Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1861-08-14


when, in the hope of successfully inauguratlng
their for the determination of slavery, they
precpitated the unfortunate assault on the reo-
els works at Bull Run which resulted IN the dis
astrous defeat of our army They advocate
COMPROMISE. not because they are secessionlsts,
! but because thev are friends of the Union, and
| because they believe the adoption of such mea-
sure would restore the Union to us as it was in
| the days of Washington and Jefferson. Some of
| them even 90 so far as to advocate peace. In
! this it may be that they err. This is point we
will not undertake to decide but we can conf
IDENTIFY say that they err the side of safety.
At the commencement of this " fight for the
Union,"
.SWhen wild wars deadly blast was blawn'
who were the patriots who focked to arms
| The American Democracy; the men who sup
ported either Breckinridge or Douglas for the
Presidency last fall; they the men who came
forward to stand like wall of fire. between our
loved homes and the wars desolation," while the
abolition demagogues of the Horace Greely school
(aDd in the category, do not include respec
table and patriotic members Of the Republican
party,) sneaked back to their dens like whipped
ours. There Was then no fight in them. The
Democracy were welcome to do the fighting. but
they, the aforesaid abolitionists, who remained
snugly at home, reserved to themselves the uncon
trovertbe right to denounce as seces sionists, all
who dared TO maintain that this should be war
for the Union, and not a crusade against slavery
When Lincoln first openly assaied the Consti-
tuition by suspending the privilege of the writ os
hd5eas corpus, the true friends of the Union felt
- l,o 4I.ir
unheard of usurpation and although thereby,
they testified their devotion and love for the Con
stituticn, they were denounced as secessionists,
for doing they were threatened with lynch
law and mob violence, merely for defending the
constitution with the manly boldnesS of free men,
When Lincoln in open violation OF the provision
| of the constitution which declares, that '-The
right of the people TO be secure in their persons,
| houses papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures shall not be cioIated,' seiz
| ed, read and examined, pirate papers, contain
ing pirate telegraphic dispatches, (the only
suit of which, by the way, was to prove, that
his pet and favorite Harvey, whom he had ap
| pointed minister to Portugal, was a traitor who
had given aid and comfort to the rebels,) all who
publicly protested against the act, were again
! denounced as secessionists. worthy to swing at
the end of rope, fixed to a lamp post. Does
this look as if the men who now claim to lead
the Administration party in the Northern States
are, were, friends Of the freedom of speech, OF
lovers Of the constitution Of their country.
| We have already said, in effect, that it was
| Democratic soldiers who, at the commencement
Of this war-the hideous offspring of the unhal-
! lowed embrace of Southern treason and Northern
fanaticisnl-rushed to arms and saved Washing
ington city from the grasp OF the Southern trail
tors. And who were the generals who comman-
ded those gallant volunteers We can confidently
answer; they were nearly all Democrats; aye,
and Breckinridge Democrats. too. We need only
instance the names Of Butler, Patterson, Cadwal-
lader and Dix. We think we might add the name
Of Mcclellan, but on this point We are not certain.
In speaking of them in connection with the DC
stlon they occupied in the contest for the Presi-
dency last year, we DO not wish to be understood
as making fling a. those of our party who stood
by Judge Douglas in that campaign. We know
that they are pure patriots, and as true to the
Constitution are There is scarcely a
Douglas paper in the Union that has not denoun-
ced Lncou's assaults on the COusti. ution. in
stronger language than was ever used in the
Democrat md Sentinel. If nat ilIustrious states
man, Stephen \. Douglas, were still living. we
are confident he would be found standing by the
landmarks Of the Constitution, and would not
have been among those who clappcd Abraham
Lincoln on the back, and cried well done
while he was tramp:iug on the great charter Of
American Liberty. And what has been the re-
ward meted out to the Democracy for their
patriotism? Why denunciatiol.s as secessionists
from the lips Of every ignorant, hrawling, fanati-
cal and c-wardiy aboit.ouist in the land.
There are no mex in the country so anxious
for the preservation of the Union as the Denoc-
cy. And 1t Is natural that this should be the
case They have always been Union men. and
never Ike Lincoln and his most prominent DO.
htlcal advisers, gave aid and comfort to the enc
my IN the time Of war. They are ready to make
any and every legitimate and patriotic sacrifice
that can be asked, to sustain the Government.
and to crush out the Southern rebellion: but tbev
cannot as sincere lovers of their country, help
beholdng with feelings Of alarm and indignation.
the efforts of portion of the Republican partv
TO letter tie press, and to crush cut the RIGHT cr
free discussion, the open assaults of Abraham
Lincoln on the Constitution, and the obvious
ten iencv Of the policy he has adopted, to DESTROY
the sovereignty of the States ami 10 establish on
the RUNS OF the Republic, consolidated despot-
Ism. If all who sound the note of alarm. and
warn the people of the impending danger are
seceSsIonists, so be it. II to do 50 be treason.
make the most of it.
Why should we not all, whether Democrats or
republicans, love the Union and the Constitu-
ton ! They have in the words of Daniel Web
| Ster. been to ms al