Litchfield enquirer., 1861-07-11

understand without m argument, that the des troying of the government which was made by Washington, means no good to them. Our pop ular government has often been called an ex I pertinent. Two points ill it our people have set tled-the successful establishing and the sue cessful administering of it. One still remains Its successful maintenance against formluacie Y internal attempt to overthrow it. It IS no" TOT them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election can also suppress rebellion: that ballots are the rlght1ul anu
 peaceful successors of bullets, and that when l ballots have fairly and constitutionally decideu I there can he no successful appeal back to bui-
 lets that there can be no successful appear l except to ballots themselves at succeeding elec- 1 tions. Such will be great lesson o1 peace,
 teaching men that, what they cannot take by an l election neither can they take it by a war teachinp all the folly of being the beginners of a war.
 1 Lest there be some uneasiness ill the minds of candid men as to what is to be the course of the oovernment toward the Southern States after the rebellion shall have been suppressed, the executive deems it proper to say it will be his purpose then, as ever, to be guided by the Con- stitution and the laws and that he will probably have no different understanding of the powers and duties of the federal government relatively to the rights of the states and the people under the Constitution than that expressed in the in- augural address. He desires to preserve the government that it may be administered for all, as it was administered by the men who made it. Loyal citizens everywhere have right to claim this of their government, and the government has no right to withhold or neglect it. It is not perceived that in giving it there is any coercion, any conquest, or any subjugation in any just sense of these terms. The Constitution provid- ed, and all the states have accepted the provi- sion, that the United States shall guarantee to every state in the Union republican form of government" but if a state may lawfully go out of the Union, having done so, it may also discard the republican form of government, so that to prevent its going out is an indispensable means to the end of maintaining the guarantee men, toned, and when end is lawful and obliga- tory, the indispensable means to it are also law ful and obligatory.
 It was with the deepest regret that the execu- tive found the duty of employing the war power in defence of the government forced upon him i; he could but perform this duty, or surrender the existence of the government. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure not that compromises are not often proper. but that no popular government can long survive marked precedent; that, those who carry an election can only save the government from i'm mediate destruction by giving up the main point upon which the people gave the election. The people themselves, not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decision.
 As private citizen the executive could not have consented that these institutions shall per- ish. much less could he, ill betrayal of so vast and so sacred trust as these free people had confded to him; he felt that he had moral right to shrink, nor even to count the chances of his own life in what might follow .
 In full view of his great responsibility hehas so far done what he has deemed his dniy You will now, according to your own judgment per form yours. He sincerely hopes that your views and your actions may so accord with his as to assure all faithful citizens who have been disturbed in their rights of certain and speedy restoration to them. under the Constitution and the laws Having thus chosen our cause without guile, and wi:h pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God and go forward without fear and with manly hearts
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN
 July 1, 1891.