St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1861-08-22

" ~. MD.. lHUkSDA
the miserable fellow Floyd. whose poi.
trsie row hangs ~ eonsPicuo,asly in the
Rogues' Gallery Of our city police. asd "
all know. that when Major Anderson hook
possessioa Of f~t Sumter. Fh,yd deSnn.
de3 its restoration to dc lIebcls, -
Buchanan actually yielded = Ne desn
until threatened with danger d, his pe,sso :
il ~ ventursd upon any sach net ofirs,e1Is
cry;, lie yielded to stern upeen1y;l u
in yielding he determincd 70 aecompIin
BY management and fnesse what he had
not the courage to do openly. He &C.
cordingly refused to permit the fort to be
reinforced as it could have been In these
days With the necessary men and stor.s
to enable it to hold out for year At least
against any force which could be brought
against it, and It was not until after Nor
ris Island had been fortified, that he sanc-
tioaad the abOrtivc attempt at succor made
by the Star IF The West and even coun-
terlasRded that order before it was carried
into effect.
From Christmas until the fourth ol
March. the traitors and rebels Of Charles
ton and the Cotton States received every
countenancc and support from Mr.. Buc-
hanan which could be afforded them; and
when he retired from Office on the 4th in
slant, he gloated over the conviction that
he had fostereG rebellion and treason un-
I'll they had become so rampant that they
were beyond the control of his successor.
And the one great source Of his gloriica-
ton was, that Fort Sumter was without
provisions, and taat of necessity, the gar.
rson must surrender from starvation be-
fore il would b. in the power of the Re-
publican Administration to relieve and re-
inforee it. Of course, Abraham Lincoln
coxld know nothing of this treason, and
when in his Inaugural he spoke Of occu-
pying the public forts and collecting the
revenue, he little dreamed that his prede-
cessor had reasonably arranged to make
the abandonment of Fort Sumter a poiiti-
cal necessity. lie was som spprised,
however. that the treason Of his predeces-
s"r had cunningly devised for him the
most serious notifications that could be
Inflicted. and that he had presented to him
the alternative Of permitting Anderson
and his command to starvc or promptly to
withdraw them. aud ignominiousIy per-
init the fort to fall into the hands Of the
rebels. To reinforce the garrison or to
supply them with provisions, are equally
impossible, because Mr.. Buchanan and
his associate traitors designedly refused to
do so while it was in their power to do it
and compelled the commandant of the fort
quietly to permit the construction of works
in his immediate vicinity and under the
range Of his guns, which would efFectually
prevent his being relieved when an honest
man assumed the Government on the 18th
nf March. Buchanan's final act Of treason
has boon consummated. He prevented
the late Congress passing law giving
power to the Executive to call for volun-
teers to occupy and recapturc the public
forts and arsenals, and be designedly left
Fort Sumter in . position which tenders
relief physically isnpossible without IN ar-
my Of from ten to twenty thoasand men,
and the employment of = naval foree grta-
ter than We can command; and be aud his
myrmidOns now exultingly and tauntinely
oy 70 the Republican President, "Do your
worst. We have designeily withheld
from you the means of relieving and hold
ing Fort Sumter. and we invite you to
the pleasing alternative of permitting An.
derson and his command to st.srre with
in fifteen days. or Of iguominio,lsiy aban-
doning it to . acsk of traitors and sebsis
whom We have narsed into existence ~
the only certain mode Of destroying the
Republican party"
SueA are the simple facts Of the case as
they are presented to the new President
upon his assuming the reins of Govern.
ment; and We speak advisedly and from
knowledge when We say, that while the
country has been wicke,lly made to be-
lieve that the time Of the Administrator
has been occupied With the disposal Of
Offices, four ffths of all the hours spent in
consultation BY the Cabinet have been de-
voted to the consideration of the all-im-
portant question-how to save Fort Sum-
ter and avert from the Government the
dishonor Of abandoning it 10 the misera-
ble traitors who for months have been
in open rebellion against the authority
of the Government Generals Scott and
Totten, and all the military and naval
chiefs ut Washington, have been con-
suited; every plan which military science
could conceive or military daring suggest,
has been attentively considered aud, ma
turely weighed. with hope at least that
the work. of the traitor Buchanau was not
50 complete as he and his associates suc-
posed. But all in vain. There stands
the isolated, naked fact-Fsr .Sxs.ter
canaof be retiered beca"se af he s,easoa Of
tie late AdmiMi<tnution: aad .Mr;ar Anelsr-
soa and his comnh'nd nsmt perish by star
ration mless ritt.lracn.
What. then. IL to be done? Could the
President leave them to starve? Cai
Boaos Would the sacrifice of q hand.
fal of gallant men to the treason of thieves
and rebels. have been grateful to their
But. says the indignant
yet thoughtless patriot. think of the hu-
aud dishonor of abandoning
Sumter to the Rebels" We 10 shiuk Of