Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-10-29
THE AMERICAN CRISIs IN EUROPE.
The ChceVer and Greeley AbOIit icnisIs Re
pudIated by England.
lT4N AFRAID OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TIE
FRIM1NT PROCLAMATION.
Tr-n tho LONDON Times, sePt. 20.

FRIM)NT PROCLAMATION.
Tr-n tho LONDON Times, sept. 20.
An important piece Of intelligence reaches u,
from America. President Lincoln has requested
General Fremont to modifv the proclamation by
which he declared shat the slaves Of insurgeut pro
pretors should be liberated. The proclamation it
is said, transcends the power given him by Con-
gress and therefore must not be acted upon. This
resolution Of the Presen seems to have been fully
expected by the Washington politicians, although
one or two members OF the Cabinet were in favor
of proceeding 70 extremities against the Confede>
rates. The President though elected by. the Re
publicaBs and Abolitcnists has been sObered by re-
sponsibiIty and now has the credit of being one Of
the most conservative men ofhis own party. Aware
tina go emaneipate the slaTe, event rebels TO
bring and fearful cause of dEinOsiy into the con-
test he has administered something ike rebuke
! to his active and Jealous subordinate, and, for
time the North will refrain from using against its
antagonist the most terrible weapon in It's armory
But there are not wanting signs that the great
question Of emancipation may, at some future time,
be brought into the field. By some persons that
question has been thought to lie at the bottem of the
strife from the very beginning; others have held
that the North should at least hsvs openly proclaim
ed as the object of the war IS soon as bostiIites
broke out; while third party appears to consider
that the adoption of the emancipation doctrine by
the Federal Government will. at any rate conduce
to the speedy termination of the struggle We think
it higly probable that, if the continues, de-
the people of the North They could hardly be ex-
pected to resist any longer the consistent advocates
of this principle, or to tOrego the employment of so
effective an engine against the cause of their adveS
saries; but we do not that this momentous step
likely to be taken at present. and great as would
be the intrinsic merits of the measure, we enter
tain serious doubts whether it would really contrib
ute under existing circumstances to the conclusion
of the pending quarrel.
That the Institution of slavery is abCmInable in |
2 tbl avra Of linb and OF Tho DO q
emancipation, if always and sincerely professed by
the Northern Ststes would have strongly com |
mended their cause to the sympathi4s of this coun
try, is not for a moment to be doubted. But the |
North wes never generally possessed by any such
feeling. The Republican party did, indeed, oppose
the extension of slavery Rto new Territories, but
it only section of this party which advocated
abolition; and the DemocI attic party, which was
very strong, was not disposed to interfere with
slaVehcllers even to this limited extent Even now
after al the provocstion which the slave States have
given, it is not clear that either the Government or
the people Of the North are prepared to attack
their peculiar institution. Their great object is
naturally the preservation of the Union, and the
proclamation of abOitOnist principles would
no. only destroy any chance Cf compro
mise, but would, if the purpose could be
ried out result in the utter disOrganiZIdon
of one half of the C0nfsderacy. If the Govern
ments of the Union had applied TO this question that
doctrine which, with singular presumption ,lthey
they had treated slavery IS they profess to treat
European settlements. and had said that though ,
existing establishments should not be disturbed, no
fresh acquisition or extension should be permitted
% the American COntinent-England would have ,
applauded the compromise. None but unrc asoning
fanatics believe that slavery, however revolving to
nature could be safely abolished by summary edic;
or that 600 coo slaves could be suddenly liberated
without results fatal possibly TO themselves as
others. If the Monroe" dOcrine had been but ap-
Piled here it would have been as much as could
have been expected and that, perhaps, the end
at which section of Republicans aiming
That may actually be the result now if the South
,rn States without being actually conquered are {
,ooped up and driven in upon themselves; but it
loes not appear that the doctrine of summary emln
,ipston has been yet accepted By any of the Fad
sral authorities. t
Even the incident which has brought this question
immediately into prominence is quite consistent with
he preservation of slavery institution of the =
State of Missouri Gen. Fremont proclaimed that all
he slaves Of any proprietor in arms against the n
Union should be liberated; but such proclamation :
evidently involves the undertaking. that the slaves
# anv non insurgent proprietor shall be retained in
,ondige with the sanction of the supreme Govern
nent SdUery in fact is treated as species of right or
,riUiCe lChch citizen forfets By the Get Of rebellion
Ot as an institution to be condemned IN Itself That may
,e convenient discrimination for the purposes of
var but it is not view of the subject which will
such improve the cause of NOrtheruers in Euro n
,ean eyes. We now know, too that the Generals +
proceeding Has by no means found unqualified ap- g
roval at Washington. The Presidents order only Il
onrms the former evIdcnce of Federal policy. Mr..
Jhase's circular has already gwen the old under a
akng to respect the institutions" of the South
hat at least is the only Interpretation we can put
pon the assertion that the whole country is dispos
to recognize all the constitutional rights of the
lsurgent States. We must infer therefore, that the
ederal Government is not yet prepared to commit '
self to the emancipation policy, the consequences
which q resolution might be so embarrassing q
lgt we cannot wonder at the hesitation eVnced. p
1t must be remembered that the North has now g
,st the character and standing of high and moral a.
1psriority by a declaration against slavery. The
round might have been taken with infinite credit
an earlier period but after the tenderness with II II
hch the South and its institutions have been treat
up to the present mCment it is too late TO alege u
egro emancipation the real object of the war,
r TO claim the merit of so lofty principle of &C a.
on Nobody coud shut his eyes to the fact that II
lis principle was suppressed as long as 1t was ?
lou2ht possible that the inUrgent States could be y
roucht back slaves and all to the great American "
Mon and that its avowal was reserved for mo- u !.
tent when il was expected TO sCbserve the opera ~ ~
ons OF the Campsign. The thorough going Aooli> IL
onists of the North may welcome the consumma-
on. however, and whenever arriving, and we IN =. y
lis country also might doubt hold that 1t was II