Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-12-14

Lie suohsest argument against this n,
war upon nesroosiavey IN one section by ano,s0l
the same common country, is that It ;anr.a"'ietd
drives to disunion of the States embitter,aa Inevitably
the vengeful hate of civil war. As that witAal
among the most precious of our BLESSING" a'on i
argument ought to weigh which weighs ;,s y, 80 The
But this consideration is Gespised by fanat; ;slue
1t contemns the Union, and now contemsa
cnging to it as we do. 1t SCOTS the warn;. US fN
the Union is endangered. The Union i ts"sge That
nounced as covenant with sin, and we arc 81. de-
as too timid' to make the warning of danoa'Olned
worthy to be needed. 1t arroganty asson @h
break all the bonds OF faith within it, and drH" to
attempt TO escape oppression without it m %e
rudety assaits our honor as well as our intor, hs
demands of us what We will do. We have i", and
thing to do: unless the numerical ma;or;.u one
cease to violate confederate faith, on onas,: VIII
such vital Importance to us, and will CEASE ;O"d
diatey and absolutely cease to disturb opr lae
destroy our lives and property, and to denrrva
all protection and redress un er the perversJ Of
and distorted workings of the Union we mns. '9s
up arms. The issue is too essential to he a@
promised any more. We cannot stand sucb ICON o0a
and outrages as those of Harper's Ferry wis uls
suffering worse than the death of ctizens-wibou.
suffering dishonor, the death of State. "''D0QE
For quarter off century we have been norr,.,,
to forbear and patiently to wait for the wakin~ @
working OF the conservative elements in our si %a
States. We have borne and foreborne and ,r.:.
in vain. We know that we have many sound "sl
sincere friends in the non-slaveholdinp STATES &u
may be that they are most numerous far who ,hhiA
and detest such wrongs as these but it is mt ,o
disguised that the conservative elements are ,u.;s
whilst the fanatical actire, and the formo,"
fast diminishing whilst the latter are ncrcasna ais
numbers and in force. But where is the evilso"a
that the conservative elements are most powass,s
we tn fha Schnn MD
pits and clergy, and churches and congregations
the press? to the journals to the books , fl ~
professions? the artisans? to associations which .s
marked characteristics of the age? to politics.
public assemblies and speakers to legs,atures,,
Congress to laws, either State or federal t0J.a
tions? to the administration Of laws to inESi
decisions? Alas turn where we will and to vS..
we will, we find that the judgments of the com,
only are with us, but they have lost all reverrnc
and respect and we are left without protection and
the Supreme Court of the United States is itsclr,s
sailed for not assaing our Constitutional defncs
And these last are assaulted in denying the rights n
protection itself A new sovereignty and new law
is set up over the DID, and We are denied pro,ccton
under both. Where the Federal Government has
no power to oppress it is assumed; and where It
has the power and it is its duty to protect it is mt
allowed to intervene. And the non-slavehoLfnr
States are in nearly solid array opposed to u.s. We
united, may contend for while by the aid of rlu'
ralities but for short time only, and uncertainty
at any time, and at best have no majores on which
we can rely in at least sixteen States, having the
power of the Union. The active have overcome the
passive elements; anaticsm has subdued conservat
ism in all these States, and these can now, in our
present condition. practically WELD our destnies for
veal or woe Will they come back to the Consi.
tuition and abide its covenants or not? What Those
covenants are have fully discussed in reply to
the resolutions OF Vermont which are herewith sub.
mitted, with my response appended as part Of
this message | put it upon the archives Of State
as the most elaborate study of the subject of which
| am capable.
But no words can elaborate the issues to which
we are now practically brought by the events at
Harper's Ferry.
of the marauders. The daring of their attempt
would prove not their foolhardiness than their
full assurance that they to be Joined by force
sufficient to be FORMIDABLE. If they had not mis-.
taken the number and disposition of the slaves
whom they expected to seize the spears, which they
! brought to capture an arsenal of arms, it is not
| known, and never will be known, how many other
white fanatics would have swellcd their numbers
nor how much blood and treasure it would have
cost to quell their rebellion. Few they were, but
they were fatal to the lives of several OF our most
worthy citizens; and insultingly dared the chances
OF doing immeasurable mischief to our most entire
Northern border.
And it is mockery to call them monomaniacs-
Maniacs they were, only all great criminals; and
monomanlacs they were, only as the subject of sa.
very makes men more insensate than any other one
SUBJECT can. Ii these men were monomaniacs, then
are large portion of the people Of many Of the
State monomanacs
Before these crimes, they were deemed sane SOL
dlers in notable crusade against slavery and slave.
holders Many of those who now plead their in.
sanity for them, put Sharpes rifles in their hands
and enlisted and trained and trusted their wits
for war in Kansas. Contributions were raised for
them in churches. They had been pulled with the
praise of the professedly pious for being the very
men OF destiny for the mission against slave settle
ments. They had been furnished with money to
make sharp spears Of butchery for the threats and
breasts of masters and to supply munitions and
stores Of regular campaigns They assembled to
gether from parts as far between they themselves
were few. They were provided, supplied and furn
ished with much beyond their own wants or means
And it is passing strange that they, madmen, should
few as they were, have been so many madmen
meeting from so far apart so well supplied by 9th
ers than themselves, at point SO well selected ant
that they should have conspired with so much
method as to be SO successful against such apparent
odds. Were these parties, known and unknown Sc
situated all mad? 1t is enough to say that thu
leader himself spurned the fasehood hypocrisy and
cowardice of this mawkish plea of monomania, and
neither he, nor one of his men, nor their counsel
put it in upon their trials He expected from his
prompters and hackers and sympathizers better
pretence and more potent defence than that. Before
his failure and defeat in what in their correspond
ence with him, they called glorious cause" the
sympathy was all with his desperate daring and sue
cess and now it is with his insanity for plea
against the legal penalties of his crimes which had
their origin in this very sympathy. A sympathy
which saw his insanity too late to snatch from his
hands the weapons it had placed there too late IL
save the lives taken by its Indictment; and TOT
late to save him from felon's fate.
By our laws, the plea of insanity could avail al
any time, in any stage of trial, and after conviction
before sentence Of the court and after the udic'a
tribunals were done with the prisoners and they
were turned over to the executioner, the executive
authority could fore-fend the laws sentence upoE
the insane. If either could show or prove insanity
either now or on trial, he rould not be executed
long as am the Governor of the Commonwealth
until CNred in an asylum. and ;f incspo at the tint