the assembIage Of this
great convention Of the Union sentiment of
the country is presented to them of taking a
part-an imperfect part, it is true-in the
honorable mission of confirming the peace
which now happily exists throughout the
length and breadth Of our ocean-bound
country, and consolidating the mighty fabric
Of our Union, upon which depends not
merely our material prosperity, our peace,
and our happiness, but the very existence of
freedom, and the only sure guaranty Of our
republican institutions.


The Southern States left PROSTATE by the
overthrow of the rebellion, like 50 many
stranded ships, on the shores Of the mighty
ocean Of revolution, have been subject to the
most ungenerous, cruel and persistent mis-
representation by desperate and mprinci-
pied political adventures, whose interests
are prompted by keeping the baleful fires of
sectional hate still burning. Every effort
that selfish and ambitious partisanship could
suggest has been made systematically to mis-
represent and blaeken the South. Invita-
tions we held out to swift witnesses to hurry
TO the Capital, to unload their budgets of
talsehoods. Whilst peace, with her healing
wings, was brooding over every foot Of the
State once the seat Of fierce war, every effort
was made by designing men to i'm
press the public mind of the victorious North
with the idea that all these fair appearances
were delusive, and that the Confederacy was
only sleeping, not dead.


But the evidences to the contrary of this
we're so widespread and conspicuous that
none but madmen could longer hug such
delusion to their breasts.


The perennial fountain of falsehood,
which, if you stop its flow in one direction,
breaks out in another, finding that the
peaceful dispositions of the South were too
manifest longer to be denied, began to change
its destination. The freedmen of the South,
it was pretended, were only to be admitted
to a nominal freedom, but were really to be
held in a worse and more abiect slavery
than ever. This falsehood also had its day,
but at last the truth became manifest in this
matter too. The remarkable spectacle Of
accord and harmony between the two races
South is one of the greatest marvels in the
history of the human race. Men of the
most profound thought, trying with philo-
sophie vision to penetrate the future-men
like JEFFERSON and DETocQUEvILLE-
through all their sympathies were with uni
versal freedom, had looked with horror up
on the condition of society at the South in
the event of universal enfranchisement.


They had supposed that liberty to the
blacks was only possible, consistent with the
peace and security of the two races at the
South, by accompanying the decree Of eman-
cipation with the colonization of the blacks.
But to the establishment of all who were not
blinded by tanaticism, the two races, the late
masters and slaves, have set out on their new
social life, under the stupendous changes so
suddenly made, with a harmony and cor
diality and freedom from antagonism as
wonderful as it is praisew0rthy. Undoubt-
edly. here and there have been occasionally,
exceptional circumstances to this general
picture Of beautiful concord, but these exeep-
tional circumstances do not vary the univer-
sal success Of the great experiment Con-
sidering the nature of the circumstances
under which the freedom of an entire race
was, as if by some moral earthquake, so sud
denly accomplished, nothing can be more
wonderful than the good results which so far
have attended it. 1t seems, indeed, as if it |
were more than mans work Verify, the
good God who watched over our fathers in
their terrible struggle with tyranny seems
still to hold His happy care over our great
country.


We believe this call for representation
from the South, in the National Convention, |
will be fruitful in good consequences.


1t will encourage the steadfast friends of
the Union at the South to propagate their
principles Of loyalty TO the Union when they |
see they are TO have 4 part in the political
privileges of their country.


We venture TO predict that the represen-
tatives of the South on the great question of
fdelilyto the Union, humanity to the enfran-
chised blacks, and a readiness to engage in
the great work of improving and elevating
their condition on maintaining, unimpaired
the credit of the Government and meeting
out the fullest measures of justice to the pub
lie creditors, will make such a record in the
convention as will put their detractors to the
blush. No doubt this is one reason why, in
certain quarters, such violent opposition is
made to the convention. A certain class of
men, who are thriving in the dissentions Of
the country, dread, above all things, the re-
suit Of giving the conservative sentiment Of
the South an opportunity of manifesting IL
Self in an authoritative form.


We believe that with an overwhelming
majority Of the Southern people the feeling
of devotion to the Union is stronger than it
is at the North The dreadful experience
of the rebellion, with its universal c9nscrip-
ton and unrelaxed military despotism, has
convinced them that the only hope of liberty
is in the Federal Union. The only real dis
union party now is at the North.


The South are doing all they can to obtain
as the symbol and realization
of perfect Union. The opposition to this
comes from certain party at the North.
Are we not justified, then, in saying that the
are now, not at the South, but
a the North Facts speak for themselves.
He who runs Ilay read aud the American
people will take note of who are the disuni-
onists of the present.