The Van Buren press., 1861-01-18
EDITED BY SHEARS


The following portions of the Message o
e1-Gov. Stewart Of Missouri. are special,
worthy of the consideration of the peop,,
of Arkansas
AS matters are at present. Missouri will
stand to her lot, aud hold to the Union sc
long As 1t is worth an effort to preserve it
30 long as there IS hope of success she will
seek tor Justice within the limits of the
Union. She cannot be- frightened from her
propriety by the past unfriendly legislation
oi the North, nor dragoonei into secession
by the restrictive legislation of tue extreme
south. Ii those VINO should be our natu-
raj friends and allies undeltake TO render our
property worthless by a system of prohibi
tory laws. or by reopening the slave trade.
In opposition to the moral sense OF the civ
ilizet world. and at the same tim. reduce
US to the humble position of sentinel, to
watch over and protect their interests, re.
ceivlng all the blows anil uone of the bene-
hts. Missouri will hesitate long before sane
tioning such ali arrangement. She will
rather take the high position OF armed neu-
trailty She Is at present able to take care
OF herself. and will be neither forced nor
hattered, driven nor coaxe,I, into q course of
action that must end in her own destruction.
! If South Carolina ami other Cotton
States persist In secession, she will desire
to see them so In peace. with the hope that
short experience Of separate government
and an honorable re adjustment of the Fed
eral compact will induce them to return to
their former position. In the meantime.
Missouri will hold herself in readiness. at
any moment, to defend her soil from poliu-
ton, and her property from plumber by ia
nat,cs anu maurauters, let them come from
what quarter they may. The people of
Missouri will choose this deliberate, con
servatlve course, both on account of the
blessings they have derived from the Union,
and tine untold and unimaginei evils that
will come with its dissolution Is it moth
IL g 20 us that the postal system of the Unit
ed States carries intelligence to every fam
lily In the State. and receives back. in post
age, only small portion of the expendi-
tu:e Is it trills to US chat millions are
distributed from the Federal exchequer every
year to support officers and contractors
within the State? Is i; matter of no con
sequence to our farmers that other millions
are paid every year for stock and produce
to support the army on our western frontier?
But iar above this pecuniAry view of the
sutject-quite beyond the reckoning OF dol
lars and cents-is it nothing to the Ameri-
can citizen "a freeholder in the greatest
and most powerful country on the giobe?-
part owner of flag that has been baptized
IN the fire and blood of thousand battles
"a flag that now floats proudly on every
sea. and In every port "a countrynan and
klnsman of heroes and patriots. who fougn,
anu Tell In the great struggle for liberty and
right lis there nothing IN the grea. mem.
ories OF the past. the prosperity of the pres
ent, or the hopes OF the future, that hould
make US cling with dying grasps to this
last hope OF the woIld-this proud temple
'i American liberty? Bat if the blessings
We have derived from our government ex-
cite no desire for their preservation, then
let the evils. crimes and horrors which must
follow its dissolution. withhold us from
bssry and inconsiderate action. First.
though least IN the category Of evils that
must come with secession, are those OF q
pecunary nature
Ihe descriptions of our present relations,
and the organization of an Independent
government, even without the natural con-
sequences of civil war. will bring great aud
almost insupportable burdens upon the peor
pie. In addition to the loss of all the pc.
cuniary benefits now derived from the Gen
eral Government, the people must bs una
voItably taxed for the means to inaugurate
q new system. Depreciation of property;
depression of trade ruin of individuals
and corporptions; the withdrawal of gold
and silver from circulation. and the substi-
tuition of irredeemable paper for bankable
funds the loss of State credit, and the
criPpling or destruction of every public en-
terprise-these are amongst the negative
evils of revolution. yet enough of them
selves to destroy the hopes and crush out
the energies of great people. To these
must be added the positive evils of taxation
to support a respectable military force. 4
more thorough system of domestic police,
an arrangement FOR the transportation and
distribution of the mails. TO provide for ad-
ditional officers of government, and many
o;Fer expenses.
Those who are skeptical on this point,
should reckon the expense of the three
weeks campaign just terminated. and then
estimate the cost of a Gordon of armed
sentinels sufficient to protect a border OF
nearly one thousand miles. In this. as in
most cases OF fra;ernal strife, q conq nest !.
| the worst OF all defeats. A single years
experiment of separate government. under
| these circumstances, would so impoverish
the State and oppress the people that the
natural consequence might be looked for in
reign OF anarchy or desporism.
Ii the old Coniederacy. which has en-
Ijoyed the confidence OF the world for near
ly century. must lose her credi. by giving
couptenance to this political heresy, what
chance has new COnfederacy founded up
on the practice OF this very doctrine ? In
the absence of national credit, which must
follow as the legitimate consequence of this
doctrine of the right to secede at pleasure.
how is it possible to prosecute war, build
up national defenses, or foster works Of
domestic enterprise 1t would be folly to
declare war, for any number of States might
Withdraw from the compact, and avoid the
expense of carrying it on. They might
Withdraw in anticipation Of. or in time Of
war. and join the enemy with impunity.
1t is idle to think of general secession
without violence anil bloo1. We might as
well tElk about amputatins a limb without
severing nerves or veins. or dying without
pain. The different members of the Con-
federacy are bound together by common
AMI