, 1861-02-28
Cbitago Tribut,e,
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY Ii b es;1ee1.


errors committed By those to whom the
great interests of the country, and perhaps
The jpsesrpetu1ty Of The government are en-
traated; hut 1he national difficulties have
been 60 notoriously aggravated and settle
ueut has been so clearly reta1ded' by the
attempts TO compromise on . point where
Z compromise is iinB osslb1e That we cannot
refrain ;aa from dt least entering; our decided
.pposess 'hgsnst' nny m6Fe tom-foolery Of
the sort. The Republicans, perhaps q na=
j5eritty j5itt Of them, in Congress ct first, shaped
fhe;;ractien upon tie belief t11at the storm
in the South :Was q thing Of -noampoftan
ii itse1f -and aof, :lrief, duration in any
event. rhae5y ,wefe Il Il Tempted to deride and
jeer what they did not::fully :complfehend,.
and sometimes 10 make merry over the
throes and. 'agonies which they thought
were the tricks of political comedians
playing an artf1l part. But rs soon as
they discovered that there WIS reality be-
hind d-thespectrc which they had Knocked,
they went to tho other extreme; and those
who had been the: foremost in raising. q
,1aGgh, became vcry'early the most:serious-
II frightened; and by propositioqsto "con-
~csds,' Il compromise" or "adjuss," be-
tzayed to their opponents that which is IA
tai to any cause-a want Of earnestness
and tirmnessin standing upon the positions
assumed. "Ad1nit," said the Border States,
- that the Republicans will surrender q
"part Of their platform, or that they arc
5; thrilling to bargain in the face Of menace,
"and:we have only: to enlarge our demands
land multiply and e1aggeratc our threats,
to obtain all we desire.' And right here
has been the root of the difficulty which
has been encountered. Isolated proposals
coming from the Republican side, were &C
cepted by the opposition as an earnest of
the final action Of the whole party. They
demonstrated to the satisfaction of
the masses in the South, that
obligations imposed by an adherence to
the Chicago Platform were not to be OBJ
served; that the rank and file Of the Repnb-
ican party we're fanatics with large dash
Of rasoality, seeking, by means Of an excl
ting and dangerous hobby, to work their
way into power; and that nothing
but terror would deter them from
the accomplishment Of their purpose.
They seemed there to demonstrate
that there was no such thing as principle
involved in the controversy, and the whole
struggle on the part Of the North was only
r. question Of personal ambition and po-
1itical advantage; and that to defeat that
ambition and snatch away these advantages
by threatened dissolution Of the Union,
were the things, and the only things, ne
cessary to be done, 1t las been observed
that just as the North has displayed a viii
1ngness to recede, jnstso have the demands
Of the South risen. To-day, as the result
of this timid and hesitating policy, tie ac-
ceptance Of the Breckenridge platform, with
prospective application TO territory yet TO
be acquired, is declared to be the only
method Of healing the breach.
We claim no wisdom for pursuing the
course into which ne were impe1led by
convictions Of duty; but events have so
clearly demonstrated its adaptation to The
wants Of the time, that we cannot refrain
from. pointing out the effect Of cur policy
If it had been universally accepted by the
party, in Congress and out, and if no sugg.
gestion of compromise had been permitted
to fall from Republican lips. The first i'm
preston made upon the madmen Of the
South would have clinched belief in the
earnestness aud entire sincerity Of those
who won the great fight They would
have said at least, NIL Of those who nre
not disunionista per e." these men are
animated by an idea which they will not
"give up. They believe what they pro-
@1claim; aud as we value our position in the
"Union and the peace ofthe country, Let Us
"not push them to extremities, nor place
yourselves on ground from which we cannot
arecede. They have courage to adhere to
"their conrictions Of right, and we must
ssnot attempt to back them down.
"They say they intend lis no harm. Now
"let us examine their platform, and see
"what they propose, and whether we can
"afford to break up the Government, and
~enter into war to defeat the purposes
that they avoww And here would have
been an end Of the controversy SO far as
the Border States are concerned. PROBES
sions Of kindness and good will, coupled
with an infexible determination to submit
to no wrong, would have done the work
Is not this true9
It is too late to expend regrets upon the
failure Of this man or That man in our ranks
to come up to the demands Of the occasion.
But it is proper, that in the future manage,
ment Of what las grown to be an ugly
strife, Republicans should rroflt by the
errors Of the past; and that tho frmness
lack Of which has SO complicated Difficult.
ties, should at last be assumed and steadily
maintained. Firmness to say to the South
that we are not her enemy that no injury
is in store for her people, as the conse
quence Of Republican rule that her rights
are safe; that her loyalty is expected, ant
that this Union is no. to be and shall not b
dissolved This is the need Of the day
Without it, the Government and the Unio1
are near their end.