Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-08-09
WAY the Rebels Flght Hard and are En-.
cournEed.
From the Nashville Union.
LEARNED IGNORANCE.

Why Ehe Rebels Fight Hard and are En,
From the Nashville Union.
LEARNED IGNORANCE.
aAlready we have the bitter knowledge
that radical plans, threats, end actions,
have increased the unity and power Of the
rebellion, have given L fury and vigor,
have prolonged the war, and cost us ihous-
ands Of our brave men.n-E Z. Journal
Of CoHlMeos,
The editors Of the Journal Of Commerce,
who can write admirable articles on sub
jects they do understand, wrlR some very
absurd ones on subjects they do not un-
derstsnd.-The sentence we have Just
quoted from its columns is fine instance
Of learned ignorance. Itis the whim Of n
man honest enough, no doubt, who, shut up
in his room, and ignorant Of plain facts in
/ the world witrout, lays down impossible
/ theories and draws from them preposterOus
Conclusions The rebellion, apart from its
innate zeal and esrnestness, which is the
real secret Of its power, has gained
strength not fiom the violent and vehe-
ment opposition Of its adYersaries, but
from the timid, hesitating and vaeiliating
policy which too many Of them have pbr-
sued. Nothing is more natural than for
body Of violent men TO mistake the lenien-
cy and indulgence Of their opponents for
cowardise, and this belief will ineite them
70 new outrages. lis not radical plans,
threats and aetions," that have strength
ened and advanced the rebellion, but the
unWise substitution, BY Federal authori-
ties, Of mild and persuasive measures
towards prominent rebels, Instead Of the |
rigid exercise Of military power. The gov /
ernment declared war, and war means /
force and eompulsion, but our officers un- |
happily forgot their true business, and /
have been endeavoring most unsuccessful |
ly to win the rebels over by allowing them |
commercial privileges, by suffering them
to trade, By protecting their slave proper I
", by hiring hands from them, and pur- 4
chasing provisions from them at big prices. I
Instead Of destroying them, the exercise of I
their former privileges as citizens, We have
treated them as though they had forfeited !
no right Worse than ALL we have actual
" allowed them 10 place themselves on an /
eqaat footing a0ih loyal eitizell,, and claim
tie protection Of the Co1stiaitionl The con
sequences of policy so weak and mean
ingless have necessarily been most disas-
trOus
We speak Of these things, not seated in
an othoe i've hundred or q thousand miles |
from the scene Of action, but living in the |
region Of the rebellion, a STAKEHOLDER our
selves, and from long Acquaintance and as
ISOLATION with rebels claiming a knowl-
edge Of their feelings and disposition-a
good deal better than those editors who
know nothing personally of the insurrec-
fHNrfafH "a H., -. Il u.
assert that the Federal Government was \
afraid 20 adopt severe measures; and it
confessed its weakness by its conduct We
hare AzlOlvR men who have served as Cap
tRins and Colonels in the rebel service, 90
70 olFederal camps to reclaim fugitive slaves,
obtain their negroes, and, on returning
home deDounce the very officer who re-
stored his negro as q hypOcrite and an ab-
olitionist. We never have known or heard
of one instance where O rebel abated his
to the government by having
his slaves restored or his properly protect-
ed BY Federal officers. And it would be
very strange if such thing were to occur.
War, as we said before is a thing not of
reason, but physical power. The rebels
appealed to war and gave us the challenge
and our sole alternative is to fight them
and whip them IL wecan, not to argue with
them, or attempt to coneiliate them. This
may seem barblrous TO the Journal of Con-
meTee, and perhaps Il is, but We must re-
member that all war is barbarous, and on
their heads be the sin who began it. We
viii now mention another fact, and that is,
that what are called the conservative"
newspapers Of the North such as the Gin
cinnad EHqaireT, are eagerly sought after
BY the rebels: They manifest a singular
partiality for newspapers which preach
conservatism, although We cannot see that
their REASONABLE feelings are softened In
the least It is not impossible that they |
desire q sort Of encouragement from Nor /
thern newspapers that deuounce and op-
pose an administration which must either |
save or destroy the government. And per-
haps this encouragement may have some |
thing to do with prolonging the rebellion |
and giving it fury and vIgor. Such al
least is the belief of vast majority Of the |
loyal men in the South.