Wade Hampton

Mn. Presidknt and Fellow-Citizess : Ir any evidence were necded to prove ïny high apprcclation of the invitation jon have extended to mo to address yon on this occasion it would urely be fonnd in the fuct thftt I have travelod moro Ulan a tbotisand milos in order that my acknowlodgment of the honor conferred might o mado to you in perron, and, whilo doing this eartily and cordially, it gives me infinito pleasro to assure you, my f ellow-citizons of Illinois, lat, had my jonrney beon even far longor and more fatiguing, tho iftght that meet me here to-day, and the warrathof your grecting, would mply compénsate me. Under ordinary eifenmLances, I should Bcarcely havo feit at liberty to leave my official dutiea to particípate in an occasion of this sort, howover gratifying might e the cnll made upon me to do so, but the inTitation of the Winnebago Agricultural Society arried with it such a special weigbt that it imrossod an obligation which I feit constrained o reoognke. It was this society which. yeara ago, hefore the party and sectional bitterness bat is here so happily passing away had abatd, had the lionor of being, if not be flrst, certainly among tho first of organizations at tho líorth to naugurate that spirit of fraternity and reconciliation which is now bearing such wholesonle ruit In all sectious and among all classes of bis broad land of ours. As a Sonthern man, horsfore, I regarded it not only a pleasure hut a diity to come from my" far-distnut home to liank you for yoiir manly and pntriotic cfforts n bchalf of reconciliatiun, aml to pledge you my most hcarty co-operation in this göod work, and if my efforts can, liowever sllghüy, conribute toward the restoration of pence - a eace fiordial in its establishment, permanent n its resulta, and honorablo in allitsconditions - then, indood, my mission here will not have been in vain. Upon this platform North. and South can meet and stand, for its corner-stonc is patriotixm. A spirit of patriotism should snrely be found constant and ardent in tbc hearts of the people of Illinois, for their State is itself the offspring of as noble a patriotism as over inspired tbe human heart. Themother of your State, Virginia, wbon she gave this grand Western domain - an empire ín ita domiDÍODS - to the common cause, did o bccause sho prefeiTed the good of the whole country to her individual aggrandizement, and yon would be uuworthy of tlie heroic lineage you possess wcre you to f orget your glorious ancestry and the lesson it hould perpetually teach you. In complying with your invitation to addre3s you, gentlemen of tho society, it has seemed to me that I could best carry out the purposes ycu have in view - if I comprehend them aright - by taking a larger field for my remarks thau the discusión of purely agricultnral subjects would afford. It would be more congenial to me to speak on tkese latter topics, and it would, perhaps, be f afer for me so to do ; but, in the prosence of the great questions which agítate the whole country, an exehange of opinions between citizens of different sections on these vital issues seems more necossary, moro important, and more salutary. It is of the groatcht consequence that the people of the North and of the South ehoiüd understand oach othcr thoroughly, for mnch of the evil that has fallón on the country sprung from misconcoption on the part of the citizen of these sections as to the motives and purposes of each other. To aid in bringing about this nnderstanding is one of tho chief objects of my visit to your great State, anti to this end it is that I choose to disertas general topics rather than thoee belonging specially to agricultiu'e. But, in doing this, you nced have no fears that I shall viólate the proprieties of the occasion by making a political address. No, fellow-citizens, there are times when issues spring up wldcli overshadow uit party qxiesiions, nnd we aro in tho midut of one of thee sveutful eras - so, at least, it appears to me - tí-.á. ín addrossiug you to-day, I speak for no party, no section, but for the who'.e country. In doing tlii-", I shall strivc to siuk cvery trace of partlsánehip in an honest effort to place myself ou tliat high ground where alone the present patrioti.-m can be found. There is a profound truth and knowlcdge of human nature bidden under the fable with which you are all familiar - that told of the shicld, white on one side, black on the other, boing at the iutersection of two roads. In those days, when knights-errant wont in quost of adventure or in search of some chosen damsel, as the ston' runs, two knights approaching the sliields in oppo.-itc directions, after disputing about its color, put lances in rest and periled life, each to maintain his opinión. Something of tho same sort happonod between tho South and North. The constitution representa tho shield. Viowod as it was, from different sides, the dispute waxed wurm. The sword was called in to decide the vexed question, and, under its stern arbitrament, many a soldier, as brave, as gallant, as knightly as a Biyard, gave hie life for his convictions.'What might have been the reault had prudence and not passion rnled the hour it is idle now to considor. The statesman looks to the patt pcrils of his country to learn how to avoid them in tho future, and the work and tho prayer of the patriot ehould be given to this end. Our country haa been forced to pass that dread ordcal which scems aliotted by Providence to all people- civil war - and, in emerging from this trial, it was natural not only that confusión should for a time supersede order, but that the pride of triumph on the one side and the bitterness of defeat on the other should combino to keep the opposing sections of tho country apart. This was, as I have said, but natural, and time alone, which briiiL,-s healing ointment on biswings, can bind up the wounds made by war. He brings reflection and cahn thought to aid in the work of restoration, wbile God Himself, speaking to us through the immutable laws of nature, tella us tliat it is our duty to strive earnestly and oonetantly to efface the dark blots which evil or disaster may havo made. When the wild torrent hurk itself from the mountain-side, sweeping off. in its mad career, all that opposes it, and leaving in its track devastation and ruin, Nature, the beneñcont mother, with geutle, with slow but sure hand, clothos hillside and valley with hor perpetual verdure and her smiling flowers. As in the naiurai worici, bo jh ït in me wuoie universo, íitid philosophy aiid religión go hand in hand, the ono teaching us that matter horo is indestructible and the other that life imuiortal is the fixed law of God. lt is trae that our people should tako theso lossons to their hcarts and act upon them. We have liad too much of war- we, at least, of the South have- and wo nced now, above all things, peace. and it is to plead for poace that I ani litro to-day. I mako no concealment of the part taken by mysolf in the late war, nor would your respect for me be incroasod were I to offer any nnmauly apology. Up to the beginning of the contest, I usad all my infiuence to preserve toe Union, to avoid the war; but, when that came, X obeyed the command of my State, as you did yours, and I fought yon as long and as hard as I could. But when I Rurrendered I did so in good faith, and frora that day to thia I challenge any one to show that the terms of my parole have been violated, or that any act of mine has been inconsistent with my honor as a soldier aud my duty as a citizen. Yon of the North followed the dictates of yonr own consciences. Wo of the South did the same. Let us each do justice to the othcr, for without mutual self-respect there can bc uo permanent peace and no restored fraternity. Can yon doubt that the South sqeks peace ? Look at her wasted field, her rnined industries, her fearful misrnle, and you can doubt no longer. Do you doubt her sincerity ? Whatover may be, or may have been, lier faults, her worst euemies have never charged her with bypocrisy nor spealdng with a doublé tongue. Kasb, impulsive, iuipetuous she may be, but false never. Look back to those iryiug times when the Presidontial quesüon wasunscttlcd. What was the course of the South then? There were men in the North who were willing to inaugúrate another rebelliou, as though, liko nu of the South, they had fought jou bravely in battle, they were from the tirst willing, anxious, oarnost to produce another revolution, to add to the evüs of the country, and was not the opportunity given to the South then? What proventèd a gun from being fired in South Carolina V One riot in South Carolina, and we would foave had a civil war throughout this broad land. It would not have been a war of soctiona - not a war in which one part of our great country warred against another. Divided by nectioni, it would not have been what this country had seen not long before. It wou'.d have been a cruel war - brother against brother, household against household. At that time South Carolina nsed all her efforts - aya, my friends, I can tcll yon that the peop'o of South Carolina are as brave, as true, as tho spirit of the people of Illinois, and stood then ten times more than yon would have done. The Presideutial question went info CongresR. Who was it in Congrees that prevonted the fllibustriug 'i It was what aome of the violent newspapers of the North havu chosen to cali the " Confederato Brigadier Oenerals.'' These men said that, r.s Congross had votcd for tho Commission, its acts kIioiiVI bo snstaincd, and there was not a man in the South who did not acquiesce in its decixion, and who does not i:ropose to obey all bteadily to the end. The second proof of Southern sincerity - that recent one which has just paseed (I mean the unfortnnato strikes and Hots which spread through the wholc North) - wherc was the South then ? Did she opme forward, anxious to tako part as a disturbing element? Not a single man cf ihe South joined in tcose riotJ, but manifestel conserv'atlnm throughout t'ho wbole difficulty. Hcre, then, are two evidences of the feeling at the outU in Bviné' tionds to preserve the peace, aud uhe wants peace. We Rurrondered m good faitb, and I want to impress upon you tliin tart, that T challenge ftny mwi JivlnK to my that, from that day to this, I have riolttifl inauy dogrecmy oatli. I nledgtd mv.iclf t]„ io support the constitution of the United Sta:, . and all it amendments, and when 1 took tl,.. official oath it Governor of South ( . swore to nphold it, and so help my Ciod, I . tend to keep ft It was f aid by Wellington Ua it is the dnty of every citizcu to obey tho ]s„.1 of bis country, wbetiicr right 01 Now, we propose to oboy tho consumí;,,-, tho Uaited States, and we ask, and lllVlJ tho right to ak, that the cotutitntioj shall eütend equal proteelion to Soul, (j lina and MasHachusett, to Looiaiaua and k Illinois, and we have the right to ask tl.atd. ery citizen in overy Htate Bhould be equ]iypr(. teëted by the condtitution of the Uuited Stau, I como," thon, fellow-citizouH, appe&ling ',,[ peace. We come bccSWe it in the highest widom to restore peace, The very ethica y statesnianship retjöir tho remoratiou oí tl,,. Union. We recoguizo that tlifc coi.titutioi, , paramount. We recognizo that the Union u restored. We propoac to bq good citizen, a:; I come from the Palmetto State to the Prai,Slate to take tho handa of the men of Iuno( in peace, in fraternity. and in recouciliation. belicve it will be met in the same spiiit that :t is offcrod. A newspaper reporter has said (n by the way, I think all the newspaper report onght to be killed) tliat I have received etten thixatening asnassination. I havereceivedoae or two. I will read you ono. I know yon hív no Kn-Klux. Ilere it is : " You darned old robel; if you or anv ol!.r of your stripe como to llock ford to nutt j public speech you may expect to go back B box. There aio 100 other veterans baridas]. self who have conatituted themselves a co. mittee to that effect. A word to the mee." It there ia anything, just such a thing i this would make me come, beeaui-e I knew igj feit thnt it was a great slander on the pecplet( Illinois. I knew that there were not l(Vj L in ail the brave men whom I met and ioar inbattle, in the 3,000,000 that they rutij, the field, that would f orget he was i and sink to an axsassin. Bnt, my friends, I have au vet speken ion agricnlture. You all know ho corn, and it would be of no use foi yon iiow to raUe cotton, dig sweet potatcc ■ prindlea. If 1 had time I would speak to yn of tho fertile valleys of your ovn magniSca; State, a State with acreage enounh to proiü for a population cqnal to Great Iírítain. [ riie speaker hero gave a glowing pictsi, Ilhnuis, and said that a grand and i tinv was in their hands. In conclusie, uspeaker brought up tho quostion of bufTrage, and showed the many difíicult:a; govorning a largc country by Uii System.] Tho question can only be solved L" catión of the heart and soul, as woll asoffc rnind. When wc have succecdud in that, mic a man believo that all learninf; U foolishinfc sight of the Iord, and we must look lo Qódte help. When we can get our people to do tfc. wu in.'iy look forward toa time of peace, pic.. perity, and happiness. [Hè closed, as he hadbegnn, by thai,king!U people of the North for the cordial welccct they had given him.] It is more than a personal compliment, i do not takc it as such, but as the evidence tf the good-will of the people of IUinoi lor lis people of myown State in the far South, fi are all now bound together. We are stads. undf r one flag, oljeying ono constitutifin. :; it is for us to say Tvhat will bc tho future il thu great country. Give us your help, people of the S we will givó you hearty co-operation. IÍS and know that, if the peopïo siistnin L. . ent policy of peace, it will resultin thi tion of fraternity and reconciliation. then, that there is a glorious future I whole country. Let us take each other bji hands and loave the consequeiict Having performed our duty, looki: the past only to gain wisdom for the inte. using the present wisely, and looking to U future in happy trust 'in God, I am snie v.i wc may all wish, North and .Souti States may be all unitod by our AXmnrate tinv, distinct as the biJlows, but uní'td ;.■ sea. -i .'