W9(p LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 009 942 557 A I 'objects of the war AM) llOW IT SIIOCLI) BK CONDKTi:!). ^ ^^^ S V KLCll or iio.Y. iiEN'DiucK D. WR[(;uT, OF ri:.\N., Delivorod in tho IIouso of Reprosontatives, January 20, 1862. 2 U96 Copy 2 Mr. WRIGHT said: I propose, Mr. ChHirman, to make a f«'w re- marks upon the uhjicts of the wur, and wliul I conceive to be the juHt and proper method of carrying it on. And it is aUo my purpose, if 1 can, to take that middle, conservative coiirie, avoiding anijry extremes, upon which we must rely in our erfort.s not only to 8:ivo the Consti- tution, but to save the Union itself. \ do not rise, sir, for the purpose of indulginj^ in any angry retiections towards any gentleman upon this floor. This is not the time,jior the occa- siou, for an indulgence of this kind. I came here elected upon conservative prin- ciples; and I say to you, and I assure this House, that I have not cast a solitary vote, since I have been a member upon this lloor, but what has accorded with my own convic- tions of what was right and proper to be done. I claim to be the n-presentative of mv whole district. I was returned to this House by both political parties in my district. Both political parties agreed upon a common |)latl'orm, and upon that platform I came here as their Rep- resentative; and therefore, if there be an in dividual member of this House who stands — if I may use the expression — above politics, who stands in a position to be solely governed by just and proper influences at all times, it is myself. I was elected as a Union man, and as a Union man, I am ready to stand or fall. There are no party shackles upon my hands that shall divert me from that true and consistent course that I deem to be expedient and proper upon this most momentous occasion. I tried in vain the other day to obtain the 6oor after the gentleman from Ohio (.Mr. BiS(i uamJ had concluded what I conceived to be — and he will pardon me for using the expres sion — a speech in which he used language and uttered sentiments inconsistent with his po- sition as a distinguished man, and a member of the American Congress. If the doctrine which the gentleman from Ohio the other day proposed be carried out, which was the un- conditional emancipation of four millionc of (tlav^s, 1 appeal to him in his momeiitJi of re- flection, and when calmneHs and candor shall lake po.'fsesHioii of his mind, whether be ha« power to estimate the consequences that would follow a step of that ki d. The very idea of carrying ou*. a principle of that nature strikes a bl.jw at the foundation of your Government, and overturns that vital source which gives life to it — 1 mean our Constitution. 1 am not, sir, an advocate of slavery ; but I am one of those who are willing to take the Constitution as our fathers gave it to us. I am willing to be governed by those landmarks which they established and sealed with their blood. I am willing to be confined within those limits which the Constitution |irebcnljes; but I am not one of those who are prepared to dubstitute any of those theories which have been proposed here, and which go beyond the limits of the Constitution, and in violation of its spirit and letter. I am also in favor of maintaining this war — tor we must now call it war — upon the sole is- sue upon which it was inaugurated. 1 am will- ing to stand by the principle which gave the war existence; and any member of this body who would change the principle which inaugu- rated the policy of the war, according to my humble conception, is not following that rule \)f propriety which conscience, reason, and judgment dictate. \V hat was the policy of the war? I refer you, tl/efer the committee, to that proclamation of the President of the United States issued oa the 15th day of April la;)t, calling out seventy- five thousand men, in response to which six hundred thousand men are to-day marshaled in the field. And 1 want gentlemen on the other iide to bear with me while I refer to A paragraph from that proclamation, which went out from the White House on that day. I want the attention of gentlemen calling themselves Republicans upon this floor, becau.-erty which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the ulmuii ^Thilh iho war wa« ioauga- ratocl, lo wit: to put xluwti ri bvlliuii, mikI noi to luiuiuiiiit alaved, uitd tu Hel iheui luojtu upuii the cijiiiiuunily — four milliuiiH of itUteratf, and I may ulso Hi\y lialt-burljiirtiuH iMtupIt*. wiiliuat auy lutiuud ut'auppurt, leaving; tiiu (iovurnuivul to tukt' i-tiro ul tiu'tu, or tlie puuplu tinst'I\t'- u;,'diiiat llioir iiiruu(l«. Vetf, nir, the ailiiptiuii ol lh« priiicipli! conloudfJ for bv the L'eiiil.uaiii fruin Ohio (Mr. Ht.\<:UAM] woula luy v/hhUs tlui fair Stuto of Kfiilucky. ItA aJuptiun would Htriku froui thi) charter of our liberUfi MarylHnil aiul Wewturii Virginia, aiiil ihu Stale of Missouri. Why, then, will gCDtluuien coulvu Crillendt-u reHolutionH, and I firmly believe, Mr. Cbiiriuan, that the Union is aate; but if you make this a war of slave emancipation, as God is myjudt^e, I believe that the Government is irretrievably gone. This is no war fur slave emancip'Uion ; it is to put down rebellion and ue^-son ; to save a preal and mij^hl}' republic from overthrow and ruin. My venerable friend tro:a Kentucky [.Mr. Wu'KLIkkk] informs me that the resolutions I have roferred to pas.sed the Senate as well as th» House, if that be so, if they have passed both branches of the national Legislature, then Congress and the President h.ive acted in con- cert ai.d wiih great Gd>*lity of purpose. What will be the utlect, sir, it you change the policy of the war, aud make it a war of negro emancipation?' The six hundred thousand men in the field this day enlisted with the pledge of the Governmentihat they were brought into the field to Save the Union, by crushing out as unholy a rebellion as ever di.sgraeed the history of a nation. When the President is- sued his proclamation that the Government was in danger, aud called for troops to preserve it, all of the loyal Similes responded promptly. Change the policy ot this war at this lime, and, in my judgment, the effective force of that army would be weakened — indeed, it would be de- moralizt^'d if the war were made a war of enian- cipation. I venture to say thai there are hun- dreds and thousands, who compose the rank and file of th.it army, who would leave it just as soon as they were informed that its mission was not to put down rebellion, but to emanci- pate Hlaven. The great State of Pennsylvania, which I have the honor in part to represent, has sent more troops into the field than any other State. >he has far exceeded her quota. She has one hundred thousand men in the field. In our army of six hundred thousand men, every fourth man ia a Peaiisylvaiiian ; and o\ that one hundred thousand Pennsylvanians, I venture to say there are not three thousand who went inlo the field with any other impr«'s- eiou than that they were to carry out the prin- ciples of the President's proclamation, aud of ibu r«aolutioD«orCon{freM to which I have re- ferred. Why, ihfiii, depart from ihum 7 What good reaoon ih there for to doing / .Mr. I'uTTKll. L«t me a«k ih« gim I'enniiylvania a i|uvblion. I would lilteUi kuuw wh«lher the troops uho li>fl the liidd oa tliMday of the battle ol hull Kuti lifi under that •auie impression ? [Laughter J Mr. V.VLLANDIGIIAM. ihey were only in adraiieti of rtrtain members of CongreM. [ Rlj ' li-avlng the quo«'.l<>rj| n'.i rtouce tu the iiiurc oaa- na« toio a viuluot waA \\ (If II Atiraiiain Lincoln penned that para- graph he not only "meant well. ' but he wrote Wfli, and enunciated a principle and a senti- ment which he will be justified in before the American people. It should not be a "remorse- less revolutionary struo^gle." I say, sir, that Abraham Lincoln acted well when he sent sup- plies to Fort Sumter in the early part of this struggle, and I justify him in the act which he did then ; and, in fact, so far as regards the prosecution of the war and the object which brought it into existence, he has uniformly not only "meant well," 'but uniformly acted well. And that is the reason why he is receiving at this time the support of the conservative men of the nation everywhere. I do not, of course, in- clude that class of men who declare that the Constitution is a "league with death and a cov- enant with hell." If he received the approba- tion and countenance of men who adopt such heretical opinions, I could not myself be a sup- porter of Lincoln in this great and trying emer gency. Nor can gentlemen justify themselves by bringing before the country the frauds that have been practiced in the Departments of the Government, and attempt to make capital out of it, when a great prominent issue is before the countrv. Your constituencies will not stop to inquire how you have cast your votes in re- gard to frauds and speculations. You do not justify yourselves upon an issue of that kind. There is but one great abiding and powerful issue to-day, and that is the issue whether the country and the Constitution shall be saved, or whether it shall be utterly and entirely annihil- ated ? Gentlemen have gone so far — I do not stop to incpiire whether or not they are in this House — upon this question of negro slavery, that if the quesiion were put to them, whom •will you have delivered to you to-day? they would say, " Barabbas," the negro; crucify the white man. 1 do not make the charge against gentlemen upon this floor : but I say there are fanatics throughout the length and breadth of this land, who would adopt that as the cardinal and ruling idea of their lives. I would go far to protect the interest of the black man, but I have in ray mind an overwhelming sentiment and opinion which leads me first to stand by the Constitution and the country; knowins: that by standing by the Constitution and the country I not only protect the interests of twenty-five millions of white men, but also four millions of blacks. Gentlemen will not understand me as apologizing for slavery. Do not understand me that I would extend it one inch beyond the territory which it now occupies ; but that at the present time, and in the present emergency, I would go for that line of policy which would leave the confiscation of property to the great emergencies as they arise. You cannot lay down a rule for the cor.duct of your army in regard to this particular, unless you change the entire line of policy which was adopted in the inauj:uration of the war. I defy the House, 1 defy the national Legislature, J defy the gen- erals in command, to lay down a line of policy that is to be pursued upon this question of slavery that shall mete out equal and exact jus- tice everywhere. Therefore, let the emergency of the occasion provide for itself. Let the Government furnish tnen ; let the Government furnish money ; let the Government commis- sion intelligent generals, and that is far enough to go in relation to policy. Suppose you adopt the policy of negro emaa- cipation, that slaves everywhere are to be eman- cipated, you weaken and paralyze the strong arm of the military power of the country; you do injustice to the loyal men in the country, in Missouri, in Kentucky, in Western Virginia, in Maryland ; because, although they are rep- resented upon this floor, and although they are loyal men, yet they still have that species of prop- erty which the Constitution says we shall protect them in. And so long as they are loyal men, I am one of those who are in favor, to the utmost, of protecting them in the enjoyment of their property. .Ind so the President of the United States said, when he sent out his proc- lamation calling men into service to defend the Government — not to emancipate slaves, and not to interfere in regard to the rights of prop- erty. All, therefore, that I have to ask of gen- tlemen who pursue extreme measures upon the other side of the House is to stand by the policy laid down by the Executive of the nation, a man whom they have put into power. And of those gentlemen and Representatives from the State of Pennsylvania — and they are numerous upon the other side of the Chamber — let me ask if they do not believe that Pennsylvania is not conservative to day ; that Pennsylvania is in favor of sustaining the Constitution to-day? The groat heart of Pennsylvania is beating to-day for the cause of the Union. There is with her no question of slavery ; it is a question of national existence, of life or death. I have no censure to cast upon my colleagues. I only appeal to them to stand by me upon the conservative principles that President Lincoln has laid down in regard to the manner of carry- ing on this war, and to stand by the prin- ciples upon which the war became an absolute necessity. Mr. KELLEY. I wish to ask the gentleman one question. Mr. WRIGHT. I cannot well refuse the re- quest. Mr. KELLEY. Do you believe that any one of the hundred thousand soldiers of Pennsyl- vania would prove false to his oath and loyalty if the result of this war would be to give to some poor mother the ownership of her own babe ; if its result should be Mr. DIVEN. Is this to be a speech? Mr. KELLEY. A single question only. Mr. BINGHAM. It is too late for the gentle- man from New York to object. Mr. KELLHY. A single question. If the effect of til is war Mr. DIVEN. I rise to a question of order. I am not ap«ftking of the throu(;h Coventry with to thi* bMtle of Rhrewi- burr. Sir, th« fontrnt in which w«« nr« nn^f^ to any in not for thi» i-levaiion of th«» \>\»i-k rmc*. It \n f»r the impiTi(ihiihl« prin<-ipt«» of libertj, of free (rov«»rniii»'iit, of thf ri;fhi "*" m»n to povcrn himnflf. Thiit i* «h« iipir on our army. It ia not thi» yrorrl! ihM look* (lown to thi- ' rice; it in to Hi-iiilr th- the liberty which ban 1. • .. by our f"'.th«'r« nhftll b<' p^rn iho Iftu'l, or who<« the gentlomnn from PenriHylviviiirt vi»Id to bin colleajjue ? Mr. WlUiilir. I ht.pu the 4.'ontloman will not PonMiuii" much of my lime. Mr. DIVKS. Will the Chair hear iho ;iicd to him, he caiiiioi yield it to another for the purpose of miikititr a apeech. if obj«;ciion be made. Mr. KKMiKY. He yields to a single inquiry,! conflict. It \n a. conflict for ari imperitthabl.? and not to a Rpoech. I principle; it is a conflict for liberty; it is a The CHAIRMAN. The Cktiir decides that I conflict to pres»'rve those «aered colon thai the pentlemiiM can yield only tor an explona- 1 are Fusponded above the Speaker's chair in tion. or an innuiry. | the House of Commons of this land; it is a Mr. KKLLKV. 1 ask whether the penile- | conflict to pive a charnc'cr and a name to the TPan believes that the people of Pennsylvania I preat country we inhabit, and not to elevate will repudiate the war if one of it.s results be i the condition of the hla<'k man alone, to give sipnificaiice to the words, ;)ir<'/»', r//i,'(Z I Sir, I will go with that centleman, or any homt, Jamil;/, Ruii otjh^i/, to .some poor man , othiT jjentloman, to rotiliscate th«! property of whose" Saxoii fatbers spirit chafes under the | the rebel, wherever he may bf found ; but I do servitude th->ir durker skin entails upon ihera ? not want to lay down rules with regard to the Mr. WRIfiHT. I will inform my respected ' principle of confiscation. Let the hour provide colleague from Pennsylvania that the father, ' for itself. L-t the time and the occasion point mother, brother, sister, child of the white race ' out to the military commanders, or the execn- are a thousand times dearer to me than the live chief, the mode and manner in which that inferior caste of black men. . [Applause in the I ofajf^ct sh.ill b.» accomplished, galleries] j Mr. LOVE.IOY. Will the gentleman allow The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will say that ] me to ask him a question ? iflhereisany further interruption of the orderly I Mr. WRIGHT. I will agree to give that proceediiif^s of the House by the galleries, he gentleman an opportunity to do so now, but I will order them to be cleared. ' shall not yield the floor again for a like pur- Mr. RUUINSON. I hope they will be cleared ! poso. now. I Mr. LOVEJOY. I wish to ask the gentle- Mr. WRIGHT. I will also inform my worthy i man whether he recognises the right of a Gen- colleague from my own Stale that in preserving eral to adopt what rules of confiscation he deems the Constitution, in living up to the policy that best from time to time? inaugurated the war, upon the jtart of the Ad- ; Mr. BINGHAM. That is the question, minitttraliou and upon the part of the two! Mr. WRIGHT. I recognise the right of a Houses, he will find bis only guarantee that his commanding General to adopt what rule he wife and his child are to be secure in this great , deems expedient, .luhj^rt to a rerufinu htj thai hour of calamity. That hour ia upon us, and ' muservatire poxcfr that h to day Ux-aled in the it is our solemn duty to fake care of the Anglo- I IVhite Hoii*e, si that if any man .""hall play American race, and save it, if there be power j Fremont, we have a man there who has nerve and vitality left in the Government to do it. ■ enough to ijndo what be does, if wronc. I have a heart, I trust, as large and compre- Mr. LOVKJOY. Then I undersUnd. Mr. heubive with regard to the wants and neceisi- Chairman, thit the gentleman means fliat when ties of this interior race as my colleasue, but 1 a General is proslav-ry he believes his decrees the Antjlo Saxon race with nie is the tirst thing '. are right, but when anti slavery he believes they for my consideration. And let me sav, further, are wronjr- with regard to the appeal that brou-ht one Mr. WRIGHT. I will tell the gentleman hundred thousand men from the State of Penn 'what I mean. I mean that the President is, sylvania into the armv, that had they known ! by virtue of the Constitution, Commander-in- before the day of their enlistment that their Chief of the American armies, and if any of services were required to fiijht for emancipa his subordinates, as was the case with General tion, I venture to say that that army of one j Fremont, undertakes to change the ruleof pol- hundred thousand men would have been less j icy upon which the war was inan_'urated, he formidable than the contemptible company | has a right to countermand the orders of that of men that Falstaff was ashamed to march ' subordinate, and if he acts consenrauvely, he 6 18 entitled to the support of the nation, and will recpivo it. Mr. LOVEJOY. I do not object to that if the gentleman will r.dhere to it. I understand him to say that it must be left for the decision of the Generals. If the f^entleman is simply insisting that the President is the Commander- in-Chief, of course I do not object to that. But now, if the gentleman will be kind enough to bear with me a moment, I want to ask him whether he is opposed to the confiscation of rebel property, and if Mr. WRinilT. The gentleman must not ask me another question. I will answer the one he has propounded. I am not afraid at all to be catechised by the gentleman, even in the American Congress ; but I insist on my rights here. The gentleman asks me if I am in fa- vor of the confiscation of rebel property. Do I understand his question correctly? Mr. LOVEJOY. That is it in substance. Mr. WRIGHT. I answer that I am, unquali- fiedly. [Cries of " Good ! " and " All right ! "] Mr. LOVEJOY. I wish to ask the gentle- man one more question, and then I will not in- terrupt him fnrtlier. Mr. WRK^HT. No, sir; I cannot yield any further. Now. I will tell you why I am in fa- vor of the confiscation of rebel property. I am in favor of forfeiting all the property and effects that that man has who raises his arm for the destruction of this republican fabric that is dear to us all, whether it be slaves, oxen, horses, or anything else that his State may regard and recognis" as property. Mr. MOO RHEA D. That is enough. Mr. WRIGH '\ Yes, that is far enough to go. Mr. MOORLIEAD. That is right. Mr. WRIGHT. I am glad to hear my col- league from the Pittsburgh district indorse that sentiment. I have hopes from him in the dark hours that are to come upon us before this ses- sion closes. Mr. MOORHEAD. I will stand by the con- fiscation of thp slaves of rebels. Mr. Vv'RlGHT. Nov/, with regard to the for- feiture of that property, as I said before, it is a matter that must depend upon the emergencies of the occasi'in, and the General in command must use his discretion, subject, however, to re- vocation, if he acts in opposition to the views of the Commander in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States. There we agree, I have no doubt; but I do not believe that my colleague, nor do I believe that the conserva tive gentlemen upon the other side of the House will vote to lay down a principle as broad as the one conti^mplated in the speech cf the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Bingham,] and that was, if I understood it, the immediate, unconditional emancipation of four millions of slaves. Mr. BINGHAM. If the gentleman will al- low me, I will set him right. I suppose he iu- tenda mo no injustice. The CHAIRMAN, (Mr. Olin in the chair.) Does the gentleman from Pennsylvania yield the floor to the gentleman from Ohio ? Mr. WRIGHT. I do, sir ; he has a right to ask it. Mr. BINGHAM. I confined my proposition exclusively to slaves held by rebels, their aiders and abettors. Mr. WRIGHT. I know that the gentleman in his printed remarks Mr. BINGHAM. No, sir; in my spoken re- marks. Mr. WRIGHT, harm or inju>ri>viHi"ii m :. ition, thai pcrrtoim born within ilw \\iu-.\\ ro ia not a l«'Xi book referre thu principle that I aaaert. I do not stand hero to cavil with nicn who are not rpaf their nativity, are not what their color? Mr. WKRillT. Let tho gentleman keep cool, and I will answer his proposition. Uc re- fers me to a clause in the Constitution. For his edification I will read it: I -Til.' ' ii^ti* of oacU Stitlo sluill b« oiiUtlol In all th'> | privilcg -a iiiij itumiiiilticii of cll-i.-im of itio sovoral Slut. ■» ," It 18 the " citiaenc of each State " who are entitled to these privile/ea and immunities. Mr. B1MG1I.\M. Pray, sir, who are the citi- zens of the States? Mr. WRKillT. I will tell the gentleman who ' are citizens. Each State, not having yielled ' the power of declaring? citizenship in the Con stitution of the United States, reserved it to herself; and Fennsylrania has not only decided through her courts, but has adopted it as a car ; dinal principle in her Constitution, that black men are not citizens. Mr. BINGHAM. Will the gentleman allow mc to inquire Mr. WKlGIir. I cannot yield any further. The gentleman from Ohio is a learned man. He comes hero with the reputation of being an eminent lawyer; and I ask him whether he ts not aware that five of the Northwestern StatP" have adapted constitutional provisions prohib* iting black people from coming into their terri- tory? Mr. BINGHAM. There is no such provision ' in the Constitution of my State. [ Mr, WRIGHT. I did not say it was in the Constitution of your State, but that it was in ' the Constitution of 6ve of the Northwestern i Sutes. I Mr. BINGHAM. I ask the gentleman from Pennsylvania to let me make an inquiry of him for inform>\tion. ■. Mr. WRIGHT. CerUinly. i Mr. BINGHAM. What Rtat«s doea the geo- ill-man refer to? I hope be doet not meaa I refer to Indiana, IIHooii, Mr. ALDRICH. Miniie«4)ta. Mr. WRIGHT. Ohio, I .Mr. II. That is only four. Mr. ■. >..!■. KNK. It is not %o in Iowa. Mr. WRKiHT. That in enou^rh to ralabltsh the priiK i)il» I am contviiding lur. Mr. WASHBl'KNK. It ia not fnongb to M- tablixh the nurnhnr. Mr. WRIGHT. Now, although the gentle- man from Dhio may ri-gnrd tne as a ndvice in law, I will tell him that I have been Ktriving honestly for thirty ywars t'J ifltaiM a knowledge of the legal profi-Msion, and ho will pardon me, I hope, in the a.Hs«rtioii that I have durinff that lime learned a f ' ' ! studied !»omewhiit the V ,n. Mr. bINGHA.M. .. ... .... ^. .. .. .«an yield to mo for an inquiry? Mr. W RIG HI'. I cannot yield any more to the gentleman. If I ask him a question he will have a right to reply to it. Now, the Constitu* lion which every member of this House baa sworn to support and maintain, and which it .should be our aim and object to live up to, con- tains the provision that the citizens of each .Su\te shall be entitle>l in all privile;;ei and im- munities. If this (ie^raded c'.asi of people called slaves are citizens, then I concede to the jft-nlleman from Ohio that no .'«tate has aright to pass a law prohibiting their nii;;ration into It. But let me say to the gentleiDan, that if his army of four millions of slaves were to com- mence their march into Ohio and Pennsylvania, it would be worse upon those Stat.s than the pla>;ues of Egypt. Tb^^y would devour and eat out the substance of the people. Not only would that evil come to pass, but the effect of It would also be to destroy the blacks theiu selves ind annihilate all their power fur good. Therefore I lay it down as the only safe, pru- dent, and constitutional rule, to allow the great mergencies of the occasion to provide for them- selves, subject to revision by tho Commander- in Chief of the American army, anl such aid as the American Congress may aflurd him. If those gentlemen who want to carry out this ultra i><»licy will but stand by .\braham Lincoln, as the conservative men of this body will stand by him, six months shall not pass away before the rebellion is dead, the national flag restored to its position, and the national glory and renown again vindicated. From the commencement of ihis session of Congress I have been of the opinion that, sooner or later, tl ■ i'ive members of it would put ihoir h ' or, •vnd work shoulder t" ' •- reat ause of the country. uve I he great pleasure oil. . . rum Ohio [Mr. Binoham] ■ banded 'jr tho protection of t' ; and not for the emancipatioQ of slavery, it is not for me ■'f 8 { now to say. I do not wish to indulge in unkind remarks, because liberty of speech is guaran- tied to us by the fundamental law of the land. Members have a righi to express their views on this question of slavery. 1 would not abridge that right, but I would hold them accountable for the line of policy which they pursue that is calculated to destroy the public confidence, to paralyze the army, or to throw an obstacle in the way of its advance forward. Mr. Chairman, the great and momentous oc- casion that visits us to-day is one which I can hardly realize. It is hard to realize that of the thirty millions who but a few short months ago comprised a happy people, nearly one million should to-day be arrayed in deadly hostility against each other. But that fact exists. It is on us to-day. \Ye know it. And while these two great armies are in the field, contending in deadly strife — one thjrt the Constitution shall stand and the Government be preserved, and the other, that the Government shall be de- stroyed — why shall not patriotic men on that manly issue meet the great question and dis- pose of it? Why not confine ourselves to the legitimate issues of the war — to save the white race — and not adopt the other alternative, which is to destroy it — destroy the great principle of self-government, and ail for the elevation of the black race? I would not object to his eleva- tion ; but I prefer Union with slavery to no Union M-ithout it ; and if the Government must fall iu the wild attempts to minister to his im- aginary wants, it is our duty to ourselves, our families, our country, to abandon a theory that cannot be accomplished. Sir, let the Govern- ment of our fathers, with its compromises and its virtues, star. J as the chief thing in our affec- tions, and its preservation be the gre?.t object of our hopes. Mr. Chairman, these fanatics have just as much interest in the preservation of this coun- try as we have. They may suppose that, by advocating universal emancipation, they will best accomplish a prosperous result. But upon this question of expediency I differ with them widely. Change the policy of the war, and you have left no principle upon which the nation can rely in this hour of need. Change the pol- icy of the war, divert it from the cardinal point which brought it into existence, and we are hopelessly gone, and gone forever. Nor do I wish to survive the time when this country is broken up and destroyed. I do not want to see two confederacies upon this land. There is not room enough in this broad land to contain two confederacies. One flag, one Constitution, one common destiny, is what we all should ask, i^. what we all ought to pray lor, is what we all' ought to move heaven and earth to accomplish, in the hour of danger and of trouble which is suspended like a black pall over us. Adopt the principle for which the gentleman from Ohio contends, and you drive your brave men from the army, destroy their courage, weaken their zeal, and intimidate their valor. Do that, and you will either have no country at all, or you will have in existence two confeder- acies, between which there will be a war of ex- termination for all time, in the great future. I am in favor of settling that great priucip)le now. I am in favor of deciding the question at once. Let us decide it legitimately and properly, as it ought to be decided — upon that broad and ele- vated position that freemen know and can ap- preciate those imperishable gifts which are the common inheritance of us all, and which we should guard and protect with our life, our lib- erty, and our honor. LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 009 942 557 WASHINGTON) D. C. SCAMMKI.L k CO., i'niKTKRS, CORNSB OF SECOND STBKKT J. IXDIAJfA AYE^'tE, TfilRO FLOOR- 1«G2» ^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 009 942 557 A I r»et5mAliCft«