i860] AT COOPER UNION
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Union ; and then, you say, the great crime of hav- ing destroyed it will be upon us ! That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, "Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will be a mur- derer !"
To be sure, what the robber demanded of me ■ — my money — was my own ; and I had a clear right to keep it ; but it was no more my own than my vote is my own ; and the threat of death to me, to extort my money, and the threat of de- struction to the Union, to extort my vote, can. scarcely be distinguished in principle.
A few words now to Republicans. It is ex- ceedingly desirable that all parts of this great Confederacy shall be at peace, and in harmony one with another. Let us Republicans do our part to have it so. Even though much provoked, let us do nothing through passion and ill temper. Even though the Southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their demands, and yield to them if, in our deliberate view of our duty, we possibly can. Judging by all they say and do, and by the sub j ect and nature of their controversy with us, let us determine, if we can, what will satisfy them.
Will they be satisfied if the Territories be un- conditionally surrendered to them? We know they will not. In all their present com.plaints against us, the Territories are scarcely men- tioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage now. Will it satisfy them if, in the future, we have nothing to do with invasions and insurrec- tions? We know it will not. We so know, be- cause we know we never had anything to do with invasions and insurrections; and yet this total
