when a people are in a condition to
establish and maintain another form of government, there is no sin in
their turning themselves into a new condition. In doing so, government,
God's ordinance, evolves itself under a new form, and provided it is,
really, government, and not anarchy, no sin may have been committed by
the insurrection, or revolution, as an act. The result proved that
government still existed, potentially, and was only changing its shape
and adapting itself to the circumstances of the people. If a man or body
of men assert that things among them are ready for such new evolutions,
and so undertake to bring them about, they do it at their peril, and
failing, they are indictable for treason; they may be true patriots,
they may be conscientious men; the sympathies of many good people may be
with them, but they have sinned against the great law which protects
mankind from anarchy.

"'To apply this,' said the Judge, 'to our subject,--When the time comes
that the blacks can truly say, "We are now your equals in all that is
necessary to constitute a civil state, and we propose to take the
government of this part of the country into our hands," we should still
make several objections, which would be valid. The Constitutions of the
States and of the United States must be changed before that can be done,
and we will presume that this would involve a revolution. Moreover, this
country belongs to the Anglo-Saxon race, with which foreigners of
kindred stocks have intermingled, and they and we object to the presence
of a black race as possessors of some of the states of the Union, even
if it were constitutional. We do not propose to abandon our right and
title to the soil, without a civil war, which would probably result in
the extermination of one or the other party. If you are able to leave us
at pleasure, the proper way will be to do it peaceably, and on just
principles, to be agreed upon between us.

"'No such exigency as this,' said the Judge, 'is possible. It would be
prevented or anticipated, and relief would be obtained while the
necessity was on the increase and before it reached a solemn crisis.

"'One of three ways will, in my opinion,' said he, 'bring a solution to
this problem of slavery.

"'One is, the insurrection of the slaves, the massacre of the whites,
and the forcible seizure and possession of power by the blacks
throughout the South. This would be a scene such as the earth has never
witnessed. I