Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1861-06-19

|
the perfdy Of the pretext resorted to in jnsti-
| flying the conduct ofdominant parties in some
! of the free States, touching the rendition OF
| fugitive slaves-the simple and obvious retu-
tation, founded in the double citizenship of
| the people of the United States; and here the
| refutation is just Clear, and is founded on
the same truth. By the express terms, as
we'll as by the very nature of the Federal Con-
| Stitution, secession ordinance in the South
| is as totally void as q personal liberty law in
| the North possibly can be. The Federal Gov
| ernment has more need to deal with the
| South Carolina convention, in executing the
! post office laws, the revenue laws, or any 9TH
| er lawS-than 1t has to deal with the Massachu-
| setts Legislature in executing the fugitive
| slave laws and there was no more legal ne
cessity, nor any more logical consistency, in
dlatribes about lack of power TO coerce q State,
! In one case than the other. There was no
need, nor any power, to c0erce State in eth
er case; but in both cases the need was ur-
| gent, and the power was complete, 10 execute
| the Ld,Us of the United States upon erery citi-
zen Of the United States, whatever relation he
might happen to occupy towards any one of
| the States and to enforce those laws against
| all wrong doers. n or is there any considera
| tion arising out of the nature or the form of
the opposition, that may be made to the exc
cution OF the supreme law, which can go far
ther than to address itself % the sound dscre-
| OF determining the most proper and effactua,
and at the same time the least arbitrary, per-
| lions, and destructive method OF overcoming
the resistance that is made. If the President,
in the exercise of this discretion. allows mill
| ions of dollars worth of national property in
buildings, in cash, in munitions of war, to be
seized and held by citizens of the United
States in avowed revolt against the general
government; if he permits them to take for
chile possession of the national fortresses,
and hold them in armed hostility to the ma
tion if he permits the officers and soldiers of
the army of the United States, to be taken
prisoners of war, and treated by hostile COM
manders as captured enemies; if he permits
| armies to be organized, munitions of war to
be collected, batteries to he directed against
the national fortresses if he permits the flag
of the nation to be torn down from the public
edifces and fortresseS, and hostile flags to be
planted on them-nay, permits that proud en-
| hlem of our national unity and force to be
fired on with impunity, when it covers an
armed force OF The nation if he allows the
| mail to be broken open and The correspond
ence OF the government itself to be tampered
with the foreign commerce OF the country to
be interrupted and the revenue from it seized
the internal commerce to be menaced by bat
teries erected under State authority on our
great water courses if, to add no more, he
permits ambassadors from secession conven-
tions and assemblies to menace him with war
IN the capital OF the nation and conspirators
plotting the military occupation of the FEEDER
al City, to go unpunished it really appears
TO us that the most nervous seceSSioniSt night
consider the question of coercion, being
about as offensive to The President as to him
self. Every man who has any remaining 10y
atty to the nation, or any hope or desire for
the restoration of the seeding States to the
conied"racy must see that tchatis n1e4nt tg The
oufcry against coersion is IN The interest Of Sc
cession, and that Uhat is meant is IN Effect that
the Federal gore ~nment must be terrified or Sc
duced into complete co operation lriM the reUoiu
tton, which 1t was its most binding duty to
have used all its power and influence to pre-
vent.
8. We believe it is the desire of the Amer
lean people that the present revelation Shou Id
be brought TO Such a conclusion that the sece-
ding States shall all be restored to their posi-
tion in the nation and that to this end such a
settlement of existing difficulties shall be
made, as will effectually and peacefully secure
this result. In order to that, it is impossible
for the nation to permit anything to be done
by the general government, which will take
for granted that the state of exaggerated and
disloyal opinion either in the extreme North
the extreme South, is irrcvocably fixed as a
final and sovereign expression. On the con-
trary, what the nation must take for granted,
as the basis of every hope 70 peaceful success,
is that revolution in opinion must take
place in both quarters, in view of the immi-
rent peril of our position. But beyond all
doubt, every thing that strengthen the
hands of the party now dominant, either at
the extreme North or the extreme South
must weaken every hope of any revolution in
opnion-every hope of solution at once
peaceful and successful. Nothing could be SD
fatal as the conviction in the mind Of loyal
citizens, both in the extreme North and the
extreme South, that the nation does not SYM
pathise with them, and will abandon them.
1t is, theI efore, sheer folly to weaken the pos
ture OF the general government towards the
secession moment. The duties of that gov
ernment, are perfectly clear to their nature
no matter how difficult they may be as to
the mode of their performance. The nation
has no alternative, for the movement, but to
abide the firm and sincere performance of
those duties, meantime striving for settle
ment of the whole difficulty. lfthe seeding
States folloo up their past outrages By rushing
INTO ,car ,cih the nation, no matter on ,otat pre-
tert, that riH only prore that the pestilence has
already gone beyond the reach of peaceful RENE
dies. On the other hand, let it be taken for
granted that the nation cannot be saved-and
that peaceful separation, if that be possible,
is the best hope of all parties. Even in that
case, and with view to that result, the posi-
tpn of the general government towards the Sc
cedng States should be one of fOrbearance
and moderation indeed, but Of unalterable firm
ness. The nation has an interest in the man.
of this supposed separation, hardly infer
ior to its interest in preventing any separa-
ton : nor is the interest of the States that may
go out, less permanent and fundamental in
the right ordering OF that great, and as we
think terrible result, than any they may sup
pose they have In founding a new empire.
That this particular constitutional government
should fail, is dreadful enough but owe
tito ourselves, to the glorious cause of con-
stitutional government, and indeed to the hu-
man race, that we should not establish by