, 1862-04-21

the protection and at the expense OF the Federal
In the month Of February last, m officer Of
the Third Regiment Of Iowa infantry, statiou-
ed at small town In Missouri, succeed in
capturing several rebel bridge b4Eners aud
some recruiting a1hee1s belonging 20 sPrice's
capture Was fufatahed hYtwo orthree remark
able shrewd and Intelligent slaVess claimed By
lieutenant colonel in The rebel army. Bhorl-
aferHards the-nasteE dispatched an,a agent
with instructions to eodze the slaves md con
<FeT them within the rebel li1eB, Whereupon
the Iowa officer himself seized them, and re-
ported: the circumstances to.4headquarters.
: The alaTes, soon understanding the full I'm
port Of Gen. Haileck's celebrated order No..
3, two Of them attempted IN escape This
vas regardEd as annnpaIdonable sin.-The
Iowa officer was Immediately placed under ar
rest. and detachment Of tie Missouri State
militia smen IN the pay Of this government,
and under the command OF Gen. Halleck, were
sent in pursuit Of the fugidves. The hunt was
suecessfnl. :: The slaVes were caught and re-
turned to their trailer master, bat not until
one Of them bad been shot by order Of the
soldier IN command of the pursuing party.
Mr. fres1dent-How long shall we permit
such conduct as this to go mrebuked? Does
any one suppose that the people will quietly
submit to the Imposition Of taxes to support
ployed in the capture Of slaves for the benefit
OF officers in the rebel army2 Is it supposed
that Senators from Iawa viii silently, pafiens.
II permit the gallant officers from that State
to be outraged in the manner have de-
scribed.
It IS time, Mr.. President, that some de6nite
policy should be established for the treatment
Of escaped slaves- I am Of the opinion that
Congress mas been grossly dereIIct in permit
ting the eF1 to 60 80 long unregulated and
unchecked. We have almost Us many diverse
systems Of dealing with this class Of persons,
% xBa ha r1f1ff 1nr
itary district fugitive slaves been pursued,
logged, and returned to their masters By our
army In other they have been simply pursu-
ed and returned without the hogging; in an
other they have been simply pursued and shot
N the attempt to return them; in another
they have been termed eontrabanl5'' aud re-
cciEed within onr lines in the mixed character
OF persons and property. In the absence of
the authoritative declaration Of Congress, none
OF these modes may be held to be in conflict
with Law, other than the law Of common sense
and common decency-
II is obvious that the article Of var, which
have quoted, does not meet the case presented
by Maj0r General HRllecE in his Order No. g.
That celebrated manifesto declares in SUBJ
stance that all persons Tpm the enemys coun-
try shall be excluded from our lines. The
plain purpose Of the order is to prohibit fugi-
tive slaves from escaping from The rebeilious
districts, and thereby securing their freedom.
Tt was doubtless competent for Gen. HalIeck
to issue such an order, and it is equal
" competent for Congress, which has
made and continues to make artie1 8
Of war for the government Of the
army and navy, to countermand It. Aud,
sir, it ought to be cOuntermanded- will not
panse to discuss the humanitarian feature Of
The question. Public policy, no less than pop
ular feeling. demands that Order No. 5 be for
ever erased There never was war waged in
the history Of the world where the means Of
4rnuirfncr formation rf tha
and numbers from people in his own midst
vas more ample than here, and there never
was one where the commanding officers
hare suffered more from lack Of
such Information. Order No proposes
to incorporate the fatuity aud blindness which
remained unwritten in other military depart-
ments, into historical record aud public
advertisements It proposes to warn ali per-
sons against bringing information Of the enc
my's movements to our camps, under penalty
OF being turned back to receive such punish
ment 80 the enemy may choose to intIict for
betraJing them, or for running away and be-
traying combined. No organization Of secret
service can meat all the requirements Of an ar
my operating in an enemy's country, unless
aided by some portion Of tue Inhabitants Of
the country. What folly then to wall out aud
repel the very inhabitants who might bring Us
The information we most need, and who have
everywhere shown an eagerncss to do So!
It Is the undoubted right and the duty Of ev-
cry nation, when engaged iu righteous war
and no other than righteous war Is iusti-
fable at ALTO avail itself OF every means
known to civilized warfare to overcome its en-
emies. What will be thought BY posteritg Of
this nation, if, in the present emergency, VIC
not only fail to employ the agencies which
Providence has placed at our disposal, but ac-
tual1y seek every opportunity to c1asperate
and drive from our support those who are anx-
ious to serve us? We're 1t Russian mobiles now
II inn atf-af f.oS-
ment, would We not regard their Emperor Us
guilty Of the greatest folly il he not only de-
cltned to enlist the serfs Of his empire to aid
IN snppressipg the insu1ection, but rcpellrd
them from lis service and allowed his generals
to return them to his rebelIious uobles, to be
nstd By them in overthrowing his authority?
And can any one tell Tie the difference between
the case l have put and our own9
The whole history Of the world does not
exhihi, nation guilty Of such extreme fatuity
as has marked the Conduct Of our Government
in its treatment of the colorcd population
since the present war began. It seems to be
impossible to convince ourselves that aoar
with all it's attendant responsibilities and Gu
lamities really exists and that future genera
tons will not bold those guiltless who refuse
to use any Of the means Which God has placed
in their hands to bring it to L SPEEDY aud sue.
ceseful termination. History will pronounce
those men criminal, who, in the crisis of the
Dation's fate consult the prejudiecs Of caste
or color ard regard the Interests Of property
OF paramount importance to the unity Of the
ration.
It is useless to attempt to blink out Of sight
the great isms before us--isuls that must be
settled, and settled By us. It werc wiser, and
more manly, to meet them squarety and at
once. We are in the midst OF the greatest
revolution that ever occurred in ancient or
modern times. Such armies as are NOW 1nar-
shalled in hostile array on this continent, in
point OF numbers, equipment and expense,
have been hitherto unknown in the annals OF
mankind. We are imposing burdens in The
form Of taxes that will be felt by unborn gen
erations- We are suffering much now; We
why2 Because wc desire to preserve the in-
tegr1ty OF our nation-bccause we bcliye Heay-
en- designed US to be one people, with one desti-
ny, the freest and happiest on earth It was
to preserve that unity Of our national exis-
tenee that our sons and brothers hive gone
gallant men Of Iowa have freely laid down
their lives at Wilson's Greek, Blue Mills, Bet
mont, Fort DoDelso1, Pea Ridge and Pitts
burg Landing And shall We, after these
great sacrifices Of life and treason, hesitate
about employing any Of the instrumentalities
In aid OF the country that are known to civil
izcd wartare9 Shall NC not be recreaut to our
ular?
This var will go on until rebellion is sub
GEed. Upon this point there need be no cou-
troveFsy- Rely upon it, the Northwestern
States VIII submit to no temporizing Or COM
promising policy. They are too much in earn
est, they have suffered too much already, they
know too well what they would be compelled
to suffer in the future-to ALLOW treason to 90
now unpunished. It is because they desire to
prevent the recurrence OF rebellion that they
demand that it shall be now thoroughly
crashed out. Among other things necessary
to be done to fully accomplish This purpose
We must conquer and hold all the forts and
stroDg positions On the South Atlantic and
Gulf coasts. How shall they be garri5oned
wfrn captured? This is question we shall
soon be compelled to answer, and am pre-
pared for its solution. answer nnhesitating-
y that ne should garrison them in whole or
IN part n soldiers of African descent-Mat in
aeod Of returning sa2es to their r65=1 masters tn
tight against us. ire should employ theua in our
oeen s'+'1itofy sertice,
know that the proposition encounters at
once al the prcjudices that have been cnSen-
dcred BY differences of race. education and
social position. But let us look at it mo-
ment sobe1ly and practically. 1t is assumed,
as admitted by all, that tie Southern forts
must BIZ captured and strongly garr;soned
1or some years to come. They are situated
IN VAIN and enervating climate, and the
situation of nearly all Of them renders them
more than usually unhealthy, even for that
section Of the country. In addition to the
forts already established, we shall be COIL
PEELED to bnild new ones. The rebels rely
upon the diseases Of their climate to dceiuaate
our Northern army in the summer and an
tumnal months; and their confidence is well
fevcfs Of the Gulf coast as yeyetation before
Hfrn1r M