I
carry with me no hostile remembrance. Whatever offense I have
given which has not been redressed, or for which satisfaction
has not been demanded, I have, Senators, in this hour of our
parting, to offer you my apology for any pain which, in the heat
of discussion, I have inflicted. I go hence unencumbered by the
remembrance of any injury received, and having discharged the
duty of making the only reparation in my power for any injury
offered.
"Mr. President and Senators, having made the announcement which
the occasion seemed to me to require, it only remains for me to
bid you a final adieu."
There are some who contend that we should have retained
our seats and "fought for our rights in the Union." Could
anything be less rational or less consistent than that a Senator,
an ambassador from his State, should insist upon representing
it in a confederacy from which the State has withdrawn?
What was meant by "fighting in the Union" I have never
quite understood. If it be to retain a seat in Congress for the
purpose of crippling the Government and rendering it unable to
perform its functions, I can certainly not appreciate the idea of
honor that sanctions the suggestion. Among the advantages
claimed for this proposition by its supporters was that of thwarting
the President in the appointment of his Cabinet and other
officers necessary for the administration of public affairs.
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