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A Family Journal for ihe Dissemination of General Intelligence, Miscellany, Agricultural, Commercial, Political and Religious Information,
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MACON, GrA., MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1866.
I VOL. 1, NO. 20
TELEGRAPH
PUBLISHING HOUSE,
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Terms of Subscription :
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JoR PRIJfTINfi:
rsrTartUular attention will be given to the
emotion of JOB PRINTING of ererjr descrip
tor.
The Democratic Almanac gives a list
of one hundred and fifty-six cases of inter
ference with the liberty of the press in the
United States from April, 1861, to September,
of which sixty were by mobs ,and sev-
eDtv-six by order of the President.
Death of Gexeral Elliott.—Only a few
Jars since we announced, through these col
nrons, says the Constitutionalist of 22nd, that
this distinguished Confederate officer had
been appointed Assistant Superintendent of
the Augusta branch ot the South Carolina
railroad, and now it becomes our melancholy
dutv to chronicle liis daath. Wherever the
storv of the Confederate cause ho3 ; been
read, the name of Elliot, the gallant, heroic
defender of historic Sumter, is familiar. His
early death will be regretted, not only by his
late compatriots in arms, but by thousands
of brave men w ho have tlio magnanimity to
honor and respect the good and noble qual
ities of on enemy. Although cut off in the
prime of manhood, with inviting prospects
of future usefulness, he has won for himself
a great name, and illustrated the powers of
his beloved native State, Carolina. His name
and fame have become history, and will be
forever coupled with the stubborn, glorious
defense of Fort Suintcr.
Tlic following is the melancholy dispatch
announcing his death:
Aikj.w S. C., Feb. 21.
George Adam, Esq., Augusta, Ga.
General Stephen Elliot, Jr., the hero of
Fort Sumter, died in this place, this evening,
about half-past 4 o’clock.
Charlie Lathbop.
LETTER FROM THE NORTHWEST.
La Salle, Illinois, Feb. 15,1800.
Kditors Macon Telegraph: It occnred to mo
[hat an occasional letter from this distant
point might not be unacceptable to you and
wyour renders.
For many years I have had an] ardent dc-
4re to visit the Northwestern section. I had
beard much about it—much concerning its
broad prairies, their.immense fertility nnd
the superior cattle, hogs, mules and sheep
which belonged to this region. All this I
heard, and was, therefore, anxious to come
and see for my seif. Well I am here, and let
me assure you that the half has not been
told, for the reason that no one can fully de
scribe this country. My pen is utterly inca
pable of portraying its beauty and gran
deur.
In the first place let me speak of its soil
When I tell you that there is no soil on the
globe comparable with it, I utter what I sol
enraly believe to be true. Its depth is from
four to ten feet, and is of a very black loam.
And it extends throughout the States of Illi
nois, Wisconsin and Iowa. And what is
quite remarkable, there is scarcely a county,
ora locality in any one of these States that
can be said to be poor. There is less of waste
fond than can be found in any other section.
Nearly every acre is rich and will produce
from fifty to one hundred bushels of corn to
the acre and from twenty-flvo to thirty of
wheat. Such, briefly, is the nature of this
Northwestern soil.
In proof of its great fertility you need but
refer to the present com crop, which far sur
passes anything of the kind ever before known
in our history as a people. The crop alone
of Illinois is sufficient to keep the world from
starving for twelve months to come. You
oan buy com here by the million of bushels.
It is everywhere. The smallest fanners have
trom one to five thousand bushels. They
don't know what to do with it. It is almost
worthless, it requires tea times, or probably
one hundred times, the numbor of stock they
now have on hand to consume it Many
fields will not be gathered at all. A great
deal for fuel, and thousands of bushels are
wasted. There is more destroyed than the
cotton States raise. And in view of its abun
dance, distilleries nre springing np every
"here. In the little town of Peoria there nre
*rtnteen and their consumption of com is,
eac ' l > right hundred bushels, making in the
aggregate about 14,000 bnshcls a day 1 In
die town of Lacon there is distiller whose
revenue, this past year, amounted to over one
'aillion! There is a kind of liquor, distilled
from com, which is called “nigh Wines" and
you notice the Chicago papers, you will see
fii-m regularly quoted. I am not prepared
'“form you what they are exactly, further
tnan that they are an inferior grade of liqnor
which is sent to Europe where it undergoes
various manipulations and is returned to us
>a the form of various kinds of whiskies* as
imported f Such are some ot the uses to
which the immense com crop of this section
** put You are awaro that there is some
talk ef lowering the tariff upon whiskey. If
this is dona this whole country will be cloth-
cd over with extensive distileries. Com be-
,a »cheap, they can manufacture whiskev i
® er ° nominal sum.
Hut my letter is already long onong
desire it, I will give you a few mo.t 1
•'ant to say something more concerning ;::s
pvat country and its people.
Hons Anon.
ADDRESS
IION. ALEXANDER II. STEPHENS,
KtFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
STATE OF GEORGIA, FEB. 22, 1860.
Gentlemen of the Senate
and Route of Representatives:
I appear before you in answer to your call.
This call, coming in the imposing form it
docs, and under the circumstances it does, re
quires a response from me. Yoa have as
signed to me a very high, a very hon
orable, and responsible position. This
position you know I did not seek. Most
willingly would I have avoided it; nnd noth
ing but an extraordinary sense of duty could
have induced me to yield my own disinclina
tions and aversions to your wishes and judg
ment in the matter. For this unusual mani
festation of esteem and confidence. I return
you my profoundcst acknowledgments of
gratitude. Of one thing only can I give you
any assurance, and that is, if I shall be per
mitted to discharge the trusts thereby im
posed, they will be discharged with a single
ness of purpose to the public good.
The great object with me now, is to see a
restoration, if possible, of peace, prosperity,
and Constitutional liberty in this once happy,
but now disturbed, agitated, and distracted
country. To this end, all my energies and
efforts, to the extent of their powers, will be
devoted.
You ask my views on the existing state of
affairs; our duties at the present; and the
prospects of the future ? This is a task from
whicn, under ordinary circumstances. I might
very well shrink. He who ventures to speak,
and to give counsel nnd advice in times of
peril or disaster, assumes no enviable position.
Far be that rashness from me which some
times prompts the forward to rush in where
angels might fear to tread. In responding,
therefore, briefly to your inquiries, I feel, I
trust, the lull weight and magnitude ot the
subject. It involves the welfare of millions
now living, and that of many more millions
wlio arc to come after us. I am also fully
impressed with the consciousness of the in
conceivably small effect of what I shall say,
upon the momentous results involved in the
subject itself.
It is witli these feelings, I offer my mite
Of counsel at your request. And in the out
set of the undertaking, limited ns it is in
tended to be, to a few general ideas only,
well may I imitate an illustrious example in
invoking nid from on High; “that I may
say nothing on this occasion which may com-
promit the rights, the honor, the dignity, or
best interest of iny country.” I mean spe
cially the rights, honor, dignity, and best
interest of the people of Georgia. With
their sufferings, their losses, their misfortunes,
their bereavements, and their present utter
prostration, my heart is ip deepest sym
pathy.
We have reached that point inour [affairs,
at which the great question before us is—
“To be or not to be ?”—and if to be ? How?
Hope, ever springing in the tiuman breast,
prompts, even under the greatest calamities
nnd adversities, never to despair. Adversity
is a severe school, n terrible crucible, both
for individuals and communities. Wc are
now in this school, this crucible, and should
bear in mind that it is never negative in its
action. It is always positive. It is ever de
cided in its effects one way or the other. It
cither makes better or worse. It either
brings out unknown' vices, or arouses dor
mant virtues. In morals, its tendency is to
mike saints or reprobates—in politics to make
heroes or desperadoes. The first indication
of its working for good, to which hope
looks anxiously, is the manifestation of a full
consciousness of its nature and extent, and
the most promising ground of hope for pos
sible good from our present troubles, or of
things with us getting better instead of worse
ns the evident general realization, on the part
of'our people, of their present situation—of
the evils now upon them, and of the greater
ones still impending. These it is not my
purpose to exaggerate if 1 could; that would
bo useless; nor to lessen or extenuate, that
would be worse than useless. All fully un
derstand end realize them. They feel them.
It is well they do.
Can these evils upon us—the absence of law
tlic want of protection nnd security of person
and property, without which civilization
cannot advance—be removed ? or can those
greater ones, which threaten our very politi
cnl existence, be averted ? These are the
questions.
It is true wc have not the control of all the
remedies, even if these questions could be
satisfactorily answered. Our fortunes nnd
destiny arc not entirely in our own hands —
Yet there arc some things that wo may, and
can, and ought, in my judgment to do; from
which no harm can come; and from which
somu good mny follow, in bettering our
present condition. States and commu
nities ns well as individuals, when they
have done the best they can in view
of surrounding circumstances, with all the
lights they have before them—let results be
^ good-natured fellow,who was near-
4i»!°'Vi U - t house ant ^ homo by the constant
/ r,en d g , was one day complaining
l>l?£ f ofh >* numerous visitors.—“Sliuro, an’
Irishman* ty>w to K** rid of ’em,” said an
tlic ^ ray . “ ow *"•—“Lind money to
and ° ne ^ borrow from the rich ones
flier oort will ever trouble you again.*
what they may—can at least enjoy the conso
lation—no small recompense that—of having
performed their duty, nnd of haying a con
scienco void of offense before God' and man.
This, if no more valuable result, will, I trust,
attend the doing of what I propose.
The first great duty, then, I would enjoin
at this time, is the exercise of the simple,
though difficult and trying, but nevertheless
indispensable quality of patience. Patience
requires of those afflicted to bear and to suf
fer with fortitude whatever ilfs may befall
them. This is often, nnd especially is it the
case with us now, essential for their ultimate
removal by any instrumentalities whatever.—
We are in the condition of a man with a dis
located limb, or a broken leg, and a very bad
compound fructure at that. How it became
broken should not be with him a question of
so much importance, as how it can be restored
to health, vigor and strength. This requires
of him, os the highest duty to himself, to wait
quietly and patiently in splints and bandages,
until nature resumes her active powers—un
til the vital functions perform their office.—
The knitting of the bones and tlic granula
tion of the flesh require time. Perfect quiet
and repose even under the severest pain, is
necessary. It will not do to make too great
baste to get well. An attempt to walk too
soon wilfonly make the matter worse. We
must or ought now, therefore, in a similar
manner to discipline ourselves to the same or
like degree of patience. I know the anxiety
and restlessness of the popular mind to be
tully ou our feet again—to walk abroad as we
once did —to enjoy once more the free out
door air of Heaven, with the perfect use
of all our limbs. I know how trying it
is to be denied representation in Congress,
while wo are paying our proportion of the
taxes—how annoying it is to Be even partially
under military rule—and liow- injurious it is
to the general interest and business of the
country to bo without Post Offices and mail
communications; to say nothing of divers
other matters on the long list ot our present
inconveniences apcl privations. All these,
however, wc must patiently bear and endure
lor a season. With quiet and repose we may
again. One thing is certain, that bad humor,
ill temper, exhibited eithei in restlessness or
grumbling, will not hasten it
Next to this, another groUduty we owe to
ourselves is the exercise ot liberal spirit of
forbearance amongst oursel res.
The first step towards lo :al or general har
mony, is the banishment frtun our breasts of
every feeling and sentimen' calculated to stir
the discords of the past Nothing could be
more injurious or mischict »us to the future
of this country, than the agitation at present,
of questions that divided V ie people anterior
to, or during the existence tf the late war.—
On no occasion, and especia llv in the bestow-
mentof office, ought such ilifficnc sof opin
ion in the past, ever to be mentioned, cither
for or against any one, oth erwise equally en
titled to confidence. These ideas or senti
mentsof other times and circumstances, arc
not the germs from which hopeful organiza
tion can now arise. Let all differences of
opinion, touching errors, or supposed errors,
of the head or heart, on the part of any, in
the past, growing out of tli -se matters, be at
once, in the deep ocean of oblivion, forever
buried. Let there be no c -irainations or re
criminations on account of acts of other days.
No canvassing of past cond ict or motives.—
Great disasters are upon us and upon the
whole countiy, and without inquiring how
these originated, or at whom door the fault
should be laid, let us now at. common sharers
of common misfortunes, on sill occasions, con
sult only as to the best means, under the cir
cumstances as we find them, to secure the
best ends towards future amt lioration. Good
Government is what we wi.nt. This should
be the leading desire and the controlling ob
ject with all; and I need not assure you, if
this can be obtained, that our desolated fields,
our towns and villages, and cities now in
ruins, will soon—like the Pl.cenix—rise again
from their ashes; and all ou r waste places will
again, at no distant day, blossom as the rose.
This view should also be borne in mind,
that whatever differences of opinion existed
before the late fury of the war, they sprung
mainly from differences as to the best means
to be used, and the best line of policy to be
pursued, to secure the great controlling ob
ject of all—which was good government.
Whatever may be said of the loyalty or dis
loyalty of any, in the late most lamentable
conflict of arms, I think I may venture safely
to say, that there was, on the part of the
great mass of the people of Geogia, and of
the entire South, no disloyalty to the princi
ples of the Constitution of the United States.
To that system of representative Government;
of delegated and limited powers; that estab
lishment in a new phase, on this continent, of
all the essentials of England's Magna Charta,
for the protection and security of life, liberty
and property; with the additional recogni
tion of the principle as a fundamental truth,
that all political power resides in the people.
With ns it was sinyily a question
to where our allegiance was due
the maintenance of these principles—
which authority was paramount in the lost
resort—State or Federal. As for myself,
can affirm that no sentiment of disloyalty to
these great principles of self-government,
recognized and embodied in the Constitution
of the United States, ever beat or throbbed
in breast or heart of mine. To their maintc
nance my whole soul was ever enlisted, nnd
to this end my whole life has heretofore been
devoted, and will continue to be the rest of
my days—God willing. In devotion to these
principles, I yield to no rnan living. This
much I can say for myself; may I not say the
same for you and for the great mass of the
people of Georgia, and for the great mass of
the people of the entire South ? Whatever
differences existed amongst us arose from dif
ferences as to the best nnd surest means of
securing these great ends, which was the ob
ject of all. It was with this view and this
nirpose Secession was tried. That has failed,
instead of bettering our condition, instead of
establishing our liberties upon a surer found
ation, wc have, in the war that insued, come
well nigh losing the whole of the rich inherit
ance with which wc set out.
This is one of the sad realizations of the
present On this, too, we are but illustrating
the teachings of history. Wars, and civil
wars especially, nlways menace liberty; they
seldom advance it—while they usually end in
its entire overthrow and destruction. Ours
stopped just short of such a catastrophe. Our
only alternative now is, either to give up ail
hope of Constitutional liberty, or to retrace
our steps, and to look for its vindication nnd
maintenance in the forums of reason nnd jus
tice, instead of in the nren i of arms—in the
Courts and balls of Legislation, instead of on
the fields of battle.
I am frank and candid in telling you right
here that our surest hopes, in my judnment,
to these ends, are in the restoration policy of
the President of the United States. I have
little hope for liberty—little hope for the suc
cess of the great American ‘xperiment of self-
government—but' in tlic sv.cccss of the pres
ent efforts for the restoration of the States to
tlicir former practical relations in a common
government, under the C institution of the
United States.
Wc arc not without an encouraging exam
ple on this line in the history of the mother
country—in the history of our ancestors—
from whom wc derived, in great measure, the
principles to which we are so mncli devoted.
The truest friends of liberty In England once,
in 1013, abandoned the fotuiu of reason, and
appealed, as we did. to :hc sword, as the
surest means, in their judgment, of advancing
their cause. This was afiiir they had made
great^progress, under the lead of Coke, Hamp
den, Falkland and others, in the advancement
of lilieral principles. Many usurpations hail
been checked; many of tlic prerogatives of
the Crown had been curtailed; the Petition
of Right had been sanctioned; Sliip-moncv
had been abandoned; Courts-Martial had
been done away with; Hakea* Carpus had
been re-established ; High Courts of Commis
sion and Star-Chamber hail been abolished;
many other great abuses of power had been
corrected and other reforms established. But
not satisfied with these, and not satisfied
with the peaceful working of reason, to go
on in its natural sphere, the denial of the
Sovereignty of the Crown was pressed by the
too ardent reformers upon Charles the First
AH else he had yielded—this he would not.
The sword was appealed to, to settle the ques
tion; a civil war was the result; great valor
and courage were displayed on both sides;
men of eminent virtue and patriotism fell in
the sanguinary and fratricidal conflict; the
King was deposed nnd executed; a Common
wealth proclaimed. But the end was the re
duction of the people of England to a worse
state of oppression than they had bccu in for
centuries. They retraced their steps. After
nearly twenty years of exhaustion and blood,
and the loss of the greater portion of the lib
erties enjoyed by them before, they, by almost
unanimous consent, called for restoration.
The restoration came. Charles the Second
ascended the throne, as unlimited a monarch
as ever ruled the empire. Not a pledge was
asked or a guarantee given, touching the con
cessions of the Royal prerogative, that had
been exacted and obtained from bis father.
The true friends ot liberty, of reform and
of progress in government had become con-
atres of their operations, and not the fields of
Newberry or Marston-Moor. The result was,
that in leas than thirty years all their ancient
rights and privileges, which had been lost in
the civil war, with new securities, were re
established in the ever-memorable settlement
of 1668—which, for all practical purposes,
may be looked upon as a bloodless revolution.
Since that time, England has made still fur
ther and more signal strides in reform and
progress. But not one of these has been
effected by resort to arms. Catholic Emanci
pation was carried in Parliament, after years
of argument, against the most persistent op
position. Reason and justice ultimately pre
vailed. So with the remov:.' -f the disability
of the Jews—so with the -overthrow of the
Rotten-Borough system—so with the exten
sion of franchise—so with the modification
of the Corn-Laws, and restrictions on Com
merce, opening the way to the establishment of
the principles of Free-Trade—and so with
all the other great reforms by Parlia
ment, which have so distinguished English
history for the last half centuiy.
May we not indulge hope, even in the al
ternative before us now, from this great exam
ple of restoration, if [all but do as the
friends of liberty there” did? This is my
hope, my only hope. It is founded on the
virtue, intelligence nnd patriotism of the
American people. J have not lost my faith
in the people, or in their capacity for self-
government. But for these great essential
qualities of human nature, to be brought into
active and efficent exercise, for the fulfill
ment of patriot hopes, it is essential that the
passions of the day should subside; that the
cause of these passions should not now be
discussed; that the embers of the late strife
shall not be stirred.
Man by nature is ever prone to scan closely the
errors and defects of his fellow man-ever ready
to rail at the mote in his brothers eye, without
considering the beam that is in his own.—
This should not be. We all have our motes
or beams. We are all frail; perfection is the
attribute of none. Prejudice or pre-judg
ment should be indulged towards none.—
Prejudice! What wrongs, what Injuries,
what mischiefs, what lamentable conse
quences, have resulted at all times from noth
ing but this perversity of tlic intellect 1 Of
all the obstacles to the advancement of truth
and human progress, in every, department—
in science, in art, in government, nnd in re
ligion, in all ages and climes, not one of the
list is more formidable, more difficult to
overcome and subdue, than this horrible dis
tortion ot the moral as well as intellectual
faculties. It is a host of evil within itself.
I could enjoin nogreaterduty upon my coun
trymen now, North and South, than the exer
cise of that degree of forbearance which
would enable them to conquer their prejudices.
One of the highest exhibitions of the inoral
sublime the world ever witnessed, was that
of Daniel Webster, when in an open bnrouclfc
in the streets of Boston,lie proclaimed in sub
stance, to a vast assembly of bis constituents
—unwilling hearers—that “they had con
quered an uncongenial clime; they had con
quered a sterile soil; they had conquered the
winds and elements of the Ocean; they had
conquered most of the elements of nature;
but they must yet learn to conquer their
prejudices”! I know of no more fitting in
cident or scene in the litc of that wonderful
man, “clarut et cirfortissunus," for perpetu
ating the memory of the true greatness of
his character, on canvas or in marble, than a
representation of him as lib then and there
stood and spoke! It was nn exhibition in
moral grandeur surpassing that of Aristides
when lie said, “Oh Athenians, what Themis-
toclcs recommends would be greatly to your
interest, but it would be unjust*’!
I say to you, and if my voico could extend
throughout this vast country, over bill and
dale, over mountain and valley, to hovel,
hamlet and mansion, village, town and city,
I would say, first of all, looking to restora
tion of peace, prosperity and harmony in this
land, is the great duty of exercising that de
gree of forbearance which will enable them
to conquer their prejudices. Prejudices against
communities as well as individuals.
And next to that, the indulgence of a
Christian spirit of charity. “Judge not that
ye be not judged,” especially in matters grow
ing out of the late war. Most of the wars
that have scourged the world, even in the
Christian era, have risen on points of con
science, or differences as to the surest way of
salvation. A strange way to Heaven, is it not!
How much disgrace to the Church, nnd shame
to mankind, would have been avoided, if the
ejaculation of each breast had been, at all
times, os it shouldkayo been
“Let not this weak, nnknowing band,
Presame thy bolts to throw;
And dual damnation round the land,
On him /deem tty foe.”
How equally proper is it now, when the
spirit of peace seems to bo hovering over our
war-stricken land, that in canvassing the con
duct or motives of others during the late
conflict, this great truth should be impressed
upon the minds of all,
“tVho made the heart* ’Tis He alone
Decidedly, can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias;
Then at the balance, let’s be mute,
Wc never can adjust it;
What’s dane, wc partly may compute,
Bat know not what’s resisted.”
Of all the heaven descended virtues, that
elevate and ennoble human nature, the high
est, the sublimest, and the divinest is chanty.'
By all means, then, fail not to exercise and
cultivate this soul-regenerating element of
fallen nature. Let it be cultivated and exer
cised not only amongst ourselves nnd towards
ourselves, on all questions of motive or con
duct touching the late war, but towards all
mankind. Even towards our enemies, if wc
have any, let the aspirations of our hearts be,
'Father, forgive them; they know not what
they do.” The exercise of patience, forbear
ance and charity, therefore, are the three first
duties I would at this time enjoin—nnd of
these three, “the greatest is charity.”
But to proceed. Another one of our pres
ent duties, is this: we shotfld accept the
issues of the war, and abide by them
good faith. This, I feel fully
persuaded, it is your purpose to do, as well
as that ot your constituents. The people of
Georgia have in Convention revoked and an
nulled her Ordinance of 1861, which was in
tended to sever her from the compact of
Union of 1787. The Constitution of the United
States has been re-ordained as the organic
law of our land. Whatever differences of
opinion heretofore existed as to where our
allegiance was due, during the lato state ot
things, none for any practical purpose can ex
ist now. Whether Georgia, by the action of
her Convention of 1801, was ever rightfully
out of the Union or not, there can lie no ques
tion that she is now in, so far os depends up
on her will and deed. The whole United
restoration, so far as regards the great body of
the people in at least eleven States of tha
Union, is but making a promise to tlic car to
be broken to the hope. All, therefore who
accept the issue of war in good faith,and come
np to the test required by the Constittuion,
are now loyal, however they may have hereto
fore been.
But with this change comes a new order of
things. One of the results of the war is a to
tal change in our whole internal polity. Our
former social fabric: has been entirely subvert
ed. Like those convulsions in nature which
break up old incrustations, the war lias
wrought a new epoch in our political exist
ence. Old things have passed away, and all
things among us in this respect are new. The
relation heretofore, under our old system, ex
isting between the African and European
races no longer exists. Slavery, as it was called
or the status of the black race, their subordi
nation to thewhite, upon which all our institu
tions rested, is abolished forever, not only in
Georgia, but throughout the limits of the
United States. This change should be re
ceived and accepted as an irrevocable fact.
It is a bootless question now to discuss, wlieth
er the new system is better for both races than
the old one was or not. That may be proper
matter for the philosophic and philanthropic
historian, at some future time to inquire into,
after the new system shall have been fully and
fairly tried.
All changes of systems or proposed reforms,
arc but experiments and problems to be solv
ed. Our system of self-government was an
experiment at first. PerUhps as a problem it
is not yet solved. Our present duty on this
subject is not with the post or the future. It
is with the present. The wisest nnd the best
often err in tlicir judgments as to the proba
ble workings of any new system. Let us there
fore give this one a fair and just trial, with
out prejudice, and with that earnestness of
purpose, which always looks hopefully to suc
cess. It is an ethnological problem, on the
solution of which depends, not only the best
interests of both races, but it may be, the ex
istence of one or the other, if not both.
This duty of giving this new system a fair
and just trial, will require of you, as Legisla
tors of the land, great changes in our former
laws in regard to this large class of popula
tion. Wise and humane provisions should be
made for them. It is not for me to go into
detail. Suffice it to say on this occasion, that
ample nnd full protection should be secured
to them, so that they may stand equal before
the law, in the possession and enjoyment of
all rights of person, liberty and property.—
Many considerations claim this at your hands.
Among these may be stated their fidelity in
times past. They cultivated your fields; min
istered to your personal wants and comforts;
nursed and reared your children; and even
in thp hour of danger and peril, they were in
the main, true to you nnd yours. To them
wc owe a debt of gratitude, as well as acts of
kindness. This should also be done because
they are poor, untutored, uninformed; many
of them helpless, liable to be imposed upon,
nnd need it. Legislation should ever look to
the protection of the weak against the strong.
Whatever may be said of the equality of races,
or their natural capacity to become equal, no
one can doubt that at this time, this race
among us, is not equal to the Caucasian. This
inequality does not lessen the moral obliga
tions on the part of the superior to the info
rior, it rather increases them. From him who
has much, more is required than from him who
has little. The present generation of them
it is true, is far above tlicir savage progeni
tors, who were at first introduced into this
country, in general intelligence, virtue, and
moral culture. Thi9 shows capacity for irn
prorcuient. But in all the higher character
istics of mental development, tiiey are still very
far below the European type. What further
advancement they may make, or to what stand
ard they may attain, under a different system
of law9 every way suitable and wisely npplica l
blcto their changed condition, timealonecan
can disclose. I speak of them as.we now know
them to be, having no longer the protection
of a master, or legal guardian; they now need
all the protection which the shield of the law
can give.
But, above all, this protection should
be secured because it is right nnd just
that it should be, upon general prin
ciples. All governments in their organic
structure, as well »3 in their adminis
tration, should hare this leading object in
view—the good of the governed. Protection
and security to all under its jurisdiction,
should bo the chief end of every government.
It is a melancholy truth that while this should
be the chief end of all governments, most of
them arc used only as instruments of power,
tor the aggrandizement of the few, at the o.\-
penso of, and by the oppression, of the man}'.
Such are not our ideas of government, never
have been and never should. be. Govern
ments, according to our ideas, should look to
the good of the whole and not a part only.—
“Tlie greatest good to the greatest number,”
is a favorite dogma with some. Some so dc
fended our old system. But. you know thi9
was never my doctrine. The greatest good to
all, without detriment or injury to any, is the
true rule. Those governments only are found
ed upon correct principles, of reason and jus
tice, which look to the greatest attainable ad
vancement, improvement, and progress, phys
ically, intellectually nnd morally, of all classes
and conditions within their rightful jurisdic
tion. If our old system was not the best, or
could not have been made the best, for both
races, in this respect and upon this basils, it
ought to have been abolished. This was my
view of that system while it lasted, nnd I
repeat. it now that it is no more. In legis
lation therefore under the new system, you
should look to the best interest of all classes;
their protection,'security, advancement, and
improvement, physically, intellectually and
morally. All obstacles, if there be any, should
be removed, which can possibly binder or
retard the improvement of the blacks to the
extent of their capacity. All proper aid
should be given to their own efforts. Chan
nels of education should be opened up to
them. Schools, and the usual means of moral
and intellectual training, should be encour
aged amongst them. This is the dictate, not
only of what is right and proper, and just In
itself, but it is also the promptings of the
highest considerations of interest. It is dif
ficult to conceive a greater evil or curse, than
could befall our country,stricken and dis
tressed as it i\ow is, than for so large a por
tion of its population, as this class will quite
probably constitute amongst us, hereafter, to
be reared in ignorance, depravity and vice,—
In view of such a state of tilings, well might
the prudent, even now look to its abandon
ment. Let us not, however, indulge in such
thoughts of the futrro. Nor let us, without
an effort, say the system cannot be worked.
Let ua not, standing still, hesitatingly ask,
Con there any good thing come out of Naz-
relations towards each other, looking to tlie
best interest of all, thau in any other light.—
The pecuniary aspect of it, the considerations
of labor and capital, in a politico-economic
view, sunk into insignificance, in comparison
to this. This problem, as one of the re
sults of the war, is now upon us, presenting
one of the most perplexing questions of the
sort that any people ever had to deal with.
Let us resolve to do the best we can with it,
from all the lights we have, or can get from
any quarter. With this view, and in this con
nection, I take the liberty of quoting for
your consideration, some remarks even from
the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. I met with
them some months ago while pondering on
this subject, and was as much struck ns sur
prised, with the drift of their philosophy,
coming from the source they did. I give
them us I find them in the New York Times
where they were reported. You may be Os-
inucli surprised at hearing such ideas from
Mr. Beecher as I was. But however much
we may differ from him on many questions,
and on many questions connected with this
subject, yet all must admit him to rank
amongst the master spirits of the age. And
no one perhaps has contributed more by tbe
power of his pen and voice in bringing about
the present state of things than he has. Yet,
nevertheless, I commend to your serious con
sideration, as pertinent to my present object,
wliat he was reported to have said, as fol
lows :
“In oar land and time facts and questions are
pressed upon us, which demand Christian settle
ment. Settlement on this ground and doctrine.
Wo cannot escape th'e responsibility. Being
strong and powerful, wo must nurse and help and
educate ana foster, the weak and poor and igno
rant. For my own part I cannot see how we shall
escape the most terriblo conflict of classes, by
and by, unless we are educated into this doc
trine of duty, on the part of the superior to the
inferior. Wo are told by xealous and fanatical
individuals that all men are equal. We know
better. They are not equal. A common broth
erhood teaches no such absurdity. A theory of
universal, physical likeness, is no more absurd
than this. Now, as in all times, the strong go
to the top, the weak go to tho bottom. It’s natu
ral, right and can't be helped. All branches are
not at the top of the tree, but the top does not
despise the lower; nor do they all despise the
limb or tho parent trunk; and so with the
body politic, there must be classes. Some must
be at the top aDd some must be at the bottom.—
It is difficult to foresee, and estimate the devel-
opement of the power of classes in America.—
They aro simply inevitable. They are here
now and will do more. If they are friendly,
living at peace, loving and respecting and
helping one another, all will bo well. But
if they nre selfish, unchristian; if the old
heathen feeling is to reign, each extracting
all he can from his neighbor, and caring
nothing for him ; society will be lined by clas
ses as by seams—like batteries, each firing
broadside after broadside,the one upon tho other.
If on the other hand the law of love prevails,
there will be no ill-will,noenvy, no disturbance.
Does a child hate his father because he is chief,
because he is strong and wise ? On the contrary,
he grows with his father’s growth, and strength
ens with his strength. And if in society there
should be fifty grades or classes, all helpingeach
other, thero will be no trouble, but perfect satis
faction and content. This Christian doctrine car
ried into practice, will easily settle the most
troublesome of all home present questions.”
What he here said ol the state of things
where lie spoke in the State of New York,
and tlie fearful antagonism of classes there,
is much more applicable to us. Here it is
true, only two great classes exist, or are like
ly to exist, but these are deeply marked by
distinctions Rearing the impress of nature.
The one is now beyond all question greatly
superior to the other. These classes are as
distinct as races of men can be. The
one is of the highest type of humanity,
tlie other of the lowest. All that he says of
tho duty of the superior, to protect, to aid,
to encourage, and to help the inferior, I ful
ly and cordially endorse and commend to yon
as quite as applicable to us and our situation,
as it was to his auditors. Whether the doc
trine, if carried out and practiced, will settle
all these most troublesome home questions
with us as easily as he seemed to think
it would like home questions with those
whom he was addressing, I will not
undertake to say. I have no hesitancy, how
ever. in saying that the general principles an
nounced by bim are good. Let them be
adopted by us as far as practicable. No harm
can come from it, much good may. Whether
the great barrier of races which the Creator
has placed between this, our inferior class
and ourselves, shall prevent a success ot the
experiment now on trial, of a peaceful, hap
py nnd prosperous community, composed of
such elements and sustaining present rela
tions towards each other, or even a further
elevation ou the part of the inferior, if they
prove themselves fit for it, let the future, un
der the dispensations of Providence, decide.
We have to deal with the present. Let us
do our duty now, leaving resultsand ultimate
consequences •
To that “divinity which shapes our ends,
Rough hew them how we will.”
In all things on this subject as in all others,
let our guide be tlic admirable motto of our
State. Let our counsels be governed by wis
dom, our measures by moderation nnd our
principles by justice.
So much tor what I have to say on this oc
casion, touching our present duties on this
absorbing subject, and some of our duties in
reference to a restoration of peace, law and
order; without which all must, sooner or
later, end in utter confussion, anarchy and des
potism. I have as I said I should, only
glanced at some general ideas.
Now as to the future, and the prospect be
fore us! On this branch of the subject I can
add but little. You can form some ideas of
my views of that from what has already Iiecn
said. Would that I could say something
cheerful; but that candor, which has marked
all that I have said, compels me to say that
to me the future is far from being bright.
Nay it is dark and impenetrable. Thick
gloom curtains and closes in the horizon all
around us. Thus much I can say : My only
hope is in the peaceful re-establishment 1 of
good government, and its peaceful main
tenance afterwards. And farther the most
hopeful prospect to this end now, is the res
toration of the old Union, and with it the
speedy return of fraternal feeling throughout
al Union” emblazoned on it folds. President
Johnson is now in my judgment tho chief great
standard bearer of these principle?, and in his
efforts at restoration should receive the cordial
support of every well wisher of his country.
In this consists, on this rests, my only "hope.
Should he besustainod, and the Government bo
restored to its fi rmer functions, all the States
brought back to their practical relations under
tbe Constitution, our situation will be greatly
changed from what it was before. A radical and
fundamental change, as has been stated, has been
made in that organic law. We shall have lost
what was known as our “peculiar institution”
which was so intertwined with the wholo framo
work of our State body politic. We shall have
lost nearly half the accumulated capital of a
century. But wo shall have still left all the es
sentials of the free government, contained and
granted in tho old Constitution, untouched and
unimpored as they came from the hands of our
fathers. With these, even if we had to begin en
tirely anew, the prospect before us would be much
more encouraging than tbe prospect was before
them, when they fled from the oppression of tho
old world, and sought shelter and homes in this
then wilderness land. The liberties we begin
with, they had to achieve. With the samo ener
gies and virtues they displayed, we have much
more to cheer us than they had. With a climate
unrivalled in salubrity; with a soil unsurpassed
in fertility; and with products unequalled in
value in the markets of the world, to say nothing
of our mineral resources, we shall have much
still to wed us to the good old land. With good
government, the matrix from which alone spring
all great human achievements, we shall lack
nothing but our own proper exertions, net only
to recover our former prosperity, but to attain a
much higher degree of development in every
thing that characterizes a great, free, and happy
people. At least I know of no other land that
the sun shines upon, that offers better prospects
under the contingencies stated.
The old Union was based upon the assumption,
that it was for the best interest of the people of
all the States to be united as they were, each
State faithfully performing to the people of the
other States all their obligations under the com
mon compact. I always thought this assump
tion was lounded upon broad, correct, and states
man-like principles. I think so yet It was on
ly when it seemed to be impossible further to
maintain it without hazarding greater evils than
would perhaps attend a separation, that I yield
ed my assent in obedience to tho voice of Geor
gia, to try the experiment which has just result
ed so disastrously to us. Indeed, during the
whole lamentable conflict, it was my opinion
that however the pending strife might termin
ate, so far as the appeal to the sword was con
cerned, yet after a while, when the passions and
excitements of the day should pass away, an ad
justment or arrangement would be made upon
Continental principles, upon the general basis
of “reciprocal advantage and mutual conven
ience,” on which the Union was first established.
My earnest desire, however, throughout, was
whatever might be done, might be peacefully
done; might be tberesultof calm, dispassionate,
and enlightened reason; looking to the perma
nent interests and welfare of all. And now, af
ter tho severe chastisement of war, if the gener
al sense of the whole country shall come back to
the acknowledgement of the original assumption,
that it is for the best interests of all the States
to be so united, as I trust it will; tbe States still
being “separate as tho billows, but one as tho
sea”; I can perceive no reason why, under such
restoration, wo as a whole with ’“peace, com
merce, and honest friendship with all nations
and entangling alliances with none,” may not
enter upon a new career, exciting increased won
der in the old world, by grander achievements
hereafter to bo made,than any heretofore attained,
by the peaceful and harmonious workings of our
American institutions of self government All
this is possible if the hearts of the people be
right It is my earnest wish to see it Fondly
would I indulge my fancy iu gazing on such a
picture of the future. With what rapture may
we not suppose the spirits of our fathers would
hail its opening scenes from their mansions
above. Such are my hopes, resting on such con
tingencies. But if, instead of all this, the pas
sions of the day should continue to bear sway:
if prejudice shall rule the hour; if a conflict of
races shall arise; if ambition shall turn the
scale; if the sword shall be thrown in the bal
ance against patriotism ; if the embers of the
late war shall be kept a glowing until with new
fuel they shall flame up again, then our present
gloom is but the shadow, the penumbra of that
deeper and darker eclipse, which is to totally
obscure this hemisphere and blight forever tho
anxious anticipations and expectations of man
kind ! Then hereafter by some bard it may be
sung:
•The star of hope shone brightest in the West,
“The hope of Liberty, the last the best:
Thattoo has set. upon her darkened shore,
And Hope and Freedom.light up earth no more.’
I May we not all on this occasion, on this anni
versary of the birth day of Washington, join in
a fervent prayer to Heaven that the Great Ruler
ot events may avert from this land, such a fall,
such a fate, and such a requiem 1
A Happy Old Age.
Is your old age happy; or, if not yet
reached, is it likely to be"? How beautiful a
pure, bright, useful, happy old age. Do you
ask by wliat means it may be secured ? Take
the Bible to your heart, aud pray for the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to practise its
directions every day to the last hour of life.
Bible old age is just the sort yon want:
seek it earnestly; pray for it in the name of
Jesus Christ; or, if not tar on in your joar-
ney, pray that your youth, your middle age,
may be of the Bible sort, first for their own
sake, and then in preparation for life’s closing
period.
Look at the 71st Psalm, pre-eminently the
psalm for the aged. What blessed words of
instruction, of ^weet, filial confession and pe
tition, of faith and hope and triumph through
all the decays and trials of this mortal pil
grimage. The very number which marks it
by tlie ordering of God’s providence, is sug
gestive—Psalm setenty-one. It seems to say,
“Here, pilgrim, if beyond the ‘threescore and
ten,’ he is ‘strong consolation’ foryou.” Yes,
behold it. Sec and understand and know
that the religion of Christ is divinely suited
to every period of life, and to none"than to
old age. Say and sing with thePsalmist, and
breathe the wish and prayer that every one
of our aged friends on their birthdays and
all their days may do the same. 1 V
“But I will hope continually, and will yet
praise thee more and more. My mouth shall
show forth thy righteousness and thy salva
tion all the day; for I know not the numbers
thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord
God: I will make mention of thy righteous
ness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast
taught me from my youth; and hitherto have
I declared thy wondrous works. Now also
when I am old and grayheaded, O God, for
sake me not; until I have showed thy strength
unto this generation, and thy power unto ev-
its length and breadth. These results dc- er %, oue that is to come. ’
How sad tlie contrast of the aged ungodly
States, therefore, is now without question our arcth ?”. but let us rather say as Gamaliel did,
country, to be cherished and defended as such “It this counsel or this work be of men, it
by all our hearts and by all our arms' . | will come to nought, but if it be of God ye
The Constitution of the United States, and | cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found
pend upon the people themselves—upon the
people ot tlie North quite as much as upon
the people of the South—upon their virtue,
intelligence, nnd patriotism. I repeat, I have
faith in the American people, in their virtue,
intelligence and patriotism. But for this I
should long since have despaired. Dark and
gloomy as the present hour is, I do not yet
despair of free institutions. Let but the vir
tue, intelligence aud patriotism of the peo
ple throughout the wholo country be proper
ly appealed to, aroused and brought into ac
tion, and all may yet be well. The masses,
everywhere, are alike equally interested, in
the great object. Let old issues, old questions,
and unbelieving. No renewing grace, no
hope in Christ; the heart and lira impure,
nothing bright and genial. Perhaps no in
tellectual culture, no love for reading—what
a princeless resort—ami least of all, lor read
ing God’s word. If there be a cultivated in
tellect, and even decided genius, often it on
ly makes more striking tbe poverty, wretch
edness, and guilt of a sinner without God.
The “hoary head” is often not “a crown of
glory,” but the exaltation of folly. Blessed
are they who, when earthly powers and joys
grow feeble, have learned to say, “But I will
hope continually;” “Teach me, O Lord, the
the treaties and laws made in pursuance there
of, are now acknowledged to be the para
mount law in the whole country. Whoever
therefore is true to these principles as now re
cognized, is loyal as far as that term has any
vinced that these were the offspring of peace ! legitimate use or force under our institutions,
and of enlightened reason, and not of passion . This is the only kind of loyalty and the only
nor of arms. The House of Commons and test of loyalty the Constitution itself requires,
even to fight against God.” The most vexed
questions of the age are social problems.—
These we have heretofore bad but little to do
with; we were relieved from them by our
pecular institution. Emancipation of tho
blacks, with its consequences, was ever consid
ered, by me with much more interest as a so
cial question, one relating tb the properstatus
old differences and old feuds, be regarded as | statutes, and I shall keep unto the
fossils of another epoch. They belong to | en< ^-
wliat may hereafter be considered, the Silu- _«,_ „ 71 ,■
rian period of our history. Great, new, liv- - ' . The Snpren Court i> L .ila.-sacnusctts
ing questions are before us. Let it not be j s J ®° tim e ago gave v,<j©. l,. btone, of Swamp-
said ot us in this day, not yet passed, of our I ▼®J , dict °i '■j jl P ar t!es w.io
country’s greatest trial and agony, ' tifo ^ .c « U -V ‘ "•
“thero was a party for Csesar, a party ‘f or I o*rer the dc th of CT® dent Lincoln.
Pompoy, mid a party for Brutus, but no pqrty Alittlegirl in k * ‘ , ,„ lL
But let all patriots, by whatever distinctive I “‘vf.i'.Vviiir, ’ '!■"] L \ > ‘ lll I ), N
name heretofore styled, rally, in all elections I by playin^ mth a old - , :n or a tobacco
'hi
... bypia _
everywhere, to the support of him, bo ho who ho : P I l )a >n her mouth.
get well—may get once more on our feet the House of Lords were thenceforth the the- In any other view, everything pertaining to of the different elements of society, and their may, who bears the standard with “Constitution- bacco alnjost produel