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snide & Sentinel.
WEDNESDAY MOBMXfi, SEPTKMBKB •'>.
‘ The (onst Rationalist anG the fUW*l*
plila l int form.
WV are Sony to find our esteemed co
temi > rary across the street still opposed
to the great conservntirc and national
movement inaugurated in Philadelphia lor
the nre-vrvatinn .f constitutional lii*rty
, ( j t . r j!„. Constitution of the 1 nited
<1 ;lt the n Mutation of the Houthcm
S,a.t-. -and people to all the rights privil
,■2.- anil franchises to which they tire en
title 1 und- rthat instrument. The Editor
~j tin- tiiuthmalist take- around
j.. ainst theplatform of the Convention in
it long article which appeared in that paper
of the 2f)th insi. We propose to-day to
review that art; ' somewhat at length,
and in doing so we shall take up seriatim
tl„. a- larationx of principles enuncia
ted in the Philadelphia platform.
The fir.-t of the scries is in the following
words.
j-t. \Ve imil with gratitude to Almighty
Cod the end of the war and the rr mm of
p.. . | ■ and b lov< and lai L
To this th Constii t ■ 1 ‘with
a h. art full of gratitude to that nicr> il'ul
Rang . we , iy amen.
'J'he second proposition is as follows:
id. The war just elosi-d has maintained
11, ( authority of tic- C institution with alt
the powers which it confers, amt all the
; fictions which it imposes upon the (ten
or .! i ioverament unabridged and unalter
,-d: and i. has pre- rv.-d ti,-, t'nion, with
the i- pjat rights, dignity and authority of
tin*.state-, perf-s-t and uninipuiro-I.
We It id thought at lea no-Southern man
would deny the propositions contained in
(hi. article, and h ast of all were we pre
pa:- 1 to find a lea-line Southern journal—
one which to . -due extent at h:ast rnu- t. he
regard-sl s the exponent of-Southern «.-•
time,it. declaring that V.h resolution it, -
H.iP ;nciit 4 oi ’the .Ram o! L 1 - -State, ui r,.-..
i i--if to th : Federal G overnment wasun -ue
and iiiogi.- ,1. The ita-Jk-al - ha.---1 heir op:
. r,i to the re -on-t rc -i polity ofl'r
id-ml John-m upon the dogma that 1
i- iiiiination of the war did not restore the
States of the South to their former and
ancient relation - to the Federal Govern
ment. They declare t hat by the re-ult.-t of
the late civil war the Corn'dJerate States
are d< priii-1 of th -ir ri-.-h. as co-equals in
the Confederation of States known as the
I ,'t ited Stat-s. They claim that the South
no : tl Con
t-tit-ition "f the Ciiited States because by
th-'ir own voluntary act. they dissolved the
twhich bound them to the Federal
Hi,inn and that they# arc not nor cannot
|„- one: lii-ial- 1 of that <' ms deration un
it- a; l,y the censent of the conquering] tower
—the Federal Government. Their whole
conduct during- the recent session of Con
.»r« • was ha.-ed upon this assumption of
i d< it) ut tion of the Ft deral lin ion by
the war. On the nth ,-r hau l Mr. Johnson
and all the Con.-Tvativo men of the North
ha-.-,- in-:..tel that by the victory acquired
by the Federal arms over the Confederate
State ■ and the surrender of the Con
federate (1 ivcrnm nt the lawful authority
of the Federal Government was aeknow-
I- I ami immediately became tie: supreme
law of the land. The Southern States
each for itself ratified the results of the
Confederate overthrow, and accepted the
terms of defeat. These terms were a re
turn to their old allegiance to the Federal
(iuverninent under the (' institution of the
United States. The war was waged on
tlm pat t of the United States, according
to all their official dccla rations solely for a
restoration of th* In ion under the Con
stitution. Our acceptance of the terms of
surrender was in view of these repeated
declarations on the part of the United
States Government as to the object for
which they prosecuted the wax against us,
and in the belief tint our capitulation
would restore, us to our ancient relations as
sovereign ami e-ped States, to the Federal
Government.
IJp to the meeting of Congress in Do
- euibi r last there bad been no avowals
of a line of policy differing materially from
b- l- i ‘ o (hi -p. -lion. Very
eh ■F ■ i >.. I : ,al bo ; -
-In ran, manifest that th Radicals w-’,
- Ito do t >tlie ■" uthorn Sta
, prt s n ii-ion in th- t'odei; i .legislature,
I>X ‘W ill's, i ..is -ithei F.s-i are to Is,
I'-ni s in I, ('(institution f 'b-
S iti S. 1 'll lie- .(• l- - the I*ti ; .
the lla-li- ils, the contest has been and will
eoiiliir-e 1. be waged by the conservative
men of the North. If, by the results of
the w tr, the / iihm hag not hi npr » - l,
wiili the equal rights, dignity and au
thority of the States, perlect and unim
paired, then the Radicals may impose upon
the South such terms as they please, be
fore admitting us into the I moil us mem
bers thereof. The Constitutionalist says
that “we are unable tr silicide with the
.sentiment that the war just closed lias pre
served the Union, with the equal rights,
dignity and authority of the States, per
fect and unimpaired. So says Tliad.
Stevens, and Wilson and Sumner, and
lienee they oppose the principles, laid
down by the I’hiluilclphia Convention upon
this is,-ue. If the ( 'onxtitntionali.it and
Tliad. Stevens are right in their position
on this point, then as a necessary conse
quence the Southern States to-day are but
the conquered provinces of the Federal
Government, and must submit to any
terms which the conquering power may
dictate as a condition precedent to their
rehal-iliation as Stines of the Union. We
cannot yield a ingle point on this question.
W o maintain that the resolution under re
view contains the true theory, and the only
one hy which it is possible tor the FoutE
ern States ever to ho restored to their rights
and privileges under the Constitution. To
oppose this principle is to oppose Southern
representation in Congress, and Southern
equality mulct he Government of the
Unit .1 S etes. This we cannot do.
fL’he third resolution declares:
;.,t. Hep: . r.tutimi in the Congress of tIHV
Cniteo Stc.ti-.-. s.tni in the i teetotal College,
isa right roco rnic.ed liv the Constitution
as abiding in every State, and as a duty
imposed epon the people, fundamental in
its natu. and essential to the existence of
our Republican institutions, and neither
Congress or the itenera! Government lias
any authority or power to done this righ,
to any State, or to withhold itsj enjoyment
under the Constitution, front the people
thereof
The ('■ . ih'4 will not even on- j
dorse the truths of this resolution without
a qualification. So anxious, our contem
porary appears to be, to find fault with
the proooediu -of the Convention, that he
win not give Ids absent to a proposition
which only declares the true and hitherto
accepted grounds upon which our whole
structure of civil tioveminent depends,
ilesfys that representation in Congress
and the Electoral College is only a ret U
atid net a Jut;!. Admit his position to ho
true, that the S; ties are r t ion.:! vo send
representatives t > Congress we ask in all
candor, how a declaration of that sort can
at this time materially affect the interests
of the Southern States. Are wo not now
anxious to he allowed the rnjr/ifof represen
tation? Have we not insisted for the last
eight months upon this re,At? Hew then
can that which we esteemed a privilege
and right, mo-t de-trahle to 1 e iahead. Ite
eomo offensive to us when placed iti the
attitude of a duty to ho performed. Such
criticisms arc. it seems to us. ill-timed and
in had taste.
It must 1-e remeut’-crod that the South
are to-day denied the right of representa
tion in Congress, while we are required to
jay our full share of the taxes and ox
jlenses of the Government. We have con
tended and so have the Conservative men
of the North, that there was no power in
the Government to deny this great right
of representation to any oi the ■''do. - oi
the Union. That if a State was denied
representation, then the Government could
not assume to lay taxes upon her people.
The Radicals contend that the Southern
States are in the Union, hi far as to
authorize the collection of taxes, but not
in to the extent of being entitled to rep
resentation in Congress and the h.ectund
College. This resolution was found to
meet'the outrageous perpetrations of the
Radicals, and is in truth founded upoifthe
plainest provisions of the Constitution.
The fourth resolution is merely an cx
ortation to the people ofthe United Spates,
to elect no one to office who*- opp —d to
the right of representation as laid down in
the foregoing resolution, and is m tlie
lowing words;
4th. Wo call upon the people of the
United States to elect to Congress as mein
hors thereof none lint men who admit this
fundamental right ol' representation, and
who wiil roeeivy to seats therein loyal
representatives from everv Mate in alle
giance to the United Stated, subject to the
constitntional right of each House to ju-lge
of the elections, returns and qualifications
of its own members.
“To thi-. the Constitutionalist says, and
we give his words in full ;
“The fourth is n<-i endoraahle. A dead
llv --a.ises tile ointment of the apothe
cary to slink and “loyal representatives'
spoils ti, - whole proposition. It is my
right to send any representation ! choose,
provided lie come;; up to the requirements
of the Federal ( ’-institution-, and no one
has a right to limit my choice by extra
constitutional tests.''
The word “ loyal” is peculiarly objec
tionable to the Constitutionalist. Indeed
hi - whole opposition to this resolution is
Ua I upon the use of that word in de
scribing who should be admitted as repre
sent a tiv— in tbo national legislature. Wc
are not prepared to say that any govern
ment should admit among its counsellors
or law-makers persons who are ili.-loyal to
it.- authority. The safety of governments
depend upon the good faith of those who
make the laws no lc- than upon those who
arc the subjects of the laws. If the law
maker is an enemy to the Government
which he is professing to serve, then be is
doubly treacherous—for he betrays not
only the government of which he is a mem
ber, but those also whom he is presumed
to represent. Wc ask in allcandor of our
neighbor if he would have the Government
of th : 1 :iit 1 Hi ate-- conducted and gov
erned by those who are its enemies ? Ikies
be b-Jie-o that the Federal Government
would be true to the trust reposed in it by
i the people of the United States, if it
S should permit its enemies to control its ae
i tims? Is there a single fair man in Geor
; gia who would l>o willin'' to vote for a Uep-
,r-M.:;iUuvo in Congress, who in an oemy
' the go ■■ i.incut of the -. luted H let—
*r , siH-.v,.; Ur the poop'ie t-fcd-'ec- We
h .j>e not. Wo -ttbiiit the right claimed by
lie- Cm 'it-tioMtlbt to t any r u -
.-entativc he i-lms. sprout: 'be eon* -.up
o- the re- 'f "tits of -he Cons ti it; ,u.
this question, whether the representative
thus selected does come to the require
ments of' the Constitution, must, however,
be decided by each House of Congress un
der its Constitutional right to judge of
the election returns, and qualifications of
its own members. No other qualifications
than those required by the Constitution
can be imposed by either House of Con
gress. Neither can any- party or body of
men assume P) decide upon those qualifi
cations other than the body with which
the representation is seeking admission.
No “oxtra-Constitutional tests” are ap
plied in this resolution. The very language
of tlie Constitution itself is used in describ
ing the power and duty of each House as
to the admi tsion ot its members. tVe can
not see that there is any ambiguity as to
the true meaning of bis resolution, and
particularly of the wool “loyal. The Con.
volition meant to say and did say, that
every loyal or true msn to the Government
who possesses the Coastitutional qualifica
tions was entitled to i seat in Congress. It
was not meant that no one who had ever
been in arms, or o.hcrwi.sc opposed the
Government of the I-nited States, should
be excluded from a seat in Congress. All
those who arc at this time true and loyal
to the principles of the Constitution are
held to be within the qualifications laid
down for representatives —and this , irre
sj/retire of their past acts or conduct. Ir lie
is a true man now —if he adheres to the
Government and opposes its enemies—if
he, in good faith, accepts the present con
dition of allairs and honestly intends to
support, maintain and defend the Consti
tution of the United States, then by this
resolution he is eligible to a seat in either
branch of Congress. To this extent the
resolution under review goes and no farther.
With this understanding of its scope and
meaning, we approve it. Certain it is, that
the Radicals will not endorse this pi'opo
sit ion. They will not consent that ‘ ‘loyal”
Representatives shall be admitted to seats
in Congi'i-ss unless they take the infamous
u-s,. oath in addition to th (her qualificn
terns tie '■ ousuiatii-n. This
i„ itsell I, to di-' n ‘
■ at" -.in.
phrase v.-iiieh g - the Const / to dm
so much pain, t uiieed, we are sorry to see
- -air iiG libor is so sensitive upon the
~ tin.-, little harmless Word. Even the
sight of it affects him as seriously as the
sight of cold water is said to affects dogs
who have hydrophobia.
The fifth resolution affirms principles
which have been decided bv the sword and
from which decision it were worse than
folly to appeal.
fitli. The Constitution of the United
States und the laws made in pursuance
thereof, are the supreme law of the land,
anything in the Constitution or laws of
any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
Alt the powers not conferred by the Consti
tution upon tlm General Government, nor
prohibited by it to the Slates, are reserved
to tiie States, or to the people thereof; and
among the rights thus reserved to the
Slates is tiie right to prescribe qualifica
tions tor the electivo franchise therein,
with which right Congress cannot inter
fere. No State or combination of States
ha> the right to withdraw from the Union,
or to exclude, through their action in emi
gres or otherwise, any State or States front
the Union. The Union of these States is |
perpot ual.
Whatever may have been our individual
views as to the constitutional right of se
cession. it is very true that the people of
the South have never united upon this
subject. IYe arc inclined to doubt whether
there ever was a time when a majority of
people endorsed fully the
doctrine of this constitutional right of seces
sion. A great many of those who in IS6O-1
favored the withdrawal of the Southern
States from the Federal Union based their
action upon that great fundamental right
which underlies all representative govern
ments and must always reside in the peo
ple—the right of self-government or Revo
lution. That right no power on earth can
deprive us of. If governments become op
pros five to the people, the inalienable
right to resist may be exercised. It would
befoily.uay. madness, in a government,how
ever to declare in advance that its people
might, whenever they had the power and
chose to exercise it. destroy its existence.
These questions must he left to time and
circumstances for their determination. All
that good government can do in this par
ticular is to encourage and develop by a wise
and beneficent cottrse.a feeling of attachment
and confidence in its people which will in
duce them to shape their legislation and
institutions in such a manner as will secure
the perpetuity of its existence. We can.
however, see no impropriety in the enuncia
tion now ot tiie perpetual character of
our government. The right of peaceable
secession has been lost, if it ever existed,
in smoke and blood of battle. The right
of revolution still exists and can never he
rightfully taken front the people of the
l nited Mates. We earnest! • pray for
peace—perpetual peace. We yearn for
the goo l old days of yore when our fathers
enjoyed j ' ggflow
ing from a government conducted under
tlio principles of the Constitution and ad
ministered by men laithful to tlieir trusts
and true to the people.
We cannot see that there is anything in
tins resolution antagonistic to the priaci
ples laid down in the declaration of inde
pendence. and quoted by our neighbor.
Hie right of self government is not taken
from the people hy this clause. It still ex
ists as broadly and fully as it ever did.
The right of revolution we have just shown
is one out of an 1 beyond the Constitution.
It is the grand fundamental principle of
I Ja a
right inalienable and inJestrueuble under
our form of government.
The sixth proposition laid down in the
plat form .is as follows :
6th. Such amendments to the Constitu
s may I
pe-ip’.e there if,sis they may dn iu cx
j iH- lient. tiut only in tlie mode pointed out
by its previsions: ami in propping sueh
amendments whether bv Congress or bv a
Convention, and in ratifying tlie same,'all
the States of the Cnion have an equal ami
• tit indefeasible right to a vsiee ...id a vote
thereon. ,
We are glad to find that our neighbor
can sty for this in his own expressive
language ‘"good!"
The Radicals however oppose it, and
denounce its author and supporter as be
ing in league with Southern rebels to an
nul the constitutional amendment abolishing
slavery. It is known that that amendment
did nothaveall tbe form ofapproval requir
e-1 by the Constitution, an-f which this reso
lution declares indispensable. All the States
were not represented in the Congress which
passed this amendment, and submitted it to
the several States. The Radicals declare
that it was the intention of the framers of
this clause of the platform to nulify the
slavery amendment, by declaring it to have
been unconstitutionally passed. This is not
true. Even if it were -.he several States
through their respective Conventions have
not only ratified the amendment in ques
tion. but they have ail of them at least in
which slavery exi.-ted adopted an or
dinance abolishing slavery as a State insti
tution.
The seventh resolution of' the Platform
meets with no objection, even from the
Constitutionalist.
7th. Shivery is abolished anil forever
prohibited ; and there is neither desire nor
purpose on the part of the Southern States
that it should ever be re-established upon
thejsnil or within the jurisdiction of tiie
United States : and the enfranchised slaves
in all the States in the Union should re
ceive, in common with all the inhabitants,
equal protection in every right of person
and property.
To show to the people of the North and
West that the Southern people were hon
est in their declarations, that slavery was
gone, the following words, which are not
embraced in the original draft of this reso
lution were insisted on the motion of a
delegate from Mississippi—“and there is
neither desire nor purpose on the part of
the Southern States that it should ever
he re-established.”
The Constitutionalist in commenting a
few days since upon this subject, stigma
tized the action of the Southern delegates
a- “dirt-eating extraordinary.” Now, for
our life, we cannot perceive any evidence of
dirt-eating in this transaction.
The proposition may be tree, or it may
h” false We believe it to be- tr.e. We
nave no idea that the Southern people
. -mbl now, if the qui.--t.on was an open
oeo. vote in favor of re c-toTMahiJig slavery.
Does th-. (.' .sslitution-dist belie* ■ they
would, r do- she believe they ought to do
so? The mai who pt-mi-d th- - v . ' -and
mo • 1 then-■ : c; -i the resolution,
“was as true to the South during her late
struggle as any one connected with the
editorial department of the Constitutiona
list. He is to-day as true a Southerner,
as pure a patriot, and as able a lawyer as
can be found in the limits of the entire
South. Such a man, cat-dirt, indeed !
Such charges are unworthy of the source
from which they come, and must foil to
accomplish the end intended from theutter
want ofdignity and propriety in the terms
used to express condemnation.
The eighth resolution simply declares
what nearly every Southern State had al
ready enacted, namely the invalidity of
the Confederate Debt; and tiie duty of
the Government to pay the National Debt.
Bth. V/hile we regard us utterly invalid,
und neve- to be assumed or made of bind
ing force, any obligations incurred or un
dertaken in marking war against the
United States, we hold the debt of the
nation to be sacred and inviolable, and wo
proolai m our purpose in discharging this,
as in performing all other national obliga
tions, to maintain unimpaired and imun
peached the honor and tha faith of the
Republic.
We presume that the Constitutionalist
is not pleased with this resolution as it
simply says in commenting upon it “there
will bo plently of time to talk yis over
when it comes up.” So we will pass it for
the present, with the remark that it was
essential for the success of the Conserva
tives in the approaching elections, that a
full recognation. of the duty of Govern
ment to sustain its credit should be incor
porated in the platform.
The ninth resolution which has excited
the indignation of the Constitutionalist
and given it occasion to let off a little more
of its classic epithets such as dirt-eating
&e., is in the following words :
hill. It is the duty of the National Gov
ernment to recognize the services of the
Federal soldiers and sailors in the contest
just dosed, by meeting promptly and tally
all their just and rightful claims for the
services they have rendered the nation,
und by extending to those of them who
have survived, and to the widows and
orphans of those who have fallen, tiie most
generous and considerate care.
The opposition to this clause goes upon
the idea that by its adoption the Soutl is
m: ■ • t- return thanks to the Union
b- • n didc-itiug as. ’( is not true.
Nc i t?;5« r<H<o!ti#.>n can be-. 1
into a declaration *ol’ thanks or g
It is simply an affirmation of coat ever-.
tndi be the and ttj
Government in the premises. We propose
to give to-morrow a full account of the
manner in which this resolution was brought
forward, framed and discussed, and for the
present will pass on to the last and conclu
ding clause of the Platform adopted :
10th. In Andrew Johnson, President of
the United States, who, in iiis great office,
has proved steadfast in his devotion to the
Constitution, the laws and interests of his
country, unmoved by persecution and un
deserved reproach, having faith immeasu
rable in tiie people and in the principles of
the Government, we recognize a Chief*
Magistrate worthy of the nation and equal
to the great crisis upon which his lot is
cast, and we tender to him, in the discharge
of iiis high and responsible dutios, our
profound respect, and assurances of our
cordial and sincere support.
This resolution does not. commit the
South to any approval of Mr. -Johnson’s
course prior to his elevation to the Presi
dency. If it did there are thousands of
true men at the South who could not ap-
| prove it. So far as he has gone, however,
; in his policy of reconstruction, his course
meets our general concurrence, If he has
' not gone so far as wo think he ought,
doubtless he has done as much under
| the circumstances by which he has been
surrounded as was prudent and politic,
having in view the ultimate restoration of
the Southern States to their rights under
the Constitution. But this article has al
ready assumed larger limits than we in
tended, or the condition of our columns
will .tustify, and we reserve for another
occasion what we have to say on this
point
Tli-e Bloodhounds of Radicalism.
The fiendish malignity and ferocity of
the radical leaders is illustrated in the re
cent. utterances of their leaders and wri
ter?. The gallant and distinguished Union
officers who have signed the call for the
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Convention are stig
matized by the New York Tribune as “base
and treacherous hounds.” For working
earnest ly in the glorious cause of promoting
a healthy national sentiment all over this
broad land, and allaying sectional animosity
and strife, Thurlow Weed is denounced by
the same paper as “an infamous old Til
lain.’’
Gen. Logan, a candidate for Congress, in
a recent speech, declared that “there is
but one way to treat with rebels. Take
the torch in one hand and the sword in
the other, and march to the music of the
Union, with the flag unfurled, and sweep
over their territory. He had no sympathy
for the leading traitors, no commiseration
for them. He could forget no man who
ha 1 lost his life and who had been maime’d
in this war for the Union, and he could
forgive no man who had fought against it.
If elected to Congress he would carry out
what he had said He could not forgive
the South.”
Boast Butler, at a political meeting at
Glouc ester on the 25th, contended that the
Southern people by their rebellion had for
feited their property, tlieir rights and their
lives, lie alluded to the New Orleans
riot, laying tlie whole blame upon the reb
el# an d the President, and declaring that
if this state of things cannot be altered
"we will march once mere, and wo be to
those who oppose u>.
Brownlow—for whom no beast is mean
enough to become his incarnation—says
that even- rebel must fe've Tennessee, and
if any should be killed he guarantees par
don to the murderer.
These are a few “ specimen bricks
from the classical utterances of those who
had and control the dominant power in
this government. If their rule is perpet
uated, farewell civil liberty—,areweii peace.
The Sandersville Georgian^ ays that A.
O Haines Esq., was mortally wounded in
an affray with James F. Smith, Esq., on
Saturday. Both parties were citizens of
hh-h standing and the affair is a matter ot
universal regret. It is undergoing legal
investigation.
The Columbus E iV- ris informed that
a woman (white) died under a pine tree
near the city cemetery on Saturday night,
after having lain there sick and destitute
for several days. The Sexton buried her
: utt Sunday
Thc Soldier Kesolution of the Phila
delphia Platform.
The main opposition at the South to the
Platform adopted by the Conservative Con
vention at Philadelphia, is based upon
what is called the “ dirt-eating" resolu
tion. thanking the Union soldiers for their
services during the late civil war. Yv'e
have elsewhere said, in this issue, that no
such resolution was adopted-by the Con
vention. M e think that those who make
this declaration are not aware that it implies
a degree of debasement on the part ol
some of the Southern delegates in that
Convention which they would not dare to
make in open and express terms. We
insert again, for the correct information of
our readers, the resolution which the
radical press of the South are holding up
to our people as that wherein their thanks
have been voted to the Union soldiers:
9th. It i-s the duty of the National Gov
ernment to recognize lltc services of the
Federal soldiers and sailors in the contest
just closed, by meeting promptly and fully
all their just and rightful claims for the
services they have rendered the nation,
and by extending to those of them who
have survived, and to the widows and
orphans of those who have fallen, the most
generous and considerate care.
M ehave again and again read this resolu
tion. with all the care and power of analy
sis of which we are capable, and cannot find
the least foundation ibr the charge made
against :t. The Convention merely says
that it is the duty of the Government to
recognize the services of its soldiers and
sailors by meeting promptly and fully all
their just and rightful claims fur the
services they have rendered. Whatever
just and rightful claims their soldiers may
have upon the Government, the Conven
tion simply declares should be recognised.
The resolution does not admit or deny that
they have claims —upon this point the
whole matter is left where it properly be.
I longs— ;<> the Gover-.m. n: If they hare
just and rtghtfn.l claims, then the r- olu
-1 - l- c;* . - Tt a true..:Kc -t-’ty
l of ' • 'A ru- -gnhse them. Tin
Coin...-' /.i ...... •• no opinion on the
matt i <i tin c. The wru *r was a mem-
ber ->f thi dt-tca ■i. : : the
resolution, and took part in the discussions
which took place upon its preparation and
adoption, and he knows that it was not
intended to express any opinion on these
claims, but to leave them all where they
properly belong, to the Government of the
United States.
The history of this part of the plat
form was given very fully in an editorial
article which appeared in this paper a
few days ago, and which wc reproduce in
this connection, that our people may fully
understand the difficulties by which the
Convention.was surrounded on this subject.
We are very sure that if the Southern peo
ple could have heard the statements of
the Northern and Western men of the
necessity, to divide the soldiers’ vote at the
North to enable them to hope even for a
successful campaign against the radicals,
they would be entirely satisfied with the
results of the Convention.
“Finally the address and platform hav
ing been adopted about 12 o’clock, a mo
tion was made to adjourn, when Mr.
Hendricks begged that it might be with
drawn, to enable him to submit a jnotion,
which request was agreed to. He then
moved to reconsider the vote adopting the
resolution in the platform relating to the
soldiers, to enable him to offer an amend
ment to it. This was also agreed to, and
he proceeded to say that the resolution as
itstood (substantially as reported by Sena
tor Cowan) would not satisfy the demands
of the Western people. The resolution
merely expressed admiration for the quali
ties of the American soldier, commended
him for his courage, energy and chivalric
bearing in the field —his magnanimity and
generous forbearance in success—and his
frank and manly acceptance of the terms of
defeat.
It was said that the North and West dc
mamled that a distinction should be made
between the Northern and Southern sol
diers—that the former were entitled to
their gratitude and thanks for the part
they took in the contest just closed. Hence
he moved to strike out “American” and
insert “ Cniou soldiers, and further to de
entitFl to and mil<d
ib .* ivarncs. L. "AO»Mh- : . gratitude iw
replied, iii.it. .i ..ic resolution was passed
in that shape they could not, without an
entire disregard of tlieir own self-respect,
concur in the report.
They admitted that such an expression
of opinion and feeling was proper and right
on the part of the Northern men, but that
no true man at the South should be required
to say that he felt grateful for having been
conquered and subjugated. They admitted
that such sentiments were proper in one
section, but were debasing and disgraceful
to the other. A long debate ensued upon
this question, in which one man, who said
he was from the South, announced that he
approved and would support the amend
ment. lie was said to he from State the
of Tennessee. Finally the matter was dis
posed of by. the adoption of the resolution,
which was reported to and adopted by the
Convention, and which was drawn up by.
Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, and is number
nine (9) of the series in the Platform.”
General Hampton.
Wc are sorry to see that this gallant of
ficer and distinguished gentleman, in an
address which he made a few days since to
the Soldiers’ Association of Anderson Dis
trict, has fallen into an error in regard to
the ninth article of the Philadelphia Plat
form. In that address he says :
“In the declaration of principles which
compose that platform, I see it announced
that the brave soldiers and sailors who sup
pressed the rebellion arc entitled to the
thanks of the nation.”
Now, we submit, that General Hampton
has seen no such announcement in any of
the correct versions of the Philadelphia
platform, and we are surprised that the
General should have been betrayed into
such a statement. If he is opposed to the
platform adopted at Philadelphia, we think
that as a fair and candid man he should
not base his opposition upon a point so
completely at variance with the true char
acter of that instrument. There is not a
line or paragraph the platform wliich
can be construed into an expression of
thanks to the Union soldiers by that Con
vention. General Hampton must have
known from the character of’ such men as
Generals Dick Taylor, Battle, Harris, Mc-
Gowan, of his own State, and a number of
other distinguished officers of the Confed
erate army, and lately his companions in
arms in the glorious old army of Northern
Virginia, and who were present as delegates
in that Convention that no such sentiment
eould have met their approval. We are
pained at the necessity which requires us
to make these comments: but justice to
the gallant officers and soldiers who were
in that Convention demands that we should
make this correction.
Hon. John Forsyth's Letter to the New
York News.
We invite the special attention of our
readers to the able letter of the Uon.
John Forsyth, one of the Alabama dele
gates to the Philadelphia Convention,
which will be found in another column.
The people of Georgia need no introduc
tion to this distinguished patriot and
statesman. Born upon our soil, and
sprung from the loins of one of Georgia’s
most gifted and revered statesmen, his
words will not fall heedless upon the public
ear. John Forsyth does not feel that he,
or any of the Southern delegates, “eat
dirt'’ at the Philadelphia Convention. IL.
does not feel that the honor or rights of
the Southern people were trifled with in
that assembly, lie does not lend the in
fluence of his position and name to bolster
up and support the Radicals in their war
upon the President and the rights of the
South. 11. docs not feel frumiliah i by
association with such men u- Hendricks,
Edridge. Bigler, Wood, Rogers. Johnson,
Voorhees and Randall, lit infinitely pre
fers the party of President Johnson.
Doolittle, Ancona. Brooks. Browning and
the great body of the Conservative ntas-es
of the North, to that of Stevens, Wilson,
Sumner. Greely. \\ ade. and the hordes of
Radical disunionists who are attempting to
overthrow the Constitution of the 1 inked
Scat ■. an 1 to destroy
lights and prosperity of the white race of
the South.
The it. hi'fa; Programme.
There can }** - m ; -1 übt now. as to
the course wi.j.-h '■ ! adopted by the
Radicals, id i ,; . ITI elections in
the North mtesshall snow
that the i . - - in their favor,
the actio:. : ; . ; . in the la-- -es
sion of Cc _. - .... too clearly that
they are >. t basts-! -. i- constitutional
or legal rt •’ . Q islation 4? that
body will n-u-k an era i-ime and wrong
in the hist. - , i: r G v- rument, which
will bq th *1 pxectdeutf for
future tie: : of'tiie Govern
ment by ti . have its control.
Since th a i ij: . ; . . of that revolu
tionary b . . n frequent and
very dist.- > ' the intentions
of their r . - * future. The
moving sp Tits • , - /do not hesitate
to declar mro ■- i take control of
the Gov ai - departments,
even it s ?,.«• ohe accomplish
ed by for l
The ii |i, ue President has
already 1 i \- .. by then-leaders—
indeed t • ;*■ was arranged in
Washint - ;>* ■ the adjournment
of Congo - ■ H ... - ' (rleans riot was a
part of i ..••} i-i ti laid down, and
it was ! t nstigate the few
Radical.- .. . „i. call together the
defunct : u , >O4 in order to
force a c.iii: ,*, ;v the civil authori
ties and This matter, we
have ret • t-> :sk ..s freely discussed
tn a so; is Hadical party in
V> ash in ora s before the riot
oecurre* * ; i-i- g: 1 now be seized
upon a a-ase for the im
pcaebin . -< i otb r ■ ets of the Presi
dent v .. irporated in the
charge? ■ hi- fall. The vote in
the Set Rights Bilkaud the
Freedn: sliov-'s that they
have a reliable 7 so thirds maj -rity in that
bo-ty. Wiic: ii - they can w-ai-rui Jim.
iiuaii.- ;• u: in a uireci question -f i.up.-aeh
m< of ;• mai •„> I> be te.-te<l. The: leaders of
th R, ~7a .-y party art dc.'ermmcd to
‘.hat tud, it the approaching elections
shall go in their favor.
Not only is it proposed to adopt the
forms of law in the prosecution of their
fanatical and criminal schemes against the
life of the Government, but it iis also open-
Lv advised by some of their boldest und
ablest leaders that a resort to force shall
bo made, if necessary to insure their suc
cess. Already they talk of the guillotine,
and are preparing the public mend of the
North to accept the speedy work of the
axe and block ia lieu of the slower process
of the law. In a recentjletter to an Anti-
Slavery Society written by Wendell
Philips, one of the high priests of the
Radical Party, we find the following trea
sonable and revolutionary language, to
which we invite the special attention of our
readers:
“ Our duty is to put there (in Congress)
men who will at every hazard save the na
tion, remembering that they stand where
the Long Parliament stood in 1649; and
though the BLOCK AN'!) AXE in front of the
palace may la no fitting measure NOW,
they are bound to find and USE some
measure Jit and efficient to secure their pur
pose—the DEPOSITION of the per
jured AND USURPING TRAITOR.”
This is not merely the idle raving of a
demented fanatic. They are the words of
one who has as much, perhaps more in
fluence with the Radical masses to-day
than any living man. Philips but ex
presses that which has already been deter
mined upon by Stephens, Sumner, Wil
son, & Cos. If they should fail in tlieir pur
pose of a successful impeachment of the
President, then some violent measure will
be seized upon to precipitate a collision
with the Executive, in which case they
intend to use force—force sufficient to
secure (as they express it,) “the deposition
of the perjured and •usurping traitor.”
The block and axe are to he placed in front
of the White House and Andrew Johnson
is to become the first martyr in the new
revolution.
We honestly believe that these revolu
tionary proceedings can only be prevented
or stayed through the success of the now
CuiisenU .e party 7,7 ~ inaugurated
! in Philadelphia. If' the popular vote to
jbe east in the Northern and W* !•< m
• rimte.! this W. .mil -boat that, 'b- p- !<•
• ■ op; ed to the Radical party, tl.on
j their -1 -• -v ill bo detained from attempt
ing to carry uai -.Suit incendiary sGii-Aiio.
If, on the other hand, the Radicals shall
secure the indorsement of the Northern
masses in the approaching election, they
will, despite of all opposition, proceed in
the course already marked down for their
guidance. In this view of the matter, the
canvass which is now progressing in the
North and West, is one fraught with the
deepest interest to us of the South. It is
in truth a battle for our safety fought by
our friends upon their own soil. They are
deeply interested in the issue it is true, but
not to the extent that wo arij. Their lives,
and property and liberty are not imme
diately staked upon the issue. With us it
is different. If the Radicals get the con
trol of the Government in all its depart
ments, there are very few men either at the
North or South who doubt tlieir intention
to harrass, degrade and punish the South
ern people to the full extent which their
bad passions may dictate. Confiscation of
property, muck trials for treason, incarce
ration in prisons, the dungeon and gibbet
will he the fate of those who fall under the
animosity of the dominant party.
Can we of the South do nothing to
strengthen the hands of those who tire
making this canvass against our deadly
foes? We think we can. Our Northern
friends tell us that wc can do a great deal
here to assist them in the struggle now
pending. They ask of us an endorsement
and approval of their course. They desire
that we shall give them the moral tup
port which would grow out of a cheerful
acceptance of the Platform of Principles
laid down by the Philadelphia Convention.
It is already charged by the Radicals that
the Southern representatives io that Con
vention were hollow in their professions of
approval, or that they misrepresented the
feelings and views of their constituents.
They insist that the people of the South
are rebellious still. They seize upon every
reported act of violence committed against
the blacks, -and distort them into hideous
cruelties. They charge us with still cher
ishing feelings of animosity to the Federal
Government, and to the people of the
North. They take isolated cases of insults
shown to Northern men, and magnify
them into a settled determination* on our
part to prevent their coining among us.
We of the South know how false these
charges arc. The sensible men of the
North, also, knowhow much reliance is to be
placed upon these exaggerated statements.
Yet the great body of the Radical party
get their information from the Radical
press—a press in which the Dead Duck,
Forney, stands conspicuous as bully and
chief, with such papers as the New York
Tribune, Cincinnati Gazette, Washington
Chronicle, and Missouri Democrat , circu
lating extensively in every village and ham
let of the Northern and Western States, it
is not surprising that the ignorant masses
should be somewhat prejudiced against us.
We are pained to confess that some of
our people have acted in such a manner a>
to give some semblance of truth to these
charges. Enoug-h has been done already
in this direction to produce, when skillful
ly manipulated by these unscrupulous pa- {
pers. the idea that the South is not suf-|
ficiently reconstructed yet to enter into the |
confraternity of States composing the j
Union.
The ill-advised and frothy vaporing of
:' b Soul
prominently before tbe Northern people
as the expression of the true sentiment of
the Southern people. We have witnessed,
with pain, the publication in several of our
Southern journals of sentiments calculated
to do the cause of our friends at the North
infinite harm. We have seen with what
fearful effect these wordy denunciations
of the Federal Government and the North
ern people have been used against us al
ready in this canvass. Our eyes have just
fallen upon the following, which we clip
from the Cincinnati Gazette:
Socthf.x Lovai.tv.— Tlie Autrusta Ga.,
OowstttKtionetiixt lias hoard of a few men in
the South who were once rebels, but now
speak in terms of respect of the old liag,
and advise their deluded and betrayed
fellow citizens to return to their tirst love.
Whereupon said OmstitutionaUat grows
venomously furious, and discourses thus :
Love it, indeed! And feel proud of it,
and take pleasure when abroad in the old
world in owning its nameand nationality!
No, no, gentlemen who think thisthe right
thing now to say in the premises, take the
lod Scotch proverb, the homely olcnroro
verb, to yourselves, and “let that flfastick
i' the wall.” Indicate an obedience to law,
and advise a stern ildelity to the letter
and spirit of all engagements, but spare
us the agony of a “loyal” crucifixion, and
yourseives the deep blush that may some
time, even in darkness, and in silence, and
in solitude, suffuse your cheeks at remem
bering you were once so far deluded as to
counsel what is, in plain terms, but the
systematic crawling upon bellies and the
methodical eating of dirt. We are a beat
en people. If you think that fact needs
reiteration, proclaim it, for, perhaps, it
may be that defeat has not so far tamed
the lion but that at times he remembers
that he once was free. But beyond that
declaration, do not go. Imagine that
hound, Beast Butler, grim ling at a South
ern man’s speech or letter' which seems to
say: “You and I, brethren, were wrong,
and the lash of the Yankee is the hand of
the Lord chastising us. Picture the leer of
the Radical, and then fancy the loathing
scorn of the Briton and liie Gaul.”
Such is tne “loyalty" which Andrew
Johns cl proclaims as existing all over the
South, and threatens a coup <Veta because
it is not admitted into Congress to govern
and browbeat the nation. It is a loyalty
which consists in detestation of the very
word; in scorn for all who profess to love
the Government in the South; and in dead
ly hatred for all in the North who assisted
to save it from destruction. Such “loyal
ty” must be overwhelmed by the ballot
us it one melted before the blase of steel.
We insist that the publicaton of such ar
ticles as this by the Constitutionalist is do
ing the South infinitely harm. Wo can see
no good reason for the expression of such
feeling even though they are entertained
by our people. There is wisdom in silence
If our cotemporarics of the Southern press
cannot approve ot the efforts of the Phila
delphia Convention to restore the union of
the States, then in the name of our com
mon country we beg that at least, they will
not lend their aid to the radicals in their
attempt to destroy us.
Every cerate expression used by
ou! caper- is made an arcm .eat against us
. ;** ' ,**»- » t |
tniinotlixt- dors a>t truly represent the
feelings of any respectable 1 umber of tin?
people of (re irgia in this regard. Yet the
people of the North take it for granted
that the press but gives expression to the
sentiments of the people.
Some of the Richmond papers are also
furnishing arguments to our opponents with
which they are attempting to strike down
i our friends. The Radical papers catch up
I eagerly every expression of dissatisfaction
which is uttered in the South in reference
i to the recent action of the Philadelphia
: Convention. One of them recently com
menting upon the course of some of the
; Richmond papers in reference to the Gon
! vention, says :
! “Doolittle & Cos. cannot muzzle the
Southern people as they muzzled the
I Southern delegates. The former are speak
, iug right out and telling the truth. We re
spect them for this, just as we respect an
i honest opinion, though we may believe it
|to be erroneous. No one expects, and no
honest man pretends to expect, the South
ern rebels to change, under defeat, princi
! pies for which they fought five years. For
this reason we are opposed to transferring
i the Government to tlieir liandSj or pennit
ling them to paiticipato in its manage
ment, without such security as will pre
vent them from getting up another re
bellion.”
We might multiply to almost an indifi
nitc extent similar extracts from our Radi
cal exchanges, but wo forbear for the
present. We again urge upon our people
the policy of a cautious, prudent and mod
erate course in regard to our national af
fairs. If we cannot cordially approve all
that is done by the President and our Con
servative friends, lot us try in a spirit of
manly forbearance, to keep our counsels
until the period shall arrive, when wc,
once more clothed with the rights and
privileges of a free people, may, without
fear of injury u> ourselves or our friends,
freely discuss all matters of public concern.
Union Ratification Meetings—Enthusias
tic Meetings in Augusta, Georgia.
Augusta, Ga., August 25.
A large public meeting was held in front
of the City Hall to ratify the proceedings
of the late National Union Convention in
Philadelphia. The speakers wore <tenoral
Durbin Ward of Ohio, and Hon. O. L. Per
rin, of New York.
No such meeting as the above took place
in this city. It may possibly have occur
red in Augusta, Maine, a more congenial
clime for ratification of fishy principle's
than .his. — Constitutionalist,
Doubtless the meeting alluded to in the
telegram was that which took place Satur
:-iv niptht in Washington citv when the
1 sou Mr. Perrin and General Ward ad
:■ sedan Union gathering of the friends of
country and the Constitution.
.fbe Constitutionalist, thinks that the
‘ l fishy principles’ ’ of the Conservative party
cannot meet the approvaland endorsement
of the people of this city. Upon this point
we join issue with our neighbor. Wo be
lieve that nineteen-twentieths of the peo
ple of Augusta, will co-operate with the
Conservative party in tlieir conflict with
the Radicals. Indeed we do not believe
that the course of the Constitutionalist in
opposition to the Conservative movement
meets the approval of even a corporal’s
guard in this city, and we know that in
the State the great body of the people are
heartily in favor of sustaining to the ut
most of their ability the great Conserva
tive movement.
Wo beg to inform the Constitutionalist
that the friends of the movement intend to
have a ratification meeting in this city in
a few days, and we invite our cotemporary
to attend the meeting when held, and
witness himself, the cordial endorsement
which our people will give to the great
Constitutional Conservative party of the
country.
Assault on a Memphis Editor.—ln
Memphis, on last Saturday morning, a
man named Wood, Assistant United
States Assessor, who had been the object
of severe criticism by the Avalanche ,
caught Colonel Galloway, editor of that
paper, in his office, and desired a confer
ence. Col. Galloway was engaged at the
time with a committee, and asked Wood
to come another time, whereupon the
latter applied insulting epithets, which
caused Galloway to strike him. Wood
then shot him in the hand with a gun
cane. The wound is painful but not
serious. Wood ran, and was pursued and
arrested. There was great excitement on
the street during the race, and at one time
it was thought that Wood would be dealt
summarily with. As soon as Wood was
caught Gen. Forrest interfered and pre
vented further demonstrations. Wood
was lodged in the station house.
Indians Still Tprbulent.— A special
from Levenworth states that the Indians
are wild with rage between Forts Laramie
and lieno. The whole country is infested
with hostile tribes. They say they will be
exterminated sooner than give up the
Powder river district. Mrs. Carrington,
wife of the colonel cammanding, is report
ed among the murdered. All the emigrants
have suffered from the Indians. The
most experienced and best mountaineers
predict a fearful and bloody war.
From the upper Missouri reports are
received that the Blaekfeetand Crows have
commenced hostilities. The Crows tore
their treaty to pieces, and have murdered j
ten men.
Present for Gen. Lee.—Hon. Mr.
Connelly, 1 P., who was a frequent guest
of Gen. R. E. Lee, during the war. has
sent to him from New Orleans the present
or a splendid saddle of the English Horse
Juan pattern, with holsters, valise,
poekeus lor writing materials, and a spien
u,u shabrack of astraean wool, bound with
reil cloth. Ihe bridle and breast strap arc
admirable specimens of workmanship—the
whole forming a useful and worthy
present
The Christian Index, says : “The last
Legislature granted a charter incorpora
tmg the Georgia Manufacturing and Pa
ner Mtll Company, 1,,-uu ; at' New nan :
-'l. P. Kellogg, President, and William
Amiz, Necretury. This company as or
ganized, has already secured a capital of
■•! ti, erection
of buildings for a cotton factory. It is
to erect a paper mill,
with a capacity to turn out one ton ot pa- i
per a day. This is the kind of independence ;
ior our people to achieve. ’ ’
Railroad in Montgomery.— At the
lheldin Montgomi 17 on the 27th,
n the subject of voting 81. <><*), OCX) in aid
1 if the South and North Alabama Railroad,
the number of votes cast fur aid 290;
against ail 07. The papers state that
few, if any of the citizens are opposed to
the aid proposed, but they object to
involving the city in the old afairs of
the company, which are not in the best
possible condition.
The Cotton— Crop of Alabama. —It is
estimated that Alabama will make one
third of her old cotton crop. The crop of
IKK in that State was we believe about
1,000,000 bales. If the staple maintains
its present price, the nett return to the j
planter will not fall far short of the reve
nue derived from the larger yield of tor- j
mer years.
.Six of the New Vork dailies support the i
President.
Letter from Jelm Forsyth.
Fifth Avenue Hotel, |
August 21, 18(io. j
To tlie Editor of the JSTw York Aries :
IV hen the great, Julius in the Senate
house beheld a iriend s dagger gleaming
among the conspirators be felt a poie: ncy
in its wound surpassing those of all the
eleven, and the deathless and pathetic re
proach burst from his lips —rt tu Brute ?
And now it has come to pass in these late
days that the Aetrs, which has adhered so
unflinchingly to the late Southern cause,
defying danger—and, more heroic, breast
ing a storm of public opinion— -turns upon
the Southern delegates to the Philadelphia
Convention, with words of reproach, al
most amounting to scorn, oi then- truck
ling subserviency.
Asa Southern man, as well as a dele
gate. I feel impelled to take my pen to
vindicate my colleagues and the people
they represented against a charge so unjust
and unfounded.
That in a body so large there should be
found individuals amenable to your re
proach would not be strange. But one i
swallow does not make a summer, and ir is
not fair to condemn in the aggregate for j
the sins of units. If there were Southern
members in that Convention who so tar j
forgot the dignity of the suffering and mis- !
fortune which they represented as to he- ■
tray their high trust, and to drag down the
pride of reticence and endurance to the
level of humiliation, and you choose to
single them out for odious notoriety ami
“bad eminence,” it is not 1 who would ob
ject. Let slip your uogs and lay on the lash :
to your heart’s content But I insist that
I and the body of my colleagues shall be
excepted both from the crime and the pun
ishment. Reflect on our position in that
Convention. We were strange, thougtf
politely bidden guests in that grand
council. We came there with no country,
no flag, for we are not permitted by j
radicalism to have either. The Govern
ment is only allowed to recognize us when
the tax-gatherer comes along, or our
enemies require the form. farce of our
State action to fix a Constitutional amend
ment to the prejudice of our rights and in
terests. The inspiration of the national
I music, the rustle of the national fla —so
; sure to flutter and thrill the Lrea.- ts of true
| met who tan call it their own—non» of
! tjieiS'.-.aWt ftr r> - tfbr v.i'J. ive uu v u -i
• voice lU U><* GuV. ,t wb . . \ ' 'f
emblemed by the flag, and whose is
mem 'firs are breathe'] in the > iio:.
ai rs.
Reticence and dignity were the role for j
men so situated. Not to make noisy com
plaints and frothy speeches, or to wrangle
about platforms • but simply to say, as the
Narragansett chief when summoned before
the British Colonial Council: “You have
sent for me, and I have come!” It is
most true that we were received with cor
dial greetings by the patriotic gentlemen
who were our political hosts. They lis
tened to us with deep interest and respect.
Old Democrats met us often with moist
eyes and trembling grasps of the hand.
But at last we were voiceless and powerless
in the struggle that was to determine the
destinies of the country—the battle
ground and the com battants were all
in the North, and all the dispositions for
the contest were necessarily to be con
formed to that fact. It is not necessary to
say that, as a simple declaration of feel
ings, wishes and principles, the platform
and address would have been different,
had they been left exclusively to our wri
ting. 80, had the West penned them,
the East would have found something to
change, and vice versa —but constructed as
they were for the whole , on that basis of
compromise which must ever boa vial
element of union between States so remote
geographically and so diverse in pursuits
and interests, it is difficult to see how either
resolutions or address could have been
better. Happily, the Convention escaped
through the magnanimity of several dele
gates the greatest danger to its integrity
and harmony 7. The withdrawal of Messrs.
Vallandigham and Wood assured the suc
cess of the Convention in this respect.
I take the occasion to deny, with em
phasis, the statements in this morning’s
Herald , that Sir. Vallandigham was noti
fied by tlie Southern delegation that if he
did not quietly withdraw they would vote
him out. It is impossible to conceive a
more odious and damaging imputation
upon Southern delegations than this.
What! turn upon a man who had suffered
imprisonment, persecution and exile for
sympathizing with our sufferings and
trials ! If there was one wretch so heart
loss from the South, I am happy 7 to say I
did not and never wish to know him. My
own views and sense of duty were very
cleaf, and I belive they were those of every
Southern gentleman in the Convention.
It was, that wo could not, in personal
honor or conscience, and with a due
regard to the honor and conscience of our
constituents, vote to unseat a gentleman
whose right to a seat was patented to him
by the gallant Democracy of Ohio, was as
good as our own, and whose only disa
bility was that he was our friend in trouble.
Under the call for the Convention he had
a clear right, for its theory was amnesty
for the past and fidelity to a common p a
triofic object in the future. It was upon
this theory we of the South were there,
and it was foreign to the objects and fatal
to the effects to be produced, to begin the
work of peace and harmony by persecuting
and punishing for past political differences.
I would not, and could not have remained
an instant in that convention if any North
ern delegate like Messrs. Vallandigham
or Wood, properly accredited, had been
unseated by vote. It was not the banquet
to which wc were invited, and we should
have gone home with the reflection that the
North is not yet ready for peace and res
toration, But happily and nobly on tlieir
part, these gentlemen saw the rock, and
removed it out of the path or harmonious
action. The Convention became a
great success, and Northern gen
tlemen tell me it is doing great good
and working well lor the cause of re
union. I trust so for the common weal,
for this has become a Northern as well as
Southern question. There is danger that
the disunion malady may become chronic,
aye, and infectious, and it would he a sin
gular spectacle to behold the 'xorth lay
down its thousands of millions of treasure
and pour out its blood in rivers to prevent
the seceding South from breaking up the
empire of States, and then, being victori
ous, to turn round and decree and perpetu
ate the event they took up arms to avoid.
In truth, in the late war, both belligerents
have so far failed of their objects. The
South struck for independence and failed to
attain it. The North armed and invoked
her nationality to save the Union, and, up
to this time —fifteen months after every
Confederate arm has been grounded*—she
has failed in its attainment. The oppo
nents of the Union in the South are beaten,
sincerely accept the armed political solution
and are ready and anxious to gather
around the old hearth, and. when permitted,
to “rally around the flag.” All we ask is
fair play, fidelity to the principles upon
which the North appealed to arms in the j
face of the world, and upon which we laid
ours down, and that when we do conic in,
vre enter by the broad stairway and the
door to the temple of the Union, with
heads erect in the consciousness that we
have done nothing in all our struggles on
land or water to bring a blush to the cheek
of American manhood. This done, and
you will surely find the best Confederate,
fighters the truest and bravest upholders
of the Constitution and the Union of the
States. But you had best be wary of
those who skulked and now claim loyalty
when war flamed at our door stones, and
the fire and sword of invasion were busy
with the roof-trees and lives of neighbors
One more word and I will _ check a pen
running away with the teeming thoughts
of this mighty subject. The Radicals have
a novel method of preparation and proba
tion for the rights and Ameri
can citizenship. M hen we shall have be
come emasculated and bereft of every at
tribute of manhood, confessed ourselves
traitors, stultified ourselves with thei
pendous slander that we made <>i -
flees and give up the flower of .our
youth tor nothing, without conviction., and
without a cause, and crawi and crone. i Ji«.u
slaves to the feet of Stevens and Sumner
and shout hallelujahs to the justice o. the
lash in their benignant hands-tkeii the
theory is that we are ready to become good
i Americans and can be trusted as bra' e so
: diers to advance the standard ot our ->a
' tional destinies. We of the South can
| never accept these terms. «e owe n
! to ourselves and to our compatriots; ot tue
i North to reject the degradation. H e nave
j faith too, that it will not be requiri and >tus.
The Northern people who fought \x : - nitli
such persistent bravery, will not indorse
the cowardly policy of radicalism; which
; insults and tortures its disarmed and iwn
i resistant adversaries. We hide our time.
We know we shall get back. A lrovi
dential President leads the van of peace
i and reconciliation. His firmness, courage,
! statesmanlike forecast, an'! masterly hiding
i of his time, and trust in the American pco
! pie will prevail. He has strung ’oe par
-1 ren rock and the living waters of comutu
tional restoration arc gushing forth, hoon
cr or later, the end is .dire. It is for us to
wait. It is for you of the North to act,
for the ark of our common liberties is the
stake in the momentous struggle.
Your ob’t. serv’t.
John Forsyth.
Alabama Delegate for the State at large.
Well Pctt. —The Memphis Bulletin ,
discoursing on the constitutional amend
ments presented for the acceptance of the
country, makes this point:
"It is specially provided that the Con
federate debt .-Fall never be paid, and that
the Federal obligations shall never lx: re
pudiated. In the one case a compliment
is surely paid to Confederate honor, in the
other, we have a sharp sarcasm leveled at
the ability and honesty of the Union. l
it to be written on the face of the Con
stitition that Rebels would be honest if they
could, and that Unionists questioned their
own integrity ?”
The Crop Prospects.
The followin': is an extract from a letter
received from a reliable gentleman who lias
travelled through the counties named. It
is indeed a very sad state of affairs, but is,
we arc assured, a true statement of the
crop prospects in that section of the
State:
*****
“I never saw or heard of a poorer pros
pect lor a crop. There .are hundreds of
acres in Oglethorpe, Green, Elbert and
Wilkes which will not yield a bushel of
corn to the acre. The cotton crop is very
short—it is thought will not be sufficient
to purchase corn to makeup the deficiency.
The freedmen. in many instances, are leav
ing now for West Tennessee and Missis
sippi. If they were to stay, they would
suffer for bread.”
A friend who lias just returned from the
Roanoke region, in North Carolina, writes:
I had a splendid time in North Carolina.
Crops there are splendid: cotton in my
old neighborhood will average waist-high.
Some farmers calculate, should they have
a late fall, one good bag to the acre, while
a majority count safe on half a bag. _ The
corn crop is tolerable good, though it has
been much neglected, owing to the difficul
ty in gat ting labor out of freedmen, and the
w<a weather.
The Southern Recorder says:
A gentleman of promise writing to us
from Newton count j 7 under date oftlie 18th
inst.. says’: “Our crops in this county of
all kinds arc almost a total failure. I de
cidedly approve of your editorial course.
THe Albany (Ga.) Patriot says:
“We have recently been favored with
copious showers. The weather, though
still warm, is much more pleasant, and
comfortable than it has been for some time
past# The health of this section is not
very good at this time —we hear of con
siderable sickness of different kinds, both
in the city and surrounding country. The
crops, generally, are doing very well —
planters, we believe, expect to make very
near, or quite an average crop. From all
wo have learned, in thisimmediatfteotion,
we think average crops of both •.-orn and
cotton will be made.”
1 he / '<itriot also .-a; •
V, ..4.1. f;V F ... t 7
, sos V. orth y •' ■
crops oi corn and cotton arc ver, utfi aor
•and will not mavo half the ordinary yield
while in utner sections, the crops v.-fire
never better. It is thought that the aver
age yield of corn will be sufficient for the
county. ’ ’
The Baton Rouge Advocate, of the 20th,
says:
As far wo learn there are few planta
tions that are not more or less infested by
the destructive “ army worm.” The pros
pect of saving the late planted cotton is
dim, and the old cotton cannot escape
without injury. From letters from Rapides
wc learn that the worm is making its ap
pearance on Red River. Our readers will
understand the basis of the apprehensions
of the planting community, by recollecting
that for every worm that makes its appear
ance in the middle of August a myriad
may reasonably bo expected in the same
field three weeks later.
The Mobile Register says: We learn
from good authority that the army worm
has made its appearance in the cotton sec
tions of Greene, Perry and Marengo coun
ties, and is proving very destructive to the
crops. Planters whose farms have been
visited by this pestilent “architect of ruin,”
are satisfied that their crops of cotton will
fall short by at least one-half of the former
estimate.
Os the corn crops, the Greensboro Bea
con, of the IBtli, says:
Owing to the excessive rains with which
this section was flooded during the spring
and first week of June, and the most disas
trous drought that followed, the corn crop,
even in the rich black lands, will be one of
the poorest that haseverbecn made in this
region. li e arc assured that the cancbrakc
will make nothing like enough to serve it,
whilst on the sandy lands, the crop will gen
erally prove an almost entire failure.
The Tallapoosa Enquirer has the follow
ing on the subject of the crops :
We have diligently inquired of the plan
tors of our county in regard to the corn and
cotton crops, and we are satisfied that all
the rain that can fall cannot make over
half a crop of corn ; and of cotton, there
cannot be a fourth of the usual product.
There will not be com enough made to sup
ply the wants of our people, and unless it
can be obtained from the Northwest, there
must necessarily be great suffering.
fount Jiismarck as a Man.
There is in his character a singular
mixture of frivolity and fanaticism, of pas
sion and phlegmatic calculation. He ar
dently desires to suppress all the liberal
aspirations of the time, and yet has no re
spect for the past. Ho raised himself to
his present high position by parading his
hatred for constitutionalism and revolution,
yet it would not cost him the slightest
effort to unite himself with democracy and
socialism, if by so doing ho could attain his
ends. In Parliament he is an open and
uncompromising supporter of the theory of
Divine right, while in society he as openly
puts it to ridicule. He is a revolutionist
of the reaction, and every day anew
adventurous idea enters his head; yet
he constantly falls back on his original
principle, that of the extension of. the
power of Prussia in Germany. A man of
courage, ability, and determination, lie
knows the weak side of our age, and how
to take advantage of it, but is incapable
of comprehending its nobler feelings, ten
dencies, and efforts of taking in what is
called the spirit of time. Superficial
judges have often fallen into error of ac
j cusing him of want of principle ; but ho is
j only unprincipled in the choice of Iris
means. Some say that he baffles all calcu
j lation ; but in reality lie is only unstable.
\ He has been described as the most uncon
i scious of statesmen, while in truth he is
I the most reckless. Those who, like the j
desperate Austrians, place him on a par
with Satan, do him a great deal too much
honor, for he is too fond of good living and
not sufficiently soured by misfortune to
aspire to infernal dignities. Those, on the
other hand, who call him a genius, sin
against tile lofty meaning of the word.
Wha,t makes him appear to bo so powerful
is simply the disunion and want of organi
zation of his adversaries. All his strength
consists in clearly seeing what he wishes to
obtain, while most of the other statesmen
of our time have hardly succeeded in dis
covering wiiat it is they wish to avoid.
Moreover he lias —and this goes for much
—a high opinion of himself, and a very
low one of most other people. Philippus
Ncri, who founded the Congregation of
Oratory in the time of Luther, concentrat
ed all his teaching into the following terse
apothegm: “ Spernere mundum, sper
nere teijmnn, spernere te sperm.” ('mint
Bismarck is satisfied with the first and last
portions of this rule ; the “ spernere t.e ip
sunt,” he leaves to gentler and more pious
spirits. — 11 Count Bismarck ’in the I'ort
ni/jhtlij Review.
! A Freedman Looking for ihs Mas
j TER. —The Journal of Commerce has the
following extract from a private letter
I from Demopofis, Ala., illustrating the new
j order of things in the South .”
A huge free hnan appeal el at the door
of the office of ;!io Froedinon's Bureau
here one day last week, when tlm following
colloquy occurred :
“is this the bureau
“ Yes, sir.'’
“ I-: e come to see about my master,
sab.”
“Very well, what about your masterV”
' He’s done gone run away, sail. Bin
gone since last Saturday, can't find him
nowhar, sail, ’opec he’s left do country,
sail; can’t got no track of him no how.”
It appears that he had been working for
a man v.'lio had rented a plantation on
share.-. hiring hands, agreeing to pay tin m
at the end of the year, and getting badly
“in the grass,” owing to the late rains, be
came convinced that he could not make
much c-otton, decamped for parts unknown.
There is likely to he more such inquiries,
next fall, as many irresponsible persons,
farmers, overseers, and others, who never
owned a foot ofiand, are engaged in plant
ing on similar terms.
Who arc They ?
We find the following names, purport
ing to Ire Georgians; attached to the call
fur the negro convention to he held in Phila
delphia next Monday. Does any one in
Georgia know these negro-worshipping
miscreants, who attempt to speak for the
people of the good old commonwealth?
By inquiring in this city we can find
out nothing about this list of little vil
lians except as to the notoriously infamous
down-casters. J. E. Bryant and Ambrose
These creatures are not citizens
of Georgia, and we doubt if' any of the
list are:
Henry <1 Cole .J L Bender
G W Ashburne M G Dobbins
Nailon Adam Psawnkoehee
I M Nailon Turner Floyd
( r Nailon Isaac McLane
Frederick Bender G\V McLane
John i Compton Daniel Ingle
DADyeus B Hart man
. f frycus *J esse Trotter
B Dycus N P Harben
G 'A Orr L Bunet
A S Vining N W Wright
M Van Endrent Charles Know
Jas L Dunning LPGridger
Ambrose Spencer
The rot lias attache 1 the potato crop in
the Ottawa country owing to the late con
tinued rain and wind. The oat crop l, al
so a good deal damaged. These two pro
duets will he scarce here in the coining
winter. ft
The Negro in Liberia—His Repugnant
to Labor—The Mulattoes a Separate
Caste--Entlai euieist ol the “ Crewmen’’
—Eticcts ui Missionary Operations, rt,-.
In a letter received by a German clergy
man, residing in one of the Western States,
the following account is given of the con
dition es the negroes in Liberia. The
writer is a sea captain, who has visited
Brazil, the West Indies and Africa, and
has observed the condition of the blacks in
these various countries:
The colony of Liberia was founded in ti
yea* 1823, on the coast of upper Guint
in Africa, by the colonization society i.
the United States of America. It was de
signed to assist colored people in emigrat
ing to Africa, and to aid them in findin
an asylum in that country. By buym
land from chiefs of neighboring tribes the
colony has been extended to the limits of
300 square sea miles. The occupation
assigned by nature to the inhabitants of
Liberia is agriculture. The soil, exceed
ingly rich, and as fertile as any soil on the
lace of the earth, rewards all labor, even
the most negligent and superficial. Never
theless. the free colonists, having sprung
from the negro race, overcomes his natural
indolence and laziness no further than to
cultivate so much land as is required for
keeping him from starvation. In the
vicinity of Monrovia, the capital and scat
of government, named in honor oi' Presi
dent Monroe, there may ho seen some
thousand acres with plantations of coffee
and sugar, yielding the richest possible
crops, but they belong to intelligent aud
ambitious mulattoes. ' ’ *
Further in the interior of the country
there is no trace of any plantation or cul
i ture, although it is evident that the ricli
i est produce is to be had for a small amount
|of labor. The common negro has no im
pulse in himself to do anything more than
to gain, in an easy manner, what is abso
lutely necessary for his subsistence, which
lie can easily obtain in a country in which
nature has bestowed so very great a fer
tility, producing all the necessities ‘of life
in abundance. The laziness, whirl* is in
• separable from the disposition of a negro,
; will be the rock on which the republic of
Liberia will be wrecked. A negro does
| not wish for anything hut sufficient food
fi r himself and his
■ family, a i. v.. nore than the
forces him to
work. ' he ti’Lgi • (lie earth is m ueh
i the breeding of
for him. The
—i ouej in Liberia
must be imported \ will \*ith
little tilings is the only business he is in
clined to do. Asa mechanic he leaves his
work so roughly and badly done, or rather
undone, as to satisfy no one but himself.
Everything of any usefulness that is to be
found in the four towns of Liberia is im
ported. The Republic, with its present
limits, lias been in existence for about 40
years past, and yet there is only one sin
gle road, which lias the length of five sea
miles and the breadth of the track of one
wagon. The road was built under the su
perintendence of the first American agent
and with American money; it runs lroni
Monrovia toward tjie interior of the coun
try. Since the time that Liberia has had
its own government nothing at all lias been
done to promote communication.
The large natural forests in the neigh
borhood are the abode of innumerable wild
beasts, which molest the colonists inces
santly. _ These forests are also the source
of pernicious exhalations and deadly mias
ma, which kill half of the inhabitants. It
is for the interest oftlie commonwealth as
well as for that of every inhabitant to cut
down those forests in order to sell the pre
cious wood of the large trees to purify the
air, and to gain several millions of acres of
the richest virginal soil. The inhabitants,
however, are satisfied with taking at a
time no more wood than is necessary for
building a small farm-house. They suffer
themselves to be attacked by the wild
beasts oftlie forests, and they continue to
breathe the air filled with a poisoning mias
ma, which causes fatal diseases among
them, without making any attempt to be
relieved of those plagues. Hence we must
conclude that negroes, by nature, have an
aversion of tilling the earth, and that their
disposition to woi'k industriously is, by
nature, no greater than it was in their
condition of bodily bondage. As in u.is
condition only force and the fear ol‘punish
ment could move them to work, so in Libe
ria absolute necessity and the fear ol ta •
vation causes them to work, because M o
have no master who provides them V. ii
food and raiment-. The probability
very small indeed that negroes ever wi
cease to he slaves of ablsolutc necessity,
and become diligent and intelligent bus
bandmen. It. is very improbable that the;
race ever can exist iiy itself, and they i ■
not mix with white men in the manner in
which different races of white men have
been mixed together.
The mulattoes in Liberia form a separate
caste, higher than common negroes—a
caste similar to the rank of nobility in Eu
rope,, and they would have usurped all
power long ago if they had not been
watched and kept down by the American
Colonization Society. As soon as this
pressure is taken off, the government will
fall into the hands of the mulattoes, be
cause property and intelligence always rule
over indigence and stupidity. The repub
lican government then will come toan end,
and the mulattoes will make themselves
tlm lords oftlie land, and the despots over
the people; they will he tyrants, much
worse than white slaveholders overwore.
In reality, such is already the condition of
the people in Liberia, 'flic negroes called
crewmen, natives of Africa who have been
subdued, a mild and meek race, willingly
bend under the yoke of bodily bond
age. On the plantations of sugar and
coffee, mentioned above, in tlie house
of the rich mulattoes, and in those of
Christian negroes, tlie whip is used
upon their servants who are crewmen as
much as it was ever used upon slaves in
America and in the West Indies. There
arc no worse masters than mulattoes. Al
though offspring of the white and black
races, they hate both races invetorately,
and they vent that hatred whenever they
can. Besides, mulattoes rule by an in
domitable love of money, and tlieir loose
ness of principle and tlieir laxity of morals
let them indifferently .use ail means to
j achieve their purpose. At present they
| strive after riches by cultivating their plan
! tations, but undoubtedly they will prefer
j the greater and easier profit of trading in
j slaves as soon as they have the opportuni
ty of so doing. The Christian negroes in
Liberia will not join them in that trade,
but they will do nothing to hinder it. The
| Christian negroes in Liberia, as well as no
-1 groes everywhere else, are much too indo
i lent and too lazy to doanything which they
1 are not compelled to do; and as long as
I they do not suffer from want materially it
j is all the same to them whether Liberia be
a republic, an absolute monarchy or slave
I State, provided that they need not work.
! The negroes of Liberia walk on the
■streets silent and with slow steps. Those
who are wealthy stride about, wearing
high, white cravats, in the fashion ofPurf
tunic preachers; those who are poor are
dressed less uniformly, hut they keep their
faces contracted hi the same solemn and
stern wrinkles. I hey salute one another in
a formal, still manner. W hen two men
happen to meet on the street, who wish to
speak to each other, they do so with af
fectcd manners, with a sot speech and in a
low voice, as if they were afraid of disturb
ing the devotion of a congregation in
church. He who knows thenatural cheer
fulness and merriness of negroes, which
cannot be exhausted and never extirpated,
which requires only the least impulse to
break forth into loud and joyful mirth;
their fondness for talking and their
great pleasure in singing qualities
which cannot be surpassed, even by
the .severest treatment—qualities which
can be turned to virtues and blessings
for them by the grace of the gospel— must
be greatly astonished at the apparent con
trast which he finds in the deportment of
the .inhabitants of Monrovia. This de -
portment is tlie consequence of the reli
gious constraint which sectarians and mis
sionaries of sects exert noon the iuliabi
.tants of Liberia. Willi blind zeal mis
taking I’hariaism for Christianity, they
have endeavored, forcibly and unnaturally
to change the harmless disposition of tlm v
people. They have changed their cl a , -
ter and appearance —whether they la. .
changed their nature, and if so, whethi
for good or evil, will l>e discovered by fa
turn events. The clergymen, those sent
by American Missionary societies and seels,
as well as those who are natives, have gre:
authority over the minds of the negro
Liberia. But this authority seems to La
founded on fear and noton love. All author
ity which Is founded exclusively on fear,
without being mixed with love, tends even
tually to evil. 11’ those who founded
Liberia wish to have this republic as n,
stronghold lor their religious doctrin
and to this end endeavored to propagate
and establish these doctrines by the aid of
missionaries, nothing can be said against
the policy which has been followed in Libe
ria, that is, as lar as they are known, shows ‘
that they have succeeded in suppressing
the commission of evil deeds by the fear of
punishment. But it docs thence not fol
low that the hearts of the negroes in Libe
ria have been essentially changed, and that
i they do not sin frequently against the first
| four commandments.
This effect has been brought about in
Liberia by doing violence to the disposi
! tion of the negroes; for their childlike de
position has been suppressed and des
troyed by the prohibition of the most inno
cent enjoym it under severe penalties ; and
in this way they have been deprived of all
moral power of their own. or have been mis
led to hypocrisy. Besides, friendly inter
course among them has been destroyed by
sectarianism, which is as common as it is
in the I nited .States of America. Intol
erance of sectarians lias brought it to pass
that different sects oppose one another in
such a manner as to cause every member
of one sect to shun all communication with
the members of any othet sect. It is evi
dent that this exclusiveness of religious
sects must very materially injure the pros
perity ol the body politic of the common*
wealth.