Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-02-05


clusions Of my judgment. This terrible
Juncture requires not only ell the strength
OF all the people, but demands the sugges-
tons OF their whole mind and thought freely
uttered.
regret, profoundly regret, that when
We first met the Executive could not havein
dicated to as and the country a decided Doli-
cy. Il may have been wiser 10 leave events
to hammer il ont, but ultimately they viii
demonstrate to him that the true course lies
along this opening path which we must pur-
sue, rugged and thorny though II be. Sir
our people expected this Of him, and were
disappointed. They are In advance of Us.
Their intuitions 0utruu our augmentation,
and they are at home long ere we reach
our tardy and hating conclusions. The
movement OF the radical forces now in mo-
ton has produced q radical movement of the
races Of men not amenable to the laws Of
ordinary superficial political agitation; Il
runs below. When the President Issued his
proclamation for seventy-RVe thousand men
to enforce his laws, the people heard in It
proclamation Of 0mnipotencs to eniorce his
laws. They felt as II the divine hand was
stretched down among them, and their
hearts thrilled under the touch of the finger
OF God They looked 70 the President for A
leader they almost expected to see him tow
er up till ne caught q ray Of inspiration, and
became their prophet. They see be Is no
prophet, and fear that he Is no leader. he
eoldly and timidly seats himself on the mar
roWest letter of the Constitution, and hesi.
tatingly applies its leeblest and shortest in
strumeRtalities to events bearing upon slave
~, wholly out of its scope. These rebels
have gone out OF AMI away from the Con-
shtutlon, and If you would deal with them
you must 60 out after them.
Will not gentlemen comprehend this?-
The Constitution is predicated upon the idea
that all the States will remain in the orbits
itdehnes, and hen they break away from
them it furnishes no remedy. Under it you
may arrest, indict, and try; but these reb.
els rave wrenehed up and carried off tbis
whole legal machinery, and it is eowMdly
to stand shivering over mere constitutional
names when its arms are gone. Up and
after these traitors with any end all means.
Like Millions angels, when they encounter
ed the masked batteries Of the seeded devils.
tear up the mountains, lift the islands by
their tree tops and overwhelm themi l re-
we're and Venerate the Constitution. bat
love my country million times more. The
The one was formed and may be dissolved
by the breath of men. The other is the ere.
alton and growth Of God; and rather than
that mere constitutional names should stand
in the way of the nations salvation, better
thousand times solemnly roll the Oonsti-
tuition up and lay itreveTently away. These,
too, are not the sentiments Of my party.
1t Is said We have a policy on this sub.
jeet, such as it is, well defined, which goes As
far as prudence should go. l remember,
sir, we passed a law by which you might
capture enemy's property on the battlefield,
in his forts, or camps, actually employed in
war. What laWl When an enemy thrusts
his property into the forefrsnt of the battle,
where you may seize it if you can, do YOU
want law Of Congress to enable YOU 70
hold itH 1t is the spoil of war. and YOU
hold it by the hIst rule Of that code that
looms SO vague and shadowy in the imRgi-
nations of gentlemen. Call the scope of that
law pOlicyP that poor, feeble, emasculated
thing. And it was not made q ennuch Of
for the kingdom Of righteousness sake
either, or rather, it was born without sex
It has only provided legal barrier behind
which an over cautious timidity shelters It.
self, and has become the hiding-plaee Of
positive mischief SIr, we have seen q gen
eral at the head of his army disarmed bv Il
and one OF the great Secretaries lassoed iu
and tethered with It. The President Il noi
to b'ame for this. The thing was furnished
| him by as, as the constitutional embodi.
7g 1s .HiaIt Hatlnllll. ca. Ede W6oT5 malta I;
omen fnr further consideration; and Fegrei
/ most prnfoundly that we have not the bene-
| fit ofDis ssgacious suggestions upon it. j
almost feel that we were entitled to them
They might at least save the misfortune oil
Offering from him.
As an element bearing upon this policy,
we are invited to experimentin small way.
We are asked to buya little land some
where, and plant a new crop cf negroes snd
my distinguished colleague from Cincinnati
benevolently proposes 10 drain the surplus OF
that article into the sWamps of Florida
Sir, if we were in state of profound peace.
with plethora ef wealth, it might be well
| for us to sit down and deliberate upon the
vast project of plucking up by the roots five
or six millions of our subjects, and trans.
planting them to another cline. Is this a
time to enter upon ii? Sir, / grudge every
moment and dollar not devoted to the only
purpose we can haYe-a restoration of our
sovereignty over ell the States. Buy landl
OF whom and where2 Buy landl-
Why one half of cur own is wrested from Us
Bid the angel roll the stone from the sepul-
cher where lies in icy sleep the energies Of a
nation. Hurl your blue Iegions upon the
foe, and sweep them into the sea, and settle
your negroes in territory once called South
Carolina, if you will and if We have not
then land enough, buy another half conti-
nent, or take the whole of it. Besides these
the President gives us no indication of his
views on this grave subject. He Is ample
and exhaustive on other comparatively triV-
ial subjects, important in themselves in the
leisurely days of profound peace, to which
they might well be adjourned, but, pardon
me, they seem out of place in the fierce
conflicts and hungry devouring demands Of
to-day.
know the United States statutes-at-lsrVe
need collating and codifying and annotstinQ.
know this annual foliage of the dead Con.
eresses lies in Withered heaps, with its texts
obscure, and sometimes contradictory, and AZ
involved as the inscriptions on the sibylline
leaves; and have no objection, If no more
fitting time can be found, to sit down learn.
cd commission under the boom of the rebel
batteries, to eOdify, adjust, and harmoniEe
them into a symmetrical whole if you will.
But who now cares much for these superficial
enaetments, when the deep foundations un-
derlying our Constitution itselfare 90 shaken
and being broken up2 This contest CRATES
harshly on the eternal granite, and threstens
the earth's crust on whiehrests the pillars of
the State. Who is to say whether the forms
of our system are not to be changed, and our
very civilization reconstructed and nodded
ansW2 Amid this creaking Of the frame of
our Government, who cares much for these
dead statutes7 Who now can anticipate the
needs Of to morroWf TIE coming day must
meet It's own wants; we cannot legislaie for