The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1861-05-15
nlisrellallD.
The Rebellion.

Southern rebellion strikes at the very funda-
mental principles OF our Government, and seeks
to overthrow them.s
l. Our Government sets out with the doc
trine that the people are the source of power
that government and laws derive their authori-
ty from the people, and that this Government
is Government of the people.
All this is ignored by the movers in the con-
splracy to break up the Government. The peo-
pie are not allowed any voice at all in the work
of dissolution. A set of usurpers declare q
State out Of the Union, and without waiting
for the voice Of the people proceed to warllke
acts against the Government Of the United
States. Southern Congress is convened, and
makes war upon the United States and yet no
member of the Southern Congress has been voted
for by the people, This Congress appoints q
Presdentan and a Vice President, neither of whom
has had a single vote from the people. The
leading idea of these Southern self-consttuted
office holders. is that the people are their SER
vanis, not they the servants of the people
2. Another leading idea in the formation of
the American Republic was liberty and equality
among men. All this is now secuted, and the
Declaration of Independence pronounced a lie.
Ii is now affirmed that Slavery instead of liber
ty is the true idea of any good Government,
and that our Government must be overthrown
for want of this element, so directly opposed to
all the notions of its founders.
3. The third grand idea which enters into
our Government is union for the maintenance Of
the first two great principles here enunciated.
But the Southern revolutionists now declare the
right to shatter this Union to atoms, and have
set themselves in real earnestness to accomplish
its destruction.
The question, therefore: before the Govern
ment is one of life and death. II is question
OF selfpreservation. Shall the Government off
the United States allow itself to be put to
death The Government of the United States
has wronged no one. The most violent South
ern trc-eater can not tell in what way the Gov
ernment has wronged the seeding States, un
less it has been in paying their debts, protect
ing their frontiers, giving them share in all
the offices of honor and profit three times great
er than they were entitled to by any rule ofequi-
ty, and allowing them always to have their own
way under threats that unless they could they
would break up the Union. Because IL Presi-
dent has been chosen who was not acceptable to
some Of them, is this a reason for breaking up
the best Government that has ever existed ?-|
Who shall determine who is to be President in
an elective Government, unless it bea ma ority p
What is to become of q republican Government
unless majority under the Constitution shall
settle disputed questions! How can any Gov
ernment exist if Il minority at any time has Il
right to destroy it! The Constitution provides
checks, 50 that there can be no oppression off
minortles which will not be likely to find a
speedy remedy.
Under the Constitution, the State Of Florida,
although containing white population of less
than one-half Of this city Of Cincinnati, has a
representation in the Senate equal to that OF
the entire State Of Ohio, with white popuIa-
ton about equal to the seven Confederate
States put together. The single city of New
York contains larger white population than
anv one of the Confederate States and yet
each Of these States has q representation in the
Senate equal to that of the entire State of
New York and the whole together equal to
seven times that of New York, whose white
population vastly outnumbers that of the whole
of them.
The question comes up again, Why is this
effort to destroy the Government? What evil
has it done? And there is not Southern man
wise enough to answer the question, The at
tempt to break up the Government Of the Uni
ted States is most diabolical. And it is kind
ness no less to the revolutionists themselves than
to the loyal portion Of the people, to put stop
to this wretched business. 1t is sometimes
kindness to restrain Il maniac by force from in
juriag himself or others. He may not like it
at the time, but returning reason will make him
thankful for not having been allowed to destroy
himself in an attempt to kill somebody else
The Union must be preserved now, cost what it
may. 1t were better that every city in the Un-
ion was in ashes, that every railroad was de-
stroyed, and every third man in the nation per-
ish, if need be, in a successful effort to transmi
to future ages the blessings of our free institu-