Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-08-05
A nrIfIsh journal on American Affairs


From the London News, Ioth.l
President Lincolu'a Message sets at rest,
with the simplicity Of an Interchangeable re-
solve, many idle rumors Of 8 compromise
between the 80 called State rights OF q re-
6ellious mlnority aud the fundamental prin-
eiples Of q national union and national SOW
ereignty which Washington bequeathed to
the people Of the United States as " sacredly
obligatory on all" as "the main pillar in
the edi6ce OF real Independence as the sup
port Of tranqv..sssssy Of home, Of peace abroad,
OF safety, Of prosperity, Of liberty itself. Is
that g0Odly fabric Of selfruiing freedom to
remain one nation, OF TO be split up into as
many mutually dSstru stiye tyrann;es as the
terrorism Of rapacious minorities may estab-
lish by virtue OF pretended right OF Seees-
sion? Mr.. Lincoln shows that the malig-
nant fallacy of the rebel leaders means moth
ing more or less than the complete destruction
of the National Union. This was Ia fact the
very iallacy against which Washington
prophetcally warned bis ielloW-citizens in
his farewell message And if the National
Union of thirty-four, instead Of thirteen
States is now assailed by fatal combination
Of internal enemies, so much the more helm
Gus is the sophism. The Message Of the
President plainly treats the war, which
league of parricides has provoked, as strug-
g,e for national existence.
II the National Government was unable 70
strike the first blow, it is now in position
to secure by energetic action the sympathy
OF foreign powers with an inhexible pur-
pose TO maintain the Union undiminished and
unimpaired. To make the contest short and
decisive, the President asks for legal means
TO take advantage of the irrepreSsible pat
riotism of the people, and to turn to the best
account those lavish offerings Of blood and
treasure which almost perplsx the discretion
Of the Executive. How faithfully Mr.. Lin.
coin treads in the footsteps of the Founder
Of the Republic his argument against the
pretended sovereignty Of the several States
bears witness. Il is the corollary of the en-
phatic and large declarations Of Washington
himself "The very idea, said Washington,
'of the power or the right OF the people to es-
tablish Q government presupposes the duty of
every individual to obey the established Gov
ernment." Nothing less than dan explicit
and authentic act" Of the whole people
could change "the Constitution which at
any time exists" "The States, says Mr..
Lincoln, "have their status in the Union,
and they have no other legal status" "The
Union gave each of them whatever independ-
ence and liberty it has, The plea of State
Sovereignty, that is, Of disruption of the
Union, is sheer rebellion. IF il be a princi
pie, it is the principle of disintegration, Cup
IN which no government can possibly en-
dure," il it be right, it is the right Of a
minority 70 repudiate its obligations, and OF
every State in turn TO secede fror4 all the
rest. It is the negation not only of all ma
tional law, honor and duty, but OF all ma
tional life.
It seems impossible that this plain,
lnvarnished speech Of the Republican Presi
dent should not sink deep into the hearts
and consciences ofa people possessed OF any
reverence for the memory of the great found
er of liberties, of any hopes or interests be-
yond the passions or the appetites Of the
hour. And President Lincoln bears proud
and solemn witness that in truth the plain
people" know well that t'this is essentially
peoples contest" The Seeessionsl oligar-
chy deliberately press out of view the
rights of men and the authority Of the peo
ple.p Their elections are held in military
camps, their State papers are eloquent on
the rights of minorities. On the side OF the
Union the struggle is felt to be one for
nmaintaining form and substance Of Gov
eFnmenp under which the condition of the
whole people has been eleEatsd and improved
beyond example in the wGrld. And this is
how the largest army Of volunteers ever
known, and comprising regiments Of which
every common soldier is a Man of high cul-
ture and attachments, has rushed to the
A. Al. ,,ero
the land and sea services have deserted
taeir eolors, they were the creatures OF favor
OF Of fortzne, of the common soldiers and
sailors nat-eRe has -lailsd f0' 3 moment In
loyalty, even In the face of trsacherous com
manders. With such support as this, Presi-
dent Lincoln is prepared to prove that "those
who can fairly carry an election can also
suppress a rebellion. There IS not free
people, or q people aspiring to freedom
throughout the World-mnel less is there
people with Anglo-Saxon bl,od in its veins
that is not concerned in tue momentous
crisis, which the President Of the United
States describes, in the simplest words, rs
"a great lesson Of peace, teaching men that
what they cannot take by an election, ueith-
er can they take by war" No lesson, it
should be remembered in England, can be
more conservative, in the best and only true
sense, thsn this.
The American civil war, then, is a ques-
ton Of extending the area of Slavery, of re-
viving the slaye-trade; but it is more than all
this for the New World, and for the Old; it
is q question, indeed, Of apeace, safety and
prosperity" nay, of national existence, to
that American Union which the genius and
goodness ofa Washington created for an ex-
ample. But for all free peoples it iss ques-
ticn of upholding the eternal principles OF
liberty, morality, and justice. War for
such cause, though it be civil wsr, may,
perhaps, without impiety be called
Gods most perfect instrument
In u-orIrfuU ont r11fra