The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1861-08-08
HARPERs' WEEKLY.

not only become extremely trite but, lattery, very
nonsenscal. 1t would seem that in these days we
not to expect consistency of anybody, least of
all, of Newspaper Editors, and public Journal
lists
The principles they advocate this week as the
very extreme of wisdom, and patriotism. probably
the next, they dcnounce as treason and rebellion,
and any entertaining them, a traitor to Lis
country, and worthy only of the traitors reward.
But the palm Of infaniy IN this particular has
assuredly been carried off by Harpers' Weekly.
The general reader will not fail to remember
tat Harpsrs' Weekly was once Journal, not
only, as its name ind Gates, "of cviza ton, " but
soundly national. and conservative that it is
most contemplate, abolition, finatical sheet, the
most common reader Of its columns cannot fail to
observe,
! Allow me to contrast few quotations from its
editorial columns,-all of them written since the
accession of Dictator Lincoln, AMI the rebellion ia
the /" Seeding Staes.''
In No. 2l9 of this Journal, under date of March
9th the Principal Editor gives us an elaborate
leader on til, state of the country, and to few
quotations from this article, invite the readers
particular attention. In speaking of the duty of
compromise and Cancellation, he says:
This is not crisis to stand upon niceties of
doctrine, or exact shades of platforms. Practical
Politicians know that the policy of governments
must not disjain to respect the temporary, and
roneOus passions, and lrejudces of the masses
Granted-if you will, for the sake of argument
that the Southern Rebellion against the election of
Sectional President is treason, and Liable to
punishnert-is it prudent, is it possible to punish
it Is 1t not wiser and better to deal with it as Il
fact, and so handle 1t that it may yield by and by
to It's own inherent weakness, ard the vice of its
origin If rulers had always despised outbursts
OF popular passion, and prejudice, there would
have been 10 government on earth at the present
time. The oldest and best OF free governments in
the world, that of Great Britain, has repeatedly
yielded to popular pressure, and her best
men have repeatedly Sacraic ed their own convic-
tons to temporary exigencies wisely concluding
that popular errors contain within themselves the
elements of their own correction, while civil ,sar
nursed germs but hate, strife blood, ropine and
rum.
Nor need we go abroad for examples of the
spirit of concession to error, and compromise with
prejudice. The formation of the COntederacy was
wonderful instance of compromise. Our first
President, George Washington, frequently aban-
doned his own designs to adopt the views of others,
which he deemed less soand-tor the sake of
peace.
Fur the sake of peace Jefferson, as we learn
from his writings, departed FROM his peculiar prin-
clples on numberess occasions. So did Madison.
Monroe and Adams. Jackson, who is so often
quoted as an example by the opponents of COM
promise, did directly compromise III the most open
way, to avoid civil with the little State of South
Carolina, when the other Southern States were
ready to crush her at a moments notice.
After sufficiently establishing the duty, and pa
triotism of compromise the part of the General
Government in order TO avert the horrors of civil
war, he proceeds to expose the faacy of underta-
king to maintain an Union of the States bv force
sc 1t would undoubtedly, he saws, be a very
mischierous undertaking to keep half dozen States
in the Union against the deliberate trishes of their
people. Whatever popular feeling reused to
frenzy by the seizure of forts arscnals, revenue
cutters, and mints-might prompt Oh the spur of
the moment, there can be question, but the en-
erprise Of holding the Union together by force ,rould
ultimately prors futile. 1t rould be in collation. of
The principle of our insttutions.''
He finally closes the article with recommends
ton,-the same that Davis makes in his Message
ard which tn S same Journal afterwards so con
temptously ridicules-''that they (the South be
let Alone" The language is strong and emphat-
ic.
1t is ,reli that they (the seeding Staes) should
try their experiment. II they can do better without
US than with us God forbid TINT should keep |
them! If the Union is really injurious to them,
Heaven forbid that we should insist on preserving
it But think, that if they have % co., |
slider the matter cooly they will discover that it is
best for them as for us to preserve the Union
w hen they do reconstruction will become fact !
Ii is needless to multiply quotations. What is /
AREA dy presented is enough to show the calm and /
deliberate views of Harpers' Weekly, on the
50 Great Rebellion"
Look on this picture, and then on that
In the same Journal % June 29th, No. 235, II |
quote from the editorial columns exclusively we
find the following:
If any word Justly stinks in the nostrils of this
nation, it is the word Compromise. Because il is a
principle of human action. founded in common
sense, that we must do what we can, not what we
would, 1t seems to be assumed that we must do
nothing at all. The principle OF doing what we
IAN Is perfectly correct, and the thing we can do
1t present is to suppress this rebellion And that
IS the thing ought To do in simple Justice To
ourselves, and to posterity."
If the word " Compromise " Justly 5 links in the
lostrils of the nation, how much more Justly does
he poor, pitable, venal spirit of that man stink in
lie nostrls of any people, who processes one thing
me day, and the opposite the next, in his disgust
ing efforts to sail with the popular breeze.
But it is against the Institution of Slavery I"
hat the arrows of bitterness of this honorable (?)
ournal is at present particularly aimed; and it is
how readily it adapts itself to the
angrage and blngsgatc of Garrison, Phillips, and
thers of that ilk, in speaking of the "peculiar
In No. 800 of May Is, writing of the Southern
rs, it says:
"Iliey have swellee and staggered and sworn,
nd lorded it ia Washington. and ut the North. rs
they were peculiarly gentlemen, because they
wed by the labor of wretched men and women
'hom they did not pay-whom they sold to pay
heir debts, and uhipped and manned saraqely at {
her pleasure. They have snorted supercously
bout their rights. while the deprive four millions
Il human beings of all rights whatsoever
In No. 227, of May 4tl it says
II they expect We are going to assist blood
ounds to catch runaway slaves, they are mistaken
Wherever the United States Army goes local mu- l
lcipal. AMI State laws viii be superseded by mar ,
al law. God grant, If that be So the II < Army