The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1861-05-16
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY. NAY IL

a. II - ~A~ r--H h~Fa AtlHAAAa' AA az
days issue. reveals the stern fact thar the Amer
r lean Union is IT length involved in civil war
Humiliating - IL Is u confess IT,, II i non
the les true, that the blood Of freemen ha
been spilled in the strife Of war. and wha- w
: have gloriei in as the land Of the free unC
the home Of the brave, j. from henceforth
aye, Is even now. the scene Of bloodshed and
carnage. Each new arrival from San Fran
o cisco, will be eagerly looked for to bring us
further tidings Of the progress Of civil com
motion and fratricidal destruction, and per-
haps the lists Of relatives wounded and slain.
x. years past we have watched the carnage
and was Of Europe-we have described the
battle-felds Of Balaklava and the Mincio, and
announced the progress Of the liberator Of It.
ally We have detailed the battles with the re-
bels Of India, the massacre Of the Peiho, and
the sacking Of the Palaces Of Pekin We have
laid all three before our reader, rather exult-
ing that civilization, peace and plenty should
be confined to the happy hills and wales of
England and America, not dreaming then that
1t was reserved for the wear of grace one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one to wit
ness the goddess Of L,berty weeping over her
broken sceptre, ruthlessly and exultingly
t~rampIed in the dust by her once loyal sub
jects.
The contest now in progress in America.
whatever may be thought of the merits Of
either side, is simply a contest between Slarcry
and Freedom. The North becomes in the strife
the representative of Freedom, the South the
representative of Slavery. That it will result
in full and distinct separation, there can now
be no question. Slavery must stand separate
by itself, and freedom by itself. Where the
rrTusIplaa On LT,I 81. .-. CT - r L
racy Is based, are so distinctly ayowed. and so
antagonistic to the progress and civilization of
the age, there Is left no standing ground for
Union men, and reunion becomes on impossi-
bility- All the efforts ut compromise will prove
mere straws raised to resist the fury of the rising
hurricane. England and France might as well
talk of union, Of peace under one sovereignty.
as we talk of 4 union of freedom and slavery
as the latter Is now developing itself in the
South. 1t is not the slavery of 1900 that rem
ders further union impossible. but the slavery !
of 1851. The former was mild, inoffcnsive.
yielding endured As 4 necessity and an evil
bequeathed by former generations; the latter
Is avowedly right in theory, aggressive in
policy and warlike in practice, and must be de-
Tended and sustained at the point of the bayonet.
That the intelligence of the North, with its
IMP -EHANg VIII ~ permanently {
unite again to propagate and extend the &. . bless
inss of slavery, it is idle TO suppose.
1t seems unfortunate that this separation,
which must take place, in the natural course Of
events, sooner or later. could not be peaceably
effected. With all the wisdom, caution and
peaceful character of the American govern
ment, we here would naturally suppose that
minor differences, if not rights, might be yielded
In the oua yraat ,Iiaef oF ,ra-.-r;,. 900 NJ.
a portion of a people have a right to separate
from the remainder, or that the whole people
have a right to overturn and change the system
of government at any time, if hey possess the
Poreer to make such separation or change, is Il
maxim as old as the history of nations.
The South possesses, therefore, an inherent and
absolute right to secede from the American In
ion, whatever may have been the basis of union.
and to set up a separate government of her own,
if her people 50 decree. But in making such
separation, she has not the right to seize and oc-
any territory belonging exclusively to the
general government from which she has been
separated, nor to take any property belonging
to the latter. 1t il not secession, but the act of
seizing property not her own. that is condemned
at the North, and which the whole world will ,
unite in condemning. She was bound to wait
and treat peacefully for such property, and only t
resort to hostile measures on the failure of peace f
full 1t is to resist such acts that the North is o
Using in its might and majesty. and with unity t
# purpose, 20 aid the constitutional executive :
n Washington, who, if ne be president. and u
eeks the respect that belongs to his office. must !
.xercise It's prerogativcs and maintain possession .
f the national property. Beyond this, he can :
rot 90. IN exchange speaking of this subject :
..ys
If Abraham Lincoln has been fairly chosen Presi- ri
Of the United States. he Is entitled to toe respect II,
i and obeyed rs such by the people Of every State -
y those who opposed equally with those who sup
Ortel his election. There i no merit in such obeii- -
nee; for each citizen defends and conserves his own at
ights, his own property, IN thus deferring TO no ey
but TO the plain requirements Of the Federal
Institution. Gen. Jackson was never voted for by
'ertnout nor Massachusetts,. and was not popular as g
resident IN either; but his constitutional authority nc
rs nowhere more scrupul0usly deferred 10 than in "a
lose States. Mr.. Lincoln has to-day the same right O.,
the respect and obedience Of Texas or Georgia as
en-. Jackson, during his Presidency, had to those Of
ermOnt and Massachusetts,.
The President Of the United States has been sworn al
main tain the Constitution aud the laws a. they
re. UndeT the Constitution and the laws, this seces- -
ON Is, as yet, nothing else than a rebellion. II Is "
1t in IN ? Constitutional power Of the President to III
cOgnize any secession as an accomplished rcyolu- ln
On. Tie responsibility, therefore. Of bringing this fu
Hfict To an end. does not rest upon him. Whether l.
= power, by and with the advice Of the Senate, to N
axe tire sties. provided two-thirds Of the Senate con- III
can be regarded as authorizing him TO negO,i- AZ
e n tire. Lty with traitors " leyying war against the vi
nited Sfates,"-we Will not undertake to determine. .o
hsteveI. the power of che President and Senate may
in sue d a case, certainly il would be unwise 10 act sN
thout he full concurrence Of the House Of Repre- Mi
II there Is no adequate power in the
sderal G oyernment, let . Convention of the States rs
called for the purpose Of -consummating The exclu-
IN Of tine seceders from the Union. 40
Whatever may be the immediate result of a
Is revolution, we need have no fears for the -,
ture-thc North viii remain He American -
Mon, reduced though her stars may be in A.,