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Nation nor id restrain poVver; not cer-jand over again, I have proclaimed to
tainlv to deliberate; not even to leg-
but to register and ratify the
edicts and acts of the Executive; and
in your language sir, upon the first day
of the session, to invoke a universal
baptism of tire and blood amid the roar ,
of cannon and the din of battle. Free !
the people that the success of a see
tional anti-slavery party would be
the beginning of disunion and civil
war in America, I believed it. I did.
I bad read history, and studied human
nature, and meditated for years upon
the character of our institutions and
speech was had only at the risk of a I form of government, and of the people
prison; possibly of life. Opposition j of the South as well as North; and I
wati silenced by the fierce clamor of j could not doubt the event. But the
“dislovaltv.” All business not of I people did not believe me, nor those
war was voted out of order. Five | older and wiser and
their Airy for the Coustitutioil, the . them to 4c end; and the people, thank modern timeg have, through your inedrn-
Unionand the flag, yet the natural God have at last heard and heeded, and petency and folly, availed nothing to crush
and inexorable l£ic 5 of. revolutions them out,. cut off though they have been
by your blockade from all the world, and
would 1 , sooner or later drive them to . t}on ** | dependent only npon their own courage
that policy, and with it to its final but j ^ nd - - ■ •*—i ■ - -
inevitable result, the change of our ! xjnion
now sir, I recur to the state of the land resources. And yet they were to-be
to-day, What is it? Sir twenty j utterly conqu
14th of April. Had I
on the 15th when I read the Presi-
, . conquered and subdued in six
present form of democraticul govern-j months have elapsed, but the rebellion is i weeks, or thiee months!
tnent into an imperial despotism.— j not crushed out; its military power has 1 Sir, my judgment was made up aud
These were mv convictions on the not been broken : the insurgents have not j e .\pt essed from the first. I learned it
changed them j dispersed. The Union is not restored ; j f rom Chatham; “Mv lords, you cannot
, , . ' • 1 IT^ “Uw j “>"*!■'« -Va»ri«u“-A»d ym low. m*
- — - % dents Proclamation, and becomeicon- | three hundred ; six hundred days have | conquered the South. You never will,
greater than T. j vinced that I had been wrong all my| 1; a thousand millions expended ; j Is «ot in the nature of things possi-
hundred thousand men, an immense j They rejected the prophecy, and ston- life, and that all history was a fable, j an( j three hundred thousand lives lost or ; ble, much less under your auspices. But
navy, and two hundred and fifty mil-j ed the prophets. The candidate of the and all human nature false in its deve 1 - j bodies inangled ; and to-day the Confed- money you have expended without
lions of money were speedily granted, i Republican party was chosen Presi- j opment from the beginning of time, 1! crate Hag is near tlio Potomac and the limit, ami blood poured out like wa
in twenty, at most in sixty days, the | dent. Secession began. Civil war was ; would have changed my public con-j Ohio, and the Confederate government ter: defeat, debt, taxation, sepulchres,
rebellion was to be crushed out. To ! imminent. It was no petty itisurrec- j duct also. But uty convictions did not j stronger many times, than at the begin- i these are vonr trophies. In vain the
doubt it was treason. Abject stibmis-I tion, no temporary combination to ob- change. I thought that if the war i n ' n £- Not a State ias een restore , no
sion was demanded. Lay down ! struct the execution of the laws in cer-
vour arms, sue for peace, surrender ; tain States, but a revolution, systema-
vour leaders—forfeiture, death—this ! tic, deliberate, determined, and with
was the only language heard on this \ the consent of a majority of the peo-
floor. The galleries responded; the! pie of each State which seceded,
corridors echoed; and contractors and Causeless it may have been; wicked
placemen and other venal patriots ev- it may have been; but there it was,
erywhere gnashed upon the friends of not to be railed at, still less to be
peace as they passed by. In five j laughed at, but to be dealt with by
weeks seveutv-cight public and pri- statesmen as a fact. No display of vig-
vate acts and joint resolutions, with | or or force alone however sudden or
declamatory resolutions, in the Sen- j great, could have arrested it even at
ate, and House quite as numerous, all | the outset. It was disunion at last,
full of slaughter, were hurried through i The wolf had come. But civil war
without delay and almost without de- had not yet followed. In fiiy deliber-
bate. ate and most solemn judgment, there
Thus was civil war inaugurated in was but one wise and masterly mode
America. Can any man to-day see ^ of dealing with it. Non-coercion would
the end of it? avert civil war, and compromise crush
And now pardon me, sir, if I pause out both ahbolitiouism and secession.
>- The parent and the children would
— e - e if the waring- ™ a ' a ™/ cs jeu;X i people gave you treasure and the sol-
was disunion on the 14th of April, it j ^Union * And lias any : di ^ vieided up his life. “Fight, tax,
was equally disunion on the 15th, and | thi been wanting that Congress, or the emancipate, let these” said the gen-
at all times. Believing this, I could ; states, or the people in then- most gen tleman from Maine, (Mr. Pike.) at the
not^as an honest man, a Union man ! erong enthusiasm, their most impassioned last session, “be the trinity of our
and a patriot, lend an active support j patriotism, could bestow? Was it power? salvation.” Sir, they have become the
to the war; and I did not. 1 had rath- And did not the_ party of the Executive, trinity of vour deep damnation. The
er my right arm were plucked from its j control the entire Federal g° vermnent ’ war for the Union j ri your hands,
socket and cast into eternal burnings, cver y S tat0 government, eveiy countj, u mos t bloody and costly failure,
than "-ith „, y conviction,; to Imve) feCd •» The Presidentco„le f ^ it .,; the X*
thus defiled my soul with guilt of per-| if . Wfls i(inHtJ 1 ence? ^Vhat more ? Did not September, solemnly, officially, and
J »'•)*■
- . - | it. Was itintlucnce? What more . - - - .
Sir, 1 was not taught in that tbc sc i, 00 j ( the college, the church, the under the broad seal of the United
school which proclaims that “all | press, the secret orders, the municipality, States. And now lie lias repeated the
is fair in politics.” 1 loathe, al>-, the corporations, railroads, telegraph, ex- confession. The priests and rabbis of
hor and detest the execrable maxim. I j press companies, thevoluntary associations, Abolition taught him that God would
stamp upon it. No State can endure j all, all yield it to the utmost ; was it no t prosper such a cause. War for
a single generation whose public men | unanimity?.Never was an administration so p ue Union was abandoned; war for the
practice it. Whoever teaches it is a j supported m Eng an or merica. ' n e openly begun, and with stronger
corrupter of youth. What eve most '““j! ”'=7 JSin.mr ‘
want in these times, is honest and in- ; T 'j ie enthusiasm was fanatical. There has
dependent public men. That mail | j, een „ ot ],i U g like it since the crusades.—
who is dishonest in politics is not lion- 1 yy as it confidence ? Sir, the faith of th
here a moment to define my own po-j The parent
sit ion at this time upon this great thus both perish, But a resort to force | esfc at heart in anything; and sometimes ; people exceeded that of the patriarch.—
question. would at once precipitate war, hasten [ moral cowardice is dishonesty. Do i They gave up the Constitution, law, right,
Sir, I am one of that number who , secession, extend disunion, and, while i right; and trust to God, and truth and [ liberty, all at your demand for arbitrary
have opposed abolitionism, or the po- it lasted, utterly cut off all hope of the people. Perish office, perish lion- power, that the re e lon mig , as 3 on
liticnl developmental’ the anti-slavery 1 compromise. I believed the war, if ors, perish life itself, but do the tiling
long enough continued, would he final,! that is right, and do it like a man. I
disunion. I said it; I meant it; f did it. Certainly sir, I could not
and, according tq e utmost of my doubt what he must suffer who dare
ability and influence, 1 e.w.v-1 myself, defy the opinions and the passions,
in behalf of the policy of noucoercion.,. fo say the madness of twenty niil-
sentimentof the North and M est.from
the beginning. T11 school, at college,
at the bar, in public assemblies, iu the
Legislature, in Congress, boy and man,
as a private citizen and iu public life,
in time of peace and time ol war, at
battalions than before. With what
success? Let the dead at Fredericks
burg and Vicksburg answer.
And now, sir, can this war contin
ue? Whence the money to carry it on ?
Where the rueu? Can you borrow?
From whom? Can you tax more? Will
the people
corps, who kepi up cotnuiutnc&tioii be
tween the fleet in Port Royal and Fort
Pulaski, by means of flags by day and lan
terns by liiglit. No privates are allowed
to go up into the signal station; nor are
they informed of any contemplated move
ments. Whenever they get orders to cook
rations for a number of days, they know
that work is at hand. No such orders
Lave been issued, although the talk was
common in camp that Charleston was to
be attacked. The fight at Genesis Point
was thought to be intended to draw atten
tion to Savannah, but no one believed
that tiie fight was to be there. All look
ed forward to what they believed would be
the great battle of the war at Charleston,
lie had heard a rumor that one vessel was
sunk off Charleston, and that others were
badly damaged; but the officers generally
kept such news to themselves. He said
that A/ainc had contributed 10,000 men to
the war, and expressed fears lest he might
be considered a deserter, as the circum
stances of his leaving the island were so
peculiar. When asked how many ves
sels were at Port Royal, be stated that
there were many schooners, Ac., that had
brought out stores, and that these were
vessels seen from our lookout. The
steamers were going and coming all the
time, and seldom remaiued long at Port
Roval.—Charleston Mercury, 21#/.
Interesting from Abolitiondom.
Richmond, Feb. 24.—Northern
dates of the 21st are received. The
Illinois Legislature adjourned on Sat
urday. The peace resolutions passed
the House, but were prevented from
passing the Senate by the withdrawal j tight of fighting Joe Hooker? Have the
of enough of the members to deprive j malicious malignants of Washington taken
that body of a quorum. j a j* ont °f him? Wo hope, not, and
The gunboat New Era seized near i anxiously await the news of his forward
Island No. ft) three steamers contain- I movement*. Where is the army of the
• • 11 , . r* l v. j-Mississippi f bmee trie brilliant victory
n.g quinine, army blankets. Coufeder- ; nt ArUa » n ^ 8 Post an(1 the splendid battle( J
ate ttnifot ms audlaige quantities of j Murfreesboro, we have heard very little
mischievous tones aud bush whackeri
into useful employees of the Oonfed..
erate Government. The Major, if thJ
war lasts, will yet be of infinite service
to the Government.—Knoxville
Icr. 21#/.
“The three great BuHrarUo of ihr 5 tit |
lion.*
Why is tfere no Movement— Where
“ Fighting Joe"—The People Ber 0m ; n „
Disheartened.
The New York Herald deplores that
there is no news army, and growing restiv
under its inaction, lets off the following
blast for an advance. °
Richmond, Charleston and Vicksbur*
are nowTlie three great bulwarks of the
rebellion. If the Government can succeed
in capturing these three cities, and can
defeat and put to route the rebel armies
collected to defend them, the war will he
virtually over, and the rebellion will soon
die a natural death. Every day’s delay
however, makes the achievement more
didicult. Tiie rebels are active, enter
prising and energetic, while we move verv
slowly, and, we wish we could add, very
surely. The road to Richmond has' been
proven a very hard road to travel. Vicks
burg has been fortified until it appears as
inpregnable as Gibraltar. At Charleston
our iron-clad gunboats wilf bo forced to
encounter iron clad forts and batteries.—
Our prospects are, therefore, not very
encouraging, but they are, by no means
hopeless.
Where is the army of the Potomac, which
was to take Richmond l Where is the
promised, be crushed out in three months peupw uem; it? ^ait till you have j contraband goods. One stea merhad a Lf McClernand and Rosencr^s* Port
and the Union restored. Was credit coleeted what is already levied, flow j large rebel mail containing valuable j Hudson is not vet taken, and Vicksburg
You took control of a country, many millions more of “legal tender” I information. j still frowns defiance. Whe?e -are the
and inexhaustible in —today' forty-one per cent, below] Despatches from Fort Monroe to | military and -naval expeditions which
needed !
young, vigorous,
wealth and resources, and of a government the par of gol^!—can you
It was -adopted by Mr. Buchanan’s
all times and at every sacrifice, 1 have : administration, with the almost unam-
fought against it. It cost me ten ! mous consent of the Democratic and
years’.exclusion from office and honor, Constitutional T nion parties in and
■it the period of life when honors tire out of Congress; and in Febuary, with
sweetest. No matter, I learned early the concurrence of a majority ot the
to do right and wait. Sir it is but the 1 Republican party in the senate and in
development of the spirit of in termed- this house. J3ut that party, most disas-
dling, whose children are strife and trousiy for the country, refused all
murder. Cain troubled himself about compromise. How, indeed, could they
the sacrifices of Abel, and slew him. accept any? That which the South de-
Most of the wars and contentions and mauded aud the Democratic and con-
litigation and bloodshed, from the be- servative parties of the North and
ginning of time have been its fruits. West were willing to grant, and which
The spirit of non-intervention is the alone could avail to keep the peace
•verj* spirit of peace and concord. I and save the Union, implied a surren-
do not believe that if slavery had nev- der of the sole vital element of the par-
er existed here we would have had no tv and its platform—of the very princi-
sectional controversies. This very civ- , pic in fact, upon which it had just
il war might have happened fifty, per- won the contest for the President; not,
haps a hundred years later. Other and indeed, by a majority of the popular
stronger causes of discontent and of vote—the majority was nearly a mill-
disunion, it mav be, have existed lie- ion against it—but under the forms of
tween other States and sections and
are now being developed every day
into maturity. The spirit of interven
tion assumed the form of abolitionism,
because slavery was odious in name
and by association to the Northern
mind, and because it was that which
most obviously marks the different
civilizations of the two sections. The
South herself, in her early and later
the Constitution. Sir, the crime, the
“high crime,’ of the Republican party
was not so much its refusal to com
promise, as its original organization
upon a basis and doctrine wholly in
consistent with the stability of the
Constitution and the peace of the
Union.
But to resume: the President elect
was inaugurated; and now, if only the
efforts to rid herself of it had exposed policy of noncoercion could beraain-
the weak and offensive parts of slavery ! tained. and war thus averted, time
to the world. Abolition intermed- , would do its work in the North and
dling taught her at last to search for 1 South, and finally, peaceable adjusts-
and defend the assumed social, econo- ! ment and reunion be secured. Some
mic and political merit and value of time in March it was announced that
the institution.
But there never was an hour from
the beginning when it did not seem
to me as clear as the sun at broad
noon, that tiie agitation in any form
in the North and West of the slavery
question must sooner or later end in
disunion and civil war. This was the
opinion and prediction for years of
Whig and Democratic statesmen alike:
and alter the unfortunate dissolution
of the Whig party in 1S-54,
organization of the present
can party upon an exclusive anti-sla
very and sectional basis, the event was
inevitable; because, in the then exist
ing temper of the public mind, and
after the education through the press
and by the pulpit, the lecture and po
litical canvass !<*r t\wut- years, of a
generation taught to hate slavery and
lions ol' pe<j[.%- ll!((1 x U(Jt rea j his
tory? Did 1 not know Uuiuu. „y lire 9
But I appealed to time, and right no
bly hath the Avenger answered me.
I did not support the war ; and to-day I
bless God that not the smell of so much as
one drop of its blood is upon my garments.
Sir, I censure no brave man who rushod
patriotically into this war ; neither will 1
quarrel with any one here, or elsewhere,
who gave to it ail honest support. Ilad
their convictions been mine, 1, too, would
doubtless have done as they did. With'my
convictions I could not. Rut I was a
Representative. War existed—by whose
act no matter—not mine. The President,
the Senate, the house and the country, all
said that there should be war—war for the
Union ; a Union of concert and good will.
Our Southern brethren were to he whipped
back into love and fellowship at the point
of the bayonet. Oh, monstrous delusion !
I can comprehend a war to compel a peo
ple to accept a master ; to change a form
of Government ; to give up territory ; to
abolish a domestic institution ; In short, a
war of conquest and subjugation ; but a
war for Union ! Was the Union thus
made? Was it ever thus preserved ? —
Sir, history will record that, after nearly
six thousand years of folly and wickedness
in every form and administration of Gov
ernment—theocratic, democratic, mon
archic. oligarchic, despotic and mixed—it
was reserved to American statesmanship
in the nineteenth century of the Christian
era, to try the grand experiment on a scale
the most costly and gigantic in its propor
tions, of creating love by force, and de
veloping fraternal affection by war ; and
history will record, too, on tiie same page,
the utter, disastrous and most bloody fail
ure of the experiment.
But to return : The country was at
war ; and I belonged to that school of
politics which teaches that when |we are at
war, the Government—1 do not mean the
Executive alone, but the Government—is
entitled to demand and have, without
resistance, such number of men, and such
am/mnt of money and supplies generally
as may be necessary for the war, until an
appeal can be had to the people. Before
that tribunal alone, in the first instance,
almost free from public debt, and whose
good faith had never been tarnished.—
Your great national loan bubble failed
miserably, as it deserved to fail; but the
k|inkcrs and merchants of Philadelphia,
. J 'V' "pd Boston lent you more than
their entire bau&.^ n , .1 1 „„
that failed too, you forced crcuiif » •...
ing your paper promises to pay a legal
tender for all debts. Was money wanted?
You had all the revenues of the United
States, diminished indeed, but still in gold.
The whole wealth of the country, to the
last dollar, lay at your feet. Private
individuals, municipal corporations, the
State governments, all iu their frenzy j nemanne
gave you money or means with reckless
prodigality. The great Eastern cities lent
you j-'loO.OOO.OOO. Congress voted, first,
the sum of £250,000,000, and next $500,- i
000,000 more in loans; and then, first,:
$500,000,000, then $10,000,000, next! Sir, in blood she lias atoned for her
90,000,000, and in July last, $150,000, credulity; and now tilery is mourning
000 in Treasury notes; and the Secretary , in every house, aud distress and sad-
has issued also a -paper postage currency,’ ness inevery heart. Shall she give you
”” 1 any more?
But ought this war to continue? I
not a day, not an hour.
men enlist now tit any price? Ah, sir, j exchange ot
it is easier to die at home—1 beg par- fected
don; but I trust lam not “discourag
ing enlistments.” If I am, then first
arrest Lincoln, Stanton and Halleck,
and some of.your other generals, and
T will retract, yea, 1 will recant. But
can you aran again .- a ,i, y m „ Eng
land—New York. Ask Massachusetts.
—Where arc the nine hundred thou
sand? Ask not Ohio—tlio Northwest.
She thought you were in earnest,
and gave you all, all—more than vou
civilians have been per-
to the
float? Will | the lbthsav that arrangements for the 1 everybody^ supposed w°uld snap up Char
leston with as much celerity as Dupont
made Hilton Head too hot to hold arebel?
Beyond the recent raid of the rebel iron
clads and the experiments of the Montauk
in the Ogeecheo river, there is nothin"
stirring about the head and front of the
.rebellion.—No wonder, under these cir
cumstances, that our people are bccomin"
disheartened.
‘'The wife whoso babe first smiled that day,
The fair, fond bride of yester eve,
And aged sire ami matron gray.
Saw the loved warriors haste.away,
And deemed it sin to grieve.”
in sums as low as five cents, limited
amount only by his discretion. Nay,
more ; already since the 4th of July , 1S61,
tin’s house has appropriated $1,400,000, ffnsur.r m
the President had resolved to continue
the policy of his predecessor, and evert
go a step further, and evacuate Sum
ter and the other Federal forts and
arsenals in the seceded States. His
I own party acquiesced; the whole
country rejoiced. The policy of non-
coercion had triumphed, and for once,
; sir, in my life, I found myself in an
immense majority. No man then P rt?_ i must the question of the continuance of,
tended that a Union founded iu con- j t h e war be tried. This was Mr. Calhoun’s j
Ijjp solit could he cemented by force. Nay, j opinion, and he laid it down very broadly j
l ( ]j_ more, the President and the Secretary j and strongly in a speech on the Loan!
of State went further. Said Mr. Se-jBffl. in J$il. Speaking of supplies he :
in an official diplomatic letter said : ..... i
I “I hold that there is a distinction m j
. . . this lcspcct between a state of peace and
reasons lie (the Presi- war f n the latter, the. right of withhold- j
<;U«!t) \\ 011 Iu not bt: disposed to i eject , supplies ought never to beheld sub-j
a cardinal dogma of theirs (the secess- f ordinate to the energetic and successful!
ionists), namely, that the Federal I prosecution of the war. I go further, and
Government could not reduce the se-| regard tlie withholding stqiplics with aj
ceding States to obedience by conquest view ot forcing the country into a dishonor-
000, almost every dollar without debate, ^ then? And now, sir, I- come to
and without a recorded vote. A thousand G' e grandest and most solemn problem
millions have been expended since the ! of statesmanship from the beginning
15th of April, 1801; and a public debt or of time; and to the God of Heaven,
liability of «1,eoo.000,000 already incur- , illmniner of hearts and minds, I would
red And to support all this stupendous humbly appeal for some measure, at
outlay and indebtness, a system of taxation i„„ , "pi- , • , , ,
direct and indirect, has been inangnra- [east, of light anti wisdom and strength
ted, the most onerous and unjust ever o exploie and l eveal the dark hut
imposed upon any but a conquered pco- possible future ot this land,
pie
The recent Kcout or
.STATEMENTS OF
The recent dating
J
Hi lion Ilcnd.
a prisoner.
adventure of
the
General Foster has returned
South.
A despatch from Cairo says a barge
with seven thousand tons of coal ran
the blockade at Vicksburg on Satur
day night
The town of Bolivar was destroyed
by the gunboat Conestoga in retalia
tion for the guerillas firing into the
steamer Jenny Lind. The Brooklyn
and Scotia were blockading Galveston
at last accounts.
Another account says the fleet en
tered the bay hut finding it strongly
fortified deemed it best to withdraw
for the present.
The Florida sailed from Nassau on
the 27th of January. Fourteen steam
ers, sloops aud schooners had arrived
with cargoes of cotton and turpentine
from Charleston and other points. The
House of Representatives have con
curred in the bill already passed by
the Senate to provide a national cur
rency, secured by a pledge of United
States stocks, which now awaits the
signature of the President. The Sen
ate has passed an act for the enroll
ment and mustering into service of
all able-bodied men between twenty i
and forty-five, excepting the Govern
ors of States, Judges, sons of poor I vastly interesting—the more so be-
widows, and a few others, giving a
military force of three millions—the
officers to be appointed by and direct
ly accountable to the President. The
troops are to be called for by draft in
such number as the President pleases.
ward
to Mr. Adams
“For these
the South, the success of that party, _
possessed, as it was, of every engine of althou 2 h he/were disposed to question
political, business, social and religious • P ro l ,os jt'°n. But, in fact, the
influence, wasoertaib. It was only a ^ rt> iuent.willingly accepts it as true,
question of time, and short time. 8,1 imperial 01 despotic govern-
Such was its strength indeed, that I mer,t cou,(1 subjugate thoroughly disaf-
do not believe that the union of the j fccted insurrectionary members of
Democratic party in lSGOxm any can- the State.
didate, even though he had been sup- Pardon me, sir, but I beg to know
ported also by the entire so-called con- whettlier this conviction of the Presi-
scrvative or anti-Lincoln vote of the dent and his secretary is not the pliilos-
countrv, would have availed to defeat ophy of the persistent and most vigor-
it; and if it had, the success of the ab- ous efforts made by this administra-
oiition party would only have been
postponed four years longer. The
disease had fastened too strongly upon
the system to be healed until it had
run its course. The doctrine of the
“irrepressible conflict” had been
taught too long, and accepted too
widely and earnestly to die out, until
it should culminate in secession and
disunion; and if coercion was resorted
to, then in civil war. I believed from
the first that it was the purpose of
tion, aud, first of all, through thiff
same secretary, the moment war broke
out, and ever since tiil the late elec
tions to convert the United States in
to tin imperial or despotic government?
But, Mr. Seward adds, and I agree with
him:
“The Federal republican system
of ours is of all forms of government,
the very 011c which is most unfitted
for such it labor.”
This, sir, was on the 10th of April,
busts of Xerxes have been outnumbered.
And yet victory strongly follows the stand
ards of the foe. From Great Bethel to
Vicksburg the battle lias not been to the
strong. Yet cvery disaster, except the
last has been followed by a call for more
troops, and every time, so far, they have
been promptly furnished. From tlio begin
ning the war lias been conducted like a po-
liticale ampaign, and it has been the folly of
the party in power that they have assumed
that numbers alone would win the field
less than to capture a Yankee, with the ; inviting Commissioners from
5W of eliciting information of the recent | State Legislatures to meet C
,, . , - , . . ■ In a contest not with ballots but with
able peace, as not only to be what it lias , , . , id. 1
, r 11 1 , . J . 1 musket and sword. But numbers vou
been called, moral treason, but very little 1 1 1 1 . -.1 . 1 ".i
J have bad almost without number—the
short ot actual treason itself. , . , , • , , , . , .. ,
, _ I largest, best appointed, best armed, ted,
ac ei a ei- j and c | a< j j )0s j 0 .- brave men, well organi-
u I zed and well disciplined, ever marshaled.—
, 1 . , A navy, too, not the most formidable
Every senator knows that I was opposed | b £ but tbo most numerous and gal-
to the war, but none knows but myself { aud t i, c costliest in the
the — *— 1
Upon this principle, sir be
wards in the Mexican war. Speaking
that war, in 1847, be said :
110 1
vie
movements of the enemy’s forces. Day
break revealed to them tlicir. situation !
which appeared to be a very exposed one
—tiie uood scarcely affording sufficient j
protection to conceal them in a crouching j
position. They found, too, that the}' were !
within a hundred yards of tiie picket sta- !
tiou. NT? 1 ’ • - ■
would ha 1
lion, the
pect of ha
until ev
, the guard was relieved, the Yankees pass
ed to and fro almost within reaching dis
tance- Their conversation, however, was
not ot interest. During the morning, as 1
many as forty
other iand Genesis Point batteries in the
onitnis- j neighborhood of Savannah. This mav
sinners ot that body at Louisville. • be true, but it is not worth while to
Burnside lias assumed his new com- ] stake too much upon the story. The
maud at New York. jl ederals, however, seem to have a
The Connecticut Democratic Con- j fondness for desecrating the day of rest
votitiou at Hartford have nominated j and peace to the devilish purposes of
Thus. H. Seymour for Governor.! invasive war. At Pocataligo Gen. W.
tion proclamation, the suspension of they will find batteries which thev
the habeas corpus, the abridgement of j will earn laurels in capturing. But
the freedom of speech and of the press, we hardly imagine the Federals will
the compensated emancipation scheme j scatter their assaulting force over these
depth of that opposition. With ; and agaiast afoe «l most without a navy at
my conception of its character and con- I jj J
sequences, it was impossible for me to 1
* ■ Twenty million people, and every ele
as forty poisons passed and repass-j the dismemberment of the State of three points.
ed - About ,! o clock, p. m. a soldier turn- j A irginia, and pledging the Western j proportions \vi
world, 1 -I r^. f ’ "r* 1 ,. quite j States to unite with them in measures
near them. Ma;
some of the apostles of that doctrine ' and yet that very day the fleet was
to force a colision between the North under sail for Charleston. The policy
and the South, either to bring about a of peace bad been abandoned. Collision
separation or to find a vain but bloody | followed; the militia was ordered out;
pretext for abolishing slavery in the ] civil war begun.
States. J11 any event, 1 knew, or ^ Now sir, on the 14tb of’April, I be
thought ] knew, that the end was cer- lieved that coercion would bring on
tain collision and death to the Union. ! war, and war disunion. More than
Believing thus, I have for years ! that, I believed, what you all in your
past denounced those who taught that ! hearts believe to-day, that the South
doctrine with all the vehemence, the j could never be conquered—never!
bitterness, if you choose—i thought it And not that only, but I was satisfied
a righteous, a patriotic bitterness—of —and you of the abolition party have
an earnest and impassioned nature, now proved it to the world—that the
1 hinking this, I forewarned all who secret but real purpose of the war was
believed the doctrine, or followed the to abolish slavery in the States. In
party which taught it, with a sincerity any event, I did not doubt that what
and a depth of conviction as profound
as ever penetrated the heart of man.
Aud when, for eight years past, over
ever might be the momentary impulses
of those in power, ;uid whatever pledg
es they might make in the midst of
vote for it
And again, in 1S48 :
“But after the war was declared by au
thority of the government, I acquiesced in
what I could not prevent, and which it
was impossible for mo to arrest ; aud I then
felt it to he my duty to limit my efforts
to give such direction to tlie war as would,
as far as possible, prevent the evils and
dangers with which it threatened the
country and its institutions.”
Sir, I adopt all this as my own position
and iny defense ; though, perhaps, in a
civil war, I might fairly go further in op
position. I could not, with my convictions,
vote men and money for tills war, and I
would not, as a representative, vote against
them. 1 mean that, without opposition,
the President might take all tiie men and
all the money V? should demand, and then
to hold him to a strict accountability before
the people for the results. Not believing
the soldiers responsible for the war. or its
purposes, or its consequences, I U a vc never
withheld my vote where their separate
interests where concerned. But 1 have
denounced from the beginning the usurpa
tions and the infractions, otic and a!J, of
law and Constitution, by the President,
and those under him ; their repeated and
persistent arbitrary arrests, tho suspension
of habeas corpus, the violation of freedom
of the mails, of tlio private house, of the
press and of speech, and all the other mul
tiplied wrongs and outrages upon public
liberty and private rights, which have
made this country one of the worst despot
isms on earth for the past twenty months ;
and I will continue to rebuke and denounce
geo felt that 'his danger
was imminent. Drawing his lcvolvcr, he
levelled it at the fellow, and putting his
finger to his lip to enjoin silence, he called
in a low voice, "Come here, sir.” The
Yankee turned pale with, fright, and in a
hurried voice exclaimed, “Don’t shoot!”
Upon being assured that no harm would
come to him if he would lie down and
upnu the sea ; with the support almost keep quiet, the prisoner stretched himself
servile, of every State, county and muni- on the ground between the two hold rebels
cipality in the North and YV Qst; with a and a pair of navy revolvers read v for in-
Congress swift to do the bidding of the slant use. For six long hours the three
Executive; without opposition anywhere kept mute company, Magee forcing the
at home, and with an arbitrary power prisoner even to suppress his cough, which
winch nci hci the t_zar, ol Russia, nor the.* was verv troublesome.
ment of strength and force of command
—power, patronage, influence, unanimity,
enthusiasm, confidence, credit, money,
men, an army and a navy, the largest and
the noblest ever set in the field or afloat
lor the cessation of the war and the
restoration of the Union.
Gold closed at 102 in New York
on the ISth.
Emperor of Austria dare exercise; vet
after two years of more vigorous prosecu
tion of war -than ever was recorded in
history; after more skirmishes, combats
and battles thau Alexander, Ciesar, or the
tiist Napoleon ever fought iu any five
At tattoo, the time agreed upon for leav
ing the island, the three started noiseless
ly for the rendezvous previously agreed
upon, the Yankee wondering how they
were to get off the island, lie was soon
relieved bv the appearance, in a safe place
years of their military career, you have of a canoe'into which he was requested to
utterly, signally, disastrously—I will not take a seat. He was at tiffs time very
say ignominiously—failed to subdue ten mil- anxious that his rebel fiiends should "ct
lion “rebels,” whom you had taught the first, so as not wet theirfoet; hut Gelston
people of the North and West not only to was very solicitous about his cough, aud
hate but to despise. fearing that wet feet would increase
Rebels did I say? Yes, your fathers it. insisted upon his getting a "ood seat,
were rebels, or jour grandfathers. He and himself offering to push th(T boat off
who now before me on canvass looks down and then jump in. A five minutes’ row
so sadly upon us, the falso degenerate brought them well off’ from shore; they
and imbecile guardians of the great re- were halted, hut being out of reach of the
public which he formed, was a rebel. And sentinel’s musket tb^y did not heed him.
yet we, cradled ourselves iu rebellion, and The prisoner is a middle, a^cd man, a
who have fostered and fraternised with native of Maine. Ho reports in substance,
cverj’Jinsurrection in tho nineteenth centu- that thirty new regiments recently arrived
ry, everywhere throughout the globe, from North Carolina: that they average
would now, forsooth, make the word “re- possibly 500 men each, and that General
bel” a reproach. Rebels certainly they Foster came with them, but had since re-
are; hut all tho persistent and stupendous turned. The observatory on Mr Bay-
efforts of the most gigantic warfare of nard’s liousewas in charge of a signal
The Indian Legion.
Major Thomas, commanding the
Legion of Cherokee Indians, who have
rendered much service to the Confed
erate cause in East Tennessee, was
in our city yesterday. The Major is
now with his aboriginal allies in the
mountains on the border between this
State and North Carolina, where lie is
in reality conciliating the lories. Let
us mention a fact or two, communica
ted to us by Major Thomas, to the
credit of these dusky warriors. They
excel any troops in either the North
ern or Southern armies for subordi
nation—ari Indian always executes an
order with religious fidelity. They
scrupulously respect private proper
ty—there are 110 reports of depreda
tions where they are encamped. They
are the best scouts in the world, and
hence the good that they have accom
plished among the mountain tories
and bush whackers. A notice that
Major Thomas’ Indians are in a sec
tion of country brings in the dodgers
at once, for they know that hiding out
will not avail against the Cherokee*.
By their aid the Major has enlisted,
without bloodshed, a great many men
in his corps of sappers and miners,
who have thus been converted from
It lacks the “grand”
oportions with which our Northern
foes are fond of investing all their
warlike enterprises. It looks small
even to the humbler views of the Con
federates, who never had a single
“grand army” in the field. On the
whole, since this “grand” attack upon
Carolina and Georgia has taken such
modest proportions, we find ourselves
in danger of losing the absorbing in
terest in it we felt before.— Telegraph.
Richmond, Feb. 20.—In the Senate
the impressment bill from the House
was taken up and amendments pro
posed.
The Senate went into Executive
Session.
The House passed resolutions ot
thanks to General Bragg and the ar
my in Tennessee, for gallantry at the
battle of Murfreesboro.
The House then went into secret
session.
The following little motto of ^ ir *
ginius Hutehen, of Graves’ battery
has a good deal of pith:
‘‘Jump over the if* and bets—
There’s always some kind hand
To lift life’s wagon from the ruts,
Or poke away the sand.
*‘Pnsh[on ! Yon're rusting’while you stand
Inaeiion will not do:
Take life’s small bundle iu your hand,
And trudge it briskly through. '
— • ——
Spool Cotton,
O A DOZ. Coats Spool Cotton for Sale br
£VJ ‘wright & brgWv
Peb. 3d, ISM. v v
NEGRO COTTON PATCHES.
At the request of a number of planters of Wash
ington county, says the Sandersville Georgina,
we addressed a letter to Gov. Brown enquiring
whether or not the I tte Act restric ting the planting
of cotton to three acres to the hand, prohibit-d
planters from allowing their servants to plant their
(the negroes’) patches of catton, as heretofore, ia
addition to three acres to the hand planted by the
owner ofsaid slave. The following is the'Gov
ernor’s reply :
Executive Department. )
Milledgeville.Ga.. Sttth Feb. Jiblt. (
J. M. G. Medlock. E-q.—Sir: In reply to your
letter of the 19th ins!, I am directed by the Gov
ernor to say, that in his opinion a planter who
permits bis mgriies to plint more thau three acres
ot cotton To the hand, for any purpose, violates
the law. If a planter wishes to give his negroes
permission to plant for themselves he has ihe
right to do so, provided he does not exceed three
acres to the hand, counting what the negro plants
for himself and for his master.
V here negroes have patches and are permitted
to plant for themselves, it would be perhaps best
to let them plant corn or potatoes or some other
crop than cotton.
Respectfully, your ob’tserv't,
IIeiirert Fielder, A. D. C.
FROM CHARLESTON.
The figures from Port Royal are
cause thej* are probably true. One hun
dred transports would probably bring
about thirty thousand men—an aver
age of 300 to the vessel—a full com
plement, taking into consideration the
immense bulk of supplies, munitions,
camp paraphernalia, wagons, horses,
(JO 15E CONTINUED.]
Moneji and credit, then, you have had
in hand to prodigal profusion. And were
men wanted ? More than a million rushed
to arms ? Seventy' five thousand first
(and the country stood aghast at the T i n -
multitude,) then eightj’-three thousand ^° l F’, ! ’ i 1 > a ® ee ’ 118 ^krades, R. tt nenaltips „.. p
more were demanded; aud three hundred * Gelston, Barton Y\ ells and. R. O. Rey- | . T 1 ‘
and ten thousand responded to the call.— n .° ^ s ’ ( eser ' es more detailed mention f
The President next asked for four hundred ! li;inou ‘ brief notice of last Saturday morn- i the draft,
thousand, and Congress, in its generous , ln ®.’ aU , WC ® a Y e ,^ een
confidence, gave him five hundred tlious- tae particulars,
and ; and, not to bo outdone, he
hundred and thirty seven thousand,
of these melted away in their fir
paign ; and tlie President demand?
hundred thousand moro for the
then drafted yet another three hundred ... . • - o - ------— i,, , ,. , . . i ,, . .. , _
thousand for nine months. The fabled co ™l ,1,s ' l, . rne,lt oi tIie,r purpose, which was resolution passed a day previous, f 4 ocotal/go, and the Causten’s Bluff
imposed for
resistance or counselling resistance to j forage, ordnance trains, &c., Ac.,
J which must accompany such a force,
and we have been at some pains to ! Commodore WoodKull, of the U. S. I More troops are coming,* too, and
The party, in a j Navv, was killed at Fort Marshall, near ] these are from the late armv of the