The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-04-03

Iudepeu ence Of he south.

Indepen ence Of { ne south.
We copy an articl., on the political
troubles of the country from that most no.
torous and best abused American paper
the New York Herald No one pretends
that the HeralFs proprietor has any hon.
| eSty but there are few who will venture to
doubt the ability which marks its leading
articles
From the Herald, of March 25th.
In the Senate, Oh Wednesday, Mr.. Bay
ard, of Delaware, gave notice of rath +
startling proposition, but one for which the
country is not altogether unprepared. As a
choice Of two evils, it is undoubtedly the
lesser, and in every way to be preferred -
That is, the acknowledgement of the In.
dependence Of the Confederate States is far
better than civil war, or such attempts at
coercion as are likely to result in that great.
est Of national calamities; end if the gov
ernment at Washington and the Republ
can parry are not pr pared to accede to th
| u,timatum Of the rcvolted States-the Con
stitution adopted by the Confed rate Con-
gress then the adoption of tn. policy set
forth in the proposition Of Mr.. Bayard is
the very best thing Mr.. Lincoln and his
Cabinet can do under all the circumstan
ces.
We do not however agree with Mr.. BAY
ard that "reunion is mpracticabe II H.
at least due to the people of the border and
Northern States to let them have an oppor.
tunity of voting for reunion or against it on
the basis laid down by the Congress of th'
Southern Confcderacy b fore either per-
manent separation is consuinmated or th,.
country is dragged by an unscrupuIous fan
atical party into civil war
Mr.. Dayard thinks "therc remains but
one of two courses to pursue-namely .
war with view to suhjusation, or the ac
acknowledgement of the independence of the
seven States rs a seperatc nationality."-
There is third course which would solve
The question without destroying the inter.
ests of the North, and that is the acknowl
edgmcnt of the principles Of Justice and
compromise upon which Our present Con-
stitution is founded. These principles arc
developed, explained and made practical in
the amendments adopted by the Congress
Of tn. cotton Confederacy. Let an extra
session of the Congress of the United
States b. called and let the constitution be so
amended be sent to the several States to be
voted upon, in stead of calling a convention
Of all the Statcs-a proposition which in
wolves too much delay to have any political
etftct, which would exclude the representa-
ton of the Confederate States, and is really
an ingenious device to cvade present diff
ticulty, by transmitting it for solut on to
postcrlty, when it will be too late to bridge
a gulf rendered impossible.
Mr.. Bayard well observes that, "whether
the right of secession claimed by the Con
tederate States be among the reserved
rights of the States; or revolutionary i'm its
character, the Fact of new separate gov.
ernncnti> indisputable, the enforcement of
the laws has become impracticable, and war
cannot restore these States to the Uron."
It is quite true that war cannot restore
them; but it is equally true that peace
may, and will, if followed UP hy the adop-
ton of the amendments to the Constitution
which they propose. 1t is worthy of re-
mark that Mr.. Bayard holds that secession
Is not among the reserved rights Of the
states, but 1t is revolution, organized by
communities and by the authority OF the
people of the States in whom the sovcr-
eighty rests. 1t is in the sense rebellion.
hut not in the modern American sense.-
lnsurrecton in State may be put down
by law, but you cannot meet the act of the
collective people except by war or peac ,tul
II goriatons. But it was not designed by
the trainers Of the Constitution to substi
tute the military for the civil power, and
thus, though there is no provision i'm that
Instrument Tor the secession of a State
there Is none to remedy it by force of arms.
III 1t were otherwise, then citizens would
be placed in Il dilemma between their allie
Siaice to the federal government and to
their State, and while the Union could hanp
ttivm for obryng the State, the State could
hang them for obeying the Union. In all
such cases the law Of the doinicil is naees-
sarily OF paramount Oblgation; and hence,
when whole States sccedc, the allegiance is
Withdrawn from the general government,
and 1t Is no longer treason on the part
OF the people to stand 10y the action of
their States. IL it were treason the Con-
sttution would b. absurd; for there would
be no means of Furnishing the crime. With
secession the fedora! magistracy is gone,
and there are no district attorneys, iudyes
Jlrles or marshalS to execute the laws
FOR instance, il Governor Pickens, of South
Carolina, or Governor Brown, of Georgia.
We're to be tried for treason against the
United States, they must, according to the
Constitution, be tried respectively in their
own States, where the offence was com
m,tted. The idea of trying them is alb
Surd, and it is evident that it is impossible
to execute any laws of the Union, even the
revenue laws, in seeded States The au
thority of the federal government, how.
ever, remains as to the other States the
same as before, and the Union still exists
but with the number of its stars and even
its stripes diminished.
The proposition Of Mr.. Bayard is, that
''the President, by and with the advice of
the Senate, be voted with full power and
authority to accept the declaration of the
seeded States that they constitute an alien
people, and that We conclude with them a
treaty acknowledging their independence
as separate nation" There is no other
alternative than this except disastrous war,
which could only result in the same thing.
or the adoption, by at least nineteen of the
border and Northern States of the pcrma-
nent Constitution of the Southern Confcd-
eracy.
The CLEARING OF THE CLouDs-Therc is
nothing in what has befalen, OF befalls you,
my friends, which ijustifies impatence or
pecvishncss. God is in>crutable. but net
wrong. Remember, if the cloud is over
you, that there is bright light on the 9th
er side; also, that the time is coming eth