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Title: The Great Conspiracy, Part 4

Author: John Alexander Logan

Release Date: June 12, 2004 [EBook #7136]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT CONSPIRACY, PART 4 ***

Produced by David Widger

THE GREAT CONSPIRACY

Its Origin and History

Part 4

BY

JOHN LOGAN

CHAPTER XIV.

THE COLORED CONTRABAND.

When the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter, its sullen echoes sounded
the funeral knell of Slavery. Years before, it had been foretold, and
now it was to happen. Years before, it had been declared, by competent
authority, that among the implications of the Constitution was that of
the power of the General Government to Emancipate the Slaves, as a War
measure. Hence, in thus commencing the War of the Rebellion, the South
marched with open eyes upon this, as among other of the legitimate and
logical results of such a War.

Patrick Henry, in opposing the ratification by Virginia of the Federal
Constitution, had declared to the Slaveholders of that State that "Among
ten thousand implied powers" which Congress may assume, "they may, if we
be engaged in War, liberate every one of your Slaves, if they please, *
* * Have they not power to provide for the General Defense and Welfare?
May they not think that these call for the abolition of Slavery? May
they not pronounce all Slaves Free? and will they not be warranted by
that power? * * * They have the power, in clear, unequivocal terms,
and will clearly and certainly exercise it."

So, too, in his great speech of May 25, 1836, in the House of
Representatives, John Quincy Adams had declared that in "the last great
conflict which must be fought between Slavery and Emancipation,"
Congress "must and will interfere" with Slavery, "and they will not only
possess the Constitutional power so to interfere, but they will be bound
in duty to do it, by the expr