The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-05-31

ESTABLISEfEDl
d WASHINGTON CoRRKsr0HDEHCE..
dliss a94gss s'ae .WAsnrsafox, Nay -. 1869.
The answer Of the President 70 the proclama.
tion of Gen. Hunter contained . solemn and en-.
pbatic reiteration Of his warning to the Border
/ States. The country is doubtless awaiting v'snl !
some interest the reponss that will b nader
Il is, presume, awaiting with mach hope and
expectation also. But II 80, I think u y wast.
ing II. confidence and indulgins 2 hope sanssan s
/ tiallv fsllacious. The Millsritss are preaching
I the immediate personal coming Of Christ They
declare the world 60 dead 70 spiritual things that
4 nothing hut the trump Of Gabriel himself and
4 the appearance. Of the Savior in the skies can
.v.ke IL TO . sense Of its condition and Of the
/ immense importance Of impending chapgea I
don't know much about Nillerism, and I believe
| less. But do knov, from long study and OBJ.
! servation, something Of the character Of slave
~ and its influences over the judgment and
conduct of men,. And do not believe that this
preliminary note Of the last trump of Abe Lin.
coin viii answer the purpose Of arousing the
slaveholders of the Border States to = sense of
the condition and the tendency Of things. The
President was mistaken when he told then they
could not be ignorant Of the signs Of the times
They are ignorant. They have a faint and glm
mering vision Of them, but they have no clear
and lively understanding Of the matter. They
do not realize that their institution il in actual
and immediate peril. Nothing but the full blast
Of the Emancipation bugle, nothing but the
fame in the heavens and the shout that shall be
heard over sea and land will rouse them TO
just comprehension Of t1isting circumstances
and the irresistible march Of events Not un. /
til the heavens Of slavery are visibly rolling up
and passing away, apprehend, will any wide.
| spread, practical response be made to the ear
nest appeal and solemn warning of the Presi'
dent.
In,av be too fast. I am speaking Of the sub.
ject from public point of view. In that aspect
Of the case, am correct But there is a pri-
vate argument that is quietly producing an ef-
feet, and if it proves extensive enough it will
open the eyes of tie sleepers sufficiently wide
for them to take in the real dimensions OF the 4
subject and rouse them to action. II is the
spontaneous dissolution of the institution of
slavery on its own motion. There isl not much
reason, however, to believe that this will prove
adequate to the emergency. 1t is not probsble
that its influence can be more than local and
partial But in some localities it is all sufficient.
If the experience of the counties Of Maryland
and Virginia that border upon the District were
likely to extend into the interer of those States
from every free border, and the experience of
those States were the immediate experience Of
all the Border States no executive proclama-
ton under startling auspices would be necessa-
ry to awaken sensibility or deal summarily
and finally with the institution. In the ad-
Joining counties of Maryland and Virginia,
slavery is already almost extinguished. There
is no existing sign of what it was one year ago.
There will, in three months more, be but yes.
tige of it remaining. In Virginia it is not sin
gular, for the country has been in possession Of
the military, and the homesteads have been de-
serted. But in Maryland all the households
have remained together and the domestic au-
thority has existed intact. Yet where are the
negroes They are not at home. The hearths
about which they we're lately so "contented
and happy" wear the aspect of desolation.-
They are vanishing from sight like dew before
the morning sun. As they vanish, the institu-
ton vanshes with them, for no STAKEHOLDER is
So dull and foolish as to- supply their places
| with more Of the same class, and 60 assume
| new assurance of loss. The rapidity Of this
heglra within a limited scope is astonishing. A
gentleman, twenty-five miles from here. in
Prince Georges county, one morning last week,
walked up to find that all his slaves, thi,ty.four
in number, had left during the uight, without
any previous suspicion on his part that they
we're likely to desert him. Another, twelve
miles distant, last week, walked up to find all his
two-legged possessions, thirteen Of them, had
left his hospitable board without notice or sus-
picion. These families were thus suddenly left
without the means of carrying on either house
hold or field operations. In ole instance little
girl of twelve, unused to labor, prepared the
breakfast; in the other, the men Of the house
prepared it in their clumsy way. These in
stances are but illustrations of an extensive
state of things in the district mentioned. Mean
time the season is getting on. The crops must
be attended to, or the pl..nters will have no
income. Consequently they are now busy iu
employing other labor Very many are telling
their remaining negroes to leave, If they want
to. They cannot, while the season 10 progressing,
afford to lean upon a. species Of labor that IL
pe,iling their crop, and, under the present de-
!, preciated value Of negro property, is periline
them more than the negroes themselves are
worth. 1t is the argument OF dollars and cents
brought pressingly home to them. 1t may not
be effectus enough for general public purposes
but within limited scope it is complete, and
70 an observer now At Warrington it is very
interesting one. Let me wander away from the
general point far enough to close my article BY
; citing the case of Q STAKEHOLDER and personal
, friend, who is known to some portion of the
people of Iowa Frank Wootton, some time Z
citizen of Keokuk, late Secretary and Acting
Governor Of Utah, was yesterday in town. HI
f is at present living on his family homestead il
{ Prince Georges. A few days ago half thu
, slsvcs Of his family skedaddled, and Frank Wal
! here yesterday trying to hire Irishmen to 60 ant
take their places and save his tobacco crop.
-Hs15'a. s' f". Iowa.
~
II TIE Curtis HoRsE.-Thi splendid body o
cavalry, numbering 1900 men, nearly all o
whom are effective, are hereafter to be consid
, cred an Iowa regiment. Adjutans General Ba
ker has received intelligence to this effect from
the Department at Washington, and is ordered
to commission officers 10 gil whatever vacancie
may occur.
| -ez- .. A Legal Point. H1s