The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-04-13

Il 70 healthy sign that journalists and letter
writsrs Of all parties are beginning to cry on,
against the silence and apparent inaction Of ~
government These writer's represent with NOR
or less faithfulnees the sentiments uppefmost IN
thsrpublic mind, and there seems in ,this case "a
be very urgent desire to have our national
troubles decidsd in some way. s''One thing OF
the other. but quick The public shouts TO the
Administration. Elas
Nov, one Of the two Alternatives which Il /,
thus attempting to forcs upon the President i
TO make instant war upon the rebels The Other
~ 70 Submit to them, acknowledge the indepen
oence Of "6ostbsrn Confsderacy,- and make
lasting peace with It. These are the two "poli
cies, one Of which It 10 supposed be must adopt;
and Journalistic make haste to accuse him of hav.
iug no policy, because evidently he does moi
lean, 20 far a. can be seen. to either Of these.
There seems to US in al this q serious misap.
prehenson the duties and powers Of the head
Of The federal government "
In monarchy the sovereign not only repre-.
sents but . the state. From him proceeds all
authority. He 10 the fountain Of all honor. In
his name the laws are made and executed. His
are the armies, the nasies, the colonies, the do.
minions. In his name law.breakers are prose.
euted. To attack the state is personal offence
aEsanst the crown. Rebellion Is $50 take IN
arms against our Sovereign Lord the King
High treason, even In a constitutional monarchy
like Great Britain 10 in legal phrase to sonspirc
against the crown; and . loyal man is one who
doth faithful and true allegiance bear TO our
Sovereign Lord the King"
The King, therefore, is the rallying point; and
about him MI true men arc gathered. To attack
the state is to attack his person, and it is imme-
diately resented as personal offence.
But in republic al this is changed. Here the
people are supreme. In their name, and by
their delegates, the government was formed, and
the laws are made and executed. 1--WE, the PEG.
pie Of the United States" ordained and estab.
lished the constitution; and No the government
was created BY the general consent of the PEG.
pie, it is maintained by their general consent, and
can be changed Tor abrogated, for that is also q
change) only by them.
The President of the United States has no au-
thority to change the form of the government
Neither has he authority to say it shall be pre-
served. He is not the state; he is not the will
Of the people, but only the doer of that will In
fact he is little more than the moderator Of the
assembled nation. an
If, therefore, the Matchmaking in a constitu.
tional manner-should assemble by its delegates,
and by them declare this Union dissolved, it is
clear that the President would have no right or
authority to put his will against such action.
ecutive officer and, holding that Office, it Is his
hrSt and his highest duty to see that whatever 10
done for any purpose-and especially for so i'm
portant purpose a. the dissolution of the gov
ernment-is in accordance with the regulations
of the constitution, which il, until it 10 legally
abrogated, 'the supreme Law of the land" any
thing IN the constitution or laws of any state to
the contrary notwithstanding
There il no doubt that when majority of the
people of this country are in favor Of breaking
up this government, they have perfect right to
do it. H~
But they have no right to do this in any other
way than that prescribed by the constitution
However great the majority in favor of such
measure, the act of dissolution must be perform
ed in such legal manner as the constitution pre-
scribes This can only be done after fair and
temperate discussion, in fair and unobstrueted
election, by the people, of delegates to national
convention. The decision Of such a convention
is final. From it there is no appeal. But with
out it, any proceeding on the part Of the people
of one or any number of states, intended to des-
troy the Union, are simply rebellion and criminal
usurpation of powcr-whethcr called secession
or in,urrection, conspiracy or cooperation, does
not matter.
Such movement, however formidable, it is
the bounden duty or the President to put down,
at all hazards and at any expense. He cannot
coerce the public will But he is traitor to his
countrymcn if he permits the government which
the people Of this country have established to be
destroyed, and the laws which they have declared
supreme to be changed, in any other than legal
manner. He has no right to maintain the gov
eminent against the will of the people; but as the
head of the nation it is his part to see that what
ever the nation does is done peaceably, regularly
and constitutionally, in such manner that the
will not only Of the majority but of the minority
is heard and respected.
placed himself most distinctly in his inaugural
Message. Standing here, and with this clear con-
ception of the duty before him, he could not do
differently than he has. He has doubtless acted
on the fullest information in the present crisis.
A certain latitude must be permitted him; no
good is obtained by urging him to measures of
the wisdom or folly Of which he must be the best
and only Judge. Mr.. Lincoln ia believed to be
an honest clear.headed man. 1t 10 certainly not
his part to precipitate the country into need
less and embittering war. The stronger any Re-
publican government feels, the longer will it ad-
here to \ policy of wise non-interrention betcee',
tie traitors and the people. But it will never con-
sent to the unconstitutional dismemberment of
the government; and if the rebels are imprudent
enough to force upon Mr.. Lincoln the alterns-
tive of war or submission to their reasonable
acts they leave him, as an honest man and duti
full citizen, no choice but to defend the govern.
ment and the people against them by every
means and at all hazards
To take to arms before he is forced to would
be unwise. When it becomes necessary, We be-
lieve he will not fail to do 90; and in doing so,
we are confident he will have with him the
prayers, the arms and the means of the nation.
We believe that as he has shown hitherto pa
uyhi plv
from heart full of courage, end head master
Of the POSITION SO, if the traitors of the South,
scornng all appeal to the people, choose blindly
to rush to battle, he will meet them and beat
them, and win for himself the gratitude not of q
section or q generation, but of nation and of .
century.-IN. Y. Eve. Post. 7h
TIE PEACE PoLICY.-A great many have in
sisted that this policy alone could effect an ad-
justment of our national difficulties, and that
any other would result in destruction. They 60
upon the presumption that the dissatisfaction
exhibited in the South, has some basis; that it
has some just cause that the evils of which
they complain are not oil imaginary, but that
they at least possess a shadow OF reality. 1t
this we're true, We do not doubt but that this
would be the proper policy. If they have been
injured, the nation should not fly to arms with
out first exhibiting every pealable remedy to
redress those wrongs. But the history OF our
country shows that they have not been wronged !;
that the evils of which they complain are ina
ginary, fictitious and false that since their ad.
mission ~ States, they have been petted and
fattersd until each State imagines itself King
dom of which the other States are mere pro.
vinces They are not sincere in their complaints
they know them to be false. They do not de.
sire that peaceable measures be instituted to re-
move those imaginary evils which are only
hoisted as a covering of their infamous design
to destroy our Government The Peace Policy
of Buchanan and the conciliatory Inaugural Of
Lincoln has failed to remove any of their pre-
tended fears.
Starvation and bankruptcy has no effect upon
secession. In Aississippl-a poor starving popu
lation, kept alive with the corn which they have
begged from the North-they very enthusiast
cally assemble together, ande declare themselves
Independent Of the General Government =
Poor attenuated pieces Of mortality. stepped in
treason and rebellion, talk boastingly of the ruiz
~ I'D h.