The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-01-23
Timely Warming.

I surely tOnT us llitciIuci N'lh. iC oi'h~t-
mcnt Of SeccsSi, m ordinances by two or three
more States the seizure Of few more
forts, arscna's and munitions Of war !; The
co ltiScat'cn Of additional cargoes Of powder
and provsi MS belonging to privat, citizens I.
the maltrca'ing and numbering Of yet other
men Of Northern origin &C some more who
voted for Lincoln, or who, not doing so, be-
licve his election is not sufficient cause Of Sc
ccSSion the firing few more times upon
onr national iIar, and the u'terance of a few
IN re treascnabIe speeches in the Senate of
the United Sta'cs-and the iunlicS and the
clou .hctccs IN the towards Of the North
VIII be upon their knees, begging for terms.
II is impossible t, be stakcn in this matter.
On al silcS the Indications thicken Of an ig-
nominioui surrender The Northern De
m ,cracy are every whore caving in. In the
County and Stat, Conventions they express
:. willingness 10 give up every one Of their
heretofore cherished principles, to submit to
to every possible Outrage that traitors may
CHOOSE to inlct and they more than init
mate, unless the whole North surrenders,
they will turn their guns upon those who
object. In these positions they are joined
bv the tilnid, con sentative men of all parties
by mcn of capital AMI by men intent upon
the profits Of trale--by men who own ships
an manufactures and merchandise by men
who put market price upon principles, and
who count ease and personal safety Of more
value than honor AMI patriotism. While the
former are holding their conventions for the
uniiSgui<ed purpose of giving aid and com
. fort to men who are in arms against their
own country, the latter are equally active in
getting mp and circulating petitions to their
representatives, in Congress, imploring them
to diShonor their country, their section, their
principles, AMI their manhood, by voting for
some ignominious compromise. There was
a time when both classes had only brave and
defiant words for traitors and rebels When
Douglas, IN his Norfolk speech, declared
that treason must be put down and the laws
of the country enforced by the whole power
of the nation, il necessary, the Democracy of
the North with one voice echoed and APP
/ plauded his words. But that was before the
traitors had shown their tceth-beforc they
had fired upon the national flag, seized the
national propntty within Their respective
STATES, and defiel the Federal Government
1t wo, Id seem that the threats were intended
only fer small traitors Or traitors in posse
not to treason on a. larg, scale or to traitors
! in esse. For The former an avenging arm
and terrible retributioa---fAr the latter,
words OF kindness and concilia;i IN and meas
ureS Of concession only.
Has all manhood clean gone cut of the
Motif a.? Are all the stcalaStncss of purpose
and all the courage of the country in the
possession Of those who are in arms against
the government? Have we sunk so low
that we hasten to swallow every brave word
we have uttered, the moment danger appears
/ in view If so, then it matters not what
may come, we cannot be dishonorci.
| And no V, iftherc is not enou "a of mln,i-
ness and Of principle left at the North to
meet this crisis, let the consequences be what
they may, without surrender, thea let us
beg of the South not TO be modest in their
terms If whenever demand is made in
behalf of Slavery, Freedom is to be bctray by
its profcsscd aGherents, in Gods name let
every remaining vestige Of liberty be given
up at once. Why stop with recognizing
property in man-wi h Incorporating Slave
code into the Federal Constitution-with
paying the South in money for all is fuga-
ciou' chattels ? Such an adjustment would
give but L,isf satisfaction to a section that
never fails t, get what it demands and in
a few years the country would be called up
on to pass through another crisis, to be set
tied by the humiliation of the North and the
triumph of traitors. No: Let the South
demand now all it may want for the next
century, or, at least, until better breed OF
men shall inhabit the North Let us sound
the lowest possible depths of deer ,dation
at once. A speedy descent to the lowest
possible point may pe:chance be followed by
an upward movement, but we should never
recover from degradation that is the work
of generations, and so in grained in our very
souls. In pity then, let the South complete
the work now. Let her add to the other de-
mands the re-open,ng Of the African slave
I trade--that our outward bound ships shall
go freightrd with cotton, and no vessel shall
enter our ports that does not bring a full
cargo of s;aves-that capital, everywhere,
shall own its labor, that no dist lction shall
hereafter be made, in law, between the Ia
horers Of the South and the laborers of the
North-that the distinction of free and slave
States shall be forever abolished, and that
slavery shall be alike lawful in every State,
and the Shareholders rights of property be
I protected in every land and on every sea
/ Let the South increase her demands to this
! extent while she is about it-and our word
! fol it, the same men at the North who are in
! favor Of concedng to her present demands,
will be equally clamorous for the balance
! There is yet single hope for freedom in
! this crisis, but tat hope does not rest
on the North. If the South Carolinians
would only make a determined assault upon
Fort Sumpter, level its walls to the sea, and
/ l.. L. ~. 4