The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-09-13
1lublit AHoi~
EXPECTS OF SECESSION.
Speech piSII.. Everett

Delreed atMe General War Meeting. on Boston
Commons, on Wednesday,, august y, 1862.
l rejoice, fellow-citizcns, to behold
this mighty throng. 1t shows that the
spirit of our fathers is again abroad in
the land, and that you are resolved that
the Union which they established shall
not be rent asunder that the mldest
and most bencfcent Government on earth
shall not be sacrificed 10 the ambition of
few disappointed aspirants to Office
We have now reached not only the mos.
important week in the his Dry of the war
up to the present time, but the week
which will most powerfully influence the
future. The fate of this years campaign
depends upon the manner in which the
call Of the President is responded to by
the people, and this campaign will 60 far
to settle The question whether we are to
have short or a long war.
it is d momcn', fcllow-ci liens, of vast
Importance, pregnant with consequences
not merely for us, but for our latest pos
terity: Everything is at stake for which
your ia hers and your forelathers coun-
sclled and toiled and bled, from the day
that the Pilgrims crossed the ocean,
through the long years of colonial trial,
the sharp ruggle Of the Revolution, the
ianguor of the old Confederation, down
to that happy contamination, the adop-
tion of the Constitution of the United
States. All; all is now at stake. Shall
this noble fabric of human wisdom be
allowed to crumble mo miserable frur-
mcnts; Or shall it be sus aimed through
this dark hour of trial shall it sink
into cdrly or ignonlinious decay or shall
it stand in its majesty and beauty for
agcs--so that bur children and our chill
dren's children shall be enable to say,
-" The rain descended, and the foods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house, and it fell not; for 1t was
founded upon rock
There are three courses-tliree only
with respect to the war, which can by
possibili y be pursued by the Govern
mcnt and loyal people of the Union; and,
us far as depends upon us, we are called
to choose this week between them.
We may, first; admit that we are
unable to carry on the war; retire bai'led
and discounted from the attempt, and
sue for peace. Are you ready for that !
Or; second, we may furnish the Govern
men. with ardy and inadequate supplies,
just enough to enable it, upon the whole,
to hold our own to gain a victory here,
to suffer a repulse there; to capture
strong fortrcsses and ropulous cities enc
day, only to have passenger cars fired
into and invalid officers shot in their
ambulanccs by numbering guerrilas the
next day, and SO let the con est drag on
for twenty or thirty years, like The wars
of the French Revolution, the wars of
the Commonwealth in England, or the
Thirty Years War in Germany. Or,
third, we may give the Government, at
whatever cost, the means which it requires
to bring the contest to prompt and tri-
umphant close. Is not this last the
die ate of humanity-is not this, my
fellow-citizens, your wish and firm
resolve?
Now, say, fellow ci liens, it depends
upon the manner in which the Presidcnt's
call for reinforcements is responded to
which of these three modes of dealing
with the war shall prevail.
- Let us look at them for moment
There can, need scarcely say, be no
hesita ion between long and a short
war; but ought we not atoprcfer the first.
named course for either 2 Ought we not
to yield to the demands of Secession, and
sue for peace 2 In order to answer that
question, VIC mist ask another: What
are those demands ? What are the cor
ditions Of such peace? What do the
leaders of Secession claim of us Let
me point out to you for a moment, fellow
citizens, their stupendous audacity.
Eighteen months ago the Government
Of the United States extended its con
stitutional rule from the northeastern
corner of Maine to the mouth of the Rio
t'randc, and from the Atlantic to the