Daily national Democrat., 1861-04-24
The Secession Test.

tempts TO enforce the laws III the feOel othtes.
They have disgusied the great mass of their
own party. and will vainly struggle hereafter
to defend themselves against the charge OF
having taken sides with the Infamous traitors
who have done 50 uch towards breaking up
this Government. They have put off the
mask with which they have so long managed
to conceal their real faces from their party
associates. and are now fairly launched upon
the black ocean of rebellion Let those who
choose follow them. Let the next election
show us exactly how many men there are in
Ca ifornia who are traitors TO the Federal
Union Of which California is a member. Let
US know how many of those ultra STATES
Rights men there are who believe that
State is Sovereign, when che wants to bolt
| the Union, but not Sovereign when she wants
TO rernnin in the Union. Let us lenrn. from
those new lights. why it is that Union mi
norty in Secession State must go out Of the
Union with the minority. while disunionists
in non-Seceding State need not stay in the
Union with the majority. 1t is now fully
Montgomery, Botts, Thornton and Others
should explain why it is that States are SOW
eregn when they want to inaugurate rebel
lion and anarchy and not sovereign when
they desire peace and obedience to lawful
authorities It the secession Of Alabama
makes it the duty of those in that State who
opposed secession, to supp rt the secession
authorities, and 10 refrain from longer de-
Federal Union pray why does not the refusal
of California to sectde bind those who are for
secession to the support of the National Gov
ernment, and debar them from openly de-
Tending or recognizing the existence of the
mushroom Secession Republic. Is there no
sovereignty in the Golden State? 1s Cali
! fornin II tin kettle tied to the tail of the Cot
ton States = Is sne divided Up into portions
of the other States and do the Cotton States
own quantity of her. proportioned to the
number of her inhabitants who happened to
have been born in Dixies Land Are States
Rights monopolized hy the Gulf States? And
do their States Rights extend beyond their |
own limits? We look in vain in the Breck-
nrdge Address, in Judge Bolts manifesto,
and in the speeches Of the secession orators in
the Legislature for light and information upon
these momentous points If State sovereign
ty has precedence, in all things. over Federal |
authority, in Heavens name why do the in-
tense States Rights advocates in California
withhold their allegiance from the Union ?
Why does their authoritative exponent-ther
State Central Committee-insoleDtly pro
claim against the enforcement of the laws Of
the Union, in rebel States? California has
not been abused She has had no grievances
to bear at the hands Of the Federal Govern
ment which make her people think of seces-
sion California is in the Union. She is
represented in Congress. The Federal Courts
are respected here as formerly. The new
President has appointed strong party friends
of his own to office in the State. California
gave her electoral vote to Lincoln-much to
our regret, but she did SO giveit. Has Cali
fornia sovereign right to remain loyal to the
government at Washington? Those who say
that Alabama had sovereign right to secede
would cut foolish figure in answering no.
Then there is nothing for the antiU UniCn men
to do but submit, or leave the State whose
sovereign will offends them. If they are too
proud-spirited to stay in Union State, and
long for the atmosphere of the yawning Cult.
upon the banks of which reposes the great
Cotton Confederacy, why. we will reluctantly
part with them, and fraternaly say bon
Uoyage.
They cannot. by remaining here control
the policy of the Federal Government
Whatever the National Government may do
or refrain from doing, will not be done o.
omitted because of any advice volunteered
by Secession party Committee in State
which gave her electoral vote to Lincoln.
The question of enforcing the Federal laws,
in the rebel States, if question Of policy,
is not one that can be decided 10y those who
say that no wrong has been committed by
the Secessionists. If a party in South Caro-
lima should declare that the laws of the jeff
Davis Government ought not to be enforced
within the Jurisdictions of the United States
within any Federal fort or arsenal, for ex
ample-they would he hung, if not drawn
and quartered. The authorities of the pre-
tended National Cotton States Government
cannot he questioned there. Oh no. That
would he treason. We are more forbearing
The authority of the National Government
of the Unite States may be questioned here,
and there is no resort to violence. We are
are glad of this. We are glad that our peo-
pie are tolerant and not afraid of error so
long as truth is left free TO combat it. So
may it ever be. But we will not embrace
error because we tolerate its presence. We
will not be dragged into the support of men
who acknowledge their superior attachment
to another and a rebel Government We
will not recognize as good citizens, much
less as Democrats, men who take sides against
the Government of which California is and
always will be part. There are Democrats
in this State who love the Union more than
they do the mock Republic on the Gulf Of
Mexico Some of them voted for Douglas
last fall, and some for Breckinridge They
will act together hereafter, and will crush
out of existence the little faction who wear
Union badges on election days, and Palmetto
cockades the balance of the year.
We give the Secession test, below, in par
allel columns with raraphase of the same