Daily national Democrat., 1861-06-20
COerciOn.

Constitution never designed to confer upon
the Government coercive powers ogain,St a
State" "a State" means what2 The Gov
ernor and Legislature? Or all the men, wo-
men aud children black and white, who re-
side within certain boundaries? Or does it
only mean those of the people who are in
armed rebellion against Federal authority :?
Or does it mean Sovereign Convention"
made up Of all the frothy political agitators
in a State? The term "coercing state" i;
very vague. If rdding State Of traitors,
or euppressing Instructions, or dispensing
mobs who have seized Federal property, be
"coerciuga State" most undoubtedly the
Constitution confers full power for the pur-
pose lfto recover possession, at all hazards
of forts, arsenals and other public property
within which the General Government has
"eXclusive Jurisdiction" under the constitu-
tion, be coercion Of State" then the Gov
ernment certainly has that power. If, in
short, to purge the land of traitorous hosts
who, with arms in their hands, proclaim that
the Constitution and the Union shall be no
more, be "coercing State" the Government
has the power as clearly as an individual has
the right to take dose Of physic. The ques
tion is thfeadbare. There is no argument on
the side of the traitors. They are revolu-
tionists. who deal blow sneakingly, and
then command the peace before it can be re-
turned. They call their Internal movements
by the name OF Secession, and claim the right
to peaceably break up this Government, be-
cause they dread the shock of battle which
rcvolutionists have always, until now, ex-
pected would follow revolt. They are very
chivaric, but they want to fight an inanimate
and passive enemy. They had to invent some
theory whereby revolution could be inaug-
urated against Government, and that Gov
ernment have no right to resist such revou-
ton Secession is the name of the convenient
doctrine, and Coercion" being resistance to
secession, cannot, according to the new
lights be tolerated. The time for argument
has gone by. The hair-splitting demagogues
who told the Southern people that revolution
would not be resisted So long as it was called
Secession" and not revolution, can now
make their peace as best they may, with the
dupes to their shameful charlatanry. They
have precipitated the Cotton States into
revolution, by promising that it should all be
done quietly, and that the Government had
no right to save itself from destruction. The
insanity of the Southern rebellion is made
apparent in no way more clearly. than in the
foolish certainty its followers seemed to feel,
that they were to march on to the consum=
nation Of such purposes as pleased them,
without 50 much as saying to the General
Government: "by your leave. That any
can be found at this time to deliberately
argue against coercion" of rebel armies by
the United States Government simply shows
that ignorance and impudence has sway over
some minds, or that there are madmen at
large.
No State can be coerced into abandoning
one jot of her rights but the Government
cannot, on the other hand, be coerced into n
dissolution hy the acts of crazy conventions,
corrupt Legislatures, or fanatical armed mobs'
The fright of secession" means that one may
strike and not be struck it is therefore sim
pie cowardice The right of revolution may
always be appealed to by an oppressed peo-
pie, and they must sustain the appeal with
arms. This demands courage. The Hot
spurs among us who justify rebellion would
do well to stop their nonsensical drivel against
coercion, unless they mean to admit that the
soldiers of jeff Davis are afraid to fight If
the rebels took the field hoping TO meet no
enemy, they now know that they were mis-
taken. If there really is any pluck in the
bosoms of those who are in arms against our
flag, if they really think they can each whip
five honest citizens, we do hope they will
cease begging of the "coerconists" to retire
to their homes Really it is a silly sight we
have before us--that of an army of hun
dred thousand men, drilled for months, blus-
tering about in "Old Virginny" and foaming
for a fight, while all their friends are begging
the awful coercionists to stay at home and
hp'i VIZ "h "NSO"'u' w NoN'SS' VI "'lT thN
soldiers who are only in the field for nothing
in the world but to accomplish peaceful
dissolution Of the UniCn.
The Kentucky Resolutions of '0S-9.
The Express publishes these resolutions to
prove that Secessionism is Democracy. If
the editor of that conservative journal will