Inaugural address of Gov. Thomas H. Watts : before the Alabama legislature, December 1st, 1863

Inaugural addre
Conf Pam #475

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INAUGURAL ADDRESS

OP

GOY. THOMAS H. WATTS

BEFORE THE

ALABAMA LfiGBLATURE,

DECEMBER 1ST, 1863.

MONfGOMERY, ALA.:

♦ KONTGOMKST ADYKRTISER BOOK ATHO JOB OFFICB.

1863.

Tr'P

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the Senate and

House of Mfpresfniaikes :

Called by the voice of the people of Alabama, without
solicitation from me, to preside over the destiny of the
State, for the next tv.o yenr$, I cannot feel otherwise than
grateful torthis generous manilestation of confidence and
esteem. In a time of profound peace, such an honor
might well be deemed the lit reward of a lifetime of pub-
lic service. But conferred when the duties of the office
have been increased a hundred fold by the multiplied
business created by the greatest war of modern times;
when the clangor of war is liearil all around us, atid the
sighs for our fallen brave till every passing breeze, I
scarcely know whether thanks are due for the grave res-
ponsibilities with which this election clothes me. I feel
that r shall have need of the constant support and hearty
sympathies of an indulgent people, and I pray God to
give me such strength and wisdom as will enable me so
to conduct our atiairs, that I'o detriment shall accrue to
the people of Alabama, and no stain shall mar the beauty
of her honored name. Multiplied, grave and onerous as
the duties of the office may now be, still I cannot deny,
whilst entering on the discharge of its high functions, I
feel some such pride and pleasure as a dutiful son must
feel when obeying the will of a noble mother.

Qcotleraen: On the 11th day of January, 1861. the
sovereign people of Alabama, through their delegates in ■

Convention assembled, declared by solemn ordinance,
that the bonds wiiicb bound her to the Government of
the United States were severed. In thus deliberately
acting, the people of Alabama only exercised a right be-
longing to every free people. In the days of 1776, our
forefathers declared that to secure life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, "Governments are instituted among
men, deriving their powers from the consent of the gov-
erned; a»d that whenever any form of government be-
comes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the
people to altar or abolish it, and to institute new govern-
ment, laying its foundations on such principles, and
organizing its powers iu such form as to them shall seem
raost likely to effect their safety and happiness." After
a war of seven years, checkered with various defeats and
victories, our revolutionary sires achieved a crowning
triumph, and wrung from the grasp of British tyranny
their liberties and independence. The reluctant consent
of Great Britain was given to the great principles of
freedom for which they contended. In the treaty of
peace which closed tins revolutionary struggle, the old
thirteen States, naming tliem separately and distinctly,
were acknowledged by Great Britain lo be "/rcc, sovereign
and independent States." France was a party to this
treaty; having given of her blood and treasure to accom-
plish this grand result. The articles of Confederation
formed and adopted during the progress of the war by
the several States, then united in a common cause, de-
clared '-that each State retains its sovereignty, freedom
and independence, and every power, jurisdiction and
right, which is not by this Confederation expressly dele-
gated to the United States in Congress assembled."
These articles likewise declared that they were formed
for a confederation and perpetual Utsion between the States
agreeing to them.

After the pressure of this war was over, and when the
recollection of common danojors and ditficulties became

less vivid, a new Constitution, that of 1787, was fonned
by the States then composing the Union, ami after being
thus formerj, was eubmitted separately to a Convention vf
delegates chosen by each State, for its free acceptance or
rejection. This Constitution was to be binding only l.e-
tween those States ratifying the same. Each one of the
States, at difterent times, some promptly, some with lin-
gering reluctance, separately and independently of each
other, withdrew froni the articles of Confederation, nnd
thus formed a new Government under the Constitution
of the, United States. The sovereign people of each
State, through their own delegates in Convention assem-
bled, adopted this Constitution to govern them in their
intercourse and relations with foreign nations, and in
their relations and intercourse with each other. The
same sovereign people in each State who adopted State
Constitutions, and who, throughout our political history
as the United States, made, altered, or iibolished their
State Constitutions, ratified and adopted as their federal
Constitution, the Constitution of 1787. In this Coiistl-
tution, the right of the sovereign people of eticli State tr»
alter or abolish their Government and to establish new
governments for their safely and happim ss, is not surren-
dered; neither is it prohibited. The Constitution ex-
pressly provides that "the enumeration in the Constitu-
tion of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others^ retained by the people." "The powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitutioi),
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people."

This Constitution provides for the admission of new
States. Un ler its provisions, the Congress of the United
States, on the 2d day of March, 1819, authorized the peo-
ple of Alabama Territory "to form for themselves a Con-
stitution and State Government, and when formed into a
State, shall be admitted into the Union upon the sat; e
footing with the origirwl States, in all respects whatso-

ever." In accordance ^ith this act of Contrresg, the
people of Alabam.'i, through their delegates in Conven-
tion assembled, made their State Constitution and State
Government, and ended their work on the 2d of August,
1819. On this day— the 2d day of August, 1819— our
forefathers in Alabama, through their delegates in Con-
gress assembled, declared, as a part of their fundamental
and organic law, that "all political power is inherent in
the people, and all free governments are founded on their
authority and instituted for their benefit, and therelbre
they have, at all times, an inalienable and indefeasible
right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of Govern-
meut in such manner as they may think expedient."
With this declaration contained in the Constitution of
Alabamu, the Congress of the United States, on the 14tb
day of December, 1819, declared the State of Alabama
to be one of the United States of America, admittins:
her by express terms into the Union "on an equal toot-
ing with the original States, in all respects whatsoever."
Whatever right Virginia, or any other ^tate of the ori-
ginal thirteen, possessed, Alabama possessed. Virginia,
in the ordinance ratifying and adopting the Constitution
of the United States, expressly reserved her right to with-
draw the powers delegated, whenever, in her judgment
the safety and happiness of her people demanded it.-
When the people of Alabama, through their delegates in
Convention assembled, on the 11th of January, 1861, de-
clared their withdrawal from the United States, they were
only exercising a right which the declaration of indepen-
dence declared, belonged to every free people — a right
not denied or prohibited in the Constitution of the United
States ; a right exercised by every State when the Con-
stitution of 1787 was formed and adopted — an inaliena-
ble and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their
form o Government, which Alabama's bill of rights de-
clared m ght be done 'Sa all times" — aright vital to
freemen — dangerous onlv to tyrants.

The sovereigQ people of Alabama, through their dele-
gates in Convention assembled, in 1861, only repealed an
ordinance which the same sovereign people, through
their delegates in Convention assembled, ordained m
1819. The simple ordinance of secession declared the
Constitution of the United States no longer binding on
the people of Alabama ; and that they were free to form
and adopt a new Constitution to govern them in their re-
lations to other States, and with foreign powers. The
State Government — the people of Alabama, remained the.
same, their relations to other States alone were changed.

In accordance with the dictates of her judgment, Ala-
>jl>ama and other Statts, now known as the Confederate
States of America, formed a new Constitution and a new
Government, based on the principles of the old one^
amending the Constitution so as to leave no room for
doubtful construction on disputed points.

Because of the exercise of this right — a right lying at
the foundation of all free government, and the ^corner
stone of every republican system of government, the
>rorthern States, now calling themselves the United
.States, made war on the Confederate States. The author-
ities of these Northern States by their declarations and
their conduct thus deny the right of free government —
den}' that all governments derive their powers from the
'onseut of the. governed — deny the doctrines of the De-
^.'laration of Independence, and the principles of the
fathers of the Republic, and assert and attempt to exer-
cise the doctrines of force. They deny to the people of
Alabama the right of self government, and declare the
monstrous pharisaic dogma, that they have the right to
-'oerce us to be subservient to their will! that they are our
superiors^ our masters! and we, their inferiors! their
slaves!

Freemen of Alabama! If you had submitted to such
monstrous pretensions, you would have been unworthy
the heritage of freedom your patriot fathers left you !

8

You would have been unworthy the sires from whence
jou sprung! you would have been unworthy the name of
freemen! You would have been base cowards, slaves in-
deed! fit for Yankee masters!

When the Constitution of 1787 was adopted, the
Northern States had little more of population than the
Southern States. Even under the census of 1790, the
political power of the North, as reflected in the House of
Representatives of Congress, only exceeded that of the
South by jive raajoricy. The North was cold in climate,
with comparatively rugged and barren soil. The South
was blessed with a mild and generous, and healthful cli-
mate, and with a soil of unsurpassed fertility. The Soutlv
had more commerce, more wealth, and all the prospects,
as far as natural advantages indicated, of a far more
rapidly increasing population. Yet, in the progress of
our history, through means of various acts of congres-
sional legislation, (unnecessary here to mention,) large
portions of Southern territory were devoted to Northern
aggrandizement, the population of the North was greatly
augmented beyond the natural increase; the bulk of the
commerce and capital of the country was concentrated
there. The rich South was despoiled of her wealth and
commerce, and had become for years little more than
tributary to the swelling magnitude of Northern com-
merce and power. In proportion to the increased com-
merce, augmented population and concentrated capital,
the political power of the North was increased. So that
under the census of 1850 — little more than half a century
after the adoption of the Constitution of 1787 — the po-
litical power of the North, as reflected in the House of
Representatives, had increased from five to fifty-five ma-
jority. With this increasing political power came con-
stant turmoil and aggressions on the rights of the South.
The most solemn constitutional guaranties were trifled
with or wantonly disregarded by the States and people of
the North.

Almost from the foundation of the government under
the Constitution of 1787, the North and the South dif-
fered— widely differed — as to the character of the govern-
ment and the construction of the Constitution. The
North always contended for a latitudinous, the South for
a strict construction of the Constitution. There was
manifested in the North a constant and persistent ten-
dency to regard the people of the United States as o?ie
nation. The South more truly maintained that in no
sense could the United Statesbe considered as one nation
except in the relations they bore to other governmeiite
and nations; that the true character of the government
was that of a federal republic having for its basis a con-
federation of separate and sovereign States. The whole
framework of the Constitution and the history of its
adoption proved the Southern view to have been the cor-
rect one. Instead of being a government controlled bv a
mere numerical majority as contended by the statesmen
of the North, it waa intended by its framers to be con-
trolled and governed by concurrent majorities of States,
and the people of the States as represented in the Iluuse
of Representatives. The States in their separate sover-
eign character adopted the Constitution. In was binding
on none until accepted by the free consent and ratifien-
«, tion of its people. No act could ever become a law by
the simple majority of the people as represented in the
House of Representatives. The Senators, the Represen-
tatives of the States — the larger and smaller being equal
in power — must first concur. And yet still, the Presi-
dent, who, when elected by electors, was the double rep-
resentative of the States, and the people of the States,
and when elected by Congress, the Representative of the
States, must give his sanction, before any measure could
become a law, unless passed by a constitutional majority
over his negative. So long as the South had equality
with the North in the Senate, the South had some guar-
anty that her rights would be protected. But when the

10

progress of events destroyed this equality, the rigliU of
the South, as recent events clearly prove, were no longer
safe in the Union. When the North obtained a majority
of the States, and a niajority of the people of the States,
the greed of sectional dominion with insane furor seized
the public mind, and not heeding even the warnings of
her own patriotic sons, disregarding the protests of the
minority South, the North undertook to select the Presi-
dent and Vice President from her own borders, and by
purely a sectional majority^oinstal the wildest fanaticism
in a chair once honored by Washington. So that in
truth and in fact, whatever may have been the theory, the
North, baviug a majority of States, a majority of th«
people — majority in Senate and House of Representatives
— and a President^ and Vice President selected from the
North by a purely sectional vote, thus ignoring the South
in the administration of federal affairs, the government
became practically one, governed by the will of a mere
numerical mojoriiy! In all ages -such a government has
been a despotism !

For years the South watched with intense interest the
rapid progress of events; the increasing fanaticism of the
North, threatening destruction to the landmarks of the
Constitution of our forefatheas, and endangering the
great interests and liberties of the South. In various
ways and at repeated times, the Southern people evinced
their apprehensions for their future peace and happiness.
The two great parties in 'the slaveholding States each
adopted resolutions, as portions of their party creed, de-
nouncing the election, by the North, of a Black Republi-
can Presijient on a platform avowing the destructive dog-
mas of that party, and they declared their firm purpose,
in the event of such election, to sever every tie which
bound them to the Union. In Alabama, this was done
as early as 1866. In 1859, '60, the Legislature of Ala-
bama, by a vote unanimous, save two dissenting voices,
passed resolutions authorizing and requiring tlie Gover-

11

nor of the State, iu such event, to call a conveution of
the people of the State "to consider, determine and do
whatever, in the opinion of said convention, the rights,
interests, and honor of the State of Alabama require to
be done for their protection." The people of the South
made all honorable efforts to avoid the necessity which
such an event would produce. By conventioBS and legis-
latures solemn warning was given to the people of the
North of the fixed determination of the South on this
subject. But the North, disregarding the time-honored
principles of the fathers of the Republic, turning a deaf
ear to the voice of Southern patriotism, forgetful of the
ties which bind freemen to principle, ignoring the hal-
lowed associations of our revolutionary history, mad with
fanaticism, and filled with the boastful pride of numerical
strength, rushed headlong in the wild career of sectional
domination.

When the Convention of Alabama met on the 7th day
of January, 1861, the members were united in heart.
The unanimous declaration on the first day of the Con-
vention, "that the people of Alabama will not submit to
bo parties to the inauguration and administration of
Abraham Lincoln as President, and Hannibal Ilamlin as
Vice President of the United States of America," de-
monstrated a fixed and united purpose. The co-opera-
tionists and separate secessionists were equally intent for
resistance, equally honest, equally patriotic; and they
only diftered intellectually as to the best and safest mode
of making that resistance cfiTectual and permanent. And
when the first tocsin of war was sounded, co-operationists
and -secessionists marched shoulder to shoulder, heart to
heart, hand in hand to the arbitrament of battle. From
the Gulf to our northern border; from the mountains,
valleys and plains; from the east and from the west, the
stalwart sons of Alabama rushed to the standard of the
newborn republic. And with dauntless bravery and he-
roism, they have crimsoned with their blood every battle

12

field from Manassas to Cluckamauga. An imperishable
monument ol glorious renown has been erected for the
State! The name ^' Alabamian" has become immortal in
history!

In the commencement of the war, Lincoln and his fol-
lowers declared their purpose as simply to repossess the
forts and arsenals, the public property; and to suppress
the rebellion. It was supposed by the North that the
large mass of the people in the South were willing to
submit to Black Republican rule — and that it only needed
an opportunity to rally around the flag which was once
the proud ensign of a united people. These flattering
anticipations were soon dissipated. Scventy-fi.ve thou-
sand men were deemed by them quite sufiicient to crush
in ninety days the power of the Confederate States. The
flying hosts of Lincoln at Bethel and Manassas showed
the prowess of Southern arms and the folly of Northern
calculations. The banner, once loved and honored by
Southern people, became the object of loathing and dis-
gust, and the hated emblem of oppression andtyranny.

Then three hu|dred thousand additional men were
called for by Lincoln ; and the South, by the power of
uumbers, was to be coerced into further athliation with the
North ! The Confederate States were to be forced back
into a Union whose first principle was free consent It
was vainly imagined by the wisemen of the North that
the eighteen millions of Northern whites could and would
very soon crush to powder the eight millions of Southern
white people; especially as in their vain imaginings they
supposed the four millions of blacks were here amongst
us ready to burst the bonds which bound them to us.
But these men, wise in their own conceit, forgot that
" the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to
the swift." They forgot that there was a God ol justice,
the ruler of men and nations.

In numerical strength, and in all the appliances of war,
the North certainly had greatly the advantage of us. The

13

North had the regular army, the navy, the commercial
marine, manufactories of arms, and of all the muuitiona
of war. The South had no regular army, no navy, no
commercial marine, no manufactories of arms or powder! "
Very soon all our ports were blockaded, and being thus
cut ofi' from the outside world, we were left to our own
resources, our own stronsj arms and stout hearts. By the
blessing of God, these have availed us thus far to main-
tain our cause. We have, as it were, improvised armies,
arms and munitions, of which Napoleon, in his palmiest
days, might have been justl}' proud. Aye, more! by the
energy and wisdom displayed, by the brilliant achieve-
ments of our arms on a hundred fields, by the high regard
we have paid to civilized usage, by the christian mag-
nanimity we have shown to our enemies, we, but yester-
day unknown, to-day have drawn from reluctant lip« not
only praise, but the admiration of all enlightened nations.

The series of brilliant triumphs, achieved over the
North in 18H2, caused the President of the North to an-
nounce a different policy. With all the efforts of the
people of the North, aided by every foreigner who could
be bought with money or seduced by promises of booty,
with the ports of every nation open to his commerce and
Ills necessities, Lincoln was forced to admit that the eigh-
teen millions of Northern whites could not coerce the
South back into the Union. A new discovery in Black .
Republican philosophy was made. It was proved by nu-
merous experiments in the great crucible of practice that,
the slave population, instead of being a grand volcano,
threatening destruction and death to the cause of South-
ern Independence, was a great element of Southern
power.

Lincoln, without the authority of his Congresa or Con-
stitution, in the fall of 1862, proclaimed his intention to
declare free, every slave of the South, unless by the Ist
of January, 1863, we should lay down our arms and with
crossed hands repentantly submit to his dominion. The

South scorned alike is threats and his promises! His
threatened proclamation in due time made its appear-
ance. It was as impotent as it was unconstitutional. It
was mere brutum fulmen so fur as it efiects the institution
of slavery. But it deserves to be considered by our peo-
ple as showing the temper of the ISTorthern mind. In the
first place, it is a hurailiatin confession of Yankee weak-
ness. It is a confession that the eighteen millions of
Northern whites, strengthened by all the foreign aid they
could get, were unable to coerce the Southern States
back into the Union. In the next place it shows an utter
disregard of Censtitutional obligations, a palpable viola-
tion of that Constitution once revered by our fathers and
by us. In the third place, it shows an utter disregard of
the principles of international law settled for ages, by
publicists, and recognized as binding by Kent, Wheaton,
Gardner and Adams! It Ih, in the fourth place, a delib-
erate attempt to excite our slaves to insurrection t is
an invitation, yea, an urgent solicitation, to an ignorant
race, recognized as our property by the Constitution Lin-
coln has sworti to support, to commit murder, rapine,
rape, arson, and all manner of diabolical deeds. An invi-
tation to have our homes and our firesides deluged with
the blood of our wives and our children It is the ex-
pression of fiendish wish to see a whole country deluged
in innocent blood, and to hear the mingled lamentations of
a whole people, and to see the "blackness of darkness"
.like a funeral pall, overspread orever the glories of our
sunny land!

This proclamation was the first authoritative announce-
ment that this war was no longer waged for a restoration
of the Union. Reconstruction of the Union is no longer
desirable, no longer practical, even with Lincoln ! It has
been recently announced by Lincoln's Solicitor of the
Treasury — it is proclaimed by his generals in the field,
approved and applauded by a sycophant press and people,
that the purpose of the North now is, to subjugate the

15

freemen of the South, to confiEcate all their property and
deprive them of all that freemen hold dear ! State lines
and all State rights are to he abolished. The right to
have Legislatures, Governors, Judges of our own choos-
ing, juries from amougat us, the right to vote even, every
civil aud political right is to be denied to the subjugated
South! Some Butler, ot some black satrap of Lincoln's
creation, would, in such an event, be the Governor of
Alabama, with a standing army of blacks to ravage our
country, outrage our women, and hold freemen in bondage!
As if God had given such a people over to the repro-
bation of the devil, during the progress of this war, the
people of the North seem to have lost every principle of
morals, law and religion which adorn a civilized people !
Li attempting to deprive us of our liberties, they have
lost their own ! Every principle of constitutional liberty
amongst them has been destroyed. The writ of habeas
corpus, the great writ ol liberty, wrung from tyrant hands
ages ago by our British ancestors, has been suspended by
the simple will of Lincoln. The reedora of the press —
of speech, the right of petition, trial by jury, have all
been trampled under foot. The monstrous dogma has
been proclaimed in high places that in time of war, the
Constitution, its guarantees and prohibitions, are all sus-
pended, and that all power to do or not to do, is concen-
trated by political necessity in the unrestrained hands of
a single man! On their part, in the conduct of the war,
every principle of civilized usage has been set at naught ;
obligations and stipulations, always heretofore held sacred
even by savage nations, have been violated when conve-
nience and present policy interfered with their fulfilment.
In such portions of our country as the fortunes of war
have enabled them to possess, private property, heretofore
respected by the usage of all modern nations, has either
been dishonestly appropriated or wantonly destroyed.
Works of art and ornament, the proudest achievements
of genius, the keep-sakes and mementoes of departed

16

friends, have been filched from the places they graced,
and carried North to beautify some Yankee general's
parlor, made luxuriant by the spoils from Southern house-
holds. The graves of our honored dead, the houses where
christians worship God, have been basely desecrated,
(despoiled of the emblems which love had consecrated to
honor,) polluted and destroyed by these Northern Goths
and Vandals ! It almost seems that such a people have
always been strangers to us 1 Is it possible that we could
everagain dwell in political Union with such a people? It
is almost an insult to ask a Southern man such a question.

B}' the graves of our fallen sons, around our desolated
altars, in view of our devastated fields and blazing homes
and cities, in view of our banners red all over with South-
ern blood, let us renew our faith to the Southern cause,
and let us swear before high heaven, whatever else may
•be our fate, we will never have political connection with
such a God cursed race!

Whatever may have been the differences of opinion
amongst onr people as to the propriety of dissolving the
CTnion in 1861, there cannot now oe any difference as to
our duties to our State and country. Our property, our
homes, our wives and our children, our lives, our liberties
and our honor — everything we hold dear on earth — are
dependent upon the triumph of Southern arms. Should
we be conquered, everything worth living for will be
gone. Our political salvation now depends on our own
resources, our own energies, bravery and fortitude. With
the continued favor of Providence, and with hearty co-
operation amongst ourselves, we shall bo equal to the
task before us. Every motive which can urge a freeman
to noble deeds and lofty daring prompts to action now.
Death will be a heavenly boon compared to the miseries
of Yankee rule. If the proud Roman could sing, in the
acme of Roman power, dulce est pro patria mori — tis sweet
for one's country to die — can we not prove by our actions
'tis glorious to die for our native land ?

17

It our people will only be true to themselves, true to
their homes and their firesides, and true to their God, onr
libertiea are safe and our triumph is sure. In the begin-
ning of the war, we had only undisciplined citizen sol-
diers, tew guns, no heavy artillery, little powder and
other munitions or appliances for warlike defense. After
near three years of war, we have larger armies to-doy
than we have ever had; we have more arms, munitions
and equipments of war than weTiave ever had. We have
manufactories of arras and powder sufficient to arm our
whole people. We have a growing navy. Already the
few cruisers we have put aHoat have driven the bulk of
Yankee commerce from the ocean, or compelled theif
vessels to seek shelter under the flags of foreign nations.
We have fought more battles than Alexander, Ctesar or
llTapoleon ever fought. In nearly all we have been the
victors. In not one, where there has been anything like
equality in numbers, have we ever failed to triumph over
the foe. In all the great battles we have been greatly
inferior in numbers to our enemy. To-day we are more
nearly equal to our enemy in numbers than we have ever
been. If all our men naw enrolled were at their posts of
duty, our armies in the field would quite equal those of
the enemy. It is true we have met with some serious
reverses. But in the Provifdence of God our reverses
have availed the enemy little advantage. Our reverse
ahd sufferings have never half equalled those of our
fathers of 1776, and yet they, three millions in number,
triumphed over all the power of Great Britain.

The "Old Dominion," whose soil has been truly "the
dark and bloody ground" of this war, stands yet erect,
and proudly boasts sic semper tyrannis. McDowell, Mc-
Clellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, Meade, each with an
army the ''best the world ever saw," with boastful pride
and banners gleaming, has essayed to find a road to Rich-
mond. Each has been signally foiled in all attempts on
2

4fe

18

the capital of Virginia, and of the Confederacy^ bj the
Beauregarda, Jolinstons, Lees, Jacksous and Longstreets
of the South. While Virginia stands as an adamantine
wall against the onward march of Lincoln's columns,
never I«t the voice of despondency be uttered from our
lips, or find a lodgment in our hearts.

Charleston, after one hundred and forty days' bombard-
ment, from navy and land batteries combined, controlled
and directed by all the science of Yankee ingenuity, still
stands with her colors proudly and defiantly floating.
The names of Sumter and Moultrie have had the glories
ol 1863 added to the renowned memories of Revolution-
ary times.

Whilst Alabama mourns thousands of her noblest men,
Ler Jones's, Martin, Lomax, Moore, Hale, Baine, Wood-
ward, Pegues, Pelhara, Tracey, Garrott, Webb,- Deshler,
and other fallen braves, have erected along the mountain
cliffs of fame, the beacon lights by which, in all time,
her sons of freedom may discern the path to honor and
renown.

Had I the time, and you the patience, it would delight
me to refer to many incidents of battle in which Alaba-
ma's sons have gained a "deathless name." Nor yet
would I stop with recounting the deeds of Alabama's
sons! Her daughters are the diamonds which sparkle in
her coronet of glory ! Woman's voice whispered courage
when the first blow for freedom was struck ! Woman's
hands made the clothes the soldier wears! Woman made
the banners under which the soldiers rush to the charge!
Woman's smiles encourage the timid, her frowns send
back the skulker to duty! and her fortitude gives new
strength and assurance to the despondent.

Go to the fireside, and there is heard the mother's
prayer for husband, son and country ! Go to the houses
made desolate by the horrors of war, and there is heard the
sympathetic sigh of woman ! Go to the hospitals, where
our sons and brothers, with mangled limbs and bleeding

19

hearts in confusion lie, and there woman binds up the
broken limbs and soothes the bleeding hearts. Go to
the cou^ch of the dying soldier boy, far from home and
friends, and there woman's hands wipe the death damp
from his noble brow, and her tears soften the sod over
his humble grave. Woman has been, and is, the inspiring
angel, whose influence nerves the arm aiid swells the
heart of the soldier in the camp, on the march, on the
battle field in the death struggle for liberty. Woman
has recorded her name on the brightest page in our annals
of Freedom.

But, gentlemen, we have grave duties yet to perform
before our independence is safe. Large numbers of our
soldiers have gone from home, carrying their lives ia
their hands, to fight our battles, and have left their wives
and little ones without the means of comfort — ^yea, many
without the means of subsistence. There are many wo-
men and children made widows and orphans by this war
equally comfortless, equally unprovided for. Now what
is our duty to these? It is obviously to fed, to clothe, to
comfort, to protect, to care for those, the loved ones of
our brave soldiers, thus become the children of the R9-
public. Whilst all the people of Alabama have their
lives and their liberties staked on the result of this war,
and large numbers have property to be saved and pro-
tected, many of our soldiers now in the field have nothing
but their lives, their wives and children, and their liber-
ties. Those of our people who have property to be saved
and protected, are under a double obligation to feed,
clothe and protect the wives and children of the brave
men who form, with their bodies, breastworks against
Yankee invasion and outrage. The people of South and
Middle Alabama, the seat of wealth and plenty, cannot
discharge their whole duty unless they, out ot their abun-
dance, provide for the families left destitute in other por-
tions of the State. Let the soldier know, whilst he is
gone, that his loved ones at home are cared for, and this

20

very knowledge gives renewed strength to his arm, fills
his heart anew with the fires and patriotism. I trust that
liberal and just hearts need, on this subject, but a sugges-
tion. But, gentlemen legislators, j-ou will not discharge
your duty unless you provide for the wants of these wives
and children. Tax heavily if need be — tax liberally the
property of the citizens of the State, so that their wants
may surely be supplied, and thus show to the brave de-
fenders of our soil that their services are appreciated by
grateful hearts at home. Let us in private and in public
stations come up to the full measure of our duty. We
have fallen short of our duty. I fear, I know we have
been too much absorbed with a greedy lust for money
making. The glittering treasures, which filthy lucre
hoards, have been gathered, too often, from the tears and
sighs of widows and orphans, wives and children of sol-
diers, who, amidst the thunders of battle, have poured
out their life blood. God will never prosper riches so ac-
quired, nor favor any people so forgetful of the duties of
humanity and true patriotism.

Our Confederate currency must be upheld. Every
dollar's worth of property in the Confederate States is
pledged for its redemption. In can only become worth-
less by our subjugation, by our failure to achieve our
ndependence. If we are ever conquered, we shall con-
quer ourselves by failure to discharge our duty. If we
fail, then nothing we can call our own will be worth a
dollar to us. It is the currency which our soldiers receive
for their services. If it is good enough for them, it is
surely good enough for any property we havBi Let it be
sustained at all hazards. The credit of the Confederate
States is the lifeblood of Southern liberty.

The Legislature of Alabama and of the several States
ought to aid in sustaining the credit of Confederate
promises. Our Senators and Representative in Congress
ought to feel and know that a people who have shown no
unwillingness to give up their children as sacrifices on

'21

the altars of Southern freedom, are ready to devote their
property to tlie establishment of their iudependance.

We should cultivate a better spirit of harmony amongst
ourselves. We are all engaged in a common cause.
Whatever is the interest of any good man, is the interest
of the whole State. One fate awaits us all. We must
resolve to die in one common grave or live in the enjoy-
ment of a common liberty. The fires of past party must
be extinguished. The baptism of blood througli which
our people have passed, in defense of a common cause
and country, ought to have washed out all the defilements
of prejudice, renewed in us right spirits and fitted us for
a nobler career of future prosperity and happiness. Let
us learn to regard every man who sustains our cause with
hi^ blood or treasure as a friend and brother, whatever
may have been his former opinions. And let us hence-
forth, and until this contest ends in our complete inde-
pendence, have but one parti/ — and let that be, heart and
soul, for the Southern cause !

Let us give to our noble President, and those associated
with him in power, a generous confidence and support.
That he has committed errors is simply to say that he is
a man ! No man, in his trying position, could have shown
more energy, more ability, more patriotic fervor, more
regard for the rights of the people. and of the States.

But whilst I advise a generous confidence in our public
authorities, I would ndt have the people forget that "Vigi-
lance is the price and preserver of liberty." In times of
war the tendency of authority, civil and military, is to
assumeunwarrantedpowcr, under the plausible plea of pub-
lic necessity. Let us never forget that our Constitution
was made for war and peace, and that we have for its con-
struction but one set of rules which shall govern in war
as well as in peace. And let the cardinal rule be, strict
construction. Let us not overlook the fact that tlio mili-
tary power, by the Constitution, is to be always subordi-
nate to the civil authority ; and let us take care that our

22

rights and liberties at home shall not be sacrificed whilst
resisting the oppression and tyranny of the North.

Whilst Alabama has not shown any disposition to
shrink from the performance of her full duty to the Con-
federate States, still she has not promptly responded to
the last call made on her by the President. I know the
reason why this delay has occurred. Let there be no
cause for further delay. Our State has been invaded, and
every day the enemy's footseps pollute our soil, adds in-
sult to injury, and ought to arouse higher and higher the
just indignation and the energies of our people. Let us
arouse our people in every county of the State, and let it
not be said that Alabamians can sleep quietly at home
whilst any of our citizens have been brutall}'^ murdered,
driven from their firesides, their property pillaged, or
ruthlessly, maliciously and wantonly destroyed.

If we will promptly organize under the act of Congress
for local defence, or under the militia laws of the State,
thousands of troops now engaged in catching skulkers
and. deserters, can be sent to the armies to which they
belong, and the people who have been harrassed and their
substance eaten by men paying little regard to persons or
property, will be free from annoyance. The skulkers and
deserters can and will be sent to their duty by good men
organized at home. The excesses and outrages commit-
ted byirreaponsible bodies of men in some portions of our
State is a sore and crying evil, and fchey must be stopped.

The manner in which the impressment law of Congress
has been executed in manj'^ portions of our State needs
your serious attention. Gross wrong and, I almost said,
wanton injuries, have been perpetrated by oflicers who
have no common sense, and no regard for the proprieties
of life or the rights of property. If our laws do not fur-
nish ample remedy for such outrages, provide the remedy.

In discharging the duties of the office I am about to
assume, I shall endeavor to see that the rights of our cit-
izens are protected from violence at home as well as

23

against the raids aud ravages of our enemy. I shall ex-
pect, as I have a right to demand, the hearty co-operation
of all in. the support of every measure calculated to pro-
mote the prosperity and happiness of the people of Ala-
bama, and the cause of Southern independence.

Let us never forget that the Almighty rules over the
affairg of men, and that people and Governments are His
handiwork ! That His favor may be continued towards
us as it has been in the past, let us constantly implore
His mercy by submitting ourselves in all things to His
will. Let us humble ourselves in His sight, and show by
our acts that we deserve His protecting care!

REMARKS OF GOV. JOHN GILL SHORTER ON DELIVERING UP
THE STATE SEAL TO HIS SUCCESSOR.

Governor Watts :

By the Constitution of the State of Alabama, the
Governor is made the custodian of the great seal of the
State. Upon my induction into the executive office, two
years ago, I received this seal from my respected prede-
cessor. By the blessing of God, I have been enabled to
preserve it inviolate to the present hour; and now, with
more than a cheerful obedience to the expressed will of
the people, I have the honor to deliver it into your hands.
I do so with an abiding confidence that it is committed
to the custody of one who is worthy to receive it, and
who will devote all the power and resources at his com-
mand, if need be, to preserve it untarnished and thus de-
liver it to his successor. It may not be inappropriate —
as it is the promptings of my feelings on this occasion as
well as my clear convictions of duty — to declare to you,
iu the presence of the General Assembly, that, in my
retirement from the arduous labors and severe responsi-
bilities of the Executive office to the more calm and
pleasing pursuits of private life, I shall not forget my
obligations to the State and people of Alabama, nor to

24

you our ..honored Chief Magistrate. I heartily approve
and eudorse the admirable inangand address which you
have just delivered; and I pledge you my cordial and
earneut support in every effort you may make to promote
the welfare of Alabama and to advance our glorious Con-
federate cause, upon the success of which depends every-
thing vre esteem dear on earth. And I pray God that He
may "give you grace and strength sufficient for every
hour of need."

RESPONSE OF GOVERXOIl WATTS.

Governor Shorter :

I return you my profound thanks for the kind expres-
sions you have been pleased to Use towards me, person-
'd[]y, and for the approval of the sentiments I have just
uttered, and, also, for the generous support you have ten-
dered to my administration. I can only hope in the ad-
ministration of the affairs of State, to approximate the
expectations of partial friends. The times are pregnant
with historic events ; and the responsibilities of the office
of Goveriior, at this time, are such as to make the loftiest
intellect and the purest heart seek for aid and cordial
syrapath}'.

The honest purpose you have shown to advance the
interests of Alabama, the arduous labors 3^ou have per-
formed, your untiring devotion to the public welfare, will
hereafter be properly appreciated by the people, and
their thanks cheerfully rendered to you. In your retire-
ment from public life, in the quiet precincts of home, I
trust you may enjoy the happiness you deserve. I am
sure you. will not there forget the duties you owe tojour
noble State, aud the great cause in which we are all en-
gaged. My best wishes shall accompany you.

The seal of State which you have so well preserved, I
accept, and shall guard it with all the energies I possess.
It is the emblem of the power of Alabama. Alabama is
my mother; whilst I have an arm to raise in her defense,
and a voice to speak in her behalf, her power and glory
shall be maintained, and her great seal, if the people will
sustain me with the same hearty co-operation manifested
in placing me here, under the blessing of God, shall be
preserved, untarnished, for my Buccessor.

Hollinger Corp.
pH 8.5