The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-05-03

IN tue early part OF the war, tnat tue rebcllio
, would fall to pieces in sixty days-renewed q
maturity. as bills often have to be in time q
war. We suppose also that it has ceased to fin
Gen. McClellan's promises of immediate and de
cisive movements available as collateral Id Wal
streets for loans The Government must by thi
time see the necessity for putting its finances Oh
some basis that will stand protracted contest
Even II the war shall come to an end at the limi
4 OF another Of MIR. Stewards sixty day predic
ti0ns, it isneither crcditable to the Governmen
nor safe to 0e shinniDg on financial shifts tina
must break down in limited time. Is
We refrain from particularizipg the fnancia
situation Of the Government, but every think
ing man knows that its system so far is merel,
temporizing one, which constantly increase.
the difficulty, and which must break down in
limited time. The expense of this war could
not be borne by the wealthieat nation in the
world for any long time. The Confederate lead
ers know our financial problem as we'll as we do
They realize it more than We. It is the basis o
their hopes of success, and will govern their
tactics, If they are defeated in the great battles
now pending They calculate that even guer
rills warfare will compel US to keep up our i'm
mense expenditure, and that in limited time il
will break down our finances
Thus our defective financial system and i'm.
mense expenditure encourage them to hold out
It is impossible for US to continue the war un.
less it is made to contribute to its own ex.
penses. Our President, and his philosophical
Secretary OF State and Congress- may as we'll
! look that fact in the face. We have no doubt
that the Secretary Of the Treasury fully realizes
it already. 1t is an absolute necessity to the
preservation of Government That it is suffi
cient. We might particularize the financial
situation of the Government to prove this, but
we forbear out of regard to the public service
If any one in the Administration or in Congress
is not aware of it, he had better be in some EN-
ployment suited to his capacity
Bot besides the absolute necessity, what could
be more just than that rebels should pay the
cost of subduing the rebellion? What more
unjust than that the burden should be saddled
| upon loyal men and future generations? And
how can nation which loads itself with debt
| to the extent of its capacity, from its internal
dissensions, hope to sustain itself in war with
| a great foreign power, or to make it's power res
pected by other nations? And what security
can the public creditors have for the payment
of this debt when the representatives of these
rebel States come back into Congress to vote
annually upon the appropriations to pay the in.
terest on the cost of subjecting them, while
| their own Confederate debt is disowneds This
is only an additional reason for making rebel
lion pay as it goes the cost of putting it down.
man in the South, is coniscated to the rebel war
fuEd, while the property of every rebel is sacred
to our armies. Thus the rebellion draws more
support from the loyal men of the Soeth than
from the rebels With this means their financial
system may outlast ours. The result is. that our
war expenses are paid entirely, and those of the
rebels in great part by the loyal men. A rigid
inquisition has been enforced to find out and
conhscate all property owned in, and every debt
due to, the North. Every item that could be
discovered was seized for the Confederate trea.
sury, and thousands of the chivalrous traders
who went for Secession because it would wipe
out their debts to the North, have been forced
to pay them into the rebel war fund
1t will be necessary that Congress should ac-
company its tax bill with comprehensive con.
fscation bill, that will reduce the cost of sup
porting our armies in the enemy's country, and
produce a fund to pay off the public debt. Other.
wise the people may begin to inquire if rebel
lion is not cheaper than loyalty. But the ques-
ton Of confscation in Congress runs against
Slavery at the outset, and so far that has block.
ed the way. There is eminent propriety in con.
fiscating the property which, if not the whole
cause, is the means of creating and sustaining
the rebellion; but Slavery also furnishes means
by which all Border Slave State Representatives
and all Democrats resist any measure of confis.
cation, and so sacred is slavery in the Northern
mind, that it has great effect in protecting other
rebel property from just retribution.
Ihere are, besides, peculiar difficulties inyoly-
ed in the confscation of slaves. What shall be
done with them? Some of the very Represen.
tatlves who talk of confiscating them, declare
also that their States will not have them. The
government cannot sell them, nor transfer them
to 'loyal men," as some of our patriotic South
ern Union men" propose. That would be SOW
ing the seeds of rebellion broadcast among the
loyal Colonization is a very comfortable doc.
trine, but at the best, even if the Government
should make extraordinary .exertions, it would
only amount to tbs transportation of few thou
sand or hundred thousand Of the most enterpri-
sing OF them to foreign country, leaving the
evil in its full magnitude here
The negrO's fate has fixed him here and here
he will remain to work it out. They who make
colonization a condition OF emancipation might
as we'll drop both ideas When it comes to gen.
eral emancipation in the South by military power
or any other power, it must be by power that
will protect the negroes in the South. They
are the foundation of its wealth, as laborers are
everywhere. There is no country that could
have such an exodus of its laborng population
without ruin. Confscation of slaves at once
raises the question how they shall be disposed
OF, and we do not find any yet who are able to
answer it in any way that will meet general
case.
We propose that the confiscation measure be
relieved of this embarrassment, sby leaving ort
OF it the slaves. This may be reasonably done,
on the ground that the confiscaton of slaves
will not help our treasury. This will bring the
question of proper penalties on rebel property
before our Border State Union men, and our
Democratic brethren, divested of this danger to
Slavery, which is SO much more fearful to them
han tho Anr ~,
sulferings and sacrifices Of the people Let
them be tried squarely on the question of con.
fiscation of other property. Then the confisca-
tion OF the slaves of rebels can be tried in sep
| arate measure, when such measure is thought
expedient. a3
We are aware that it is CALLING to the people
who have sent their sons and brothers to fight
this rebellion, that it should have the aid Of
black men, who would be our best friends The
feeling of the people Of the North has also been
| grossly outraged that Northern soldiers should
| be used as slave police in the South for hall
and whole traitors. But the Cemmander-in.
Chief can stop the latter practice if he chooses:
and as to the other, the army could not receive
without embarrassment any more of negroes
than it could make useful to it, Should its
marches be the dspsnsation of liberty to the
bondmen, it might have the whole colored pop
ulation of the South with it. The African
foundation would drop from the kingdom o
Cotton, and the bottom from the rebellion; but
the same question would arise: What shall bt
done with the Negro?
| Unqhestionably the army has the right tt
avail itself of the aid of any persons in the en-
emys country, and the commander who does no
would be responsible for the sacrifice of hi
army, it defeat resulted from the neglect of sucl
aid. This is right, according to the rules o
war; but there is an act of Congress confisca
ting all slaves used for military purposes, whicl
would furnish our army with all the negroes i
could use. They might be Of great service il
camp duties, as cooks, hospital attendants, team
sters, guides, &c, and for work on entrench
ments, greatly 20 the relief OF our soldiers, an
to tho release of large number who are KEEP
from the fighting ranks by such duties. Tn
army might have its pick Of the able bodie
black men for these services.
But this It is the duty Of the Commander.ir
Chief to attend to, and his power is amply eff
cient. It is as far as any confscation Of slave
can go, until provision is made 70. preteetin
them in the country where they are, and wher
/ Akos- -. =. "a - IA. H. II