The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-05-08


am willing to accept the issue of leaving it to
the God of battles, if battle must to decide the
cause between u.s. and TO LIT the fair historian tell
the rights and wrongs after all is over. But as a
sort of parting word of friendly advice, would say
let us not separate in Government. The war will
end sometime-and may visit each other again.
and trade, and be friendly as has been the case be-
tween England and America. But we are two ma
tions now, to be bound together only by treaties
interests, and friendships, that may be made with
out much better than With, war. 1t doestnot mat
ter now that each may 'eel his quarrel just" The
silver cord is cut, the bowl is broken, and there is
cement that can keep the pieces together.
do not mean in this last letter this subject to
offend in any way, but must say, that to call us
robbers is using harsh terms, and If we are to in
terpret the threat aud promise of your President
that che would hold, accupy, and possess the pub
lie property in the South, to mean, that he will
break, burn and destroy, it is high time to make re-
sistance to Government we so long tried to con-
ciate, and so much desired to maintain. The two
sections in my opinion will be far better off to set
tie the terms of separation without further blood
she'd Your side in numbers and in money
is the stronger, therefore you can afford to be
magnanimous; you have vastly the advantage in
amount of public property; you now get rid of
that Course Of slavery" which has distressed you
much you even hold the Stars and Stripes,
in which have all glored; you might yet do
our carrying trade in your ships; yeu might yet
keep your factories at work. greatly to our benefit
and yours; you can have our products to improve
them by your handiwork, and be fully compensated
for the same; you can yet, even now, by peaceful
policy, keep the ties Of friendship and fraternal
love from being forever and utterly obterated.-
All these things, and many more for the benefit of
both sections and mankind you might have, and
do, bv early return to reason! But never again,
until you make the South run with rivers of
blood till you make cities heaps of ashes, and
public buildings the abGdes of bats and owls; till
you have wasted our fair land and turned it
thousand years back into the darkest ages, can
YOU ever regain it! nor even then. There is no
more hope of a reconstruction than there is OF
all going back to the British crown. What mad
ness, then, it will be to shed each others blood !
What madness to waste so fair an heritage!-
When you have wasted thousand millions OF
money and property, destroyed not only your own
trade and commerce, but million of the lives OF
the best people in the world, on both sides, made
our land vast bowling widerness-what will be
your gain? Tell me, who can, what good 1t
will do them, to say, twas for Flag, for Con
stitution, for Honor? Where will be your
honor, when all else is gone? BE not deceived
even by this supposed weakness. We shall
stand on our own ground, and with an united heart
and firm will, defend our dearest rights. We shall
stand together, one man, to the last, and when,
if God shall permit it. and your hordes strong
enough to subdue US, you will have nation of
women and children to take away from a land
where all the men were slain! and where yourselves
could not remain, and where even the women will
die beside their loved ones in the fatal strife. Have
l drawn a dreadful picture2 Turn it over to the
wall, and there, | fear, you will see another sight
as full of horror Where then, ask you, would
sleep your half million sons? For be assured
where Greek meets Greek, there is the tug of war.
Will widows, mothers, sisters, orphans, send up the
empty shout, Our Flag, Our Flag, Our glorious
Constitution? Who will then occupy your palaces
and who will feed your poor? Who will occupy
your workshops, and who will buy their wares?
Who will make ships, when the war is over,
in place of those that will have rotted at your
wharves? and who will sail them? and with what
cargOes? and where?
Oh, God of Mercy, (not of battle,) come and
turn those dreadful thoughts to dreams, and make
the sense of danger sleeping the craters burst
ing mouth. Oh, make men stop, and think, before
they plunge into the unfathomable gulf:
Oh, make them pause and see they but men, yea
worms of DUST
That Thou art God, and will uphold the just.
If we shining, make our errors plain
Nor wait till half our noblest sons are saini
But if our cause be jdst, our enemies appal,
And make them see Thy hands and hear Thy call
Say, peace be stll.'
/ have said that we are now two people. SO let
it be. | shall long for the time, and pray to be
spared to see it, when shall again shake hands
and greet each other, at our several homes.
shall wish to feel that are brothers and sisters
and friends again as we are now, and much more
so; but must say in all candor that neither hope
wish to return ever again to be governed by
such heartless, selfish, miserable set as now con-
troll the destinies of the Northern States. They
have brought us to the edge of yawping gulf and
fain would throw us headlong in. We have asked
for bread, they gave us a stone; we asked for q
fish, and they offer US a serpent. Blind. foolish
mer, when they were told how little would satisfy
us, they said we must do without that. We sent
| them many offers of peace, now we must send then
| the thunders of war. They trod on our t"oS. W.
| will tread on their necks and unless God in Hi
mercy shall turn their hearts and minds from theiI
unholy purposes, we shall see war the like
| which was never seen before May God have mer
cy us all, and save us from so dreadful an al
Tentative. l shall yet hope for peaceful separa
tion. T. H.