Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-03

This distinguished Catholic writer has
powerful article in the last number of his
ReUie,o, in which, strangely enough, con-
sidering his well.known conservatism, he
takes ground In favor of emancipation as a
war measure. The following extracts will
sufficiently indicate his position, which is
maintained with his usual ability and force
There is neither reason nor justice in Mas.
sachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Peunsyl-
vania and the great States northwest of the
Ohio, pouring out their blood and treasure
for the qualification of the slave-holding pre-
tensions of Maryland, Kentucky or Missouri.
The citizens of these States who own slaves
are as much bound, if the preservation of the
Union requires it, to give up their property
in slaves, as we at the further North are to
pour out our blood and treasure to put down
rebellion which threatens alike them and
us. If they love their few slaves more than
they do the Union, let them 90 out of the
Union. We are stronger to fight the battles
of the Union without them than we are with
them.
But we have referred only TO the slaves in
the rebellious States, and if it is, or if it be-
comes a military necessity to liberate all the
slaves of the Union, and to treat the whole
present slave population as freemen and citi-
zens, it would be no more than Just and
proper, that, at the conclusion of the war,
the citizens of loyal States, or the loyal citi-
zens of loyal sections of rebellious States,
should be Unidentified at a reasonable rate
for the slaves that may have been liberated.
The State and sections of States named
have not a large number of slaves,
and if the Union is preserved it would not
be q very heavy burden on it to pay their
ransom; and to paying it no patriot or loyal
citizen of the free States would raise the
slightest objection. The objection therefore
urged, though grave, need not be regarded
as insupersble; and we think the advantages
of the measure, in military point of view,
would be far greater than any disadvantage
we have to apprehend from it.
Whether the time for this important
measure has come or not, it is not for the
President as CommandeT-in-Chief OF our
armies, to determine. But, in our Judgment,
no single measure could be adopted by the
Government that would more effectuslly
aid its military operations, do omore to weaken
the rebel forces, and to strengthen our own
1t seems to Us, then, highly important, in
every possible view of the case, that the
Federal Government should avail itself of
the opportunity given it by the Southern
rebellion to perform this act of justice to the
negro race TO assimilate the labor system Of
the South to that of the North; to remove a
great moral and political wrong; and to
wipe out the foul stain of slavery, which has
hitherto sullied the otherwise bright escutch-
con OF our Republic. We are no fanatics
on the subject Of slavery, as is well known
to our readers and we make no extraordin-
ary pretensions to modern philanthropy; but
we can not help fearing that, if the Govern
ment lets slip the present opportunity Of do.
ing justice to the negro race, and of placing
our Republic throughout in harmony with
modern civilization, God, who is especially
! Il I ~
to succeed in our efforts to suppress rebel
lion and restore peace and integrity in the
Union.