"Swingin round the cirkle" : $b His ideas of men, politics, and things, as set forth in his letters to the public press, during the year 1866. — John Locke — John Shaqi
"Swingin round the cirkle" : $b His ideas of men, politics, and things, as set forth in his letters to the public press, during the year 1866.
John Locke · en
The Ginral wuz gloomy. Things didn't soot him, he observed, and he wuz
afeerd that the country wuz on the high road to rooin. He hed bin absent
from the Yoonited States suthin over four yeers, wich time he hed spent
in the southern confederacy. When he went out the Constooshnel Dimocrisy
hed some rites wich wuz respected. On his return wat did he see? The
power in the hands uv Radikals, Ablishnism in the majority everywhere, a
ex-tailor President,--a state uv affairs disgustin in the extreme to the
highly sensitive Southern mind. He had accepted a pardon only becoz he
felt hisself constrained to put hisself in2 position to go to Congress,
that the country might be reskood from its impendin peril. He shood go
to Congress, and then he should ask the despots who now hev control,
whether,--
1. They spozed the South wood submit to hoomiliatin condishns?
2. What Androo Johnson means by dictatin to the Convenshuns uv sovereign
States?
"Why," sez he, "but a few days ago this boor hed the ashoorence to write
to the Georgy Convenshun that it '_must not_'--mark the term--'MUST NOT
assoom the confedrit war debt.' Is a tailor to say '_must not_' to
shivelrus Georgy? Good God!--where are we driftin? For one, I never will
be consilliated on them terms--never! I never wuz used to that style uv
talk in Dimekratic convenshuns.
"Ez soon ez I take my seet in Congris," resoomed he, "I shel deliver a
speech, wich I writ the day after Lee surrendered, so ez to hev it
ready, in which I shel take the follerin ground, to wit:
"That the South hev buried the hatchit, and hev diskivered that they
love the old Yoonion above eny thing on earth. But,
"The North must meet us half way, or we wont be answerable for the
consekences. Ez a basis for a settlement, I shell insist on the follerin
condishens:
"The Federal debt must be repoodiated, principal and interest, or ef
paid, the Southern war debt must be paid likewise--ez a peece offerin.
The doctrine uv State Rites must be made the soopreme law uv the land,
that the South may withdraw whenever they feel theirselves dissatisfied
with Massachusetts. Uv coarse this is a olive branch.
"Jefferson Davis must be to-wunst set at liberty and Sumner hung, ez
proof that the North is really consilliatory. On this pint I am
inflexible, and on the others immovable."
An old man who hed bin listnin to our talk, murmured that there wuz a
parallel to this last proposishen.
"Where?" demanded the Genral.
"The Jews, I remember," replied he, "demanded that Barrabas be released
unto them, who wuz a thief, I believe, and the Savior be crucified, but
I forgit jist how it wuz."
The Genral withered him with a litenin glance, and resoomed: