The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1862-08-02
LANE ON THE CONDUCT
$3.50 OF THE WAR.

q. -E \ a
In the Senate, few DAYS ago, very In
teresting discussion occurred, in which the
conduct of the war, the arming of negroes,
and the policy of the President, were freely
canvassed, in the course of which General
Lane made these remarks: s.
Mr.. President, have never listened to a
discussion that agonized me as much as the
one which has taken place to-day between
the Senator from Virginia, the Senator from
Pennsylvania, and the Senator from Michi-
gan. This is no time for elimination or re-
elimination. We must stand by the Gov
eminent If we are to save the country. We
must stand by our commanders if ne are to
save the country. Volunteering is now in
progress. The speeches of those gentlemen,
in my opinion, are calculated to discourage
enlistments, and without enlistments the
country is endangered. lam not endorsing
the course pursued by our officers in the
present war in all things. Think that per-
haps they have erred in their system OF
strategy, but nothing criminal should be
alledge against them at this time. Napo-
leon, at Ulm, undertook the system of bag
ging, and with three hundred thousand men
he succeeded in bagging Mack, with thirty
thousand men. am apprehensive that our
misfortunes have arisen from that system of
strategy. General Mcclellan openly de-
clared that he did not desire to drive the en-
envy from Manassas, but that he intended to
assemble such an army as that he could
"bag" them. 1t was an error of judgment.
Gen. Halleck undertook to ''bag'' the reb-
els at Corinth; the same strategy was pursu-
ed in the Shenandoah valley toward Jackson;
and also in front of Richmond. There, instead
of marching upon the enemy en- naasse, that
mistaken policy was pursued, and it afford
ed the rebels an opportunity to concentrate
their masses upon our extended lines, that
were weakened by being extended, and they
overwhelmed our army in detail.
But there was nothing criminal in all this;
it was mere error in judgment, which 1
doubt not has been seen, and in future will not
be repeated. If repulse has induced Re-
publican Senators to proclaim to the coun-
try that we must cease to give ofFense to the
rebels, what would defeat prompt the same
Senator or Senators to say?
Mr.. CowAN. The gentleman looks at me.
does he mean to say I said that
Mr.. LANE. do.
Mr.. CowAN. have said no such thing.
I said we should cease to give offense to
loyal men.
Mr.. LANE. Mr.. President, the Senator
from Pennsylvania spent perhaps halt an
hour in endeavoring to prove that this Sem
ate, that this Congress, had by their acts,
massed our enemies and increased them in
the rebellious States. When that Senator
makes a statement of that kind, does he for
get that the representatives of the rebellious
States declared in Europe that they knew
the institution of slavery was not to be en-
dangered by the Republican party? Does
that Senator mean to declare before, the
country that his colleagues in the Senate
have been encouraging treason by massing
the enemies of the Government? say to
that Senator, and to every other Senator, and
to the country, that every speech such as he
has delivered to-day, every meeting such as
was recently held in the city of New York
by the apologists of traitors, under the name
of Democracy, does more to mass and en-
courage the enemies OF this Government
than all the acts that the Congress of the
United States can pass. It is food for the
enemies of all the country; it gives them en-
couragement when they are able to point to
a faltering on the part of the North, or to
divisions among US. 1t is inspiring to the
enemies of the country in the rebellious
States, when we not only refuse TO accept
those loyal men whose skins are not as white
as ours, but drive them from our lines.
Sir, the abolition party of which you
speak have desired, have prayed, that there
may be called into this war, in aid ofthe Gov
eminent, the loyal people of the Confeder-
ate States without reference to their color.
We have the word of the Senator from IL
linois Mr.. Trumbull that Gen. Halleck sac
rifced twenty thousand-I believe the
Senator said fifty thousand-whitet troops in
the swamps of Corinth in constructing
bridges and roads, every one of whom could
have been saved had he permitted the loyal
people of the Confederate States, without re-
ference to color, to come within his lines and
build the bridges and the Notifications. Gen.
Nc Clellan has sacrificed thousands of lives
in the swamps of the Chickahominy and
upon the Notifications of Yorktown, because
he would not permit the loyal men of the
rebellious States, without reference to color,
to come within his lines and do work for
which they were better adapted than his
white soldiers. We radicals, abolitionists
if you please have asked that the white soldier
shall be kept for battle, and that the loyal
black men of the Confederate States may be
permitted to do necessary work and be armed
for the perpetuating of this Union. If that
bad been done at first, in the opinion of you
speaker this war would have been closed
within ninety days after its commencement.
Could that policy be inaugurated to-day, be-
fore the ides of October this Government
would be extended over every loot of land
over which the flag has heretofore waved.
You denounce us as radicals and abolition
isis whan we desire TO do what ENGLAND did