The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-07-10

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view of ours when we borrowed their money :?
! If we now recognize this doctrine by allowing
the seceders to 60 in peace, it is difficult to see
what we can do if others choose to go, or to
extort terms upon which they will promise to
remain.
The seceders insist that our constitution adj
mits of secession. They have assumed to
make national constitution of their own, in
which of necessity they have either discarded
or retained the right of secession. As they in
sist it exists in ours, if they have discarded it,
they thereby admit that on principle it ought
not to exist in ours. If they have retained it,
| by their own construction of ours. that shows
that to be consistent they must secede from
one another when they shall find it the easiest
way of settling their debts'or affecting another
selfish or un ust object. The principle itself is
| one of disintegration, and on which no govern
ment can possibly endure. If all the States
save one should affect the power to drive that
one out of the Union. it is presumed the whole
class of the seeded politicians would at once
deny the power and denounce the act as the
greatest outrage upon State rights but sup
pose that precisely the same act, instead of be.
ing called driving one out, should be called the
seeding of the others from that one, it would
be exactly what the seceders claim to do, un.
less, indeed, to make the point, that the one, be-
cause It Is minority, may rshtfully do that
which the others. because they are the MAORI
ty, may not rishttully do These politicians
are profound in the rights of mnorities They
are not partial to that power which made the
constitution and speaks from the preamble,
calling itself eve, the people," It, may we'll
be questioned whether there is to-day MAORI.
ty OF the legally qualified voters of any State,
except, perhaps, South Carolina, in favor Of
disunion. There is much reason to believe
that the Union men are in a majority, in many,
II not in all, OF the seeded States The con.
trary has not been demonstrated in any one of
them. 1t is ventured to affirm this even of Vir.
glnia and Tennessee. for the result of elections
held in military camps, where the bayonets
| were all on one side OF the question voted upon
can scarcely be considered as demonstrating the
popular sentiment. At such an election, all
that large class who are at once for the Union
and against coercion would be coerced to vote
against the Union. -.
1t may be affirmed, without extravaganza.
that the tree institutions which we enjoy have
developed the powers and improved the condi-
ton OF our whole people beyond any example
in the world. OF this we now have a striking
and impressive illustration. So large an army
as the government has now on foot was never
before known, without soldier in it who has
not taken his place there of his own free choice.
But more than this, there are many single re-
giments whose members, one and another, pos
sess iull practical knowledge of all the arts and
| sciences, professions, and whatever else, wheth.
| or useful or elegant is known to the whole
| world !; and there is scarcely one from which
there could not be selected President, a Cab.
! met, a Congress, and, perhaps, a Court, abun-
dainty competent to administering government.
NOR 90 say this is not true also in the army OF
our late friends, now adversaries in this contest:
but 1t Is SO much the better reason why the
government, which has conferred such benefits
on both them and us, should not be broken I'D.
VINO ever, IN any section, proposes to aban.
! uon such government would do well to con~i-
der III Difference to what principle it is that he
does it; whether the substitute will give, or be
intended to give, so much good to the people.
There is some foreshadowing on this subject
Our Anniversaries have adopted some declarations
OF independence in which, unlike the good OLD
one renned by Jefferson, they omit the words
| "are created equal" Why They have adopt
ed temporary national constitution in the pre-
amble of which, unlike our good old one signed
by Washington, they omit swe, the people, :"
| and substitute 'wc, the deputies of the sover-
eign and independent States" May this dclb.
crate pressing out of view the rights of men
and the authority of the people This is cs-
sentlalIy peoples contest on the side of the
Union. 1t Is struggle Tor maintaining in the
whose leading object is to elevate the condition
OF men, to lift art fetal weights from all Shout
derS, to clear the paths of inudabe pussuit, and
| to afford all an untcttered start and fair
chance IN the race OF life, yielding to partial
ana temporary Departures from necessity. This
Is the leading object of the government for
whose existence we contend. am most hap
Ply to believe that the plain people understand
and appreciate this.
1t is worthy of note that while, in this the
governments hour of trial, large numbers of
those In the army and navy who have been ia
| Vored with the offices have resigned and proved
false to the hand that pampercd them, not one
common soldier or common sailor is known to
| nave deserted his flag. Great honor is due to
| those officers who remained true despite the
example OF their treacherOus associates. But
| the great honor and most emphatic fact of
| all Is tie unanimous trmness OF the common
| soldiers and common sailors. TO the last man
| SO lar as Known. they successfully resisted the
;raltorous efforts of those whose command
within an hour before they obeyed rs absolute
law. This is patriotic instince of plain men
| lhey understand without an argument that the
destroying OF the government which was made
by Washington means no good for them.
Our popular government has often been call
ed an experiment. Two points in it our people
| have settled-the successful establishing and
the successful administering of it. One still
remains-''s successful maintenance against a
formidable internal attempt to overthrow it
1t Is now for them to demonstrate to the world
tnat those who can fairly carry an election can
also suppress rebellion that ballots are the
rlghtlul and peaceful successors of bullets, and,
when balloist are fairly and constitutionally de
cided, there can be no successful appeal back
to bullets that there can be no successful an.
peal except back to ballots themselves at a
succeeding election Such will be great les.
son OF peace, teaching men that what they
cannot take by an election, neither can they
take it by war; teaching all the folly of being
the beginners Of a war u.s..
Lest there be some uaeasiness in the mind.
| OF candid men as to what is 10 be the course OF
the government towards the southern States
alter the rebellion shall have been suppressed,
the Executive deems it proper to say that i,
shall be his purpose, then as ever, to be guided
by the constitution and the laws, and that he
probably will have no different understanding
OF the powers and duties of the Federal gov
eminent relatively to the rights of the States
and the people, under the constitution, than
that expressed in the inaugural address He
desires TO preserve The government, that it may
be administered for all time as it was admins
tered by the men who made il. Loyal citizens
everywhere have the ight to claim this of theil
| government. ne government has no right ia
withhold or neglect it,, and it is not perceived
in giving it, that there is any coercion, any
conquest, or any sabjugaton, in any just sense
Of these terms.
i The constitution provided, and all the States
accepted the provision, that the L. S. shall guar
antee to every State in this Union a republican
form OF government; but. ii State may law
fully go out of the Union, having done so il
may also discard the republican form Of gov,
eminent, so that to prevent it's going out is an
Indispensable means to obtaining the guarantee
mentioned. When an end is lawful and obi
gatory, the Indispensable means to it are also
lawful and obligatory.
1t was with the deepest regret that the Exec
utive assumed the duty OF emp!o ing the wal
power in defence Of the government Forced