Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-07-06

Ia nnIy too yngue and uncertain rumors
80 .,,en,ion' had refused TO land the
troons. To now reinforce Fort ficKeuS ~ ~
,,,,e crisis would be reached al FoFt
Sumter WAS impossible, rendered so 9y I
..-ncar exhaustion OF provisions IN tuc
III, latter named Fort, in Precautlon Hg@tnst
srcb n cooiunctiou. The Government nau,
:, few days before, commenced preparing
An expedition, as we'll adapted as tniH =;
he. to relieve Fort Sumter, whicn e1Psui-
ton was intended ultimately to De "SeI M " :
NOT. according to circumstances.
strongest anticipated case Tor using " "a.
now presented, and II Was FesoNee |
,otIfr tbe Governor Of South Carolina tnst
~ ,'a' r,;,,b, eTpect an attempt would be made
! ~ nroyision the Fori aud that il the nj,
,s,1,t should not be resisted there womb
Re no effort 70 throw in men, arms OF
ammuuitior, without further notice OF III
case az an attack upon the Fort. Ihis no
J lice Was accordingly given, wherenPoh
| tbs fort was attacked and homoardro 10
,be fall without even awaiting The sTri'"i
+ n the proyision expedition. 1t is thus seen
that the assault npon and the redncti"l "
2, Sumter was in no sense a matteF oI
,sIt dsfeuce on the part o. the asSaliRitS'
! They we'll knew that the garrison IN the
fort could by no possibility commit ag-
preston uuou them. They knew uuey
were expressly notified that tue giNtnG
of bread 10 tho brave and hungt "
of the garrison was all whlch Wouiu o' a." a..
tempted on that occasion, unIets aI q
] r1iss;Ies by resisting so much snouId
nroyoke more. They knew that the
Gov.,nmert desired to keep the garrison
in the fort. not 70 assait thetn, bnt to mere
IL rnsintain visible rossessioa,. eIlitd IIfmme"
prrS@UsstnuIioi. Trustingas hereinbefore
! stated to time, discussion and the ballot box
! for finding adjustment, they assaulted and
reduced the fort for precisely the reverse
! of the object TO drive out the visible nu-
/ iiority Of the Federal Union and thus force
/ it to Immediate dissolution. That was
/ their object, which the Executive well I'M
derstood and having said to them in the In
auguraI Address, you can have no conflict
without being yourselves the aggressors,
I he took pains not only TO keep this dec
/ laration good, but also to keep the case so
! free from the power ofingenIous sophistry
ms that the world should not be able to
misunderstood it. By the affair at Fort
| Sumter with its surrounding circumstances
I that point was reached. Then and thereby
/ the assailnnts of tho Government began
the conflict of arms without a gun in sight
| or in expectancy, to return their fire save
only thu few 10 the Fort, sent to that har-
| Dor years before for their own protection
and still ready to give that protection in
! whatever was lawful. In this act, discard
| ing all else, they have forced upon the
country the destructive issue of immediate
dissolution or blood;and this issue embraces
more than the fate OF these United Stairsii II
presents to the whole family of man the
question whether in a constitutional republic
or Democracy, a Government Of the people,
the same people can or cannot mRintnin
its territorial integrity against its donies-
tic foes. II presents the question, wheth-
err discontinued individuals, too few in
number to control the administration ac-
cording to organic law in any case, and
always upon the pretenCes made in this
case, or any other pretcnCes, can arbitrarily,
without any pretence, break up their gov
eminent, and thus practically put an end
to free government upon the earth. 1t
forces us TO ask, is there in all republics
this inheTent and fatal weakness? Must a
government, OF necessity, be too strong for
the liberties of its own people, or too weak
20 maintain its own existence2 So rPceiv-
ing the issue, no choice was lief, but to call
out the gar power Of The government and
so TO resist force employed for its deRtruc-
ton, by iorce for its preservation. The
call WAS made, and the response of the
WAS ulNSb kItAlly
in unAnimity and spirit, the most sanguinc
expectations Yet none of the States,
commonly called slave States, except Del
aware, gave n regiment through regular
State organization. few regiments have
been organized within some others OF those
States by individual enterprise and rectiv-
ed into government service. Of course the
seeded States, so called, and to which
Texas had been joined about the time of
the inauguration, gave no troops to the
cause of the Union. The border States,
SO called, were not uniform in their action,
some of them being almost for the Union,
while in others, ms Virginia, North Carroll ,
M, Tennessee and Arkansas, the Union SEN !
timent Was nearly repressed and silenced. |
The course taken in Virginia was the most
remarkable, perhaps the most important. |
A Convention, elected by the people OF that
State, to consider this very question ofdis. |
solving the Federal Union, was in session
at the capital Of Virginia when FIT. Sumter
fell. To this body the people had chosen
a large majority of protested Union men.
Almost Immediately after the fall of Sum-
ter. many members went over to the orig |
inal disuuion minority, and with them adop- |
ted an ordinance for Withdrawing the State |
from the Union. Whether this change was !
wrought by their great approval of the as
sault upon SumpIer, or the great resent |
ment at the Governments resistance to that
assault is not definitely known. Al.
though they submitted the ordinance |
for the ratification to vote of the people,
to he taken on day, then somewhat more |
than month distant, the Convention and |
the Legislature. which was also in session
at the same time and place, With leading
members of the State, not members of
either, immediately commenced acting as
II the State were already out of the Union.
They pushed military preparations vigor-
oasiy forward all over the State They
seized the U. S. Armory at Hatper's FerrF
aud the Navy Yard nj GoSport, near Nor
folk. They received and perhaps invited
into their State. large bodies Of trOops with
their 1varIike annointments- from the so
.IIna .nnnAnI Gtntaa. fhar formally. 60