Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1861-08-13
THE ABsURD1r1Es OF L1NCoLN's MESSAGES.
From ,s. London time. of July o.


President ncolns second Message altogether con-
firms the impression produced by hs hrst. IL al uu'
nding and business like justification OF his past poll
=, and invites Congress without circunoeuon to pre-.
y;ds ,tfe legal meats for uskng this contest short
and Ar; i've one" Homely In language aud somewhat
AMI ee /, In tone shows the same clear though not
very preheusive expectations OF the point sue
and the same teuacy Of purpose which have
lied Mr. Lincoln's manifestoeA we can lmasne .ne
Mind Of State paper Ia which Pitt or the First Napoleon
would have proclaimed the motives and objects OF
Enronean war But neither the uLhsnchlng egoism OF
the ore nor the msestc argument Of tee other would
have suited the temper Of the American pubic. They
regard the wAr their own 10 sense which can hard.
10 he Ineligible to the subjects Of the most limited
.narcbv and reoure Of their chief msgs rae, above
ali ,hinps strict account Of his stewardship About
,h,d Of the Message is consumed in vindication OF
tbs ling forbearance OF the government ana OF the
me.spr9s subsequently, taken by the President on
snt ~ Fort Sumter 10 its fate the organization OF
.ha younteer army tie orders establishing blockade
q. the southern ports and the Suspension, In proper
.es NJ the wit of habeas corpus. Another third
TO the exposure Of what our New ork contsm
osr., distribute under the pregnant headings OF The
g'a,.sI,, Eumhurn "Tbe Secession Fallacy," The
sonb;, of the Rebel Leader" and so forth The pas
. 90. from which We can Gull any indication oil Mr. Lin
co. present intentions scanty enough, ana are 10
involved with controversial generahes tnat Ve 10 no'
feel AZ certain as could wish that he has materially
eighed all the chances consequences OF an inferno
- v.r Men with arms In their hands will hardly
sten 70 distinctions however just between secession
na % ,abelon IL Is too ass 10 discuss the right OF
the Southern States secede the Tact that they nave
done so and tie only questions that are now worm
arguing are whether they can De- or ought 70 De- re-
covered 70 the Union by force.
what are these objects, after all, that transcend the
paramount importance Of preserving peace between
neigbbors and brethren This ia point on which the
Presidents Message with all It's elaborate reiutahon Oh
secession theories throws very little light
The absurdity Of thai the Instrument OF con
federation contained PROVISIONS for annuIlpg ltse mas
been amply demonstrated but what follows Certainly
not that il must be enforced at all hasards-at the slsk
of mining those interests which was designed to se'
core of estrangng forever those States when was
designed to unite Of bringing into discredt those pn-
ciplss Of which it was the earliest emooamen'. We
think that Mr. Lincoln rises to the height Of this
practical but less lofty argument he cinss 10 the
shadow Of CONSISTENCY by rsvertns again and again 70
the legal merits Of the question, apc aumso'efu Win
commendabe smsrtnsss on the pecuniary maversauoha
of the seeding States and on the arts OF inc
Tho csrcosted have been drugging tho minds Of their
section for more than thirty years breaches the day
of demonstrating tho world and that 100 oy rssnns
into war that nb.llp are the righul and peacef9 sue
csssors Of bullet" and makes several gerry % ca'e re-
torts upon Mr. Jefferson Davis. He even persists 10
dealing with 4 movement which has given birth TO
III.
bounded aspirations, as halt hearted asmonstrauon
forced on tho good people Of the South against their
will and doubts whether there Is to-day msHy VI
the legally qualified OF any State except perhap',
south Carolina 10 favor of dsunion We will not say
trat this il mere triHng but we do say that II goes
same vay TO show that Mr. Lincoln and his advisers do
moi feel the full force Of those considerations which have
Linz abso,bsd all Others Ia the minds Of European OBJ
serSerp .
There ia ono negative issu.o In ths message, which
"a must mot pass over 4 cohians none Of tho harsh
determinations against foreign Powers that we bad some
reason 10 ,pprehend and WHICH, proceeding from an OIL
6,isl source, might have impaired though 1t GOULD no.
de.roy the sympathy that have ceased to fee
Tor the United States The President attributes the
,emnorary partially Of Europe for the soath-o
which we frat learnt the existence from American
journals to the extraordinary ."'h-arAn"" Oh III
oTu Soye.nment, leading to an impression 'tbst the
early dissolution Of nasi0isl union was probable
We are quite ready 10 admit this or any other
imaginary Interpretation of imaginary fact, and
even to accept with agood grace the charitable
sion Of keA York contemporary, which peroeives ian
improved disposition in England" So long as We are
no. forced TO quarrel with ono friend because we will
no. quarrel With ANOTHER. We bave not returned railing
for railing for We respected the ssnsyenes Of patriot
ism in tho presence Of overwhelming danger. We
comment upon the acts Of American statesmen We
should comment upon those Of our own, though with
greater caution and reserve aud When prefer frank
recognition Of Southern ind p;ndncs BY the North 10
The D. hoy dvo.d in The Presidenes Nsssdge is solely
Lseo:: n: for.Sss 6ystahdsrs, that his is tie issue
in which after ina,e loss and humiliation, the oo"''t
must result.