Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1861-03-29
Can he Split UP his Duty 2
[From the Richmond Whig.l

From the Richmond Whig.l
The most important paragraph in Mr.. Lincoln's
Inaugural is the following:
" The power conferred on me will be used to hold
occupy and possess the property and places belong
ing to the Government; to collect duties and inn
posts; but beyond what may be necessary for these
objects, there will be using of force against or
among the people anywhere. Where hostility to
the United States, in any interior locality, shall be
so great and so universal as to prevent competent
PRESIDENT citizens from holding federal Offices there
viii be no, attempt to force obnoxious strangers
among the people for that object While the strict
legal right may exist in the Government TO enforce
the exercise of these offices, the attempt to do SO
would be SO irritating, and nearly impracticable
wtha, that deem it better to forego for the time
the Of such Offices. The mails unless repelled
will continue to be furnished at all points of the
Union, SO far as possible.p
: The Cincinnati Enquirer calls special attention to
the concluding sentences of this paragraph, and
adds that in them we are told that while the Gov
ernment "would have a strict legal right to enforce
the exercise Of certain Offices" yet as it would not
result in any good, che deems it better to forego
for the time the use of such Offices" Now, we
should like to know if he can forego the exercise of
strict legal rights in one case, why he cannot in
others Why cannot he, upon the principle laid
down, cease for time the exercise of any jurisdic
tion whatever in tho seeded States2 Can he split
up his duty? Does not the same reason of policy
which induces him TO ''forego for time the use of
certain offices" apply with thousand-fold more
force in the collection of the revenue and the pos
session and occupation of the forts Does not his
logic in the one case by showing that he has some
discretion in the manner in which he shall exercise
his official duties expose the allacy that he is boand
under Unconstitutional oath, to take steps that will
infalliby lead to general dissolution of the Union
and q sangunary civil war; Is chief Magistrate
OF the United States bound to an immediate en-
forcement under any and ali circumstances, of
ry law2 Do we not, in point of fact, have multi
tudes of laws upon the -books-Federal,
State and Municipal-which are not enforced by
the appropriate autherites2 Is not the exercise of
most of the laws in the Cotton States now rendered
impossible by the nature of things2 We have no
United States Judges District Attorneys Marshals,
and Juries in those States to take cognzance of of
fences against the Federal Government. AS under
Mr. Lincoln's plan of not appointing these officers,
we are going to have the great mass Of statutes
suspended in their operation for time, might we
not 60 further and embrace the remaining ones
To use Mr.. Lincoln's form of speech at Indian
apolis we are only asking questions to considered
in the public mind To keep the border slave
States in the Union, and prevent such embitter-
ed feeling in the Cotton States against the Federal
Government as will forever prevent them from re-
turning to the Union is the first and primary duty
of Mr.. Lincoln. Can that duty be discharged by
force and coercion2 Has not every Border State
declared unanimously, in its Legislature that il
will make common cause with the seeding States
if resorted to? We cannot preserve the Union by
force; that is certain. 1t can only be saved by ne
gotation-by compromiseand Cancellation. Under
present circumstances force can donfnite mischief
but it con do no good.
Let the President then, as he ought to do both
from sense of duty and from motives of policy
surrender at once all the places belonging to the
Government" within the limits of the seeded
States; and thereby break the backbone of seces
sion in the border States and pave the way for al
early and permanent reconstruction of the Union