, 1861-09-03
Cbicaqn Griht1tte
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.

AN AA&WHAANT 4GAST1GN.
Editors Chicagu Tribune:
II tie Southern CoEfs5ezacy should proclaim
emancipation to-day, would not The North be
fighting for tbs re-estab2ish1zcnt Of S:averys A
lat resort the leaders OF the rebellion ra,1sf o.d
sciH do t6e-a bit:es pill, to be sure hu, of tba
eame gort az the destruction Of Harpc,.a Fer,,,
and the burning Of Hampton. Slavery NAV cease
for tie time among them, but th6 new.sane,ea
confe<tesacy must live. Fremont has begun the
work by declaring the tlaves Of armed rebe,s free
VIII our secretary Of W8r, Or our President falter
or aeaasase! II they do. I deyout1y hope Davis,
Be2usegard Co., VIII conp1icate matters By be-
ing the h1st IN authoritst1ve1y prnclairning free
dom to the slape
Lam sincere ii the belief that the leaders OF the
rebelftou mean to have their Government stand,
snd II the prospect ot eysnqsthy among European
nations, and = large party in the North, together
with the services Of half million Of hlsck1 in
the field, could be thus obtained, yru may depend
upon 1t they Will proclaim cnancip alton whenever
their af1kirs arc brought to desperate strait.
HRS.
The question propounded by our cor
respondent is an important one We ex-
pressed the opinion fully month since that
Davis & Co., holding the power Of the
sword, which is now absolute power in
the South, would declare freedom to the
slaTes rather than be baked in their Dur
poseto destroy theUnion. They will only do
50 as last resort They will only do 50
when all other expedients shall have fail
ed. They commenced the war solely and
aVoWedly to extend and perpetuate slave
y. They expected the cooperation and
aid OF large party in the North, and
hence an easy victory. But, finding them
selves IN war of fearful magnitude, with
utter ruin staring them in the face if
they do not make good their
assumptions with the sword, emancipation
Will ultimately be no longer matter Of
choice They know that the slave popu-
latlon can be turned loose upon them by
federal armies- They know that the slaves
viii rise of their own accord whenever the
presence Of federal army shall guarantee
their safety. They know that so great a
calamity to their cause can be prevented
by emancipation, and only by emancipa-
ton. They know that foreign powers
would be attracted to them by such pol
icy; indeed, that the sympathy Of the
world would be gathered to their standard
by q proclamation Of freedom. They know
further that emancipation would actually
strengthen them at home, by con
ve1ting four millions of su1len enc
h1ies in their midst to cheerful and
grateful friends. Therefore emaucipa-
1or, BY the rebels themselves, is only
q question Of time and relative strength
between the loyal and disloyal sections.
II Davis d Co. are strong enough to COL
quer the North. or to successfully repe1 all
attempts to re-establish the authority of the
Government in their territory, emaucipa-
ton viii never take place in our time. If,
On the contrary, the Government evinces
The power 10 conquer them, it appears alto
gether likely that they will give freedom
to the blacks and accept their assistance in
The field TO recover their ground or prolone
the war.
Now for our correspondents question
would not the North then be fighting to re-
establish slavery? By no means There
is no such thing as slavery in the national
Constitution " Persons held to service or
labor in any State By the laaes thereof" are
mentioned, but when those State laws
are destroyed or rendered imperative
It does not devo1ye' upon Congress
to re~enact them or the Executive
TO regard them. Therefore we should be
fighting merely to restore our territorial
integrity. But if slavery were extinguish-
ed the cause Of the war would have ceased
to exist. The contest might continue for
brief time, but it would soon cease. The
cancer being removed the patient would
speedily recover. Thetwo sections, drawn
together by every material tie, would not
be slow ii uniting. When the cause is re-
moved, the effect will disappear. We can
have peace when slavery is abolished, even
though it be JEFF. Davis's own act, bnt We
cannot before