St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-07-11

$500.
; s:;: 4: a.
Almo.sfmmed,atsly after the fall oEFf.
sumpter, huhberssvf that majority Wa
,vcr to the orig fnal minority, and viii
;hcn adopted an ordinance for Withdraw
ing Tie State from the Union. Whether
this change was wreasht-by their =s,,rcat.
approval Of the assault on Sumpter, or
their great resentment at the Govern
Mcnt's resistance to- that assault, is not
definitely Known: X1tEougli they submit
led the: ordinance. for ratifeaaen to. .xoto
II the people to be taken Somewhat more
han month distant, the Convention and
Legislature, which was also IN aessi2pQI nj.
tie SAME time :and place; with lending men
ot''thef State not meniberssof either bedy,
commenced octing rs If the State was al
ready out Of the Union: They pushed
>militaty'1 preparations vigorously forward
AL over the STATE. They seized. the III: 8.
Arinory'at Harper's Ferry, and tile Navy
Yard, at =Cosport, near Norfolk. 81 They
received, perhaps ihrited'iato their State,
large bodies OF troops with stkcir i wtaarlhe
appointments, from the so.called seeded
States. gil they formally entered into "a
treaty with the SO called lCohf!deratc
States and sent members to their 'CDn,
gress at Montgomery and! finally. flicy
permitted the ihsurrectiohafyi govctnment
TO :be transferred to their capital at Rich
| mopd. H. .l.@,u ;u-ir:l.s.; .ft~ !,;sa vi, .
= The people''of Virginia have thus al
lowed this'giaht ihsirection to make it's
nest within their borders, and this govetn-
mcnt has no choice left but to deal with it
where it finds it, and has thc'less tsregret
as loyal.citizens have id due form claiucd
its protection. ~. .14" : -<:H!+..Hi =;
r'lt is thus seen that the assault upon ana:
reduction Of Fort umpter: was in no
sense (. matter Of self-detense on the part
Of the assailants. They we'll knew that
the garrison in the Fort could by no pos
sibility commit a grcssion upon theh,:7ll,'!
>" They knew they were expressly notified
that the giving Of dread to TIE ftW brave
and hungry memo the garrison was an that
would on that occasion be attempted - t.ii-
less: themselves, by relisting $50, much,
should provoke more. 'They knew that
this government desired to keep the garri-
son in the Fort, not to assail them, but
merely to maiutain visible, possession; and
to preserve the Union from: actual and: i'm
mediate dissolution; trusting; as hereto
fore stated, to tine: discussions and the bal
iot:box for final adjustment, and they as
smiled and reduced the Fort for precisely
the reverse object-to drive out the visible
authority Of the Federal Union, and .hil,s
force it to immediate dissolution.: :'A
That this was their object the Execu-
tive welt understood. and having said to
them in the inaugural address, ':you cah
have no conflict without being yourselves
the .ggressors,"' he took pains not only to
keep this declaration good, butalso to keep
the case 50 ::ar from ingenious sopl,istry,
that the world should not misunderstood il.
BY the affair at Fort Sumpter, with. its sur
rounding circumstances; i that -point.;was
reached. Then and there the ossailants
of.the Gcvernmet began the conflict, with
out q gun in sight or in expectancy to re-
turn their firing, save only the, tcw
in Fort Sumpter sent there years, before
for their: own protection, and still ready, to
give that protection in whatever Was: loyal
J In this act, discardins. all. else. they
have forced upon the country the DISTINCT
issue Of immediate dissolution or blood !;
aud this issue embraces more than tbe fate
Of, these, United States: It. presents the
! whole family Of man, the question whether
J: q constitutional Republic: or Democratic
Government Of the people the samc people
! can or cannot maintain, its: territorial in
/ tsgritY against its own domestic foes:r 1t
presents the question whether discontinued
persons, too lew in number to control the
administration according, to the organic
law. in any case, can always, upon the pre-.
lenses made in this case, Or on: any other
pr.teoces, or arbitrarily without any, pre-,
tence, break up tho government aud thus
practically put an end to tree. government
upon the earth. 49,, .,j, ~ ,,.,.,,,,,,
=: It forces us to ask, is there in all Repub,
lies this inherent weakness2 Must the
Government cf necessity be too strong fur
the 1 liberties, Of the people, Or too weak 10
maintain its existence, So viewing tho
issues no choice. was left, but to call out
the war power of the Government, and 50
to resist TIC force employed fot its dess{uc-
ton, BY force for its preservation: 1he
call was made, and the response IF TIE
chuntry was most gratifying SURPRISING
III unanilnity and exceeding the most sad.
gu,ne expectations. Yet none Of tho
States, commonly called Slave States ex:
cept Delaware, gave a, regiment through
the regular State organization. - .;n
;: ill.,: . j: Corr yafntt. 49,.