The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-09-13


mcnt Of the United States and its Gen
erals in command with making war upol
peaceful private individuals 1t is th
familiar artilice of wrong-doers to charge
upon others the crimes of which the,
are themselves guilty Quis tuIeri
Gracchos de Sciitiono qucrentes 2 70,
years pas, and In profound peace, a mar
or woman who should hare expressed at
the South opinions adverse to slavery
would have done it at the risk Of life.
A Senator from one of the Southern
states made 1t q matter of boas. that
Abolitionsts coming among them (mcan.
ing hereby every Northern man not
friendly to slayery,) hung like ripe fruit
on the trees. Before Virginia had
seeded, and while her ordinance of
secession was pending before the people,
Mr.. Senator Mason published letter on
the lG h of May, 1861, with his name,
IN answer to the inquiries addressed 10
him, as to the position af those citizens
whose principles would not allow them
10 VOC to separate Virginia from the
United States. IL they re ain such
opinions,' says the merciful Senator,
"they mast icavs the Stote." Yes, dare
to defy the oligarchy at Richmond aud
vote against separating from the Union,
boqucathel to you by your Washington
as your dearest Inheritance, aud Danish
you from the State. This wholesale
sentence of exile was pronounced before
the iniquity of secession was consum-
ma ed, and against the inhabitants of a
third par of the terri DRY Of the State,
men guilty of no crime but that of enter
tanning certain "opinions." Nor is this
all army after army was sent in O
Western Virginia last year to execute
the DEGREES Of prescription her villages
were burned, her fields wasted, and
some of her prominent citizens dragged
to Richmond, and immured in a felou's
Jail. The same state of hings exists in
East Tennessee. Wherever throughout
the South a Union man ventures to
ayow himself, the common Jail, the
scourge, sometimes the halter, is his
fate. | know the press at the South
affects to deny the truth of Parson
Brownlow's statements. | own | could
not myself at first believe that such
atrocities could have been prac iced BY
men protesting t be Chris ians, nay, BY
persons in the highest civil and military
$ a ions
But | am we'll persuaded from numer-
Gus other and independent sources of
| Information thai his accoun are true
MIR. Benjamin, the Confederate Sccre-
tary of State, by Letter of the 25;h of
last November, addressed to the officers
IN command at Knoxville, direc.s ha
all prisoners of war taken among the
trai ors of East Tennessee " $50 he
deslgnatcs the great mass of the loyal
people of that rogion,) who can be
'den flied as having been engaged in
bridge burning, are to be tried sum
marily by drum head court nartal, and
il found guilty, cxecu ed on he spot BY
hanging 1t would be well to leave
their bodies hanging in the vicinity Of
the burned bridges" This most humane
Secretary seems 10 have forgot en- that
one of the first acts of his seeding
friends in Bal more was to burn the
bridges on the Philadelphia and Balti-
more Railroad TO prevent the troops of
the Uni'cd States from marching to the
defense Of Washington. 1t is needless
10 say that his cruel order was as cruel
y executed while throughout the
South thousands of Union men have been
driven into exile, and her thousands
are forced into the Rebel army, or are
languishing in prison, or fleeing before
their pursuers to the caves in the noun
tains. If we now shrink discount cd
from the contest, we surrender these
our loyal friends and brethren to exile,
confsca ion and to death.
Now, fellow-cltizcns, there remains no
alternative but shor, and vigorous, or
Il prolracted and languishing prosecution
of the war. Shall it be the first or
shall it be the last Will you let it go
down, a agacy of sacrifice aud sorrow to
your children-or will you not rather
finish it this year! You can If you will;
you have the means and he men, if you
but choose to employ them. | rejoice
to behold in this groa outpouring of the
people the assurance that you are de err
mined that, as far as depends on you,
the work shall be quickly done; and in
lieu of any words of cxhorsation on my
part, which | know you do not need, let
Inc give you "Reminiscences from the
time hat tried mems souls.
Bos on, as you we'll know, was, in the
year ll15 and part of l776 occupied
by British troops, and besieged by the
American army under Washing on. The
gtea, question was how the enemy could
be best assailcd, and among the mea-
sures proposed was the bombardment of
he town, then almost wholly built of
wood. The richest man in Boston,
John Hancock, was then President of
the Continental Congress, and as such
transmitted the orders of the body 10
Washington. g You will notice the
resolution" said he in his letter, 'srela-
tive to an attack on Bos on. This
passed af er most serious debate in q
Committee of the whole House, and the
execution was referred to you. Mug
God croWn your attempt with success !
most heartily wish i though individu-
ally | may be the greatest sufferer
The fact is, all his property consisted
of real estate in Boston the destruction