Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-10-09
Fiou the Peoria TiansriiPs.
The Common Sense Of the
Matter.

Instead Of wasting time in defending
Gen. Fremonfs proclamation, we should
settle the matter thus-war exists between
the Federal Government and the Confed-
crate rebels; call it by what name we will,
it's war. Men taken in the battle are held
as prisoners; seaports are formally block
AIDED; hags Of truca pass between tho hos
tile liuos; all intercourse S forbidden with
certain States and parts Of States; these
things constitute war. Now there are cer-
tain well defined rules for the conduct of
war; which neither Congress nor President
Lincoln canalter, amend, or annul. These
rules we shall emil beligerent rights
Among them are The following: The right
to weaken an enemy by attaching from
him AL the strength Notwithstanding his
soldiers to desert and his people to revolt,
cutting off Ills means Of sustenance by seiS-
inc all supplies within bis reach, destroy
iug roads aud bridges TO impede bis march
taking his wagons and draft animals liber-
ating his slaves, demoshing his deiences,
Whether dwellings,, public buildings, or reg
ular fofiresses. These are simply belliger-
cit rights, ii we arc Ill war, they belong TO
us, AID may be exercised by every COM
mander Of cur armies.
The peculiar socbl relations Of certain
communities can claim no exemption from
the necessities Of war. On the score of
humanity, not word can be said against
liberatng slaves IN such time as the pres
emf The whole civilized world appkluds
il, accounts it glorious, and places il on a
level with freeing captiycs chained in dun
geons for no ofease. Talk not Of sergife.
instructions; il is the right Of belligerents
to tir up Instructions whenever they can
among white men orblack men, free men
or slaves. Our Government has stirred up
an Instruction, in all but the name, in Yir-
gina; the same thing is proposed TO lie
done in Tennessee and in North Carolina
in truth in every rebel State. And
these instructions must necessarily be Of
the most bitter and unlorgNing kind
father against son, brother against brother
Bat this does not deter us from exercising
our belgerent right.
In pecuniary point Of view, there IS no
injustice in libsrating the slave of rebel
We may take his horse, bis money, his
crops. We free the slave; and we make
such use Of this property rs we please. On
the ground Of absolying the slave from SER
vice due his master, there can be no OBJ
lection. We must be governed in the mat
ter by The universal law Of civilization, not
by the laws Of South Carolina, or of any
rebel State The slave, SO far as we are
concerned, owes bis rebel master nothing.
But we need 90 no farther than the rebels
themselves hayeahhorizcd us to 60. They
have absolyed Southern debtors from their
obligations to their Northern creditors; anil
are we, in waging war against such people
to be governed by their barbarous tradi-
tons! The rebels are under as many obli-
CATIONS to obey the Constitution in dealing
with lis, as we are il dealing with them.
When they make war on US and set it at
defiance, We can only fall back on our bel
ligcrent rights.
TO sum up the whole matter in 4 few
words, the Only questions to be settled are
these-tiiat, are we it war with tho rebels9
secondly, did Gen. Fremonfs pfoclaina-
ton violate the rules Of war! The higheab
earthly authority has already decided, with
an emphasis not to be mistaken, that we
are actually at war, ana that the General
claimed no more than our simple right
fully establishe by usage and by law; and
we therefore stand by the Proclamation,