Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/460

 Letter of Instructions to Hon. John S Udell. l.V.i

them. But voluntary contributions and aid supplied all deficiencies until the necessary military establishments were formed. It would seem thtn that the new Confederacy has given all the evidence, in proof of its power to maintain its independence, which could reason- ably be asked. That its organization is such as to ensure its respon- sibility for the discharge of international duties will also appear upon an impartial examination of the question.

The action of the Confederate States in their separation from the old Union presents within itself the evidence of their persistency of purpose, and affords a guaranty for the stability of their institutions, so far as these may be dependent upon their own will. They have preserved the same form of government which their forefathers es- tablished, with the exception of such changes alone as would make its machinery more suitable for the ends and purposes for which it was created. It was not to change, but to preserve the ends and purposes for which the original constitution was adopted, that they separated from a union which had ceased to respect them. They have neither changed their form of government nor the objects for which it was framed; they have only changed the parties to the Con- federacy to secure a faithful execution of the compact upon which alone they were willing to unite. The former Union had failed to accomplish its original ends for the want of a homogeneous character in the parties to it; and having left it for that cause, there can be no reason to expect its reconstruction with the same discordant elements whose jarring had destroyed it before. The whole course then of the Confederate States argues a consistency of purpose and promises a stability for the government which they have formed, which, together with the resources already exhibited by them, give a reasonable assurance of their entire responsibility for the discharge of all their duties and obligations, domestic and international. A people who present themselves under such circumstances for a recognized place amongst nations would seem to be entitled to the grant of such a request. They do not seek for material aid, or assistance, or for alliances, defensive and offensive. They ask nothing which can en- danger the peace or prosperity of those who may grant it. They desire only to be placed in a position in which their intercourse with 'the rest of the world may be conducted with the sanction of public law, and under the protection of agents whose authority is recognized by nations. They seek the moral influence which the act of recog- nition may give them, and nothing more. If it be manifest that the war of conquest now waged against them cannot succeed, then the