The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1856-12-11

and servile war; and that the first step in
the attempt is the forcible disruption Of a
country embracing in its broad bosom a
degree of liberty, and an amount of lndl-
vidual and public prosperity, to which
there is no parallel in history, and SUBJ
stituting in its place hostile governments.
driven at once and inevitably into mutu-
al devastation and fratricidal carnage,
Transforming the now peaceful and fellci-
tous brotherhood into vast permanent
camp Of armed men like the rival monar-
chies Of Europe and Asia. Well know
ing that such. and such only, are the
means and the consequences of their
plans and purposes, they endeavor to
prepare the people of the United States
for civil war by doing rything in their
power to deprive the Constitution and the
laws of moral authority, and to under
mine the fabric of the Union by appeals
to passion and sectional prejudice, by in
doctrina ting its Pc eople with reciprocal ha-
tired, and by educating them to stand face
to face as enemies, rather than shoulder
to shoulder as friends 1850.
1t is by the agency of such unwarrant-
able interference, foreign and domestic,
hat the minds of many, otherwise good
citizens, have been SO infamed into the
passionate condemnation of the domestic
! ins titutions of the Southern States, as at
length to pass insensibly to almost
equally passionate hostility toward their
fellow citizens OF those States. and thus
finally to fall into temporary fellowship
with the avowed and active enemies of the
/ Constitution. Ardently attached to lib
erty in tie abstract, they do not stop TO
consider practically how the objects they
would attain can be accomplished, nor to
reflect that, even if the evil were as great
as they deem it, they have no lemedy to
apply, and that it Can be only aggravated
by their violence and unconstitutional &C
ion A question which is one of the
most difficult of all the problems of social
institutions, poli;i al economy and states
nanship, they treat with unreasoning in
reference OF thought and language. Ex-
tremes 5eget extremes. Violent attack
from the North finds its inevitable conse-
quences in the growth of spirit Of an
gry d, fance at the South. Thus, in the
prog ross of events, we had reached that
consummation, Which the voice of the
people has now SO Eontedly rebuked, G
The attempt of a portion of the States, by
a sectional organization and movement
to usurp the control of the government O
the United States.
l confidently believe that the grea
body of those who inconsiderately tool
this fatal step, are sincerely attached t.
the Constitution and the Union. They
would, upon deliberation, shrink with un
affected horror from any conscious act o
disunion civil war. But they have en-
tered into a path which leads nowher
unless it be to civil war or disunion, ant
which has no other possible outlet The,
have proceeded thus far in that direction
in consequence Of the succeeding stage
of their progress having consisted of
series of secondary issues, each Of whic1
t confessed to be confined within constitu
Il tional and peaceful limits, but which at
5 tempted indirectly what few. men wer
willing 10 do dire city, that is, to act as
t gressively against the constitutional right
! of nearly one half of the thirty on
States.
e In tie long series of acts of indirect ap
f gresslon, the first was the strenuous ag
e tation, by citizens of the northern State:
n in Congress and out of it, of the questio
: of negro emancipation in the souther
r States. f5ett
The second step in this path of ev
d consisted of acts of the people of th
: north ern States, and in several instance
/, of their gover nments, almost to facilita
if the escape of persons held to service
4 the. southern States and to prevent the
!, extradition when reclaimed according
c law and in virtue of express provision
n of the Constitution. Topromote this oil
d Iject, legislative enactments and o.he
p means were adopted to take away or d.
i feat ri hts, which the Constitution so
j. emnly guaranteed. In order to nulli
y the then existing act of Congress concern
7 4 ing the extradition Of fugitives from Sc
Of vice, laws We're enacted in many Stat
i forbidding their officers, under the sew
s. rest penalties, to participate in the exec
r, ton Of any act of Congress whatever.-
l. In This way that system of harmoniol
le operation. between the authorities
,e the United States and the several State
al for the maintenance of their common i
ID stitutions, which existed in The earlyyea
s. of the Republic, was destroyed; conflic
of of Jurisdiction came to be frequent; al
d. Congress found itself compelled, for. t
Of support Of the Constitution, and the vi
Mt dcalion of its power, to authorize the a
n, pointment of new officers charged wi
to the execution of its acts, as if they a
st. the officers of the States were the min
is, ters, respectively, offoreign governmel
us in state of mutna. hostility, rather -th
n follow magistrates, Of a common COUNT
Y, peacefully subsisting under the prot,
tie tion Of one we'll Reconstructed Union. Th,
ar here, also, aggression was followed
1t, reaction and the attacks upon the G,
ms stitution at this point did but serve
ar raise up new barriers for its defense a
on security.
by The third page of this unhappy s.
vi tional controversy was in connection W
it the organization of territorial COVE
nd ments, and the admission of new Sta
II into the. Union. When it was propo:
ell to admit the State of Maine, by separat
ey Of territory from that Of Massachuse
in and the State of Missouri, formed fror
nd portion of the territory ceded by Fra
es, to the United States, representatives
md Congress objected to the admission of
t is latter, unless with conditions suitee
ct. particular views Of public policy.
3 a i .. ffEsrE r. 1g