Arkansas true Democrat., 1862-01-09
I'd the people of the Confederate States


 the embarrassments surrounding the subiec
 matter, appealing to the conductors of the press aud, avaifiDg myself of this method, to enter q l plea for Missouri.
 l In the beginning of the present struggle for 1 the rights of sefgovernment, the condition o1 1 Missouri was peculiar, and, to the last degree ! disadyantageous. The system of internal in. 1 provements had created debt of nearly S30. e0O,0Oo, the interest on which was punctually ! met by her people from their taxable resources. | The State had suffered in common with her 1 sister states from the commercial revulsion of ] l857, and from the extraordinary drought of 1860. Having enjoyed long period of peace, her military organizations had fallen into dis use, while the small arms of the country had l been gradually carried off by travel and enlis 1 grafton to California and the mort. western ter rltOries. Separated geographically long dis, tance from ocean navigation, and without a solitary railroad connecting her with the South, !. except acr6ss an enemy's country, the trans l portation of arms and military stores was at tended with delay and difficulty, while the seiz ure of Sss. Louis, and the blockade of the river l at Cairo and on the gulf, rendered 1t still more 1 difficult and impracticable. The State treasury was not in condition to advance the necessary capital to purchase material of war and almost the entire amount of bank capital was practi- callY in tue hands of the enemy in St. Louis.- 1 Some division of opinion existed among her people in relation to the prospect or possibility of an adjustment of our sectional contest but very little diversity of opinion existed as to the | duty and destiny of the State assuming the | breach to be irreparabe.
 At this critical period, and before any prepa- ratons could be made for war, the blow fell upon our people, and well.armed bodies of fe- deral troops were precptated upon an unarmed and unorganzed citizen soldiery. The grip of ] the monster was already upon our throats, and | we had to struggle as best we could. At this l crisis, Ex-Governor Price was summoned from l a dignihed and honorable retirement to lead our | people through their peril, and defend the Stnte with such means as he could command. A 1 rapid march southward to the border of Arkan- sas, for the purpose of organization became ne 1 cessary. And while our troops were still i'm | perfectly armed, the battles of Carthage and 1 Springfield were fought and won, the former ex- 1 cusively and the latter principally, by Nilsson l rians. Since then our army has remained in hard service, having fought, and won splendid victories, and having marched and counter marched, by series of skilful moves ou the theatre of war, over lineal distance of over twelve hundred miles. That army is now un- dergoing the discomforts of a rigorous winter I campaign.
 During this period oppressed evermore with a sense of her inability to avail herself of her own gigantic resources, for want of few thou sand auxiliary troops to enable Maj. General Price to establish and maintain himself for forty days on the Missouri river, our State has turned an almost implOring look to her southern allies for justa little help, and only for little while which would make the contest on her soil short and decisive one. But she has looked in vain. With the exception of inc battle of Springfield, not a sword has been drawn for the release of Missouri except by her own sons.- At that memorable battle, the confederate com, mander was asked for the assistance of three regiments to pursue defeated and disorganized foe, where 1000 men and $1 1000, ,000 worth of property were within our reach, but Gen. Price asked in vain. So lis requests were responded to when he went to fight the battles of Drywood and of Lexington. Not a man, not gun, not a percussion cap. want of which latter arti- cle, he was compelled to fall back 200 miles with an army of 10000 men! During this try ing period, within which the State could have been disenthralled our confederate allies have maintained their camp on our southern border l in inglorious dleness, not even protecting Mis- ] sour from Kansas iav.havkers. We know these allied troops are as brave men as ever went to battle and that they chafed like a caged i lion to ioin the MissOurians in their well-sus- tained resistance, but these troops had no or ders to move Can this be explained? There was no enemy to fight in Arkansas, and the l army of Missouri was in every action and move i mcnt guarding the gates to Arkansas, Louisl- ana and Texas.
 The ter7 press of Missouri has sought sys i tematically to pursuade our people that the l Confederate Stotes did not want Missouri, and only used her for purposes of defense We l know the contrary full well. The lie is patent, since Missouri is now an inseparable part Of the Southern Confederacy. But how long shall we wait for practical military refutation of this 1 insidious faiSehood? How will the secretary of war at Richmond explain to the people of the | South the reason why tbe confederate com. mander in Arkansas and Southern Missouri, | was not peremtorily ordered to cooperate with 1 Gen. Price? The people of Missouri, by vo- | ting majority of l50,000 are as loyal and as true to the South as those of Georgia or Loui- l siana Every Missourian who leaves his home to enter the army has made up his mind to the burning of his house, and the destruction and robbery of all his moveable property. He has covenanted to give up his domicil to the torch of the federal incendiary, and calmly says, as l have heard them say. 'give me Missouri free, and with the South, and l will accept her in blackened and smoulderng ruins; we then have an empire rich and great beyond description No State has suffered one 1.-the as much as ours for opinions sake. No confederate State will ever suffer as much. Odious, unheard of oaths are daily imposed upon men at their homes, and the man who refuses to swear dies within the hour! Women are compelled to swear that they will abiure their husbands If they prove untrue to Lincon's government Girls are compelled to swear never to espouse rebel.-- sHouses are despoiled of all their goods, even to baby shoes and lady's jewelry and wearing ap> parel Whole communities are forced by the bayonet to transfer all their property by deed to the federal government, to become absolute, upon condition they do not play spies on their neighbors, and betray them to death whenever they can It is nothing to reply the deeds and the oaths are not binding. The torch and the sword follow 8 suspicion of breach of the condition. The fatted hogs which the federal robbers cannot use, are left dead in their pens. Federal soldiers of the most brutal and savage 1 character are quartered in private houses, and contributions in money are levied by thousands for the support of tory refugees, who have never been disturbed. Negroes are forced to leave their owners and driven off by hundreds A reign of unknown terror and horrible cruelty afiicts the land The burning of beautiful and prosperous towns is pasttime.' Would Mis- souri suffer thus if she had not counted the cost and bargained for constitutional liberty? Now tbese oppressed people only lack organization and tho presence of our great commander to 4Io,x