New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-03-06
EINc0LN,S INAUGURAL.

UAto lEUHl point Oh VIEW
II means another. Like the Delphic oracle Of
former days, it bears two opposite interpretations
It seems to assert, in one place, what it denies in
another, and even the assertions are so qualified
and guarded that we are at a loss to know what
he intends to say. There is no consistency or con-
tinuity about it.
The points which appear TO be clearly made in
the Inaugural are that Mr.. Lincoln denies the right
of secession, and declares that the policy of his
Administration will be shaped accordingly. This
much is plain. Then he declares that the laws of
the Union shall be " faithfully executed in all the
States, and that he will hold and possess the pro-
perty Of the United States. and collect the duties
on imports. This means, if itmeans anything, that
the forts formerly belonging to the Federal Govern
ment in the seeded States are to be retaken, and
that the duties on imports are to be collected by
force-because everybody knows that those duties
cannot be peaceably collected by Federal au-
thority. Equally well known is it that the forts
cannot be peaceably retaken-and nobody knows
this better than Mr.. Lincoln himself. And yet he
gravely says that e there need be no force nor
bloodshed.n Furthermore, he asserts that g the
property peace, and security Of no section are to
be, in any way, endangered by the incoming Ad.
States is not to be endangered, and Jet the forts
are to be retaken by the Federal ferces is one of
| those logical Inconsistencies which man holding
position of President and aspiring to the dignity
of statesman, should be ashamed to involve him
| self in before an intelligent people.
Dir. Lincoln protests that he mas no intention of
interfering with the institution of slavery where it
exists and he appeals to his former speeches in
l al. 1ts- =
which," he says, he has taken the same ground
Twas well he said nearly all.n We suppose he
has forgotten that famous speech of his in which
he said that house divided against itself could
not stand-that the States of the Union were to be
eventually all free or a slave. meaning of course
that they were to be the questions be.
| tweenthe North and South would never be settled
until the public mind rested in the belief that the
institution Of slavery, in this country, was in pro-
cess Of gradual extinction. How all this COMFORTS
with big present declarations, we leave the ntelli-
gent reader to decide.
Again, IN his discussion of the fugitive slave law
Mt. Lincoln Is guilty Of what looks very much like
dodge He admits that the Constitution gives
the right Of recovery to the owners of fugitive
slaves-but after some unmeaning palaver as to
whether the rendition Of fugives should be made
by Federal or State authority {knowing very well
that the State authorities, in most cases, would
never surrender single slave) he suggests that
the law be amended $50 that free man be not, in
any case, surrendered as saVe.n Now, the DO
ltionsts hold that there no such thing as slave
on free territory-that slave becomes a g free
man \ the moment he touches free soil-that
slavery Is creature of local lawn CHATS their
favoTite phrase) and that every man, of whatever
color, is a free man y in States where slavery
does not exist. So that if this amendment of the
law were made no fugitive slave would ever be re-
covered because they believe there is no such per
son as slave legally among them, epe,g man being
" free man. More particularly would this be the
case if the rendition were entrusted 10 the State
authorities, as Lincoln hints. The absurdity and
the cunning meanness of the proposition are illus
trated by the fact that nobody ever pursues
free man with q view Of claiming him as a slave
and therefore all this talk Of Lincolns is simply
balderdash, end has the appearance of disgrace
full dodge.
Then he speaks Of the Importance Of providing
by law for the enforcement of that clause of the
Constitution which guarantees that the citizens Of
each State shall be entitled to all the privileges
and immuntes of the citizens of the several States
By this he means that Northern citizens shall be
allowed to come here and have what Greeley calls
e free speech that u.s. abuse the South and our
institutions, and incite our slaves to nsurrsction.
The salutary administration of tar and feathers, of
ropes and trees, to people of that class who come
to the South, exctes the anger of Honest Old Abe.
he wants them to be permitted to come here and
say and do what they choose. Probably the South
may consent to consider this arrangement when
the Constitutional rule is interpreted in the North
IS that we may go there and hold our property
with the same privileges and immunities that
Northern men enjoy who come to the South with
their property. Until this is done. we are very
much afraid the +" short shriftn which Abolition
lists in the South have had, will be made even
shorter than before.
The hlunders and absurditiea which Lincoln
commits, all through his inaugural are especially
conspicuous. Thus, he asserts that even surprising
the Union to be in the nature of contract no one
party can violate it. but the consent of oil must be
first had. This is a new and original view Of the
nature Of contracts without specific Limitation
Then he declares, in plain terms, that no right
plainly written in the Constitution has been denied
No fugitive slave, that we have Constitutional
right to reclaim, has, suppose, ever been hus
tied OFF to Canada. No raid upon Virginia was
ever made, at Harper's Ferry, in violation of our
constitutional right to be protected from domestic
invasions. No denial of our constitutional right TO
go into the common Territories with our property
has ever been made. No wells have been poisoned
in Texas and no houses burned there, by Abolition
emissaries, in violation of the Constitution. No
expressions have been put upon the South in the
way Of tariffs, bOuntes navigation laws and class
legislation generally in contrayention of both the
letter and the spirit of the Constitution Eli. route
TO the capital, Mr.. Lincoln said nobody was
hurt On the portco of the capitol. in his naug.
ural Address, he declares no constitutional right
has been denied to anybody. What can we think
of the man who makes such declarations as
these
His discussion of the rights of majorities and
minorlties betrays him into another blunder.
Adopting the non.committa interrogative STYLE of
his speech at Indianapolis. he asks several cues
tions, the answer to which he says is not to be
found in the Constitution. Upon these questions,
lie goes on to say, the people are divided into two
classes, the majoriies and mnorties. If the mi
nority will not acquiesce, the majority must.
There must be acquescence on one side or the
other.h This is cool, considering that Lincoln him
self il elected in minority Of nearly one million
Of the popular vote. He evidently believes, what
he asserted in several Of his speeches en- route be-
fore he took the alarm and night train at Harris
burg that he is the representative Of majority of
the people.
+ 11t MA hare I, Al