The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-06-08
pirates and Asxasstns.

There are D,uzes at the South, said this Jour
nal months ago-a class of men who have the
Druze's aristocratic pride, Conforming the Pur-
itans as the Druze contemns the Maronites; men
having the Druze's studied courtesy, when y
point is to be gained with a foreigner; men ex-
ercising Druze's hospitality, when in the humor
of it,-for in courtesy and hospitality under GER
tain circumstances, the Druzes is your model
man men have the DruZe's martial spirit,
and his ambition to rule, disdaining labor and
challenging combat; men capable, like the
Druze, of lying without stint, and with untalter-
ing eye or tongue men like the Druze in treach
cry, cruelty, and bloody revenge ;-such men
we have said, were nurtured upon this soil by
the system of slavery, which being founded in
injustice and violence, calls into exercise the
| worst passions of human nature, and begets cru
city alike through the caprices of tyranny and
the inspiration of terror. Does any man in all
the North to-day doubt that this characterize
ton of the despots of the South is true! Even
Dr. Spring in his speech in the assembly at Phil
adelphia describes them as "pirates and rebels"
Look at their cool plotting OF robbery and trea-
son against the Government whose places of
power and influence they held. Look at their
audacious lying by newspaper and telegraph.
Look at their Reputation of business debts.
Lock at their barbarous treatment of those who
differ from them in sentiment, Or will not furth-
err their plans. Lock at the base assault upon
unarnicd or uuofiending troops in Baltimore.
Look at the attempt to poison soldiers through
their food and drink. Look at the official en-
enlargement to priyateers, with bounty for the
head of every victim. Look at the assassination
of ELLSWORTH, when incapable of defense.
Look at the employing of Indians for their treaeh-
| erous and merciless warfare. The men who o
| such things are worse than Druzes, worse than
Indians, worse than Chinese, because with the
treacherous, revengeful. remorseless spirit of
| those races, they combine higher intelligence
| and a greater capacity for evil.
| Do we then charge these crimes indscriminate-
| ly upon the South? By no means. Dove deny
| to our enemies the common virtues of humanity?
| Not at all. We concede that these virtues exist
among them, and even, also, the higher virtues
| of the Gospel But the characteristics we have
described tie natural offspring OF that system
| of oppression for the preservation OF which
| they have plunged the nation into war. Slavery
| breeds pirates and assasssins, and with such we
now have to deal.
How then shall we meet them Not by copy
ing their spirit, nor initiating their atrocities
The sacredness of our cause demands that we
adhere strictly to the rules of just and honorable
| warfare. But the safety and of the nation, its
| future peace nay--the continued existence of a
civilized people on this continent, demand that we
shall annihilate the whole military and political
organization and power of these Druze-rebels
and shall exterminate for ever that system OF
local oppression which generates race of pi
rates and assassins We cannot stop short Of
this. They are men "whom no treaty nor con.
yention could bind."-[N. Y. independents.