St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-09-18
LEONARD TOWN MD THURSDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER 49, 1862
I'LL pia GIe Gds,sitmional Union.
w Answer from History.

ssEoait de Gss,ssamioaal Union.
~ Answer from History.
i I'll sis "A important question at this
time gik is b. the cry Of traitor that the
Abo an party i attempting 10 prevent
all il 6i2F mt, their past aud present his-
tory' Ufhe Democratic press places up
on n rsi IeitLtr the acts, votes. or speech
hssrf AZ headers of the Abolition party in
ssae - session ef Congress. the cry Of
trpi n Il .onc6 .fAise.l, aud the Gpsrrna
aHIghf tmp1rtuned 70 arrest The editors ana
preyen; the publication of their papers If
q Democratic speaker at n meeting Of the
party to which he belongs, accuses tie
National Administration with being cor
rupt--an assertion which was made and
substantiated over and over again on the
floor of the last Congrcss--some miserable
hireling of the Abolition party repeats the
accusation of traitor, aud The speaker is
arrested by the strong hand Of military
rule, aud lodged in a prison or held to an
swer. as one guilty of some infamous act.
In short, this one allegation is to be used
in all parts Of the country as a means to
sti1e investigation, to muzzle the press, to
restore its rightful authority over all the
States in this Union. the masses will claim
and exercise the right of criticising tie
acts Of men in power, and of denouncing
alike those who plumber the treasury un-
der the mask Of patriotism, interfere with
military plans because the General neon
mand will not turn negro stealer, and ar
rest men for expressing their sentiments
under the guarantees Of the Constitution
and the laws of the land. No man iu the
North, save he is an Abolitionist, has OPP
posed the Government in any one of its
Constitutional efforts to end this unhappy
contest. In Congress and in all the States
the record Of the Democratic party is stain
less. To be sure, they lave protested
against Executive n,frac,ions of the Com
sri,ution; against turning what should be
u contest for the Union as it was, the
Constitution as it isl into mere crusade
III favor of negro equality; against the iu-
justice OF asr.s;lng men without :'duc pro-
cess of law" and iucarc, rating til IN in
State fortresscs; against the attacks on
personal liberty, ON the rights Of proper
ty. and the freedom of the press; but nonc
of those things were the acts of traitors,
nor could they in any manner aid the enc
mics of the Constitution and the Union at
this crisis. All men, except the a boil
tionists, desire i return of peace, recon
struc.ion of the Union, an enforcement Of
the Constitution, and protection Of per
sonal and political rights in ali sec,ions of
the Union, under that instrument. The
Abolitionists do not desire such action;
and, more than this, they mean to make Il
reconstruction of the Union under the
present Constitution impossible. All their
acts show that such is their intention 1t
was for this that the Abolition party was
started. For this they commenced their
attacks upon the rights of the States and
the peculiar institutions of nearly half Of
them; for this they passed personal liberty
bills; and for this they now insist upon
prosecuting the war upon a basis AUD for
an object which must make it intermina-
BILE. 1t is certain that the designs of the
Abolition party in the present war are
hostile to reconstruction of the "Union
as was, and the Constitution as it is" and
then comes the. question, who arc the
traitors 7"
In order to put this proposition in a still
more forcible light, take the following ex-
tracts from speeches delivered by Hon.
c. L. Vallandingham, Democratic MEM
Der of Congress from Ohio, and the Hon.
MIR. Bingham, Thoroughbred Adolf
ZIONIST from the same State. These
speeches were put on record during the
past session of the National House Of
Representatives, and the extracts show
what the feelings of the Democratic and
Abolition parties are upon the question of
a reconstruction of the Union with the pre-
sent Constitutional guarantees of the diff
ferent States-in other words, who are
the traitors? Mr.. Vallandigham said:
IN is in she restoration Of the Union
as u ras IN 1889, and continued for orer
serentg years. that I an. Loand to tile last
hour Of my political cristence'
Here is the platform of the Democratic
party, as laid down by one of its most
fearless. patriotic. and able members and
will 1t Re said that it contains ole treason
able sentiment; that any man can justly
be called a traitor for maintaining the
doctrines here enunciated! The rcstora-
ton of the Union as il was in 1889, a I'm
ion under which this Nation became
prosperous and happy at home and feared
and respected abroad, is The basis Of Dem
oeratic action, and the only basis on which
they viii: agree to meet and labor for a
reconstruction of the Union. And it mnst
be borne in mind that those in authority
have more than once. in the early part OF
this contest. given their assent to this doc
trine. But step by step they have been
pushed from this sound. patriotic. aud
Constitutional platform by the pressure Of
Abolition hatred to the Constitution and
the Union, until. at last, the enemies Of
the s.Union as it was" have hoisted the
black flag over the Republican party, aud
are ruling the country. that organization,
and those holding power under it. with the
iron hand Of military despotism. Were