Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1861-07-26
THE SPIRIT OE SECESSION.

Perhaps the worst thing about the re-
bellious movements now going forward in
the Southern States is The spirit with
which they have been entered upon and
are now conducted. It.is quite possible
to imagine a form in which proposition
to Withdraw from the Union might have
been made, that would command the fair
and candid consideration of all Northern
men. If the Southern States, or any
considerable number Of them, becoming
satisfied of the incompatibility of the in
terests North and South, had brought
forward proposal to dissolve the Union
! in a regular and Constitutional way, they
would at least have been sure Of respect
ful attention. So far from anything in
the least resembling this, every step ta-
ken, almost every word spoken has been
in spirit Of defiance and contempt
Historians will relate with astonishment
how, day after day, Southern men stood
up in both Houses of Congress and disa-
vowed all allegiance to the government
they had sworn 10 sustain; not only hurl-
ed at the Federal authority every oppro-
brious and contemptuou5 epilhel in the
vocabulary of treason, but boldly declar-
ed their rebellious intentions. At the
same time, these men were in league III
others in the South who, one after anotb-
er, seized the government forts, arsenals,
and arms; the funds held in the custom
houses or lodged in banks TO the credit Of
the United States and otherwise tram
pied upon every sanction and preroga-
tive by which alone any government can
possibly be upheld.
We need not rehearse the detail Ev-
cry citizen of the Union is familiar with
it. We refer to it now for the pupose Of
calling attention to the fact that while in
recent manifestoes the Southern confed-
crates have declared their desire that
peace may be preserved and they only
asked to be let alone they themselves
have made war inevitable. They have
put it out of the power Of the govern
ment to treat secession otherwise than as
rebellion. Who, even among loyal citi-
zsns, could continue 10 respect authority
o%utragedd % W6at moral pow power Would HS tffs &c
left to government thus inert and fee
BILE and contemptible? The consequence
would have been the ruin of the Repub-
lie, and that, too, in the most disgraceful
way that Empire or Republic ever fell.
The spirit that inaugurated this move
ment animates it in every step of its
progress, and more and more necessitatea
interference by the strong arm. All ac-
counts from the South concur in declar-
ing that reign of terror prevails there,
In the city of Memphis, for example,
there are already the ioreshadowings of
state of things precisely similar to what
prevailed when Murat and Robespierre
maintained their dismal reign in Paris
during the French Revolution. There
is the Committee Of Safety, organized
for the discovery, and trial, and punish
ment of political offenders. There is
like system of espionage, and like sum-
mary treatment Of Criminals To have
spoken a word in favor of the Union, or
hnted doubt of the virtues of secession
leads TO arrest and arraignment, while
the prosecutor, and the jury, and the
Judge are all combined in the person Of
the Committee. So far, punishment is
limited to summary banishment from the
state. But how long before severer PEN
alties must be tried? If secession in
Memphis has its way, how long before
its prisons will overflow with political
criminals, and its streets be wet with tho
blood Of men innocent Of every wrong
save that of having an opinion and dar-
ing to express it In Memphis we see
the spirit of secession boldly expressed,
In some other portions Of the South it is
less so, but everywhere throughout tho
Gulf States, and in Virginia itself, no
Union man is safe no Northern man,
even, however silent and prudent he may
have been. Every train from the South
brings fugitives, driven from their homes,
and compelled to seek protection among
the 'Vandals of the North.
Another characteristic manifestation is
the utter disregard of business obligations
TO Northern men, contracted before the
troubles began. The Southern papers
have openly advocated the theory that
war being threatened, no Southern man
is bound to pay any debt contracted in a
Northern State. In one city, the jour
mails have advocated the seizure and con-
fiscation Of the property of Northern
men. And all this among the 'chiyalry !
I