The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1861-02-21
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9th, 1861.
TIE PEACE

The labors Of the Peace Convention
at WHshington will amount to nothing.
This must of necessity be the case, at
least if principles are worth anything.
And if they arc not worth carrying out
in national affairs, they are certainly
worth nothing in private life. Sad in
deed would be the state ofsocicty if eve
~ one Of its members should totally
disregard every principle Of honesty
Justice, humanity and morality. And
equally sad would it be to our nation,
should every profcssea national prlnci-
lle, having for its object the improve
,nent and elevation Of our race and
country, be totally spurned and dlsrc-
garded by our rulers when in power. The
expression Of the people on the 9th day
Of last November was, no more Slave
territory. \ rampant Southern minor
ity were dissatisfied with this verdict
IF the people. They rebel, they seccae,
they set mp u government of their own,
they fire upon our national flag, they
seize our forts and arsenals, they under
take to collect revenue in their own
name, they threaten to make war upon
US for not surrenlering such property
as they want and cannot take by 4 mob.
The North, and more especially the ma
.jority party of the last election. remain
quiet, pcacablc and ~unotfcnding; they
have no attacked a single national for
trcss, they have not declared that they
will rule or ruin, they have not fred up
on the flag Of their country, they have
not stolen money from the national
mint, they have not threatened to pre-
ycnt the inauguration of a constitution
ally elected President, they have not
broken or violated a single article of
the Constitution, and yet they are urg-
ed and solicited by some to make ron
ccssions to this rcbe!lious minority, in
ORDER to pacify them, and effect a rec
onciliation, 50 that the Union Of all the
States may be continued. For this OBJ
icctssis the Peace Congress assembled.
1t was called by Virginia. In the cleo
ton Of delegates or commissioners to
this Convention or Congress, it is re
ported that a majority Of them arc
Union men. Our readers must under
stand by this, that they are no strict
Union men, but they are styled thus in
Virginia, because they are in favor of
continuing in the Union, provided the
Constitution can be so amended as to
give the Shareholder the full enjoyment
Of Thurman property, in all our territories,
and the right Of travelling and remain
ing temporary with his suspicious prop
erty in the Free States. What kind of
Union sentiments are these? They are
such as the North will and must spurn /;
and vet to such sentiments we are asked
TO subscribe, in direct opposition to- the
very principles for which We have wag-
ell 3 peaceful and successful warfare.
The above sentiments Of the Union
men Of Virginia are probably the ulti.
matum which will be offered by them
in the Convention, and from which it
may be plainly seen, that the labors Of
the Convention will be fruitlcss, and in
deed if such be its demands. it should
be; for what, we ask again, has the
North done, that it should make con.
c%essions, a to refractory minority,
who are net wiling to abide by the
Constitution.