Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1861-07-09

the case 50 for from Ingenious sophistry
that the world should not misunderstood
1t. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its
surrounding circumstances, that point was
reached. Then ard there, by the assail-
ants Of the Government. began the conflict
without gun in sight or expectancy TO
return their firing, save only the few in the
fort, sent to that harbor years before for
their cwd protection, and still ready to give
that protection in whatever was loyal In
this act, describing all else, they hay,
forced upon the country the distinct issue
Of immediate dissolution or blood, and this
embraces more tn an the fate of these United
States. 1t presents to the whole family of
man the question whether q Constitutional
Republic or Democracy, a government o.
the people, the same people, can or cannot
maintain its teirittrial integrity against its
own domestic foes. 1t presents the cues
ton whether disconnected persons, too few in
numbers To control the Administration &C
cording to the organic law in any case. can
always upon the pressEses made In this
case or any ether preterses, or arbitrarily,
without any pretences break up their Gov
eminent and thus practically nut an end
to free government upon the earth. 1,
forces US Ia ask, is there in all republics
this inherent and fatal weakness Must
a Government Of necessity. be too strong
for the liberties Of the people, or too weak
to maintain its own existence?
So viewing the issues, no choice was left
but to call out the war power of the Gov
eminent and so TO resist the force emuIoyed
for its destructi n by force for its preser-
walton. The call was made and the re-
Spouse of the country was most gratifying.
surprising in uDaniinity and spirit the
most sanguine expectation. Yet none of
the States commonly called slave States,
except Delaware, gave regiment through
the regular State organization. A few reg
iments have been organized within some
other of those States by individual enter
prise, and received into the Government
service of course. The seeded States. So
called, and to which Texas had been Joined
about the time Of the inauguration, gave
no troops to the cause Of the Union. The
border States, so called, were not uniform
IN their action, some of them being almost
for the Union, while in others, as in Vir-
ginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Ar
kansas the Union sentiment was nearly re
pressed and silenced.
The course taken in Virginia was the
most remarkable, perhaps the most impor
tant. A convention elected by the people
Of that State to consider this very question
of diSrupting the Federal Union was in
session at the capital of Virginia when
Fort Sumter fell. To this body the people
had chosen a large majority of professed
Union men. Almost Immediately after the
fall OF Sumter numbers of that majority
went over to the original minority. and
with Them adopted an ordinance for with
drawing that State from this Union
Whether this change was wrought ty their
great approval Of the assault on Sumter or
their great resentment to the Governments
resistance to that assault, is not definitely
known. Although they submitted the or
dlnance for at'fcatiUn to e vote ,of the
people, to be taken somewhat more than 81
month distant the Convention and LepisIa
ture, which was also is session at the same
time and place, with leading men of the
State, Immediately commenced action as if
the State was already out of the Union
They pushed military PREPARATIONS vigor
ouSiy forward all over the State. They
seized the Uulted States armory at Har-
per's Ferry and the Navy Yard az Gusport
near Norfolk. They received, perhaps in
vlted into their State, large bodies of troops
with their warlike appointments, from the
So called seeded States. They formally
entered into treaty with the so called
Confederate States, and sent members to
their Congress at Montgomery. and they
hnally permitted the insurrectionarv gov
ernment to be transferred to the Capital ot
Richmond. The people Of Virginia have
thus allowed the giant insurrectI0n To MAKE
Its nest within their borders, aud thi, Gov
eminent has no choice left but to deal with
nd
regret, as ell loyal citizens have. in dne
form, claimed its protection. Those Ioval
citizens the Government Is bound to recop
rize and protect as being in Virginia.
ln the Border States, SO called. in fac,
the Middle States, there are those Win ia
vor policy which they called armed mem
trallty, that Is, an arming of those States
to prevent the Union forces passing one
way, or the dlsunIOn the other, over their
soil. This would be disunion compIeteIv.
hguratveIy speaking, it would be the
building OF an impossible wall along the
line OF separation ; and yet, not quite an
Impossible one, for, under the guise of neu
traiIty, 1t would tie the hands of the Union
men and freely pass supplies from among
them to the insurrectiOnists, which-it could
not do Us an oTen enemy. AT stroke il
would take all the trouble off the hands of
the secession except only what proceeds
from the external blockade 1t would do
for the disunionists that which of all thipps
they most desire, feed them well and give
dlsunion without struggle Ct their own
1t recognizes no fidelity to the Constitution.
no obligation to maintain the Union
While very many who have favored it are
doubtless loyal citizens, it is nevertheless
very injurious in effect
recurring to the action of the Govern-
ment 1t may be stated that at FIRST a call
was made for IS 600 militia, and ranidlv
following this, proclamation wac issued
tor closing the ports of the insurrectiouarv
districts by blockade. So far all was be-.
lieved to be strictly legal.
AT this point the insurrectionists an
nouneed their purpose Of entering upon the
practice o: yrivateering. Other calls were
made tor volunteering to serve three wears
unless sooner discharged, and also large
ADDITIONS to the regular army and nayy.-
Ihese measures, whether strictly legal or
not, were yentured upon what appeared TO
De popular demand for public necessity
trusting then, as now, that Congress would |
ratify them. 1t is believed that no.hine
has been done beyond the constitutona1 |
of Congress
Soon after the first call for militia, il was
considered duty to authorize the com. |
manding General, in proper cases. accord
ing to his discretion, to suspend the priv.
lege OF the ha6eas corpus, or in other words
70 arrest and detain without resort IN mr.
iinary process and furms of laws such in,
1IVIduais as be might deem dangerous 10
he public safety. This authority has nnr.
ooseiy been exercised but very sparinglv.
nevertheless, the legality and propriet1 Of
'hat has been done under it are questions.
ma the attention of the country has been
JAILED to the proposition that one who has
worn TO take care that the laws be faith
ully executed, has seen them resisted and
aiiing OF execution in nearly one third of
he States. Must they be allowed to finally
All Of execution, even if IL had been r,ar.