Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-07-10

nize this doctrine by allowing the seceders
to 90 in peace. it is difficult to see what we
can do if Others choose to 90, or to extort
terms upon which they will promise to re-
main. The seceders insists that our Com
stitution admits of secession. They have,
assumed 10 make national constitution of
their own in which, of necessity, they have
either discarded or retained the right of
secession as they insist it exists in ours. If
they have retained it by their construction
of ours it shows that to be consistent they
must secede from one another when they
shall find it the easiest way of settling their
debts or effecting another selfish or unjust
object.
The principle itself is one of disintegra-
ton, and one which no government can
possibly endure. If all the States but one
should affect the power to drive that one
out of the Union, it is presumed the whole
class OF the seeded politicians would at
once deny the power, and denounce the act
as the greatest outrage upon State rights;
but suppose that precisely the same act,
instead OF being called driving one out,
should be called the seeding of the others
from that one, it would be exactly what
the seceders claim to do, unless, indeed.
they make the point, that the one, because
it is minority. may righlfully do that
which the others, because they are the ma
iority, may not rightfully do.
These politicians are profound IN the
rights of minorities; they are not partial to
that power which made the Constitution
and speaks from the Preamble, calling itself
.Oe, tie people, 1t may well be ques-
toned whether there is 10 day majority
Of the legally qualified voters Of any State,
except perhaps South Carolina, in favor OF
secession. There is much reason to be-
lieve that the Union men are in the major
ity in many, if not all, Of the seeded States.
The contrary has not beer demonstrated IN
any one Of them. 1t is yentured to affirm
this, even of Virginia and Tennessee, for
the result of an election held in military
camps, where the bayonets We're all on one
side of the question voted upon, can scarce
~ be considered as demonstrating popular
sentiment. AT such an election all that
large class who are at once for the Union,
and against coercion, would be coerced to
vote against the Union.
1t may be affirmed, without extrava-
gance, that the free institutions which we
enjoy have developed the powers and inn
proved the condition of our people beyond
any example. Of this, we now have a
striking and impressive illustration. So
large an army as the government has now
on foot was never before known without a
soldier in it who has taken bis place there
of bis own free choice.
But more than this, there are many sin
gle regiments whose members, one and an-
other, possess full practical knowledge Of all
the arts aud sciences, professions and what
ever else, whether useful or elegant, is
known to the world. There is scarcely one
from which there could not be selected a
President, Cabinet, a Congress and per-
haps Court, abundantly competent to adj
minister the Government; nor do I say
this is not true also in the army of our late
| friends, but now adversares in this contest
but it is so much the better reason VIII, the
Government which has conferred such com
forts both on them and US, should not be
broken up.
Whoever, in any section, proposes to
abandon such a Government, would do
well TO consider in Difference to what prn-
ciple il is that he does it; whether the sub
stitute will give, or be intended to give so
much good to the people. There is some
foreshadowing on this subject. Our adver-
saries have adopted some declarations OF
independence, in which, unlike the good
old one penned by Jefferson, they omit the
words, care createl equal" Why? They
have adopted a temporary national consti-
tuition in the preamble OF which, unlike our
good old one signed by Washington. they
omit 1--WE tie people, and substitute eve,
the deputies Of the sovereign and indepen-
dent States"
Why this deliberate pressing out of view
the rights Of men and the authority Of the
people9 This is essentially peoples con-
test on the Union; it is a struggle for
maintaining, in the world, that form and
substance of government, whose lea..ing
object is to elevate the condition of men,
to lift artificial weights from all shoulders,
to clear the paths Of laudable pursuit, and
to afford all an unfettered start and fair
chance in the race of life, yielding to par
tial and temporary departures from neces-
sity.
This is the primary object of the gov
eminent for whose existence we contend
am most happy to believe that the plain
people understand and appreciate this. 1t
is worthy Of note that while in this, the
Governments hour of trial, large numbers
of thos in the army and ntyy, who have
been favored with the offices, have resigned
and proved false to the hand that pamper-
ed them, not one common soldier or com
mon sailor is known to have deserted his
flag.
To the last man, so far as is known, they
successfully resisted the traitorous efforts Of
those whose commands within an hour be-
fore they obeyed as absolute law. This is
patriotic instinct ofplain men, They un-
derstand without any argument that the