Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1861-07-27

it would he our national destruction
contaminated. This could not be al
lowed. Starvation was not yet upon
the garrison, and ere it would be reached
Fort PickcMs might be reinforced. This
last would be clear indication Of pol
icy, and would better enable the couh-
try to accept the evacuation Of Fort
Sumter as a military necessity.
An order was Mt once directed to be
sent for the landing Of the troops from
steamship brooklyn into Fort Pickens.
The order could not 60 by land. but
must take the longer and slower route
by sea. The first return news from the
order was received but one week before
the fall Of Fort Sumter. The news it.
self was. that the officer commanding
the Sabine, to which vessel the troops
had been transferred from the Brooklyn
acting on some quasi.armistice of the
late Administration existing up to the
time the order was dcspatched-had
only vague and uncertain rumOrs to fix
his attention, and had refused to land
the troops to reinforce Fort Pickens
before a crisis would he reached at Fort
Sumter, which was rendered possible,
By the near exhaustion Of provisions in
the latter named fort. In prccautiOn
against such a conjuncture, the Govern
memt had few days before commenced
preparing an expedition, us well pre-
pared "a might be. to relieve Fort Sum-
ter, which expedition was intended to
be ultimately used or not, according to
circumstances. The strongest antici-
pated case for using it was now pre-
scented, and it was resolved to send it
forward, rs had been intended. In this
contingency it was also resolved to no.
tify the Governor of South Carolina
that he might expect an attempt would
lie made to provision the Fort, aud that
if the attempt should not be resisted
there would be no effort to throw in
men, arms or ammunition, without fur
Their notice; or, in case of an attack
upon the Fort, notice was to he given
accordingly. Whcreupon the Fort was
attacked and bonbarded to its fall, with
ont even awaiting the arrival of the
provisioning expedition.
1t is thus seen that the assault upon
and the reduction of Fort Sumter was
in no sense matter of selfdctcnsc on
the part of the assailants. They well
knew that the garrison in the Fort
could by no possibility commit aggres-
sion npon them. They knew they were
expressly notified that the giving Of
bread to the few brave and hungry men
of the garrison was all that would on
that occasion be attempted, unless them
selves, by resisting ST. much. should
provoke more. They knew that the
Government desired to keep the garri-
son in the Fort, not to assail them, but
to merely maintain visible possession,
and thus to preserve the Union from
actual and immediate dissolution, trust
ing, as hercinbefore stated, to time, dis
custom and the ballot-box tor final adj
iustment; and they assailed and reduced
the Fort for precisely the reverse OBJ
tcct-to drive ont the visible authority
of the Federal Union, and thus force it
to immediate dissolution. That this
was their object the Executive we'll un-
derstood; and having said to them in
the Inaugural Address, "you can have
no conflict without being yourselves the
aggressors," he took pains not only to
keep this declaration good, but also
keep the Issue so free from the power
Of ingenious sophistry that the world
should not be able to misunderstood it.
By the affair at Fort Sumter, with it's
surrounding circumstances, that point
was reached. Then and there the as
sailants Of the Government began n
conflict Of arms without foe in sight
or in expectancy to return their fire,
save only the few in the Fort who were
sent to that harbor years before, for
their protection, and who were still
ready to give that protection in what
ever was lawful. In this act, discard
ing all else, they have forced upon the
country the destructive issue-immedi-
ate dissolution or blond.
This issue embraces moro than the
fate If these United States. 1t presents
to the whole family Of man the ones.
ton whether constitutional rcpu6li-
can democracy, government Of the
people by the same people. can or cam
not maintain its territorial integrity
against its own domestic f,es. 1t pre-
sents the question whether discontented
individnals. too tew in numbers to coli.
trol the Administration .coDrtling tn ar
ga"ic law in any Gee, and always upon
the rretcnses made in this case can alb
solutely, without any pretensc. break
up their Government. and thus practic-
ally put IN end I" free government up