The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-06-22


that they could not and would not, though in
minority. live under Government which they
could not control. In this declaration ia found
the kew which unlocks the whole Of the compi-
c.ted machinery OF this revolution. The profit
cate ambition Of public men in all ages and lands
has been the rock on which republics have been
split. Such men have arisen In our midst--inen
who because unable permanently to grasp the
helm of the ship, are willing to destroy it in tho
hope to command some one OF the Rats tnas may
| foat away from the wreck. The effect is to de-
grade us to the level with the military bandits OF
Mexico and South America, who, when beaten
at nm election, fly to arms and seek to master by
| the sword what they have been unable to con-
troll by the ballot box.
The atrocious acts enumerated were acts OF
war, and might all have been treated as such by
the late Administration; but the President patrl.
otically cultivated peace-how anxiously ana
how patiently the country well knows While,
| however the revolutionary leaders greeted him
with all halls to his face they did not the less
diligently continue to whet their swords behind
his back Immense military preparations were
| made so that when the moment for striking at
| the Government of the United States arrived, the
revolutionary States leaped into the contest clad
IN full armor.
As If nothing should be wanting to darken
this page Of history, the seeded States have al.
| ready entered upon the work Of confiscatihg the
debts due from their citizens to the North and
Northwest The millions thus gained will
doubtlessly prove pleasant substitute for these
guarantees now so scorniully rejected To these
con6scations will Pr obabl,. succeed soon those Of
lands and negroes owned by the citizens OF 10y
al States; and, indeed, the apprehension Of this
step is already sadly disturbing the fidelity OF
non resident propretors. Fortunately, however
infrmty of faith sprngng from such cause
Is not likely to be contagious. The war begun
is being prosecuted by the Confederate States in
temper as fierce and unsparing as that which
characterizes conflicts between the most hostile
nations Letters of marque and reprisal are be-
ing granted to all who seek them, so that our
coasts will soon swarm with these piratical crul-
las the President has properly denounced
them. Every buccanier who desires to rob
American commerce upon the ocean can, for
| the asking, obtain warrant to do So, in the
name OF the new republic. To crown all, large
bodies of Indians have been mustered into the
service of the revolutionary States, and are now
CONSPICUOUS in the ranks of the Southern Army.
A leading North Carolina Journal, noticing their
stawart frames and uEerring craftsmanship, OBJ
serves with an exultatiOn positively flemish,
that they armed not only with the rifle but also
with the scdlping knife and tomahamk
Is Kentucky willing TO link her name in hsto
nv with the excuses and crimes which have sui
lied the Revolution at every step of its progress?
Can she soil her pure hands with its booty p
She possesses the noblest heritage that God has
granted to his children; is she prepared to bar
ter it away for that miserable mess of pottage,
which the Qualifications of the unholy ambition
of her public men would bring to her lips? Can
she, without laying her face in the dust for very
shame, become participant in the spoliation of
the commerce of her neighbors and friends, by
contributing her star hitherto 40 stainless in its
glory, to light the corsair on his way. Has the
war. whoop which used to startle the sleep of our
frontiers, so died away IN her ears that she is
willing to take the red handed savage to her bo.
som az the champion of her rights and the rep
resentative of her spirit? Mustshe not forget her
ow n heroic sons who persisted, butchered and
scalped, upon the disasterous field of Raisit?
The object of the revolution, as avowed by
all who are pressingit forward, is the permanent
dismembermept of the Confederacy. The dream
of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT during the late winter
, as lure to draw the hesitatng or hopeful into
the movement-has been formally abandoned
If Kentucky separates herself from the Union,it
must be upon the basis that the separation is to
he final and eternal. Is there ought in the or
ganiZation or administration of the Government
of the United States to justify, on her part, an
act so solemn and so perilous? Could the wise
est OF her lawyers, if called upon, find material
III all pages Oi Tue
history of the Republic? Could the most lep
rous-hpped of its calumniatoTs point to single
State or Territory, or community or citizen that
| it has wronged or oppressed? 1t would be impos-
sible So far as the Slave States are concerned
| their protection has been complete and if it has
not been, it has been the fault of their statesmen
| who have had the control of the Government
since its foundation.
Before proceeding further Kentucky should
measure well the depth of the gulf she is approach
ing, and look we'll to the feet of her guides Be-
fore forsaking Union in which her people have
enjoyed such uninterrupted and such boundless
prosperity, she should ash, herself, not once but
many times, arhy do go, and 'rhere am going
In view of what has been said, it would be diff
cult to answer the first branch of the inquiry,
but to answer the second part is patent to all as
| are the consequences which would follow the
movement. In giving her great material and
moral resources to the support of the Southern
Confederacy, Kentucky might prooug the des.
olating struggle that bellious States are making
20 overthrow Government which they have only
known in its blessings but the triumph of the
Government would nevertheless be certain in the
end She would abandon Government strong
and able to protect her, TO one that is weak, and
that contains, IN the very elements of its life,
the seeds of distraction and early dissolution.
She would adopt, as the law of her existence, the
right of Seres>ion-a right which has no found
alton IN jurisprudence, or logic, or in our poti-
cal history; which Madison, the father of the
Federal Constitution, denounced; which has
been denounced by most OF the States and prom
inent statesmen now insisting upon its exercise;
which, in introducing principal of indefinite
disiu;cgraton, cuts up all confederate govern
ments by the roots, and gives them over nrey
to the caprices, and passions, and transient in
teresfs, OF their members, as Autumna leaves
are given to the winds which blow upon them.
In 1914, The Richmond hnqsary, then, AZ now,
the organ of public opinion in the South, pro-
nouEced secession to be treason, and Eothing else
and such was then the doctrine of Southern |
statesmen. What was true then is equally true |
now. The prevalence of this perncious hercsy |
is mainly the fruit of that farce called Estate |
rights" which demagogues have been so long !
playing under tragic mask and which las done |
more than all things else TO tile the founda-
ton OF the Republic, by es'ranging the people !
from the Federal Government, as one to be |
distruSted and resisted, instead of being whatit |
is, emphatically their own creation, at all times |
obedent to their will, and in its nl:nistrations
the grandest reflex of the greatness aad bene- |
hcence OF popular ppasr shat has ever ennobled /
tae nistory of our race. Said Mr.. CLAY: Il |
owe supreme allegiance to the General Govern |
ment, and to my State subordinate one" And |
this terse language dspOses or the whole contro.
YersY which has arisen out of the Secession |
movement in regard to the allegiance of the ci.-
izen. As the power of the State aud Federal |
Governments are in perfect harmony with each |
other, so there can be no conflict between the
allegiance due to them: each while acting within |
the sphere of its constitutional authority, is en-.
titled 10 be Ooeyed; but when a State throwing |
on all constitutional restraints, seeks to destroy
the General Government, to say that its citizens |
are bound to follow it in this career Of crime, and |
discard the supreme allegiance they owe to the |
G9yerRMens assaulted, s one OF the shallowest |
and most dangerous fllacies that has ever gain
ed credence among men.
Kentucky, occupying central position in the |
Union, Is nov protected from the scourge of fol-
eisn war, however much its ravages may waste
the towns and cities upon our coasts or the COM
merce upon our seas; but as a member of the
Southern Confederacy, she would be frontier
State, and necessarily the victim of those border
teuds and conflicts which have become proverb-
ial in history alike for their fierceness and fire.