|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 66
But fortunately no constitutional obstacle whatever stands in the way of
making such stipulations as may be appropriate between the Federal
Government and the States; nor would they at all imply any admission of
the right of secession, or of the actual efficacy of the attempted
withdrawal from the Union. On the contrary, any agreement with the State
would, _ex vi termini_, admit the integrity of its organization under
the Constitution. Special agreements are usually made whenever a new
State is admitted into the Union; and as all the States, old and new,
stand upon an equal footing, there can be nothing in the ordinances
usually adopted by the new States, conflicting with the principles on
which the Government is organized. The States are prohibited from
making 'any agreement or compact' with each other, without the consent
of the Federal Government; but there is no prohibition against making
such agreements with the Federal Government itself. What the new States
may do upon entering the Union, the old States may do at any time upon
the same conditions This principle was settled upon the admission of
Texas into the Union; it has been sanctioned in many other instances;
and we are not aware that there is or can be any question of its
soundness. Surely, if there could ever be an occasion proper for a
solemn compact between the General Government and any of the separate
States, it will be found at the conclusion of this unhappy war, when it
will be necessary to heal the wounds of the country, and provide for its
permanent peace and security. To quell an insurrection so extensive,
involving so many States in its daring treason, especially when it has
assumed an organized form and been recognized not only by other nations
but even by ourselves, as a belligerent entitled to the rights of war,
implies the necessity, in addition to the annihilation of its armies and
all its warlike resources, of removing the causes of its
dissatisfaction, and destroying its means of exciting disturbance. The
Government is by no means bound unconditionally to recognize the old
relations of States which, as such, have taken part in the rebellion;
which have themselves repudiated all their constitutional rights and
obligations; and which may again, at any time, renew the war, from the
same impulse and for the same cause. On the contrary, the close of the
disastrous contest will be a most favorable opportunity for compelling
the conquered insurrection to submit to terms such as will deprive it of
all capacity for similar mischief in the future. The insurrection will
not be effectually suppressed unless its active principle is destroyed.
Nothing can be plainer than the right and the solemn duty of the
Government in this great emergency.
Supposing these principles to be admitted, there still remains for
determination the most important question as to the nature of the
conditions which ought to be exacted of the returning States--a problem
of the most difficult character, involving the most delicate of all
considerations, and demanding for its solution the highest practical
statesmanship and the most profound wisdom, based upon moderation,
firmness, liberality, and justice. In this problem several elements
exist in complicated combination, and each one of these must be fairly
considered in the adjustment whenever it may be made. The measures of
safety which the Government has been compelled to adopt in the progress
of the war, and to which it may be committed without recall; the
condition of the rebellious States, and their demands and propositions;
and finally, the interests, rights, and just expectations of the African
race, which has become so intimately involved in this terrible
strife--all these must be weighed accurately in the scales of truth, and
with the impartial hand of disinterested patriotism. No mere partisan
considerations, no promptings of selfish ambition, and no miserable
sectional enmities or fierce desires for revenge, ought to be allowed to
mingle with our thoughts and feelings when we approach this great
subject of restoring peace and harmony to the people and States of this
mighty republic. Awful will be the responsibility of those men in
authority, who shall fail to rise to the height of this momentous
emergency in the history of our country--who shall be wanting in the
courage, the purity, the magnanimity necessary to save the nation from
disunion and anarchy.
What ought to be the conditions upon which the rebellious States are to
be re�stablished in their old relations, it is perhaps premature now to
attempt to determine. The war is not yet closed, although we are
sufficiently sanguine to believe that we have already seen 'the
beginning of the end.' But the still nearer approach of the final acts
in the great drama will give a mighty impetus to events, and many great
changes will be wrought in the condition of the Southern people, and in
their feelings toward the Union, against which too many of them are
still breathing hate and vengeance. They have scarcely yet been
sufficiently chastened even by the fiery ordeal through which they have
been compelled to pass. Every day, however, increases the bitterness of
the scourge under which they suffer, and if it does not avail to humble
them, it tends at least to convince them, in their hearts, of the
terrible mistake into which they have been led. We may well hope and
believe that the masses of the people will soon be brought to that
rational frame of mind which will incline them to acknowledge the
irresistible exigencies of their situation, and to make those
concessions that may be found indispensable to peace and union. As we
approach the moment of decisive action, experience will teach us the
solemn duty devolving upon us. While we may not at present anticipate
fully what will then be necessary, we can nevertheless determine some
few principles of a general nature which must control the adjustment.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|