The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1861-04-19
Fort Sumter in the Hands Of the Rebels.

he END Ui the hrSt outbreak o. war has
come soon, and the ilag Of The country has
ceased to wave above Fort Sumter In the
first conflict, the rebels have triumphed, and
civil war has been inaugurattd. What the
end will be, no human eye can toresee, but
all eyes can see that we are In the midst eI
Their Of revolution or gigantic rebellion
Force must now be met by force, and the
strength of the government must be tested.
Il is evident that nothing less is aimed at
now by the rebels than tue revolution Of the
government They boldly proclaim their de
termination to march upon and capture Wa>h-
ipgton, and become the pOSsessorS of the az
chlves of the nation.
The confused and onc-Siued dispatches
from which We gather the details of the as
sault upon and TIE reduction Of Fort sum
ter. give all that We can tell OF the story
There is much that remains to be explained
How this 'impregnable' fortress was SO soon
brought to surrender, and how the entire ac
ton could have been carried through lthout
the loss of life, is a mystery and il is not to
be wondered at that the whole account Was
al first received with very general incrtGuh-
". Blu. OF the essential fact We cannot en-
terrain doubt Many will question why the
federal ships did no; attempt reinforcement
when .h,v were 50 near. We shall take il
.or granted, until We learn to The contrary,
that nothing has been done. or omitted 70 be
done, BY the federal forces. without good rea-
son. OF Major Andersons loyalty and couI-
age we will not permit ourselves 10 entertain
(. doubt.
!; the feeling here is IN index 70 the gen
era! feeling Of Tie North, 4 spirit has been a
reused which viii spare neither men nor mon
ey 70: W.ping out the rebellion. and expung-
ing the MOCK and mob government that has
consented to head it. All feel that the gov
eminent las now no choice but to 20 torwar
and compel respect for itself by force. One
hundred thousand men and one hundred mil
lions of money could be placed at The dispo
sal of the govern ment III fortnight, and
men enough poured into Washington III TWEEN
ty-tour houls to meet any force that could be
brought against it in a month. We cannot
doubt that the administration will fulfill The
expectations, and respond to the voice Of II,
people.
Virginia trembies in the balance. We con
TESS our inability to see how the MON sen
timent in that state can withstand the seces
sion pressure The governor hesitates, anC
passes the responsibility over TO the conyen
ton. The convention talks and adjOurns.-
Meantime the crowd in the streets Of Rich
m0,d declare that if the convention does no
take the state out of the lnion the peopi,
will We shall not be surprised to
Southern army passing through Virgin;
without protest, and we shall be very muc'
surprised if the army do not receive large &C
ceSsions Oh the passage, even If there be II
secession ordinance passed.
Civil war has been begun by the rebels
and an important question arises as to tn
relations which tie party in the North, polit
icai!y opposed TO the present administration
will assume toward the government. Is par
tizanship to be subordinate now and patriot
ISM dominant Or are We to he treated {
ca,ilng and poorly masked or openly avow
ed. sympathy with the traitors Are Their
men in any Northern state whose blood Is $
acrid and so thin that they can take deIigh
in the humiliation of the rational flag. an
who are willing to aid directly or Indirect
tn. traitors We hope not. We rejoice t
, hear on every side the expressions OF devC
ton to the Union. ard the determination I
;, stand bv the administration until this que,
ton is settled. And we may well declar
here our convictions touching the state
feeling which j. rapidly developing at tn
North. The time is coming, ard that yer
Il speedily, when tralto:ous words will not !!
e tolerated. men who sympathize wit
rebellion will rot dare 10 open their moutl
or show their heads. There has been. in o.,
part of our country, a reign of terror t'
patriots there will come reign of terro
r, for traitors. Curses be upon him who W
C no, stand by his country and his flag in tn
r their hour Of peril.-!Sprinydeid HcpuJlico