The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1851-07-30
Soldiers and Statesmen,

ION that the tine is approach ng when n.
AneTIcaD people, or, OF any rate, the Whil
poftlon oi hem, Will be called upon to decide
bet"oen the Pen and he Srord, or, in otter
words, between II Statesman and Soldier, q.
Their cbsice for the next P(es .dency.
"eaf not among those, as our past cours,
has gwen evidence, who would exclude mill
tary men from elevation to The Presidency
where high military qualities aie found in
combrauon with sold Judgment, uuse fsh
Pl'noi'sa, profound knowledge Of uauk nd
sag4chy thar can detect the demaeraue'-
designs through the ihckest veil Of cen.
cpa'meo', end q humility which is proof az a'nsI
The most Ius'dIous snares Of fltte'y, the great
soldier is prepared 10 achieve equal reno.n
ia The Cabinet as 10 the camp. Not less than
hive Of The Presidents OF the United S,s,es
have unred The /" Sword aud he Pen" These
were Washington. Monroe, Jackson. Ham.
sen, and Taylor. Much as We sdnlre militia
~ men, We uausi confess lhat We are moi a.
mone those ~ho can lie satisfied with none
bu, soldiers. Even # The rnle oil "tutn about :"
be considered " fair play ,"ss between soldiers
aud statesmen, the next "tutu" be'onps le
civllsn. But there are other aud sra,er
considerations hsch demard, not only that
civi'ian should be elevated 10 The next = esl.
dency, but that he should possess, IN addition
to high intellectual tributes a hafmonIous
aud well poised character a spiui trained to
calmnsss, self possession ard self control;
conbns'lon Of ffmncss and genrlenes. a
gen'leness which vii exhaust all honorable
means Of peace and Cancellation TO avoid dan.
ger, and frmnets which, hen collision is
inevitable, will meet the hutucane like an
oak, and break rather than bend.
We say that The limes demand this pecu
liar combination Of high mora quaI,ies, much
mere than military genius. The s,orm v hich
threatened the overthrow ef the Republic hes
no, yet disappeared. Ever AID auon an an
gry fash aps from the horizon, and distant
but deep toned thunder comes solemny upon
the ear That We have escaped from the
height @; peru, IS oeIog IN great measure
10 the conclbtery nnd calm, a we'll IS rcso.
lue spiri which charsclerlzes he head IF he
ptesen, administration, and for u hlch he had
been ptoverbla through his whole public and
puvate career. A 5ash solder, OF an arbl.
tfafy ard nilss'ble CIVILIAN, occupying the
position OF Mf. Fillmore, might, long ere this,
have lighted the torch of civil war 10 Texas
Charleston and Boston, and have precipltst, d
the whole couHtty IN the vortex Of Disuuion.
! here aIe at al poI0ts cOmbus bic materials
ready for baze, and unfortunately dspo.
siiion is siill e'lnced N sone quarters 10 IN.
sIie go explosion. lttequ,res ,he highest de.
gree Of pudence, in such a state of lrurs, so
TO admnIser be governments as to maintain
lis dignlly, and ! ei ayod atiordlug TO he va
rlous eIenenls Of dsaffection a plausible pre-.
text for fc,ol. THIS Important and de ics,e
task has thus far been successfully accom-.
plshed BY The wise aud good man 10 whose
hands Providence has placed the direction of
the go'efnment, nor, While he continues to
administer It's atlairs, have We the slightest
lear ol rupture even IN The most enieebled
cord Of the conf detacy.
Were Iils government Of physical force,
thea We should say tlat, al such luucture OF
public / tiIIs as the present, It woud be well
10 have the Ion will Of soldier directing the
affairs Of state. Promptly, energerically, ,e.
motselessly could he crush dsafecuon The
mere tact Il the election OF soldier would be
Warning 10 The spirit OF dlsconten; 10 Gird
On It's saoid ard make ready for battle. A.
long The railroads and over the rivers he would
huil hls iegions like thunder bolts upon the cit.
adels Of veason. e 5. ba, uneis " ould pIeem
IN every town Of Sou!h Carolina, and L. 5. /
ships da'ken with their fto~nlug batteries the J
waters OF her chief haIbors. Then would
commence strife such as ha pless Europe on
~ kno~s-a STRIFE like that of Austtia and
Hungary, bur, uullke thai, contest IN which, /
no matter ~hn might be victorious, Liberty
would hnd her grave. But this is not a gov.
eminent which rules by the strong hand Il
IS peculiarly ard emlnenlv government OF
mora force. The un,on itself is held ,ogelh. !
er, not by written Constitution or by any ar
my available Tor the purpose Of Sustaining 1t, (
hut by mutual affection and mutual Interest,"
Reason aud public opinion are our laws, and
written or unNtitlen, we ocknow ledge their au.
ihoniy. The spirit OF our government IS "a.
ther like that of the father Of family than he
ruler OF an empire. Il is kind, tolerant and
iorbearns, dom,non OF love and not et iear.
his makes the Unhed States Government
actually the sironges, government on the lace
ot the earth, and this makes Secession so
difficult. Were The United States to menace
South Carolina with rs bayouels, she would
rush upon them with her bare bosom, and
deem herself maryt.s Bot she cannot ex
cie her people 10 the poin, of making war
upon a nation whose baycuets were never
seen upon her SOL except in freeing it from
foreign opptesslon. The man we need al the
head OF the Republic is one who will under
stand and carry out the true spirit of our go.
vernmen'. He should be man hose op,n
lens have been clearly expressed and are per.
lectly understood upon those gres, questions
The settlement oil which by this ad demonstration
has given peace and safety to q distracted
caunIIY. lie shnnlh ha a tIipd and prncI,cal