New-York daily tribune., 1861-09-09

~ IeinrdlDg them HAT he tauly rueeFequi'e oNhy
< strangers. But he is q fool IT, after the strangers
Ave drawn weapons, he k,epe on talking OF " the
emily rules 80 is il folly 10 gsmmel the ileedomo'
be natiouh family IN time OF War wltu tns pune
khcl8 Observance Of rues, which were Waue 70 Oo
d 90 by !, chiefly in time of Peace.
l ogmrl IN not that while the Rehelon had as yet
Eot grown upon your view into the dimensions and
,aracler of War you though, u yonr once 10 hon up
- Coustituti n before its vicaiors complain noe
III your doing 40 at stage OF our troubles, when
semed u You but litde If any more than riot or
Smporary obstruction If the laws. But do complain
Fiat after The aues Of War had burst out, you sui
Continued to blsy yourself in way winch, when tnst
appalling time had come, was go infinitely below the
senards that your n,lefied and distressed country
lad upon you Nay, mast insist, that il had then
81 TOO late 10 care greatly for the ConshtntOn
900 late, lad almost said, to make mention Of it,
aly speeches, wriiBgs, life, prove my regard for It,
But since the bonbirding Of Sumter intense concern
or the Country has shut from my heart concern
Tor the Constitution. 1t will be time enough for me
10 renew my interest in the Constitution when 1t shall
be settled that have country left for 1t TO govern
When my dwelling is on fire have something else to
think of than lie eating and sleeping arrangements
VIII you bear with ne In saying that your stress on
Observing the Constitution while in War with
traitors, who defy IT, spit upon IT, and trampe ~ ubder
foot il net only very uutinely but very farclcal
complain that you have made false and petty issue
when you should have accepted and true
aud grand One Wien you saw tie nation falling 10
pieces undr the blows OF traitors you should instead
of contracting your sou aud the public sou to the mar
row purpose of saving Paper, have expanded both
Into the sublime purpose of saving the Nation at what
ever cost to the Paper. All the way have you been
hRmpered by tLis mistaken poll y. Your summons TO
the people save their NatOnto whatever else
might be lost in saving twas the one thing needed
10 electriy them. Alas that THE object, 30 sliritsr
ring and toulabsorbing, had it been left uncOmbined
with any other, should have been degraded to iden
iity with the scrupulOus observance Of Paper! You
ttu hanpered and the people thus hampered, how
could It be expected that all would be done which
lxfa 81 V..r dan At,n.
Your couurymen should have been TO their
try-tO it absoItely:and 10 that their bounding
blood would have responded gloriousy. You should
never have down 10 crave them 10 rave u con-
doualy-to save 1t if they could COHsttutoRdIiy.
An immense advantage has this mistaken pohcy
gwen our enemies Since you ed the way IN this un-
timely meditation of regard for every lire and letter Of
tie Constitution. il is not strange that our enemies fol
lowed And as they followed dishonesty and artfuly
where YOU led honestly artessy il is not strange
tlst they did 70 with deeply injurious effects TO
Cause. Under cover of the paramount Importance
which yon were according to that Paper, Senator
Breckirrdge and his sort could labor TO divert Con-
press from tue perishng Nation to the Warsuspended
Constitution. Our enemies know that idolary Of the
Constitution ia not only your week.-mrs. and that OF
Congress but that of the Nation a.o. Very cunning
ly therefore do they seize upon this weakness, aud
make il the line of their most effective tactics against
u.s. They well know that 30 long they can keep us
caring more for the Constitution than for the Country
or in oheFwords, keep us contouDdng the Constitution
with the country. and making conformity to it's re.
ouirements tie supreme purpose IN the camp aud on
he battlefield well el ewhere, 80 long they will
have but little TO fear from Us. They feel sure that
however skfn tho Generals and vast The armies aud
bonndless the resources ON which Vie Moth relies
nevertheless the Free dashing, reckless enthusiasm Of
the south will eaily prevail against all these so long
as all these are under the constraining ard tanning
poWer of this COns utlon straight ket. That the
Traitors are al aware OF this national weakness Of blind
reverence for the Constitution and know how to turn
Il 10 her account is manifest not only from tie criti
cisms, which TIE matchiessly lmpudent hypocrl'es Of
the Sou,h make upon tie CoDsiituiionslity of your
measures bu from lie similar criticisms in the Seces-
sion Pruts of tie North and in tie writings and
speeches 0; such misguided men are enfeavoring II
trust in ytlni to rally he Democratic Party against
the Government ana the Country. Your unreasonable
aud ryce-,iye emphasis on the Constitution has gone
far to he these tsi and hyp0ctes get the ear Of
be recpe Whereas had you called the people 10 the
Country and nothing hut the Country you would have
40 awak, ned their patriotism and so fired them with
biQh ynr7oes to shut ler ear to this cant about
Even in time of reace we sometimes see en- excessive
devotion TO tue Constitution. Such devotion
Daniel Websteg's, when all be would have recorded
on his tomb tat he had rendered some service TO
the Constitution. By such devotion was Daniel S.
Dckinson's democracy trammeled. Heaven be
praised that il is now free and that in this
SAD and gloomy day Of bis country he proves himself
capabe Of sinkiugtte politician and partizan III the
uariot He sill loves that Constitution; and is intent
on poing for far as be can. But infinitely
intent is he 90 for the country be il at whatever
expense 10 the Constitution SO would it be with
Daniel Webster were be now aliye-for he too was q
patriot He too, like Mr.. Dickuson, would be found
forgetting the Constitution III LIS oeeper concern Tor
tie country.
know that you magnify the Constitution not 10 |
turn from saving the nation, but to quicken their
zeal TO save 1t. Nevertheless to magnify it at this
time is 10 favor their cry of the Constitution, whoCe
object in the cry is TO connteract the claims OF the
country and TO accomplish It's ruin by busying its
friends with something else than its salvation. Happy
a. ~. 4. IL
against 1t had laid down his arms your pen should not
write, and your lips no moro speak the word Cons'ta-
ton.
close under this head with the remark that even IL
the Constitution we've plain to compel the read
ing of in but one way nevertheless inasnuch as the
absorbing idea of the nation the ess tho public stten
tion ia lied TO the Constitution the better But the
Constitution like most other books is capable of beisg
read several ways, not only by ingenuity but by
honesty How very unwise then at such a time as
this D. multiply divisions among the people by direct
ing them IRON the country to the Constitution. In
word ss The euemies OF the nation care for nothing
but TO destroy it, 80 let its friends Gaze for nothing but
10 save II.
Now to the other error-orerratiag Ne importance
of c1acliatag loyal shareholders Hadall the Slave
States seeded and all tue Shareholders sanctioned the
Secession the war would have been ere this me
Immediately on It's breaking out you would have
given 10 the rebellion It's death blow by your pr0cama
ton inviting standard all the people Of those
States. Not only would it have been in your heart
10 do so-but II would have been in every true
Northern heart TO have you do 3d. Not to have done
40 would have shown you TO be utterly unworthy Of
your place. But the Secession was only PARTIAL and
"a al the Shareholders were not drawn into il, sym
Dathy with such Of them us were loyal, desire to
plea:e them and preserve their loyalty, operated
.eciuay to hold you back from giving such an invi-
iaticn to the people Of any Of the Slave States do
no, forget that many win argue that proclamation
90 bold would have disafected the North Their
philosophy Is unsoand. 1t would have lifted up ard
r-,o;1ad yba North II would have left scarce