Daily national Democrat., 1861-05-19
Coercion--Its Popular Acceptation.

As this word is now popularity received,
| and the sense which desired IL should con-
vey in my letter, il is understood to mean the
invasion Of the South by an army, having in
view the subiugation Of fifteen sovereign
States, and holding them as conquered prov
inces-tho melting of servile insurrection
with its train Of horrors-the obteration Of
State lines, and the confscaton Of individual
property-all of which and their prospects
are advised and gloated over by leading
statesmen and journals in the confidence Of
those who hold the reins of power Cor.
Dooney's second letter.
The Governor distinctly recognizes the
meaning given by the open advocates of trea-
son. TO the term coercion" to be the sense in
which the word is "popularly received" The
men who lately hurrahed for jeff. Davis and
the Southern Confederacy, during the de-
livery at Sacramento of q Union speech by
Senator Latham, belong to the class of men
who say that Coercion" means invasion, sub
jugation, melting servile insurrectioD, etc.
Do they constitute the populace. and does
the meaning they choose to put to the En-
glsh language, to answer their treasonvble
purposes, instantly become the popular mean
ing in so literal q sense that the Governor Of
the State feels warranted in adopting it? lie
said in his first letter that he was opposed to
Coercion policy" When he is told by his
friends that he has declared against any effort
by the Government to check rebellion, he,
innocently tells them that coercion has lately
received new meaning, and that he meant
to use it in the same sense that Secessionists
do, viz to signify the preparation by the
Government of such atrocities as "inciting
servie instruction with its train of horrors"
or making "an attempt to annihilate half the
Union" The subterfuge of the Governor is
not respectable. If coercion is popularity re-
ceived as meaning the things stated by Gov
Downey, then Stephen A. Douglas, Daniel S.
Dickinton, Caleb Cushing, Milton S. Latham
and other well known Union leaders cannot
be ignorant of the fact, and yet they advocate
coercion, and exhort the President to make
even more extensive war preparations than
he has yet done.
The Governor is either for war or submis-
sion by the General Government Even fools
cannot be deceived into believing that our
present troubles present more than those two
sides at this time. If he is for war rather
than submission to rebellion, he must not
hope to see the men who compose the oppo-
sing armies embrace each other or discharge
their guns in the air. Those who wear nice
clothes in the immediate vicinity of the fight
will see them soiled with dust and smoke, and
possibly besmeared with blood. If the vii
lainous smell of gunpowder is not to be en-
dured, then the friends of the Union must
give up the Union, its Capitol its name and
all the blessings it confers, and peace may
follow. If Senator Douglas is right, and war,
on grand SCALE is the surest and shortest
way to peace, why, the Governor and his
political friends must shut their eyes, or re
tire while the war is raging. If the people
of any section, or any district, shall prefer to
see desoation around them, and all the name
less horrors of Internal war let loose upon
them rather than yield, their destruction will
be upon their own heads. Those who COM
mence war without aggravation, and then
proclaim that they will die before they will
yield, can only hope to avert death by their
own good right hands. The Governor must
rot hope to see carpets and cushions spread
over the tented field He must consent to
submission to the rebels, or he must stand by
the Government while it lets slip the dogs of
war upon them. While we hope that the
Government will whip the rebels SO that
they will stay whipped forever, we agree to
oppose coercion with the Governor, if by
that is meant, exhorting the successful army
to be merciful and hmane in victory. The
President should avoid coercion " to the
extent OF causing the armies under his COM
mand to only suljugate traitors everywhere,
and not to subjugate any particular section,
and by commanding the soldiery to abstain
from melting slave instructions in any To-
cality where duty may call them.
I L.,