Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1861-02-22

demoralizc the government and leave it il
the power Of any State to destroy. 1fFlorid
and South Carolina can seccde because of tn
Slavery question, what shall prevent, Penn
sylvania from seeding because the govern
ment declines to adequately protect her iror
and coal interests, or New England becais,
her manufactures, or New York because he1
commerce is not sufficiently protected ? i
could agree to no compromise until the righ
I to sccede was fully renowned, because il
would be recognition Of the right of one OF
more States to break up the government a,
their will.
Iowa has peculiar interest in this ques.
Hon. If this right of State revolution be
conceded. her geographical position is such as
to place her completely in the power of revo.
lutionary States. Will they agree that one
State can secede and take from her the mouth
Of the Mississippi river, that another can take
from her the mouth Of the Missouri. and that
others shall be permitted to deprive her CT
the right Of passage to the Atlantic ocean p
II she will not agree to this it becomes her
people to insist that the Constitution Of the
country shall be upheld, that the laws Of the
land shall be enforced, and that this pretend.
ed right Of State to destroy our national
rebuked. know the people Of Iowa well
enough to believe that appeals to their mag
nanimity, if not successful, will be kindly re.
ceived and considered, whilst appeals to their
fears will pass by them as idle wind, and that
they will risk all things and endure all things
in maintaining the honor Of the national flag
and in preserving the national Union.
One word more and close this letter al
l. H. r.
the session, before revolution had assumed it's
present gigantic proportions, before any State
had pretended to secede except South Caro-
lima, before the Forts and Arsenals Of the
United States had been captured, the flag Of
the country fired upon, and the Capitol Of
the nation threatened, ! assented, as a men,
Der of the Senatorial Committee of Thirteen,
to three propositions which were to the fol-
lowing effect, viz:
. First, That Congress should never be per-
united to interfere with the democratic insti-
tutions Of any State, or to abolish slavery
therein aE a'4 .a
70 Second, That the several States should be
advised to review their Legislation in regard
to persons Of color and repeal or notify all
such laws as might conflict with the Consti-
tuition Of the United States or with any Of
the laws Of, Congress made in pursuance
thereof. .4t.e .At.aAa0.1a'.
Third, To admit Kansas into the Union
under the Wyandot Constitution, and then
to admit the remaining territory belonging to
the United State as two States, one North
and one South Of the parallel of So deg 80
min. with the provision that these States
might be subdivided and new ones erected
therefrom whenever there should be sufficient
population for one Representative in Congress
upon Sixty thousand square miles.
These propositions, If adopted, would have
quieted the apprehensions Of the Southern
people as to the intention Of the people of
the Free States to interfere with slavery in
the States, and would finally have disposed
of all the territory belonging to the govern
rnent. They would have made two very incon-
venient States. but they would have settled
very inconvenient question. They could have
been adopted without any surrender Of prin-
ciples by any body or any section, and there
fore, without any party and persona! humili-
alton But they were spurned by by the dis.
unionists. They preferred to plunge the
country into revolution, and they have done
it. It only remains for us now to obey and
enforce the laws, and show to the world that
this government is strong enough to protect
itself from rebellion within as well as from
assault without
The issue now made up for the decision of
the people Of this country is between law,
order, the Union and the Constitution, on
the one hand, and revolution, anarchy, disso-
luton and bloc lshed on the other do not
doubt as to the side you and the people Of
Iowa will occupy in this contest.
# am TRULY your obedent servant.
.- .-..r. E,f-.e JAMES W. GRIMES.
Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood Governor Of Iowa.