Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1861-06-21

JEFFERSON CITY, June IL.
70 the People Of Missouri
A series of uuprovoked and uuparallel.
led outrages have been inflicted upon the
peace and dignity of this Commonwealth.
aud upo U the rights aud liberties of its
people, by wicked aud unpriL pied men
protesting to act under the authority of the
United States Government
The solemn enactments of your Lcgis-
lature have been nulI'fed, your volunteer
soldiers have been taken prisoners. your
commerce with your sister States has been
suspended, your trade with your own fell
low citizens has been and is being subjec-
ted to the harassing control Of an armed
soldiery, peaceful citizens have been i'm
prisoned without warrant of law, unohen-
ding and defenseless men, women and chill.
dren have been ruthlessly shot down and
murdered, and other unbearable indigni.
ties have teen heaped upon your State and
yourselves.
To all those outrages aud indignities you
have snbmited with patriotic forbearauce,
which has only encouraged the perpetra
tors at these grevious wrongs to attempt
still bolder aud more daring usurpations.
1t has been my earnest endeavor under all
these embarrassing circumstances to main.
tain the peace of the State. and to avert, If
possible, from our borders the desolating
elects of civil war. With that object in
view, authorized Major General Price,
caveral weeks ago, to arrange with Gen.
Harney, commanding the Federal forces iu
t is State, terms of agreement, by which
the peace ef the State might be preserved
They came, on the 2lst of May, to an un :,
dersts nding which was made public:
The State authorities have faithfully la
bored to carry out the terms of that agree
ment. The Federal Government on the
other hand not only manifested its strong
disspprobstiou of it by the instant dismis-
sal Of the distinguished officer who, on its
part entered into it, but it at once began,
and has unremittingly carried out system
Of hostile operations in utter contc mpt Of
that agreement and in reckless disregard
Of it's own plighted faith.
These acts have lstterly portended reve-
luton and civil war so unmistakably that
have resolved to make one further effort TO
avert these dangers from you. therefore
solicited sn interview with Brigadier Gen
eral Lyon, commanding the Federal army
10 inst, waving all questions of personal
Official dignity, went TO 81. Louis, accom-
panied by Major General Price. We had
an interview on the l tn instant, with
General Lyon and f. p. Blair, jr., at
which l submitted to them this PROPOSE
, tion:
That would disband the State Guard
and break up its organisation; that would
disarm all companies which have been
armed by the State that would pledge
myself not to attempt to organize the mill
tia under the Militia Bill that no arms or
munitions of war should be brought into
the State; that would protect all citizens
equslly in their rights, regardless Of their
political opinion; that I would repress all
insurrectiOnary movements within the
State; that would repel all attempts to in
wade il from whatever quarter and by
whomsoever made, and that would thus
nsintsia strict neutrality in the present
unhappy contest and preserve the peace of
the State, and l further proclaim that /
would, If necessary, invoke the assistance
Of the u s. troops 90 carry out these pledges
All this proposed to do on the condition
thst the Federal Government would under.
take to disarm the home guards which IL
hes illegally organ 'sed and armed through
out the State, and pledge itself not to oc-
cupy with It's troops any localities In the
State occupied by them al this time
Nothing but the most earnest desire TO avert
the horrors Of civil war from our State could
have tempted me to propose these humiliat
ing terms,
They were rejected by the Federal off :
GERS They demanded not only The disor
ganizatiou Of the State militia and the pul.
li6caton of the military bill, but they re.
fused to disarm their own home guards,
and insisted that the Federal Government
should enjoy unrestricted right to move and
station its troops through the State where
ever and whenever they might, in the opin-
ion Of It's officers, be necessary, either for
protection of loyal citizens of the Federal
Government or for the repellihg ofinvasion;
and they plainly announced that it was the
Intention of the Administration to take
| military occupation, under these pretexts,
} of the whole State, is avowed by Gen. Lyon
himself, to the exact condition of Mar land
The acceptance by me of these degrading
terms would not only have sullied the
honor of Missouri, but would have aroused
, the Indignation Of every brave citizen. aud
precipitated the very conflict which il has
been my aim to prevent. We refused to
accede to them, and the conference was
broken up.
Fellow citizens, all OUR eHsfts towards
conciliation have failed We can hope for
nothing from The justice and mojrrntio
of the agents of the Federal Govern u,"nt in
this State. They are energeically hasten
f ing the execution of their bio ,l) and rev.
olutionary schemes for the inarguration of
civil war in your midst; fo, tho military
occupation of your State by armed bands
of lawless invaders. for tho overthrow of
your State Government and ,uhyersion of
, those liberties which that Government has
always sought 90 protect, aud tho intend