Delaware State journal and statesman., 1862-04-18
nmANoIpAr1oN-noS. oEo. p FISHER

Foremost among the reasons given for the
of the rebellion which now !
stains with blood the soil of the Union, was
his very question Of tbs- abolition of slavery
N the District. 1t had been n subject OF
and acrimonious discussion in the
national councils for years. and whenever
it was touched in either House, was sure TO
generate animosities and sectional alienation
10 a dangerous degree, and not unfrequently
led to personal collisions utterly disgraceiul
To those who engaged in them, and stand
ing reproach to the country. But thanks TO
the fatality of treason the blot has been re-
moved-a blot, which, but for the rebellion,
might have stood unremoved for many |
long year to come. In so far, therefore, as the |
District of Columbia is concerned, the slave
driving traitors OF the South have lost
much of their power to perpetuate the evils
OF their peculiar institution while, on the
other hand, the friends OF freedom and hu-
manity have gained point which they
have. until now, been unsuccessfully STRIVING
to obtain for years past.
In the passage of this bill, the North de
rives degree of moral strength worth half
dozen victories on the battlefield, in that
it tends to elevate us as nation in the eyes
Of Europe, while it must convince the most
hopeful of Southern rebels, that, as a means
of strengthening and perpetuating slavery,
the cruel war the. are waging against their
country is not only entirely inadequate, but
has IL most damaging effect upon the very
life of slavery in the States where it preyi-
ously existed undisturbed by "abolition in
reference The vote too, by which the
bill passed carries with ii significance
emiuently suggestive of the state of public
opinion upon the whole question of slavery.
1t indicates the great revolution that has
been going on in the popular mind on that
subject, since the war began; and points
4 clearly to the popular determination in re-
ference to its ultimate eradication from the
land, before the war shall close. Who that
y watches the rapidly eliminating events oi
the times, can have any doubt as 10 the
n insecure tenure by which all slave property
d is held IN any IF The States of this Union
but more particularly in those of the
= Borderg And who, being interested pecu-
# narily in slavery, in either of the latter
States, can hesitate as to which side of the
question his best personal interests lie
leaving out of view the more paramount in
+ terests of the country at large? That sla
II very is doomed beyond all hope of paying
resurrection, except from emancipation icid
compensation, is, we think, indisputable
N hence as private financial necessity no
l. less than as "peace measure it becomes
!. our duty to advocate its adjustment wher
eyer it may exist but more particularly il
those localities in which we have voice an,
are most Immediately interested
We are olopinion that legal protection Il
y slavery as such will pass away as the wa
'c progresses, never 10 be restored again
d therefore, owners of slaves, in consideration
Il of their own interests, will rather adyocut
m emancipation with compensation than, by ad
ls herring TO barharons system destructive {
the unity and prosperity Of the country, sui
ect themselves 10 heavy pecuniary losse
- by reason of the constantly depreciatin
rs value Of their slave property. Doubtless,
III was the force of these facts and their cons,
rs quent henring upon the moral, social, polit
We cal and pecunlary interests of the people
Delaware, that determined the vote of oi
III able and conservative Representative, Ho
". GEORGE P. FISHER, on the emancipation bi
IL Just passed by Congress- He evidently sa'
!. from q close study of the whole question, th
" the permanency and consequently the pee
''' mary benefit of slavery has been irreparab
ue disturbed by the rebellion that the syste
at cannot much longer endure as IA fixed fac
* at least in the Border States, and that
an ultimate extinction is approaching with
nd degree of rapidity which abolition fana
ot cism" never dreamed of reaching a
-. therefore as true and faithful Represent
tive he felt it to be his duty--as it assured
-" was--to take care of the interests of
10 constituents by casting his vote on the 81
ltll of compensation, and at the same time
ms, place his State firmly upon principle ali
free from the taint of fanaticism on the o
isb hand, and dsloyalty on the other. In Il
or. we think MIR. FISHER has reflected the wisl
~, of the people of Delaware and popu
Wv sentiment here will have to take a most
'ne expected retrograde course if, at the proI
time, he does not meet with o hearty
ion dorsement of his position, and compl
cen vindication of his course on this questi
s is Already the press of the country has co
ven plimented the noble stand taken by our
and preventative, and with proud satisfaction
points to Delaware as u most worthy ex,
pie Of patriotic devotion to the Union
'ol the Constitution, above and beyond all G
! on sideratlons of local interest, local preut
or local policy.
will We give here a single extract of the
from spoken qualification at the course of
" FISHER, from the Philadelphia Press "
and casional' writing from Washington, says
allow One of the most imnortont votos in f
of this measure was that of the Hon. {
r. Fisher, of Delaware. As he intend
IN. be candidate for reelection, his co
oun- will be subjected to the action of his
o,.,d stituents, and it is to be hoped that all
"'eu friends of the Administration and the
I7Sl. in that State will cordially rally to his
II ar port. Delaware is most interesting
of future political action. Not only a n
"heu ber of Congress must be chosen in Oct
tinct- next, but q Legislature that will ele
a,,5 United States Senator for six years
''' the fourth Of March, 1863, and also
in Governor A spirit Of cordial co-opers
tions among the Douglas Democrats, the Re