Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-01-08


more immediate and responsible cause. i the man
who touches H.
d. the founders Of re Constitution then IN
sert 10 the bond % anon on element thit you'd
Cause by IT, pre-eace. n breach Of the bqnCg
They iuserfed power 10 coin money. IfCougress
shosld coin lead sna call All ounces dollar. and
\ revolution should ensue. could any one say that
coinage was the cause OF the rebelhong III any
portion OF the population should forcibly oppose
the execution Of any Of the powers conferred on
Congress by the Constitution, shall the principle
be adopted that tie founders Of the Republic
caused the revolt by inserting such powers IN the
Instrument
Certainly IL is plain enough that slavery per Sc
i not a cause of rebellion IL i very plain thar
Il az the States had remained slave States no
one would think OF charging slavery with rebel
lion IN half Of them. And 20 long AZ slavery
remained a general Institution. the idea that
u a cause Of rebellion would have seemed
absurd
Nor did any one think OF IL as a cause Of the
present rebellion until the emaBcipauonists seized
on the idea Of using the war to exterminate IT,
Previous 10 that We we're told that the true cause
was an ancient conspiracy, greed of power, the
desire TO restore arist0cratic institutions the fact
that the Southern politicians found Themselves in
a minority Of the numerous States These and
other reasons were assigned by the very persons
who now say that slavery Is the responsible cause,
and must be removed, This afterthought has
become grand idea, and is pressed on the nation
with all the force and ingenuity which can he
brought TO bear SO loud and active are the up
holders Of The idea, that men are actually IA dan
ger Of forgetting the simple truth, clear As day
light. that If slavery j. the gunp0wder which
has exploded and shattered the country, the cause
Of the explosion is the man or the men who kin
died the explosive element Slavery might ex-
ist peacefully thousand years IN America, pro-
tected by the Constitution which was devised 10
project IT, had not the anti slavery men made il
the cause Of quarrel Accord to these gentle
men all sincerity, all possible desire to do good,
all the philanthropy and high moral sentiment
which can be desired. the truth remains the same,
that ii slavery hos ia any manner contributed 70
the present rebellion. il l. not because the found
ers Of the republic made "a Constitution to sup
port il, but because these philanthropic men OF
posed the Institution aud designed its overthrow
The utmost that they can claim for themselves
would be, that if they are the angels who dis
turbed the waters, their disturbance, instead
OF producing healing, has produced damning eff
feet.
What follows from this argumentl Precisely
this, that the opposition to slavery having been
the moving cause of the nations disaster, that
opposition. continued at the present time, will
but increase is elects and pepetuate the trouble.
Let rs look CALMLY at the effects which are an
ticipited. Suppose that probation of freedom
were made, and was as eliectual as is promised,
even to the suppression of the rebellion by the
terror it would create, otherwise All the
slave States would instantly assume the control
OF slavery Within their border and treating the
proclamation a. unconstitutional, would restore
the system in all respects a. il now exists That
restoration would be claimed legal. Men OF
the North, who think the preteuse OF military
necessity. overruling the Constitution heresy
would certainly maintain that it was legal res
toratOn How long would the war be IN coming
back on as if the emancipationists insisted, as
they would, on enforcing the procamatOnl In
other words, then. the proclamation itself would
make the continuation of the war a necessity.
More than this the moral force of the North
would be destroyed. since our claim that the re
beilion is without excuse would be at once and
forever ended. We should justify resistance by
revolution thencelorth, by ourselves abandoning
the sure position occupy on the Constitution,
and putting in the mouths of our foe the unan-
swerabie argument that we are torcibly tramp
ling and destroying their property rights,
which firmly guaranteed TO them by the
Constitution rs are our own tenures OF houses and
lands. The world, which must Judge Us, would
inevitably Justify the rebellion in such "A case Ii
is no answer 10 this, TO say that they are rebels
and their property may be seized and destroy ed
since rebel has the same rights of property with
any other man till convicted by the law. Besides
all this che rebel who is treated by a prOclama-
ton of outlawrs and deprived of all rights be
comes at once the natural enemy of the Gov
eminent and must fight or perish.