The Great Conspiracy, Volume 6Logan, John Alexander
History
The Great Conspiracy, Volume 6
Logan, John Alexander
Slavery -- United States; United States -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865
Washburne, of Illinois got back at this part of Mr. Voorhees's speech
rather neatly, by defending the North-west as being "not only willing to
stand taxation" which had been "already imposed, but * * * any
additional taxation which," said he, "may be necessary to crush out this
Rebellion, and to hang the Rebels in the South, and the Rebel
sympathizers in the North." And, he pointedly added: "Complaint has
been made against New England. I know that kind of talk. I have heard
too often that kind of slang about New England. I heard it here for ten
years, when your Barksdales, and your Keitts's, and your other Traitors,
now in arms against the Government, filled these Halls with their
pestilential assaults not only upon New England, but on the Free North
generally."
Kelley of Pennsylvania, however, more fitly characterized the speech of
Voorhees, when he termed it "a pretty, indeed a somewhat striking,
paraphrase of the argument of Mr. Lamar, the Rebel Agent,--[in 1886,
Secretary of the Interior]--to his confreres in Treason, as we find it
in the recently published correspondence: 'Drive gold coin out of the
Country, and induce undue Importation of Foreign products so as to
strike down the Financial System. You can have no further hope for
Foreign recognition. It is evident the weight of arms is against us;
and it is clear that we can only succeed by striking down the Financial
System of the Country.' It was an admirable paraphrase of the
Instructions of Mr. Lamar to the Rebel Agents in the North."
The impression was at this time abroad, and there were not wanting
elements of proof, that certain members of Congress were trusted
Lieutenants of the Arch-copperhead and Outlaw, Vallandigham. Certain it
is, that many of these leaders, six months before, attended and
addressed the great gathering from various parts of the Country, of
nearly one hundred thousand Vallandigham-Anti-War Peace-Democrats, at
Springfield, Illinois--the very home of Abraham Lincoln--which adopted,
during a lull, when they were not yelling themselves hoarse for
Vallandigham, a resolution declaring against "the further offensive
prosecution of the War" as being subversive of the Constitution and
Government, and proposing a National Peace Convention, and, as a
consequence, Peace, "the Union as it was," and, substantially such
Constitutional guarantees as the Rebels might choose to demand! And
this too, at a time (June 13, 1863), when Grant, after many recent
glorious victories, had been laying siege to Vicksburg, and its Rebel
Army of 37,000 men, for nearly a month, with every reason to hope for
its speedy fall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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