St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-04-04
Correspondence Of the St Charles City Intelligcncer
National AhairS-FOrt Sumpter.



forth, is hut held back for moment, and Fort
Sumptcr is, or Is Immediately to be, surren-
dercd. This, almost the first act of President
LinColn's administration, is to he done in the
face of the angry pride of the whole North
in spite of the earnest rcmonstrancc of the
best friends of the powers that arc-n com
plete disregard of the very words of that In
augural, the very ink of which is as yet hard
ly dry, and at the risk Of great popular odor
and clamor; and yet, notwithstanding each
and all of these, it is Il wise, statesmanlke
aud judicious move, and as such will he
judged in history. Washington is probably
the only fair point in the country from which
to view the whole scope and effect of this
movement Here, all shades Of opinion and
all sections of the country are fairly repre-
scnted the pressure of Northern pride and
southern prejudice; of Western wrath and
Eastern interest, are equally felt, and the feel
ing here is one of almost universal relief at
the conclusion understood to have been ar
rived at. That it is Il conclusion which will
be received at the North with almost niycr-
sal wrath and dcnunciation. all seem to regard
as past doubt but those who advise it may
safely appeal to the end to Justify the act.
1t is hard at any time for a great and proud
people to undergo humiliation and hardest of
all to humiliatc itself to traitors but think
ing men will console themselves by the rclcc-
ton that, through all humiliations their coun-
try when all is said and done, does but hide its
time. The facts in relation to Fort Sumptcr
are simply these 4 garrison of 125 men I'M
der the national flag have now held it for three
months against the power Of an entire State;
in that time the supplies Of that garrison have
dwindlcd to what is sufficient to sustain them
for fifteen days alone; owing to the unpardon-
able iacidc Of an impotcnt Executive, the
golden moment for reinforcement has passed
forever, and now the channel through which
alone supplies can be conveyed to it is com
mandcd Ivy powerful and Convcrging batteries.
The highest naval authorities assert that it
can be relieved by sea but only at the cost of
two vessels out of three, sent to convey the
relief. The highest military authorities assert
that it can be relieved 10y land, but to ensure
success 10 0C0 men would he required, and
the enterprise would be accompanied 10y great
loss of life
Finally comes the great question Of ctG bono ?
Thus pride stood out in favor of relief at any
cost, but abandonment was sustained 10y both
necessity and policy. Undoubtedly, however,
if the Confrderated States of the South only
were concerned if otherwise the country was
u unit, matters would have been carried with
Il high hand and Fort Sumptcr held at any
price: Unfortunately, however, this is not
the case. The country has just passed through
II long agony. The fever of secession at one
time SO rampant in the border slave States, is
fast disappearing, before the strong reaction
for Union. The political traitors OF that re.
gion, the Hunters, Masons, Wises. Cling.
mans and Garnctts, are trembling for Their
lives, and their only chance, and they know
it, of retaining their power, lies in the revival
of the excitement. Is it then policy to revive
it?
Some even here cxclaim, crush Carolina
relieve Sumptcr-hol it dctiantly against the
whole nest of traitors and all this we can
do. no doubtful what then, Sure we shall
save our plidc--wc shall hold barren rock
in the heart of hostile country-and we shall
ruin the city of Charlcston-but the flames OF
civil war will be lighted, the fury Of secession
will again spring up all over the South, the
friends of the Union will he sacrificed bcyonC
"a * N
apparently sealed, will rejoice in rcgancd
power. On the other hand abandon Sumptcr
and what will be the result, The national
pride will be mortiied-a great point will be
yielded to the violence Of traitors, and all this
it is true is very bitter--it seems almost the
last drop in the cup of humiliation but on
the other hand new and tremendous cmpha
sis will he given to the now rapidly rcvivinq
Union spirit of the South-thc true men o
Virginia will, at the close Of the coming April
sweep every representative, even suspected o
treason, from the National Congress- and fore
warn the chuckle- healed Mason and sophisti
cal Hunter Of their own impending fate ant
Virginia would but set an example to othcl
States.
In the defeat of these men and their cvi
influences, the slave power would receive ia
heaviest possible blow. For what practicable
good then should we waste blood and treasur,
in relieving Sumptcr? Have we not held il
as long as holding it could benefit US Have
we not exhausted State in the vain effort tc
capture it, Will holding it tend to calm the
Disseminated and convince the crring of theil
mistake, Certainly not. If the South is tc
come back to the Union at all it must come
back through the efforts of the Union men
of the South, and not through the violence Of
Il powerful North. That much is clear To
hold Fort Sumptcr longer is to stop the mouth
and palsy the arm of every Union man, and
there are many of them, throughout the scce-
dcd States, for no important end.
The case of Fort Sumpter differs from that
of the Tortugas, ia that the last is key to the
Gulf, the former is the key to nothing it diff
fcrs from that of Fort Pickens, in that the last
can he held without collision and bloodshed,
and the first cannot. Finally, let every lover
of peace facilitate by every means in his power
the departure Of South Carolina from this
Union and impede her return to it, in the
same degree, except rs province, even unto
eternity. National pride, then, tells us to
cling to this fortress at any cost and truly its
abandonment cannot but humiliatc us, not on.
! ~ in our own eyes, but in the eyes of the civ
iiized world. Sagacty, reason and experience
tell us, in preparing for a long and arduous
struggle, to abandon the weaker for the strong
er ground, and not to risk great causes on du.
bious issues = they tell us not to take counsel
of our enemies, and that the road to substan-
tial victory lies through apparent defeat Fl.
nally, they bid Ills bide our time, and presently
our Southern friends will DC tue hangmen OF
Southern traitors.
| have been forced To these views most TO-
luctantly, and only after consultation with
many of the leading Union men Of the South
a few months ago i came to Washington feel
ing us sure that the first act Of Lincoln's ad.
ministration should and would be the relief