The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-07-10

boNtTnlnellt ucslIeu W kecp lhe SdfiISpu IL
che fort, not to assail them, but to merely
maintain visible possession and to preserve
the Union from actual and immediate disso
luton, trusting, as herein before stated, tc
time, discussion and the ballot box for fina
adjustment; and they assailed and reduced
the fort for precisely the reverse obiect--tc
drive out the visible authority of the Federal
Union, and thus force it to immediate disso
lntion. That this was their object the Ex
ccutive well understood and having said tc
them in the Inaugural address, "1ou can
have no conflict without being yourselves The
aggreSsors," he took pains not only to keep
this declaration good, bat also TO keep tie
case so far from ingenious sophistry tLat the
world should not misunderstood -.
BY the affair at Fort Sumter, with its sur
rounding circumstances, that point was
reached. Then and there. by the assailants
of the Government, began the conflict With
out gun in sight or expectancy to return
their firing, save only the few in the fort,
sent to that harbor years before for their own
protection, and still ready to give that pro-
lection in whatever was loval In this act,
discarding all else, they have forced upon
the country the distinct issue of immediate
dissolution or blood and this embraces more
than the fate of these United States. Itpre-
sents to the whole family of man the ques
tioE whether q Constitutional Republic or
Democracy, . government of the people, the
same people, can or cannot maintain its ter
ritorial integrity against its own domestic
foes. 1t presents the question whether dis
con.ented persons, too few in numbers TO
control the Administration according to the
~ in, al iva
the pretences made in this case or any other
pretenccs, or arbitrarily, without any pre-
lenses break up their Government, and thus
upon the earth. 1t forces us to ask is there
in all republics this inherent and fatal weak
ness? Must Government Of necessity, be
too strong for the liberties of the people, or
too weak to maintain its own existence p
So viewing the issues, no choice was left but
to call out the war power of the Govern
ment and so to resist the force employed for
its destruction by force for its preservation
The call was made and the response of the
county was most gratifying, surprising in
unanimity and spirit the most sanguine ex-
pectation. Yet none of the States common
ly called Slave States, except Delaware, gave
a regiment through the regular State organ
ization. \ few regiments have been organ
lied within some other Of those States by in
dividual enterprise, and received; into the
Government service of course The seeded
States, so called, and to which Texas had
been Joined about the time Of the inaugura-
ton, gave no troops to the cause on. the
Union. The border States, so called. were
not uniform in their action, some of them
being almost for the Union, while in others,
as in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
and Arkansas the Union sentiment was near
| " repressed and silenced. The course taken
in Virginia was the most remarkable, per-
haps the most important. \ convention
elected by the people of that State to consId-
er this very question of disrupting the Fed.
eral Union was in session at the capital oi
Virginia when Fort Sumter fell. To thi,
body the people had chosen large majoTity
Of professed Union men. Almost immedi-
ately after the fall of Sumter numbers OF
| that majority went over to the original mi
nority, and with them adopted an ordinance
| for Withdrawing the State from this Union.
| Whether this change was brought by their
great approval of the assault on Sumter, or
/ their great resentment to the Government l 8
resistance to that assault, is not definitely
known. Although they submitted the ordi-
nance for ratification to vote of the people
taken somewhat more than month distant,
| the Convention and Legislature, which was
also in session at the same time and place,
with leading men of the State, Immediately
commenced acting as if the State was already
out Of the Union. They pushed military
vigorously forward all over the
State. They seized the United States armo-
ry at Harper's Ferry and the Navy Yard at
Gosport near Norfolk. They received per-
haps invited into their State, large bodies of
troops with their warlike appointments, from
the so called seeded States. They formally
entered into treaty with all the so called
Confederate States, and sent members TO
their Congress at Montgomery, and finally
they permitted the insurI dictionary govern
ment to be transferred to their Capitol at
Richmond The people of Virginia have
thus allowed this giant insurrection to make
its nest within their borders, and this Gov
ernment has no chance left but to deal with
| it where it finds il, and has the less to re-
gret, as the loyal citizens have, in due form,
claimed its protection. The loyal citizens
the Government is hound to recognize and
protect as being in Virginia.
In the Border States, so called, in fact the
Middle States. there are those who favor a
policy which they call armed neutrality,
that is, an arming of those States to prevent
the Union forces passing one way, or dis.ln-
ion the other, over their soil This would be
disunion completely; fguratively speaking,
it would be the building Of an impossible
wall along the line Of separation and yet,
| not quite an impossible one, for. under the
guise of neutrality, il would tie the hands OF
the Union men and freely pass supplies from
among them to the insurrectionisrs, which il
could not do as an open enemy. At a stroke
it would take AL the trouble off the hands
of secession except only what proceeds from
the external blockade IT would do for the
disunionists that which of all things they
most desire, feed them well and give them
disunion without struggle of their own.-
1t recognizes no fidelity to tie Constitution
no obligation to maintain the Union. While
very many who have favored it are doubt
less loyal citizens, it's neVerthcless- injuri-
Gus in effect.
Recurring to tie action OF the Government
it may be stated that at first call was made
for .75, 900 militia, and rapidly following
this, proclamation was issued for closing
the ports of the insurrectionary districts b,
a blockade. So far all was believed to b,
strictly legal
AT this point the insurrec,ionists announc
ed their purpose of entering upon the prac
tice Of privateering. Other calls were mad,
for volunteers to serve three years unles
sooner discharged, and also large additions
to the regular army and navy. Thes
measures, whether strictly legal or not, wer
venturcd upon what appeared to be the pop
uiar demand for apublic Z ecessity, trustin,
then, as now, that Congress would ratif