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purposes of its creation ; and are to be
I- ude until such time within twenty-one
vears from the date of the Probate ot
‘this, my last Will, as the said Corporation
shall alien, or attempt to alienate said
Stuck, or any part thereof, or interest
therein. And in the event that the said
Corporation shall, within the period
aforesaid, alien, or attempt to alienate,
the said Stock, or any part thereof, or
interest therein; or, in the event that
h;.id Corporation shall, within the period
aforesaid, cease to be a body corporate,
or to act as such, in fulfilling and carrying
out the objects and purposes of its crea
tion, then, or in either of said events, the
trusts thereby created upon said shares of
Stock, shall cease, and the said shares of
Stock shall be transferred to, and be
equally divided amongst, the heirs and
distributees of my estate, exclusive of my
said two grand-children, hereinbefore par
ticularly named. Put, in the event the
said Corporation shall not alien, or at
tempt to alienate, the said shares of
Stock, or any part thereof, or interest
therein, during the period aforesaid ; and
shall not, within the period aforesaid,
cease to he a body corportae, or to act as
such, in fulfilling, and carrying out, the
objects and purposes of its creation, then,
at the expiration of the said period of
twenty-one years, the trusts hereby
created upon said shares of Stock shall
cease, and the same shall be transferred
absolutely, and unconditionally, to the
said American Bible Society, for the
uses, objects, and purposes, contemplated
in the creation of said Corporation ”
The lirst Article of the Constitution of
the American Bible Society, as adopted
in 1816, and afterwards incorporated into
its Charter, in 1836, is as follows :
“This Society shall be known by the
name of the American Bible Society, of
which, the sole object shall be to encour
age a wider circtilaton of the Holy Scrip
tures, without note or comment. The
only copies in the .English language, to
be circulated by the Society, shall be of
the version now in common use.”
Mr. McGehee’s heirs notified the
Executors of his W ill, that the American
Bible Society had ceased to carry out
“the purposes and objects of its creation,”
by circulating copies of the Holy Scrip
tures in the English language, not ac
cording’ to the version in common use,
in 1816, namely, the copy, as reported
by the Committee on Versions, and that
this copy, in its headings of chapters, and
marginal references, contained “notes and
0011111101115”; which the Society was circu
lating, iu violation of the ‘‘sole object” of
its creation ; that the trusts in favor of the
Society had consequently ceased, and
that they, the heirs, claimed the legacy’.
In May, 1859, the Executors filed a
Bill in Equity, against the heirs and the
American Bible Society, in which they
ask the Court to direct them in the
execution of the trust, and to decide
whether they shall pay to the heirs or to
the Society. All the parties have an
swered the Bill, and much testimony, in
cluding two copies of the Bible, one pub
lished before, and one after, the alleged
charges, has been filed in the cause.
Able counsel are engaged by the heirs,
and also by the American Bible Society ;
and the matter will be thoroughly sifted
when the case is tried.
It is a matter of little interest to
Catholics how this case maybe decided;
but the proposition that the Word of the
Almighty comes to man with a sound so
uncertain that the Courts of Justice must
be called upon to dictate what it is, seems
to me to be much more difficult to believe
than any dogma of the Catholic Church.
V hosoever heedeth not the voice of the
Lord, must die; and it is surely swallow
ing a camel, to believe that His voice
comes to man only through this litigated
Bible, in six copies of which, twenty-four
thousand variations were found in the
text and punctuation.
Violation of the Sabbath. —The Jaco
bins in Congress, following close upon the
example of the French Jacobins, who, in
effect, abolished the Sabbath, so far a* it
laid in puny human hands to do so, de
liberately so determined the day of their
adjournment, as to give them the pre
tense of a necessity for holding a session,
for the first time, we believe, in our his
tory, ou die Sabbath day. Sessions' of
Congress have sometimes extended on
Saturday night over to Sunday morning,
but it was not until Jacobinism, in fill]
bloom, had sway, as it now exists that
the h dy Sabbath has been desecrated by
an adjournment, to meet at any hour of
that sacred day. The people should
know that the bargaining, and selling
utid huckstering, of Wall Street, with all
its bad passions, had full play, last even
ing, in the lobbies of the Senate, and that
the approaches to it were thronged as
upon a gala day.— National Intelligencer.
GREAT SPEECH
OF
HON. BENJAMIN H. HILL,
DELIVERED
AT THE CITY HALL, AUGUSTA,
Friday Evening, August 21, IS6S.
Fellow-Citizens : To forget past differ
ences, to unite in averting present emer
gencies, with a view of securing future ad
vantages, is the duty of all people, the
sum of all wise statesmanship. When the
late war ended, no people ever so much
needed the exercise of these virtues as the
southern people. Difficulties surrounded
us, trials enveloped us, doubts arose on
every hand ; yet, our patience was such as
no people, in any previous history of the
world, ever exhibited. We were im
poverished to a very large degree ; our
means were exhausted ; our pride was
humiliated; our cause was gone ; our
property was gone ; and even hope itself
was almost gone. We had, then, to gather
up our wasted energies, recuperate our
exhausted strength, and establish good
government again. This required of us
the most striking forbearance and concilia
tion, with all the wisdom and firmness
from the people which they could ever be
expected to possess.
There was one circumstance which oc
curred, indeed simultaneously with the
misfortune of our surreuuer, which was
well calculated to inspire us with hope—if
anything could inspire hope—and that
was the manner and the terms of the sur
render. After four years of war, the strug
gle was settled in accordance with the
stipulations agreed upon between the Gen
erals commanding the armies. These
terms were noble; they were magnani
mous, they were manly; and permit me
to say here to-night, and I say it with
pleasure, could the terms granted by Gen.
Grant to Gen. Lee, at Appomattox Court
House, and by Gen. Sherman to Gen.
Johnston in North Carolina, have been
fairly complied with, there would have
been a very different state of things.
These people were to lay down their arms
and not to take them up against the
United States Government again; to
obey the laws, and to live in peace
and quiet, which was so much de
sired by the country after the grievous
warfare through which it had just passed.
If these terms had been complied with, it
might have restored the Uuion intact, it
would have left this people iu the same
condition as they went into the war, with
simply, their losses the less. But there
was a certain class whom these terms did
not suit. Congress, the President and the
Judiciary would not endorse them as the
terms which should be exacted of “rebel
lious States.” Our people thought they
were restored to the Union and to their
rights; but they were mistaken. Still,
there were the terms given by General
Grant to General Lee and by Gen. Sher
man to General Johnston ; and it must
ever remain an honor to the commanders
of both armies, that they were so quickly
and so kindly adjusted. But, unfortunate
ly, they were not approved ; unfortunate
ly the honor which was displayed in the
field did not exist with the politicians in
the Cabinet; and they took upon them
selves the revision of these terms. And,
first, they exacted terms which had never
been exacted before, terms which were con
trary to all precedent. Nevertheless, these
terms were plausible enough, and well cal
culated to commend themselves to the
Southern people. These were the terms
exacted by the Executive, Andrew John
son, who had come into the Presidency
upon the death of Lincoln. He was not
satisfied with the stipulations agreed upon
between General Grant and General Lee,
and between General Sherman and General
Johnston. I would remark here that the
terms to General Lee were limited to Lee’s
army; but those to General Johnston ap
plied to the whole country east of the
Chattahoochee, and soon afterward to all
east of the Mississippi.
Andy Johnson, succeeding Mr. Lincoln,
was, as I have already said, not satisfied
with these terms, and, therefore, required
others. What were they? He required
that the various State conventions must as
semble and frame new constitutions ; and
at the same time he advised the emanci
pation of our slaves. The first condition
was the calling of the conventions and the
framing of new constitutions. Well, the
South very readily yielded to that. And
here 1 want the colored people particularly
to understand what I am about to say.
They have been told that they owe their
freedom to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proc
lamation. It is not true. Even Mr.
Lincoln* himself did not claim this. That
was simply a war measure, and of effect
only during the war. If the South had
accepted the terms of that proclamation,
she could have kept you all in slavery to
this day. But they were not accepted ;
and at the close ol‘the war, we laid down
our arms under the terms agreed upon by
the Generals of the Armies. Then came
Andy Johnson’s measures. He said that
he desired that you should be emancipated.
Well, to this proposition the Southern
people very readily yielded; and there
were two conditions which reconciled them
to it. First: whether the measure was
right or wrong, whether it was best for
white and colored or not, it was looked
upon as a natural conclusion of the war,
and as a measure of economy. The other,
and in my judgment, the strongest, reason
that reconciled us to it was the way in
which you colored people behaved your
selves during the war. Yes, the colored
0g BH 10111“
people behaved honorably, nobly, bravely
and truly, toward us during that struggle;
for while our fathers, sons, and brothers,
were absent upon the battle-field, they
guarded our homes, made our bread, and
protected our interests. This conduct be
got a feeling of kindness for the colored
people which reconciled us to their eman
cipation. With these and some other con
ditions we complied. We called our State
Conventions and framed new Constitutions,
and in this we declared that slavery
should never exist again. Now, my colored
friends, mark the point. That is what se
cured you your freedom. In 1865, this
emancipation measure was made a part of
the Constitution in the manner and for the
reasons which I have given you.
This emancipation was anew measure
with us. We had never before encounter
ed it. We had here four millions of col
ored people as estimated: Now to all
these freedom was to be given at once.
Why, even the Northern people proposed
only a gradual emancipation;buthere,all at
once, suddenly, we gave you your freedom.
What was to be the result? No man could
tell. We could not tell how you would
behave yourselves, how you would
be guided ; whether unprincipled
men would take charge of you, and mis
lead you. But these difficulties were met
at the threshold. To your credit, colored
people, be it said, you behaved nobly; you
remained quiet; you remained true to the
country; you went to work quietly and
peaceably; you exhibited a docile tem
perament, and a pleasing , gratifying wil
lingness to work. In this you relieved the
question of half of its difficulties, and the
country of half of its troubles.
The next thing required of us by Mr.
Johnson, was the repudiation of the Con
federate debt. This we also complied
with. In addition to these measures, he
also claimed the right to pardon our peo
ple. Now, I claim that the terms agreed
upon at Appomattox Court House settled
that question, and relieved all the people
from the necessity of any pardon ; but
Mr. Johnson claimed the pardoning power
—pardoning some of the rebels, as we
were called, and leaving others out. Well,
we complied with this also. We were re
quired to take an oath to support the Con
stitution, and the emancipation of the slaves.
The people took this oath readily and in
good faith, and they have kept it in good
faith.
Here, then, we had two sets of terms:
Ist, the Army terms, and 2d the terms of
the Executive Department, with both of
which our people complied; and what was
the result ? Thus far we had become in
volved in no serious difficulties—nothing
had been required of us which was incon
sistent with the rights and honor of an
overpowered people. We had managed
this question wisely—the people and
statesmen had proved them'selves equal to
the emergency. Well, what was the result?
Under the existing state of things we be
gan to prosper. Land increased in value,
property of all kinds increased in value,
while the colored people were getting the
highest wages paid to any class of laborers
on earth. Everything seomed to grow
brighter—the fields to bloom more beau
tifully, and all began to prosper and to
hope. How prosperous we were in 1866!
When the close of the year came and con
tracts had to be made for the ensuing year,
hands in Southwestern Georgia were paid
as high as $l5O per year, besides being
found. I repeat it, such prices were un
heard of before for labor. Why, not a
single laborer in the North got as much ;
and it was almost double what they got in
their factories. Everybody looked for
ward to the future with faith and
hope. But suddenly, another class
came forward with new requirements.
The politicians, the Radicals, not satisfied
with the terms given us by Grant and
Sherman, and by Johnson, must have
terms also. They said that President
Johnson had no right to offer terms. Well,
at once the prosperity of the South com
menced tumbling, prices commenced fall
ing, and the country was ruined. The Con
gress denied us every privilege guaranteed
by the Union; it imposed taxation and
every burden upon us possible, yet re
fused us representation. It imposed a tax,
first, of three cents per lb. on our cotton and
then of two and a half; ceits-a tax
which struck at white and black alike. We
soon became a ruined and an impoverished
people, but we stood these heavy taxes,
and readily complied with their terms;
and not only did we tolerate all this, but
we stood, also, the robberies of the thieves
who went about the country stealing all
the Confederate property they could lay
their hands upon. Yes, we bore it all—the
Army, the Executive, and the Congression
al terms ; and, worse than all, we bore the
rogues too. These were like the locusts of
Egypt, almost as numerous and infinitely
meaner* Well, Congress said it must set
tle the question of reconstruction. It gave
us the Constitutional Amendment No. 14,
and said we must adopt that. That
Amendment contained four ideas; one of
them was giving the right of citizenship to
all the people. Now this was altogether
unnecessary, for it is ever to be remem
bered, and it cannot, dare not be disputed,
that we had already secured you col
ored people your freedom, in 1865, as I
have before said to you. Yes, the State
of Georgia had granted you your freedom
long before Congress had required it of
us; and yet you will hear people going
about the country saying Congress gave
the colored, people their freedom. It did
no such thing.. We gave it to you fir.-t.
Well that requirement was not objection
able, because we had already done this.
The second requirement, then, was that
all who were excluded from the privilege
of the ballot-box should be excluded from
representation. We could not accede to this
though by some slight Amendment to the
Constitution we might have met even that
point.
Tim third requirement was that ‘ ‘the rebel
debt,” as they called it, was to be repudi
ated and the United States debt to be paid.
Why put this in the Amendment ? We
had already repudiated, our debt, and by
going back into the Union, we were help
ing to pay its debt, by paying the taxes
imposed upon us, and the more enormous
taxes to the rogues besides.
Now, colored people,if you will listen to
me, you will find that I am your best
friend —why, lam worth a thousand such
men to you as Bullock, Blodgett, and Bry
ant; for they will deceive you— I never will.
\ ery well. The fourth and last require
ment of the Constitutional Amendment—
and that is why it was rejected and the on
ly reason why the South made a point
against it—was the exclusion of almost
every intelligent man in the South even
from the humblest office. Why under that
Amendment, you could not have made
that whole-souled, pure and noble patriot,
Charles J. Jenkins,a Justice of the Peace
or a Constable in your county. I ask the
colored people was that right? Was it
right ? After all that we had done —after
all that we had complied with,was it right
to exclude such men as Crawford,
Starnes, Jenkins, every educated man,
thousands of the best, and wisest men of
your State, from every office in the State?
I ask you, colored men, was it right to let
you vote, and to keep the white man from
voting, for no other reason than because
he had been a leader in the war? This
was the first point which impinged on
Southern nonor. We had granted cheer
fully everything else with impunity; borne
patiently everything else exacted of us;
but when the miserable Radieal Congress,
which has said we will tax you and yet
deny you representation, and now said you
must disgrace yourself by disfranchising
your own people, the whole South rose up
as one man, and said, that we will not do.
Upon the rejection of this measure, Con
gress proposed new terms, known as the
Reconstruction Measures of 1867. Now,
remember, colored men, how prosperous
you were in 1866, how high you were paid
for your labor. Well, in March, 1867, this
wicked, nefarious measure, known as the
Reconstruction Bill, was adopted by Con
gress. From that moment the country
commenced going down. Up to that
time, the colored people were docile,
industrious, true to their “old masters,”
and kind good feelings reigned on all sides.
We began to congratulate ourselves that
emancipation was the best thing for us.
But from this moment, confidence was
struck down, prosperity ceased, Northern
capital stopped coming here ; and very
soon after we were introduced to that
meanest, most contemptible of all earthly
things, called “carpet-baggers.” What
does this measure propose to do ? It ex
cludes the wisest men of the South from
holding office, or voting, while it clothes,
say four millions of colored people, with the
right to vote. What a field was opened
here for these monstrosities, the Freed
meu’s Bureau and the carpet-baggers ?
These people concluded that they could get
something at the South —the wisest of the
white people are excluded, said they, from
holding office, and the colored people have
the right to vote. So they became office
seekers and office-holders. These carpet
baggers, bummers, and spoon-stealers had
nothing to do with Grant or Sherman ;
they never were on the battle-held; and
never did any good anywhere. But they
saw this fine opening at the South, and
down they came. And this is one of the
first objections to this Reconstruction
measure, that it put such trash upon us.
Well, they came here, and then
what did they do ? They got you colored
people into their Loyal Leagues, took you
into dark places, where the people who
had been your friends, whom you had
been raised with, couldn’t talk to you ;
and where these vile carpet baggers
taught you a feeling of hatred against the
Southern people. Unfortunately, you went
in, many of you, and now see the result.
Under their sway, how property has fallen;
how wages have fallen ; how confidence is
destroyed ; how business is ruined ! In a
word, the amount of the pecuniary injury
sustained by the Southern people would
pay the debt of every man, woman, and
child in the Southern States. Wages are
cut down —they are not half as much as
they were in 1867 —while the confidence
between the employer and the laborer is
destroyed. If it had not been for these
measures, prosperity would still reign here,
and hundreds of factories might now be
erected over these Southern States.
But I have dwelt too long upon these
points, my fellow-citizens ; and so we will
pass on. I want to make two remarks
here, worth bearing in mind, concerning
these Reconstruction measures.
The first is, that the Northern Radicals,
who matured and prepared them, admit,
themselves, that they are unconstitutional.
Not a respectable lawyer on the face of
this continent will say, to day, that they
are constitutional.
The second is, that not a respectable
man in the South, intended as a victim
of these measures, said it was Constitu
tional ; if he did, he was a fit subject for
the lunatic asylum. I wrote to General
Grant, in behalf of. the people of the
South, when Pope said that a large ma
jority of the people were in favor of these
measures, and challenged him, or any
honest man, to put his hand upon his heart
and say that they were Constitutional; that
they were just; that they were right. I
have never heard an intelligent man yet
say they were any of these things. I have
never seen it so claimed in any of the
speeches which I have read. Some crazy
man may have said so; but if he did I
didn't see it, as I read only the speeches of
the intelligent men of the country. I look
to such men as Orr, of South Carolina,
Holden, of North Carolina, an unmen
tionable in Georgia, and others of that
character in other States. I did my best
to bring them out. I dared them to come
out, and say that these measures were legal,
constitutional, and just. Not one of them
would do so. Colored men, remember
nu! S 'i • 'vL en d*d they favor them ?
i hat is the point. What reason did they
*9 r 1C • Why, that although uncon
stitutional, unfair, and unjust, we had bet
ter adopt them for fear Congress might do
something worse ! In other words, if you
don t let a man cut off your arm he
will cut off your head. Well, all
I have got to say is if you let him cut
off your arm, you deserve to have your
head cut off too. Thank Heaven 1 that
idea was founded in cowardice, and the
Southern people didn’t accept it.
I heard men, iu whom 3 t ou have confi
dence, say that they were in favor of giving
the negro the right to vote, but when they
would get in office they would turn it all over!
What shall I call such men ? Creatures ?
Creatures is too good for them. Vipers?
I beg pardon of vipers; things ? No name
can characterize them. They carried you into
their Loyal Leagues, They have deceived
you, cheated you, and betrayed you. They
told me, as late as October, some of these
very men, that they were just much
opposed to the Reconstruction measures as
I was ; and after they were in the Union
they would turn round and betray the
whole concern. This was their intention.
And they would have done it then,
though perhaps they wouldn’t do it now.
Yet I believe that if they could come back
to the respectable positions which they once
held, they would abandon Radicalism be
fore the setting of to-morrow’s sun, and
thank God for the privilege. But these
men are demoralized. They have gone so
far down the current that they can’t get
back. I wish they could, I feel sorry for
them ; and I would forgive them now, if
they could “bring forth fruits meet for re
pentance.” I’m in a forgiving humor
now. I want everybody to come with
us. I want everybody to join us in
this contest. I want everybody in
the world to vote for Seymour and
Blair. I know that we are going to win
the fight—that the last battle for Recon
struction has been fought; but I want you
all to have a share in the victory. These
miserable Radicals have taken back all
they promised you. They put Relief in
their Constitution, and when it went on to
Washington, the Congress struck it out,
and the miserable creatures at Atlanta,
your so-called Georgia Legislature, which
made a great ado about it, backed out also,
and struck it out. I wouldn’t give any
thing for the brains of the colored man
who couldn’t tell how mean a Radical is.
He shows his meanness in his countenance;
he shows it in his gait; he shows
it in his coat ; and even in the
swing of his arms. His very shadow
on the earth is a walking illustration of
his meanness. He is false to the Con
stitution, to Liberty, to the white race, and
to the black race —to every class, condition,
and race under the sun. Such a scheme
as this Reconstruction measure can
not last; it ought not to last. Every
wise man knows this. The advocates
of the measure, North and South,
know it. I read in the New
York Times , a Republican organ to-day, an
article saying, in substance, that the country
had not come out of this Reconstruction
trouble yet; and the whole argument
showed that the writer considered it a
failure. It could not be otherwise, for the
measure is illegal, unconstitutional, un
wise, and unjust, stimulated by lust, and
sustained by robbery. Such a measure
could not last long in this country. And
not only has it failed, but the candi
date of the party which endorses it can
not be elected President. Every day is
making this more palpable. I deeply re
gret that Gen. Grant has allowed himself
to be used by this party. You know how
I spoke of him at the commencement of
my remarks —how I said that he had act
ed nobly, generously. That was not all.
Even after. Congress commenced its plan,
when President Johnson sent Gen Grant
through the South, on a tour of observa
tion, he went back and made a report, in
which he spoke of the Southern people
kindly and favorably, and recommended
that we be admitted. That was generous.
Had he remained true to his position, he
would have been, not only the chief of
the conquerors, but the idol of the con
quered—the favorite of the South. But,
unfortunately for the General, he was re
quired to remain at Washington, where he
fell into the hands of those miserable
creatures, the politicians. He was taken
charge of by the Radicals; and for some
time it was not known which side he would
take. Earnest appeals wore made to him
to stand by his position. I took the liberty
of appealing to him in behalf of the whole
people but without success. He took
ground in favor of the Radical party, and
upon him alone does it stand. If he were
to abandon it it would not live five hours.
I had hoped that he would have the wis
dom to perceive and the courage to do what
was right; and I never knew any better
until lie wrote the letter about the War
Office in which he acknowledged that he
was deceiving the President. 1 saw a let -
ter the other day from the North in which
the writer states that General Grant is at
last waking up to the knowledge of the fact
that he has been deceived by such men as
Washburne and others, and that he made
a great blunder in going with them ; and
that he talks about coming down. Well,
5