The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer., 1862-08-02
From the Dubuque Herald.
THE ALTERNATIVE.

Union.'' This is the issue presented by
that party to. the people Of the United
States. abolish slavery, or dissolve the
Union" People Of the United States,
will you subject yourself 10 such an alter
tive? Will you not, on the contrary, de-
termine that the Union shall be preser-
we'd at all hazards, and even at the sacri-
fee of Abolitionism and its offspring the
"Irrepressible conflict" Republicanism (?
There is no alternative worthy of being
placed in opposition to the preservation of
the Union. The American people cannot
exist in peace divided. The experiment
of divided territory and of distinct Ma
tionalities, founded upon sectional polite
al ideas, will only prove, if ever made, the
utter unfeasibleness of the Abolition and
Secession theories that it is better to des-
troy the Union, if it cannot be all free ter
ritory, than it is to preserve it unbroken
with recognition of Slavery in some of
its parts.
Just here some of the Abolition and
Republican Press of this State will allege
that we favored the doctrine of Secession,
They lied every time they said SO. They
will lie every time they say so hereafter.
Mr.. Lincoln's course, before the Fall
of Sumter, led us to believe that he
meant to act upon the principle Of his
speech made in Congress in opposition to
the Mexican war, where he said that:
'Any people, anywhere, being inclined
and having the power, have the right to rise
up and shake off the existing government,
and form a new one that suits them bet
ter. This is most valuable, most sa-
cred right-a right which, we hope and
believe, is to liberate the world. Nor is
this right confined to cases in which the
whole people Of an existing government
may exercise it. ANY PORTION Of
such people that can, may revolutionize,
and make their oDn so much of a terrific
ry as they inhabit More than this, a
majority Of any portion of such people
may revolutionize, put down a minority,
intermingled with or near about them,
who may oppose their movements. Such
minority was precisely the case Of the
Tories in our own Revolution. 1t is quail
ity of revolutions not to go by old lines, or
old laws, but to break up both, and make
new ones"
And as he afterwards declared that the
Free and Slaves could not exist under one
Government, hence presuming that he
meant, as would be consistent at least
with his profession and sentiments for
him to do, to let the Union Slide, we de-
manded of him that before permitting the
disruption to take place, he secure by
treaties with the South commercial advan-
tages for these States which adhered to
the old Union and the Constitution, and
we denounced the policy of surrendering
without an effort to retain possession Of
them, the forts of the United States in
the South, until these commercial advan-
tages had been secured. This is the pre-
text the Abolition and Republican, in
word the disloyal Press of Iowa, have for
their basest Of charges against us person
ally, and this Newspaper.
Will they unite with us in preserving
the Constitution as it is, unimpaired, and
in furnishing every man who has dared to
violate it, the judicial tribunals of the
country being the Judge as the laws make
them OF the Constitutions violations? We,
challenge them to the trial, we dare them
to the contest.
Will the disloyal Press of Iowa unite
with us for the restoration and future pre-
servation Of the Union as the compact Of
the Constitution formed it, the Govern
meut itself as the Constitution designed,
being the judge of what the Union was
designed to be? We challenge again the
Abolition and Republican press to this
test of loyalty, fidelity, allegiance aud
duty. They cannot unite with us for this
purpose without sacrificing their disloyal
sentiments, their disunion theories, their
lunpatriotie projects, their damnable de-
signs to subvert and overthrow the Gov
ernment and substitute for the Constitu-
ton the will of Stratocrat; for the Gov
ernment of the trinity of powers, each act
ing as check upon the passions and ca
price of the other, centralized Govern
ment of consolidated power; and for the
Union of Sovereign States, each perform
| ing its functions in harmony with all the
others, Union Of territorial domain, the
inhabitants Of which must conform in
local customs, habits, tastes, and probably
in Religion itself, to some standard which
o dominant majority may adopt as the
criterion of propriety. On these issues
we meet our Abolition and Republican
cotemporaries, one and all, before the
| D1as,lo .,P Ie..a ~