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234 be justice not only to ourselves, but justice to the great interests of peace and humanity. If the recognition of our independence must finally come and if it be only a work of time, it seems to be the duty of each of the nations of the earth to throw the moral weight of its recognition into the scale of peace as soon as possible. For, to delay, will only be to prolong unnecessarily the sufferings of war. If then our Government can be shown to be such as has been here described, we shall place ourselves in the position of a people who are entitled to a recognition of their independence. The physical and moral elements of our Confederacy, its great, but undeveloped capacities, and its developed strength as proved by the history of the conflict in which we are now engaged, ought to satisfy the world of the responsible character of the Government of the Confederate States. The eleven States now confederated together cover seven hundred and thirty-three thousand one hundred and forty-four square miles of territory and embrace nine millions two hundred and forty-four thousand people. This territory, large enough to become the seat of an immense power, embraces not only all the best varieties of climate and production known to the temperate zone, but also the great staples of cotton, tobacco, sugar and rice. It teems with the resources, both moral and physical, of a great empire, and nothing is wanted but time and peace for their development. To these States there will probably be added hereafter Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky, whose interests and sympathies must bind them to the South. If these are added, the Confederate States will embrace eight hundred and fifty thousand square miles of territory and twelve and a half millions of people, to say nothing of the once common Territories west of these States, which will probably fall into the new Confederacy. Is it to be supposed that such a people and with such resources can be subdued in war when subjugation is to be followed by such consequences as would result from their conquest? If such a supposition prevails anywhere, it can find no countenance in the history of the contest in which we are now engaged. In the commencement of this struggle, our enemies had in their possession the machinery of the old Government. The naval, and, for the most part, the military establishments, were in their hands. They had, too, most of the accumulated capital and nearly all the manufactories of arms, ordnance and of the necessaries of life. They had all the means of striking us hard blows before we could be ready to return them. And yet in the face of all this we have