St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-05-30
4loIihtal.
MESSAGE OF GOV. KIRKWOOD.
Of the Senate

| Gentlemen Of the Senate
and Muse Of Representatives:
The Constitution requires that
shall state to you the purpose for
which you have been convened in Ex
traordinary Session.
When, Il little more than year ago
your regular session closed, the whole
country was in the enjoyment of peace
and prosperity. At home, life, liberty
and prosperity were secure, and
abroad the title of an American citi.
zen was claimed with pride, and full
assurance that it was a sure guaran-
ty OF respect and protection to all
who could make good the claim. To-
day civil war is upon us, and wide
spread conspiracy against the Gene
raj Government. which we now know
has been maturing for years, has been
developed, and the whole country has
been filled with the din of arms. On the
one hand, and from one section of the
country men who should be loyal citi-
zcns, if benefits conferred by a gov
ernment should make men loyal to it,
are mastering in armed bands with
the intent to dissolve the Union, and
destroy our Government, and on the
other hand, partially from the same
section, and as one man from the 9TH
er, our loyal people are rallying
around our Union and our Government
and plcdging for their maintenance,
what our fathers so freely pcrilcd to
secure them, life, fortune and honor.
In this emergency Iowa must not
and does not occupy a doubtful posi-
ton. For the Union as our fathers
formed it, and for the Government they
formed SO wisely and so well, the pco-
pie of Iowa are ready to pledge every
fighting man in the State and every
dollar Of her money and credit ; and
l have called you together in extraor-
dinary session for the purpose of ma
king that pledge formal and effective.
Those who, to crafty their mad
ambition, have brought upon the
country this great evil, seek to dis.
guise their true intent to cover their
purpose. They say that they do not
desire to destroy our government, but
that it has become hostile to them,
and they only wish to peaceably with.
draw themselves from it, which they
claim the right odo whenever their
interest or safety may require snch
action. Many loyal men, deceived by
their professions, and not pcrceiving
that peaceable secession is destructive
alike of the Constitution and the Un-
ion, were unwilling that any cocrcive
measures should be used to bring
them back to sense of their duty.
How are the facts Our goverement
is based on these great central, con-
trolling ideas. The people are the on
ly true source Of power. In the eXcr-
else of their power they have created
our present form of government re-
tanning in their own hands it's manage
ment and control They have honesty
enough to desire, and intelligence
enough to discern the right, and if
at any time they should by reason of
excitement or passion, misdirect the
action of the government, and do
wrong to any portion of themselves,
their honesty and intelligence can
be surely relied upon TO correct such
wrongs. These are the Fundamental
IDEAS of our form of government, and
when any section Of our country, or
any portion Of our people, alleging