The Portland daily press., 1862-10-02
Opposition to the President Inveked--Com.
promise and Revolt covertly suggested.

the war, which God forbid, let us hope that the
people Of the glorious free and independent
states that yet have congressman to elect, will
favor none, and elect none, who will not have
the courage and manhood 10 say TO him and
to his most perverse advisers, thus far shalt
thou come. and no further" The people have
yet duty TO perform to the white race in the
name Of liberty, and to perform it well, let
them through the ballot box accomplish what
yet has not been accomplished through their
armies, the salvation of the Union as it was,
and the constitution as it is. In this direction
now, all our hopes turn, more than upon a
ruptured Cabinet, divided armies, and a dis
pirited soldiery, UhO may begin TO feel them
setces sacrificed to an otsgdrchy Of fandticism,
rather than to the enemy on the open battle
field.-lPortland Advertiser.
The above extract from city paper, when
read in connection with the article of which it
forms the conclusion, is pregnant with fearful
suggestions which may not appear to the mere
superficial reader. We do not refer to the sug-
gestion that the President, in his imbecility,
and inability to stand UP against the pressure
of 31his most perverse advisers" should be
headed off, by the people acting through the
ballot-box, but we refer to the mschievous, if
not malignant and wicked suggestion made to
the soldiers ears, that they are being used for
improper and unpatriotic purposes, and are be-
ing sacrificed 10 an oligarchy Of .}andticism."
The only legitimate influence of such sugges-
tions is to breed discomfort in the ranks, and
to cripple the power of the soldier for de-
fensive and offensive war, by destroying his
confidence in the government and his faith in
final success
balh haa I, tI,a
evil consequences of destroying the confidence
of the soldiery in their military leaders; but
the evils are surely no less, which are likely to
result from loss of confidence in those who
control the movements of the military COM
manders; and if the soldiers are induced to be-
lieve in the incompetency of the President and
his advisers, and that the war is not being pros
ecuted for patriotic purposes, but for the ac-
complishment of base ends and in a way to
Sacrifice the soldier to an oligarchy of fanati-
cism," the most natural fruits of such belief
and loss of confidence will be revolt, unsubor-
dination and impatience under discipline.
Our soldiery is made up of intelligent men,
who read and think who have shared fully in
the blessings of free government, and who
know not only how dearly that, freedom was
purchased but, if once lost, how difficult would
be its recovery; and when such soldiery is
once made to distrust its leadership, and to re-
gard its commanders, either in the field or in
the cabinet, as despots who are willing to sac
rifce their freedom, their interests and their life
to establish a mere fanatical whim, the conse-
quences must be fearful. He who needessly
sows the seeds of discomfort in the minds of
such soldiery, IL patriot, must have very
strange and inexplicable ideas of patriotism,-
ideas which the people will find it difficult to
reconcile with their own high sense of duty to
the country in the hour Of its greatest peril
BY reading the whole article from which the
above extract is taken, and which is entitled
"The next Step," it will be seen shat the peo-
pie are invoked to make their power felt
through the ballot-box, in order to head Off the
President, unless he abandons and backs down
from his proposed war policy of emancipation
The President and "his most perverse advis-
es'-the Cabinet-are TO be headed off as dan
gerous conductors of the war;" and if this
appeal to the ballot-box should prove unavail-
ng, it is not difficult to foresee what is to be
the "next step" The cartridge-box is and of
necessity must be, the next appellate tribunal:
and we need not spend words or waste paper
to satisfy intelligent readers that the shortest
method to prepare the soldiers to make the
fearful appeal to this tribunal, against the con-
stitutional head of the government, is to make
them believe in the imbecility of that head,
and in its purpose to sacrifice them to an OIL
igarchy of fanaticism."
We cannot dismiss this subject without cali
ing special attention to the leading idea, some
what obscurely expressed, in the above ex-
tract. 1t says-the italics and capitals are
ours, used to give emphasis to the idea refer
red to-:
Let them the peoplel through the ballot
Dor, accomplish pkdt yet has not been &c
comptished through their afmies,THE SALIVA
TIoN OF THE UNION As IT WAS, AND THE
CONSTITUTION AS IT is. In this direction NOW
ALL OUR HOPES TURN more than upon a
ruptured Cabinet &c.
What is the great idea here enuncated? 1t
Is this-that all hopes of restoring the Uuion
and the Constitution through the agency of
the army, is at end, for ALL our hopes
NOW turn lsince the emancipation procama-
tion) to the ballot-box. Henceforth the army
power is to be against the slave power of the
rebels, and, therefore, an appeal is to be taken
to the ballot box. And what does this mean?
Does the intelligent editor of the Advertiser
think to stultify his readers by making them
believe the rebellion can be put down by a
mere vote of the people; mere decision of
the ballot box? Having inaugurated the re-
bellon because of the voice uttered through
the ballot box on the 7th of November, 1860,
does he mean to say TO intelligent men that the
rebels will now be persuaded or forced to re-
turn to their allegiance by any voice that can
be uttered through the same channel? He
surely does not mean that. What, then, does
he mean? He means this, for he can mean
nothing short-that the people, through the
ballot box, should send to Congress class of
men tcho ,ciu offer to the armed rebels and
traitors such PROPOSITIONS FOR PEACE AS
THEY WILL ACCEPT. He means COMPRO-
MISE WITH ARMED REBELLION. He
means GUARANTEES TO SLAVERY phich
shall secure IL as 10 ,cds. He means overtures
that shall satisfy JEFF Davis, and give the am
plest protection TO those who have been stab
bing at the heart of popular liberty ITSELF He
means this, and nothing less than this. In no
way can the baot-box secure a speedy peace
Al.