Letter From John Quincy Adams

The following letter from John Quino) Adam late the Democratie candidato for rnor of Mai .Missouri, has boen givcn to the world throogfa tho columns of the St. Louis licP' Mkan : OüHTOT, May 6, 1871. A. Wanen Keltey, !■'■■■■■;■ : DearSiR: I hsivn tho honor to se knowledge tho reoeipt of a oommnnioatiou from you enclosing two estractsfrom newspapers upun which you roquest in y criticism ; and I infer from your lettel that you wish to luim my opinión upou the public questions discussed in those articles. You are quito weieome to know them if you aro willing to accept tliem as eimply tho speoulatiou ot' un individual. I resent nobody, and do not boast u follower in tbc world ; nor do I know that my notions are sharod by uny considerable portii'ii of any pariy. The pooplè of the Unitod States feel instinctively that they are going wTong, but they are told that it will be daageT; ous to ratrace their stops. They fcnow that the patb upou which they havo ent.rcl i . In i v ith pitfaÜB; but even a bad pass is better than tho precipico. The sweep of reaction is stayed by tho dread of revolution. Thepolicy of shrewd Deniocrats and the duty of good citizens is to dispol this apprehension, no matter how foolish it. may teen) to them. Short of honor and good faith no sacrifico should bo deomed pevere which would suffice to lay th.tt haunting spoctre, Foi tliat reabou I deplore the haltiug, hesitatiug step ■■viili whioh the Dömocracyissneakiiigiip to its inevitable iosition. Por this causo I share your regret ot tho studious ambiguity which seems to searoh for a sallyport through whioh to dodge its destiny. And Tvhile I better liko the spirit, I equally eondemn the policy of tboso v lm only proclaiiiH'il their purpoee of t tion. Sach ndicatiüns of sentiment annoy me, simply bocause they proloug a situation fraught with great dangev to the dearest interosts of us all. TIiq d minant party can retain a power which has gioyra too great for tho public welfare only by an indeflnite extensión of the I conditions of the civil war. The Eepublican organization can rallv to no but a slogan and conquer under no standard but a spear. That party needs etrife to insuro its suecess, but good focliug is necessaiy to good govenniicnl. OW, tho hostiiity to tho fiftcentli - nendment is the stock in .trado of the fomcntcrs of strife ; is wortli gratifying ut Uu: risk ol permanent 6ubjection i Iho iSouth ís galled to-day, not by the presence of tliat amendment to tho Constitution, but by the utterabsenco of the Constilution itself. They feel a Congress which assaults them, but they fina no Constitution to proteet them. Is it not silly, then, to squabble about an ei ment which would coasc to bo obnoxious if it was not detaohed from iis context ? It is quibbling pon a tetoicality of law umi relinquishing the fSbstanco of liberty. The Constitution was struck down by the assault upan Sumpter, as all constitntions must neccssarily rail before iln' faoe of tho supreme arbitrament of war. It can never be lifted up whilo war is flagrant. The peoplo will never resign the attitude of hostile vigilanoe, which is the real significanco of the presen! administration, until they knowtliatno ono of their war trophies is langer disputed. Then they will gladly resume the habita wiiioh they lovo and tho good nature whioh iliov represa. AVhat then is the meaning of tho grotesque contortions of Uiom; who profess a fondnesa for c and yet strain so fastastically at tb is gnat ? For the essence of .all Deni' is equality- nothing but the equality of all mu] before the law. Eqoalsnd sact justice to every man, and oach to share in the government of all. That ia the only genuine democratie doctrine. But who dares face an intelligent people with that upon liis liis, and denounce e mcasure which ia too democratie for Demoorateonly because the enfranchieed are black ? Burely the Northern Demoeracy sliould not bc forced into sueh st apidil .'-n by the conseientious BOruples of their Southern breÜiren. Defereoee is doubtless dueto their eonstitntional qnalms and yet some lonity towanls revolutionary processesof a.asndmont mighf: be nily expeoted from supporters of sec If we can condone tho fault, is it too much to ask parolcd prisoners of war to pardon itf Na You have givcn our cry, " TJnivfirsa] amnesty and universal suffi I would onlyaddjtheoonstitutional Union of the Stiltes. For the old Constitution is just as good as over it was, for South as well as Xovth, in spito of the marte of the malled hand which mugt remain upon it for a warning to thoso that come after ns. ïhere is nothing in it now which is not perfectly compatilile with tho happincss, welfare, and liberty of all the people of all the States. It is only the admiuHnition that is at fault, it is tho interpretation which is violent. Do j'ou imagine that Thomas Jefferson, do you think thai l.iims Madison would 8ay their old organic frame penuits a protectivo tariff or paper monoy; authorizes national banks or presidential diplomaey ; countenances military tribunals, eentralization, and the orowning and perfect infamy of the Ku-Klux bifi? It never was tho Constitution which invndrrl orconquereda State ; it is nu) the Constitution which oppresses tho States. It was war - civil war. Close the war, and ycu restore eelf-govcminent te the people óf the States, lf'they cannot secare their own ]eace and happiness, let us look around next year, not for the next President, but for the first dictator. Now, if you or any other man doubt the soundness of my judgment in this nutter, .til I ask isa truc Democratie administratioii and you shall sec it for yourself. Yours, very respentfullyj