Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-07-11

Confederates began the conflict; they have
forced upon the country the destructive is.
sue of Immediate dissolution, embracing
more than the fate of the Union, as ii
solves the question whether government
of the people can maintain the integrity Of
its territory against domestic foes, and
whether band of individuals, too few to
control the Administration by organized
law can break up the Government, thus
ending the freest Government on ea1th.-
1t forces this question, must government
be too strong for the liberty of people, or
too weak to maintain its own existence ?
No choice was left but to call out the war
power of the Government to resist the force
employed for its destruction. The response
to the call for troops surprised the most
sanguine expectations, Delaware, alone,
however, of all the slave States, respond
ing. A few regiments have been raised in
slave States by individual enterprise, and
accepted.
The Border States were not uniform in
their action. The course taken by Virginia
is the most remarkable and important. A
Convention to consider this question, in ses-
sion when Fort Sumter fell, with large
Union majority, went over, and carried,
the State out of the Union. They made ex-
tensive military preparations, seized the
Federal property, received large bodies OF
Confederate troops, entered into a treaty
with the Confederate States, sent Represen-
tatives to the Confederate Councils, and
permitted the insurrectionary Government
to be transferred to the capital of Virginia.
The Government has no choice left in
regard to Virginia, and does so with the
less regret from having been called on to
protect loyal citizens there whom it is bound
to sustain.
Other Border States favor an armed neu-
trality; that is, arming to prevent Union
or disunion troops from occupying their
soil. This would be disunion complete !;
fguratively speaking, it would be building
an impossible wall along the line of sepa-
ration. This right, under the guise Of neu-
trality, would tie the hands of the Union.
lists and feed the insurrectionists taking
all the trouble from the secession hands,
except what arises from the external block
ade. 1t would give the malcontents disun-
ion without any struggle of their own. 1t
recognizes no fidelity to the Constitution,
no obligation to maintain the Union. While
loyalists favored it, it is very injurious.
Recurring to the action of the Govern
ment. 1t first called for $4,000 troops, pro-
claimed blockade of the insurrectionists,
denounced privateering, and made call
for three years troops and large additions
to the army and navy. These measures
were ventured upon under the popular de-
maud and public necessity, trusting to their
ratification by Congress. Soon after, it
was considered duty to auth orize the
commanding general to suspend the writ Of
habeas corpus where the public safety re-
quired it. This was necessary to the exc
cution of the laws. The continuance of
the law made in such extreme tenderness
of the liberty of the citizen, practically re-
lieved more of the guilty than the inno-
cent To state the question more directly
Are all the laws but one to be unexecuted,
and the Government 60 to pieces lest one
be violated? But it was believed that the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was
not unconstitutional.
The forbearance Of Government had
been so extraordinary and long continued
as to induce foreign nations to shape their
action on the supposition of an early disso-
luton. The Administration was concerned
about this, but is now happy to state that
the sovereignty of the Union is now every
where practically respected, and sympa-
thy with the Government manifested
Throughout the world
The reports of the Secretaries will give
detailed information, and the Executive
and Departments are ready to supply any
omissions necessary to guide your delibera-
tious. recommend the adoption of meas
ures to make the contest short and decisive,
and that you place at the Governments dis
posal at least four hundred thousand men
and four hundred millions of money, that
namber of men being about one-tenth of the
available men within the willing region,
and that sum one-tweDty-third of the wealth
of the men who seem willing to devote
their property to that object. The whole
six hundred millions would involve less
debt per head than the proportion in the
revolutionary war.
Surely the motive now, is as strong as
then. Might the result now be worth to
the world ten times the number of men and
ten times the amount Of money. Legisla,
tive sanction is only necessary, the material
for the work being abundant; the greatest
perplexity Of the Government is to avoid
receiving men faster than they are prepar.
ed. The people will then have a Govern,
meut, if the Government do its part of the
duty.
While perceptibly there is little differ
ence between secession and revolution, the
movers knew they could never raise their
treason to respcctability by name imply
ing a violation of law they could only ad-
vance indirectly in the teeth of the noble
sentiments of the people.
They commenced with an insiduous pub
lie sentiment, aud invented ingenious sc.
phisms, which, if considered logically, fol-
lowed all incidents to the destruction of the