"We see also, all over the south, a disposition to resist the execution of the United States laws, especially in the matter of collection of internal revenue. To-day there are four United States officers under arrest by the authorities of the State of South Carolina, in jail and bail refused, for an alleged crime in their State, while in fact these officers were discharging their duty in executing the laws of the United States, in that State. Their State courts and their officers refused to obey the writs of the United States courts in the surrender of these United States authorities. No former act of this treasonable state shows a more defiant attitude towards the United States Government, or a greater disposition to trample on its authority. I trust the administration will in this case, assert, in the most vigorous manner possible, the authority of the United States Government for the rescue and protection of these officers. I have no bloody shirt to wave. If there is one man in this country more than another, who desires peace and quiet between the sections, I believe I am that man. Gentlemen may philosophize over this question until they are gray, but you cannot escape the discussion of this question so long as the Solid South menaces the peace of the country. A solid democratic south means the control of the country by the spirit and the men who sought its destruction.
"My own opinion is that there can be no peace. This question will not down until the menace of the Solid South is withdrawn. I had hoped that the policy of President Hayes would lead to the assertion, by a very considerable portion of the South, of their antagonism to Bourbon Democracy. I confess to a degree of disappointment in this, though I think I see signs of a breaking up of the Solid South in the independent movements that seem to be gaining a foothold in all sections of that country. But the effective way to aid these independent movements; this breaking up of all the Solid South, is for the North to present itself united against the Solid South. A Solid South under the control of the Democratic party means the control of the party by this element. It means the repeal of the Constitutional Amendments, if not in form, in spirit. It means the payment of hundreds of rebel claims. It means the payment of pensions to rebel soldiers. It means the payment for slaves lost in the rebellion. It means the abrogation of that provision of the Constitution which declares that the citizens of one State shall have all the rights, privileges and immunities of the citizens of other States.