The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-07-17

sInsubor dination.,'
| The " est Union Era deyotes a column arr
a quarter to late article of ours, capticnet
Characterization" The general drift of tn,
Eras article is to the one point "Constitu
tional liberty and slavery cannot be harmonic
ed. No one system Of laws will answer TO
BOTH" This idea has been pressed upon pub
lie attention SO long and so pcrsistently b!
political abolitionists that the Southern pcopl,
have cJme to the conclusion that "No on,
system of laws will answer for BOTH" and tl,ey
are now trying out the right Of private judg
ment. Conflicting. as this does, with what WI
regard as our interests and fatal as secession
success would be to the integrity Of Govern
ment to the support of which We arc all pledg
cd, We, the people of the Northern and Cen
trail States propose to correct this error in pc
litical philosol ny by powder and ball, if neces
sary. We admit the danger rsulting from
too great restriction Of private judgment
and the illiberality of the hour, both in tie
choy proof Of tendency in our own country
to approach the time when our politics, at
least, "will be furnished to us ready made
and we will be content to be "but cyphers in a
magni ficent Empire" Yet we insist that we
can have no Government at all without obcdi.
encc to law and we have always hoped that
the American people could work out the prob
lem Of mans capacity for selfgovernmcnt.
The question Of conscience regulates our acts,
inside Of the Constitution. After the citizen
has expressed his will through the ballot-box
he no longer has the right to sit, unofficially,
in Judgment, against the law. We can find
twenty different styles Of conscience" in an
hours association with gentlemen at Nc ire.
gor, but no one argues that each man should
erect platform of his own relative to the
laws which he will or will not obey. The
Constitution of the United States, the Consti-
tutions of the States and the laws made in
consonance with both are our shield of protec-
ton, and though we find sentiments or princi-
pies in this shield which We may not admire
yet all good citizens yield cheerful obedience
to the legal mandates and in this way only can
we be distinguished froia mob.
In our former article We stated all we know
OH the merits of the queston-and we do not
care at present to repeat the same ideas in
another dress. Our contemporary of the Era
treats US very respectfully; VIC thank him
for it. If he wishes to handle the subject at
any future occasion he will be kind enough to
inform his readers what constitutes treason,
secession or rebellion in the case now before
the co untry Is it not dsobedience to law !?
And if defiance or resistance to law is treason
in Georgia, what is resistance to law in Iowa
or on tie Ohio Reserve7
Depend upon it, we cannot have our way
about the observance or non-observance of
law, without conceding the right of every other
man to the same (in)discretion aud then how
many degrees would we be from Anarchy !?
We must get back to the idea that our Gov.
eminent is the embodiment Of Popular Will
and he who attempts the destruction of any Of
the columns that sustain it, is secessionist at
heart and merits the condemnation of all who
prefer Order and Liberty to Anarchy and Des-
pOIiSuIs Ills Wuo 1uC AOC0 upOA WAASA WIZ
Union was based-the disruption Of it, now 30
painfully apparent, is Que OF the results Of an
agitation of hate between South Carolina and
Massachusetts, relative 70 this valued but often
greatly abused right of doing as we please. If
we make contract to do certain things we
are not at liberty to avail ourselves of the be.
nefits of that contract and then plead "consci-
ence" to escape the liabilities which we may
have assumed. Had We believed that
Unconstitutional Liberty and slavery cannot be
harmonized" we would have advocated separ-
alton of the states the moment the idea i'm
pressed us and we confess now to the difficulty Of
conccding patriotism to that class of men who
shout for the Flag Of the United States, insist
upon "the preservation of the Unioa," deplore
the rebellion, promise "to restore the States
and people to their Constitutional rights" and
yet denounce every act Of individual or
officer which implies respect for the right of
property in slaves.