Weekly Trinity journal., 1861-09-07


who can SOW the wind aud yet refuse to reap the
whirlwind
Yet, that statesmen should tolerate such things
is no wonder. Those great minded helmsmen are
too busy in keeping their legs to trouble them
selves about ideals. They have to laugh away
popular wrath, to smile away opposition, to scoh
away attacks, to badinage away reforms that they
do not themselves originate, They do not want
veXatious debates on abstract subjects. wars
are bad things. but they employ officers and en-
couraged promotion they keep the opposition
quiet and are excuses for taxes they postpone
reform aud increase ministerial popularity. Bus
the bayoneting, the burning, the shooting the
running of women, the defacing of God image
Yes, all nveniences-undeniable inconvehl-
ences. but not to be thought OF when natlonai
welfare requires war to express its anger, TO as
sert its rights, to retrieve its honor, to extend us
territory or TO augment its glory ana OF TINS
justldable war, in good cause, privateerlng Is u
necessary volunteer adjunct.
But let me sketch the probable evils resulting
from this determination of the South to let loose
her privateering murderers As soon as TINS
news is telegraphed from the Secession caplhl OF
Alabama to the Southern seaports, that instant
the worst of the bankrupt merchants the rch
"rowdies," aud old slave dealers, Will rake up
every possible old schooner, and raking clippers
they can find to secure the seas Tor rapne and
plunder. They will buy some old guns, which
they will get rined they will lay in grape shot
aud round shot aud then put up placards IN the
barrooms and dram shops aud collect sailors
Aud whom will they get2 The patriot, the non
est, the merciful, the brave? No the thlevlng
druukard, the homicide, the gang driver, the
slave hunter, the run away convict, the swlndler,
the murderer-the Seven Deadly Sins for officers,
all the Passions for crew, aud Apollyon himself
for sailing master.
And what will they do first? These men are
mere midnight murderers; they VIII steai up
creeks and float with mullled oars round haroorsi
they will seize free negroes aud senu tnem 10 uio
in the rice swamps around Savannah river 'hey
will cut brave mems throats in their sleep, anu
seize unsuspectng fishing boats, burn quiet sea-
side villages, seize outlying barks, do the deV'l
work in Gods name, aud go home ana eXnito lover
their patriotic labors, aud thank heaven for max
ing them other men than those proud PharseeS
of the North.
The motive of privateersman is plunder He
comes out to steal to fight aud steal, but not to
fight if he cannot steal The prlvateersman is
the common enemy of mankind, as the pirate IL,
and he should be treated as such, and hanged by
whomsoever can get rope on his neck. Inc
laws of God aud man are against him
Let us suppose for u moment that duel Is
lawful combat, and that the most skillfu shot
could decide the right or redress wrong. Be
cause l. A, challenge Il for slandering and basely
injuring me, is that any reason why all B. kins-
men should think themselves permitted to go
about armed looking for all my "a ~ relations,
in order TO stab, rob aud pistol them How
much more, then, would il be- insulfrable ii not
only II. Is friends, but all the scum and hang dogs
Of BIS parish should arm themselve, aud sally
out to burn my ricks aud harry my stables and
this because some ridiculous plrochial liw exist
ed permitting anybody paying eight.eu ponce,
and buying stamp d paper, TO take up b 3
quarrel and inlure and torment ma, A
No laws are not perfect, nor nations either I;
still the nation that encourages prlvateering Is
toleratng wicked aud unjust thing. There
must be snakes nature says aud even the mos
quito may have It's use In the vast circumference
of things. But bad aud useless as war il, il Is
not SO bad aud useless as privateering. 1t belongs
to the day when religious disputants burnt each
other, aud generals pundered towns that had
been absurd enough not TO allow themselves to
be taken without resistance. 1t belongs to the
age that shut up Calico for saying that the earth
moved, and il belongs to that earlier age that
stoned the prophets. IL is disgrace to the time,
aud is contrary to all the laws OF humanity. We
no longer employ Indians to scalp our enemies,
nor do we cram our prisoners into great ogre
images and then set them on fire. We have
learnt to temper the horrors of war. But to en-
courage prlvateersmen Is to let loose swarms OF
murderers to scourge the seas aud to render the
commerce of every nation unsafe to give bad
men the privilege, under the protection OF flag,
to commit every crime with impunity.
Privateering whatever Grotius, Vattel, Put
fendorf, or anybody else may SAYS legalzed
piracy. The enation that grants letters OF marque
grants the right to speculate in human blood aud
human life. An age that has grown ashamed OF
pouring red hot shot into deienseless towns, o
ravaging unohending territories, of carrying
away poor harmless women into infamous captiv
ity, of torturIng prisoners, of poisoning springs
OF robbing and staying sacked towns, ought alsC
to be ashamed of privateering.