Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-07-12

ballot box for final adjustment, and they a.
sailed and reduced the fort for precisely tn
+ reverse object to drive out the visible author
ity of the federal union, and thus force it t
immediate dissolution.
That this was their object the Executive we
, understood, and having said to them in the in
augural address: "You can have no conhic
without you being yourselves the aggressors,
he took pains not only to keep this declaration
good, but also to keep the case so far from in
genious sophistry, that the world should no
misunderstood it.
BY the affair at TT. Sumter, with its sur
rounding circumstances, that point was reach
ed then and thereby. The assalants of tn,
government began the conflict without a gur
in sight or expectancy to return their firing
save only the few in the fort sent to that har
Dor years before for their own protection, ano
still ready to give that protection in whatever
was loyal.
In this act, discarding all else, they hav,
forced upon the country the distinct issue O.
immediate dissolution or blood, and this EN-
braces more than the fate of these United States
ltpresents to the whole family ofman the ques
ton whether in constitutional republic or de-
mocracy, government of the people, the same
people can or cannot maintain its territorial
integrity against its own domestic foes.
1t presents the question whether disaifectcd
persons, too few in numbers to control the
Administration, according to the organic law
IN any case, can always, upon the pretences
made in this case, or any other prctences, or
arbitrarily without any pretences, break. up
their government, and thus practically put an
end to the frecst government upon the earth.
| 1t forces us to ask: Is there in all republics
this inherent and fatal weakness? Must gov
ernment Of necessity be too strong for the liber-
ties OF the people, or too weak to maintain it's
own existence? So viewing theissues no choice
was left but to call out the war power of the
government, and so to resist the force en-
ployed for its destruction, by force for its
preservation.
The call was made, and the response of the
country was most gratifying, surprising in
unanimity and spirit the most sanguine ex-
pectations. Yet none of the States commonly
called Slave States, except Delaware, gave a
regiment through the regular State organiza-
ton. Within some others of those States
regiments were raised by individual enterprise
and received into the government service
The seeded States so called, and to which
S-Aes' iAtaN p>Sil DoilCu VIlC IlIIlC VI llc
Inauguration, gave no troops to the cause of
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, n. Carolina, Tennessee
and Arkansas, the Union sentiment was nearly
repressed and silenced. The course taken in
Virginia was the most remarkable, perhaps
the most important
A convention elected by the people of that
State to consider this very question of disrupt
ing the federal Union was in session at the
capital of Virginia when f. Sumter fell. To
this body the'people had chosen a large majority
OF professed Union men. Almost Immediately
after the fall Of Sumter members of that ma
jorlty went over to the original minority, and
with them adopted an ordinance for withdraw
ing the State from the Union.
Whether this change was brought by their
great approval of the assault on Sumter, or
their great resentment to the governments
resistance to that assault, is not definitely
known, although they submitted an ordinance
for ratification to vote to be taken more than
a 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 preparations vigorously for
ward all over the State They seized the U.
S. armory at Harper's Ferry, and the navy
yard at Gosport, near Norfolk. They received, |
perhaps invited, into their State large bodies |
of troops, with their warliIle appointment,
from the so called seeded States They form
ally entered into treaty with the
So called confederate States, and sent mem
bers to their Congress at Montgomery and |
finally, they permitted the insurrectionary
government to be transferred to their capital |
at Richmond
The people of Virginia have thus allowed
this giant insurrection to make its nest within |
her borders, and this government has no choice
left, but to deal with it where it finds it, and
it is the less to regret, as the loyal citizens
have in due form claimed its protection Those
loyal citizens the government is bound to re-
eCgni4e ana protect as being in Virginia.
In the Border States, so-called, in fact the
Middle States, there are those who favor
policy which they call armed neutrality-that |
is, an arming of those States 70 prevent the
Union forces passing one way or the Disunion
the other over their soil This would be dis
union completely, tiguratively speaking. 1t
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 it would tie the hands of the Union
men and freely pass supplies from among
them to the insurrectionists, which it could |
not do as an open enemy; Al stroke it |
would take all the trouble off the hands of
secession, only what proceeds from the exter-
nal blockade,
1t would do for the dsunlonists 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 the
Constitution, no obligation to maintain the
Union. While very many who had favored
it. are doubtless loyal 1ti4ens, it is, neyerthe
less, very injudicioas in effect, Recurring to
the action Of the government, it may be stated
that at first call was made for $4,000 mill
tia, and rapidly following this, proclamation
was issued for closing the ports of the insur-
rectionary districts, by proceeding to place
them in a state of blockade. =
So far all was believed to be strictly legal.
At this point the insurrectonists announced
their purpose of entering upon the practice of
privateering. Other calls were made for vol
unteers to serve three years, unless sooner dis
discharged, and also large additions to the
regular 'army and navy: These measures,
whether strictly legal OF not, were ventured
upon what appeared to be the popular demand
for public necessity, trusting then as now
that Congress would readily ratify them. 1t
is believed that nothing has been done beyond
the constitutional competency of Congress.
Soon after the first call for militia, it was
considered duty to authorize the command
inlg General in proper cases, according to his
discretion, to suspend the privilege of the ha-
beas corpus, or in other words, to arrest and
detain, without resort to ordinary process and
forms of law, such individuals as he might
deem dangerous to the public safety. This
authority has purposely heen exercised but
very sparingly.
Nevertheless, the legality and propriety of what
has been done under It. questions and the
attention of t"e country he's been called to the