The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1861-09-26
Emancipation and the War.

to overrate the question which has
within the last few days been started
in connection with Gen. Fremont's
proclamation. Because this war has
arisen out of differences between the
two sections on the subject of slavery,
it seems to be taken for granted, in
some quarters, that slavery is the pivot
around which the conduct of the war
must revolve. and that efforts to Grip
pie and annihilate it are the speediest
and most certain methods of crushing
the rebellion. 1t is not surprising that
men who hold this view look with pro-
found regret on the Presidents modi6-
cation of Gen. Fremont's proclamation,a
experimenting serious difference of
opinion, and perhaps divided counsels,
on what they regard as the most i'm
portant question connected with the
war. 1t must not be disguised that it
would be most unfortunate for the pub.
lie interests, if the northern people
should spend in wrangling with each
other the strength which ought to be
directed against the common enemy
and especially unfortunate if the stanch-
est opponents of slavery, by taking the
high ground now, and attaching undue
Importance, as O. qoar measure, to the
matter which has so long interested
them, should produce that division Of
northern sentiment on which the rebels
originally counted as one of the main
elements of success. We are now a
substantially united people in favor of
a vigorous prosecution of the war by
the ordinary military appliances. There
is no probability that we should remain
for single month united people, if
the subject of slavery should assume
the same prominence in the practical
conduct of the war, that it has hereto
fore held in the general politics of the
cnuntry. We are not arguing the right
or the wrong of emancipation we
have nothing to say or suggest,
at present, as to the constitutional
ity or unconstitutionality of emancipa-
ton by military authority; but, in view
of the known diversity of opinion on
this subject which exists in loyal states,
we appeal to the good sense of patri-
otto men to consider whether it is wise
to revive, at this time, dormant preju-
dices growing out of old controversies,
unless the necessity for outrunning the
executive head of the nation, and trans
cending the authority conferred on him
by Congress, is clear and incontrovert-
IDLE. Let US not divide the North by
giving to the difference between the
President and Gen. Fremont a facti-
Gus importance that does not intrinsi-
cally belong to it. e.'-ii.fl BE-
1t seems to us that any citizen must
be under singular and most unac-
countable hallucination, who believes
that we..cannot conquer the rebels with
out resorting to emancipation. If it
were clear that no other method of SUBJ
DUNG the rebellion has a tolerable
chance of success; if it were demon
strablc that the urgency for this meas
ure is SO pressing that the country
would be lost by three months delay
and awaiting the deliberations of Con-
gress, there would be show of reason
in running the risk of dividing the peo-
pie on the subject. But it is clear
enough that the question has no such
importance. 1t is certain that the reb-
els have not yet shut us up between
the sharp horns of any such dilemma
as emancipating their slaves or coneed-
ing their independence We are TWEEN
ty millions of people, and they includ-
ing the border states, and counting the
slaves-are twelve millions, Are these
twelve Millions because one-thirde of
them happen to; be slaves, SO superior
to twenty millions of freemen that we
cannot cope with them in ordinary
warfare with. reasonable chance of
success q Is slavery such a tremen-
dous element of military strength that
slaveholding community is invincible
even by superior numbers and resour-
ces, until it has first been Invested Of
this great element of strength? IF
this were so, it would be the strongest
argument in favor Of the institution
that has ever been advanced. But it
is not so. tits both preposterous and
pusillanimous, at this moment, when
we are gathering great armies and pre-
pairing to deal a deadly blow On the
very front of rebellion, to indulge in
misgivings ofour ability to succeed by
mere fighting. We command the sea
they are blockaded in all their ports !;
we have a powerful navy-they have