Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1861-03-29

sXOShsoO UOtA&&8 t0RVsOteSsW
much respect for any man that has
standing enough to be elected Senator
to believe that be 10 for war, - means
Of preserving the Union. ! have too
much respect for his intellect to believe,
for one moment, that there il . man for
war who is not disunionist Der %.
Hence do not mean, il can prevent
it, that the enemies Of the Union-meD
plotting to destroy it-shall drag this
community into war, under the pretext
Of protecting the public property, and
enforcing the laws, and collecting rev.
enue, when their object is disupion, and
war the means Of accomplishing cher
ished purpose.
The disunionists, therefore, are divid-
ed into two classes, the one open, the
other secret disunionists. The one is in
favor of peaceable secession and . re
cognition OF independence the other is
in favor Of war, as the surest means of
accomplishing the object, and making
the separation final and eternal. / am Q
Union man, and hence against war /; but
if the Union must be temporarily brok-
en- by revolution, and the establishment
of q de Jacto government by some of the
States, let no act be done that will pre-
vent restoration and)future preservation.
Peace is the only policy that can lead to
that result.
But, we are told, and We hear it re-
peated everywhere, that We must find
out whether we have got Government.
"Have we q Government 7" is the ques-
ton; and we are told we must test that
question by using the military power to
put down all discontinued spirits.
Sir, this question "have we govern
ment Z" has been propounded by every
tyrant who has tried to keep his feet on
the necks of the people ever since the
world began. When the Barons de-
manded Magma Charta from King John
at Runnymede, he exclaimed, shave We
a government I" and called for bis
army to put down the disconnected bar
ons. When Charles l attempted to
collect the ship money in violation Of
the constitution Of England, and in dis.
regard Of the rights Of the people, and
was resisted by them, be exclaimed,
''have we government! We cannot
treat with rebels; put down the traitors;
ws must show that we have govern
ment." When James IL was driven
from the throne OF England for tramp
ling on the liberties of the people, he
called for his army and exclaimed, "let
us show that we have a government !"
When George III called upon his army
to put down the rebellion in America,
Lord North cried Justify, "no compro-
mise with traitors; let US demonstrate
that we have a government" Whcn,in
ls4s, the people rose upon their tyrants
all over Europe and demanded guaran-
tees for their rights, every crowned
head exclaimed, shave we a govern
ment p and appealed to the army to
indicate their authority and to enforce
the law.
Sir, the history of the world does not
fail to condemn the folly, weakness, and
wickedness Of that Government which
drew its sword upon its own people
when they demanded guarantees for
their rights. This cry, that we must
have a Government, is merely following
the example Of the besottcd Bourbon,
who never learned anything but mis-
fortune, never forgave an injury, never
forgot an affront. Must we demonstrate
that we have got Government, and CO.
cree obedience without reference to the
justice or injustice Of the complaints {!
Sir, whenever ten million people pro-
claim to you, with one unsnimous voice,
that they apprehend their rights, their
firesides, and their family altars are in
danger, it becomes wise Government
to listen to the appeal, and to remove the
apprehension. History does not record
an example where any human govern
ment has been strong enough to crush
ten million people into subsection when
they believed their rights and liberties
were imperilled, without first converting
the government Itself into despotism,
and destroying the last vestige Of free
dom.
The people Of the South believe they
are in danger. They believe that you
mediate an invasion of their constitu-
tional rights. They believe that you in
tend to stir up servile instruction, and
stimulate their slaves to cut the threats
Of their masters, and their wives and
children. Believing this, they will act
upon that belief, unless you will remove
all cause OF apprehension. Ii this appre-
hension be i'll founded, ifthere is no
cause for it, you are bound to remove it.
II it be we'll founded you have no right
to refuse to redress their grievances.
Then, in either event, it is our duty
to adopt such amendments to the Con-
stitution as will insure the domes.ic
tranquility, safety, and equality of all
the States Of the Union. Do that, and
the Union will be restored and preserv-
ed to future generations. Unless you
do it, disunion is inevitable whether
peaceably or by civil war, God only can
tell. The true way to prove that we
have Government, is promptly to re-
dress all grievances and to quiet all APP
prehensiops. In this country, Jour Consti-
tuition has provided the mode for doing
this.
The clause which authorizes the amend
ment of the Constitution was inserted
for the express purpose Of enabling the
people to do quietly and peacefully that
which in other countries can be done
only BY revolution aud blood. Let Us
take warning from the examples Of the