The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1862-09-16

African slaves against Us, IN whose hands oul
mothers and sisters would find murder indeed a
messenger of relief! If all this should fail to
arouse his soul to resistance, then indeed is he
dead to every sense of shame, and deaf to his
country voice.
To prosecute this war with success, there is
quite much for people as soldiers to do
One of the most vital elements of our success is
harmony. On this great issue of existence itself,
let there, | pray you, be no dissenting voice in
our borders. Let the names and watchwords
which once divided us, divide US no more forever
Let new order of things take place, and while
the contest lasts at least, let US see nothing hear
nothing, know nothing but our country and its
sufferings.
scription, whereby all able bodied men, with GER
tain exceptions, between the ages of eighteen and
thirty five years are enrolled for military duty.
Many of you thought it harsh and unconsttu-
tional; it aoas harsh, and may have been uncon-
stitutional, though many of our ablest statesmen
thought not To stop now to argue it could only
produce the greatest mischief for the reason that
it has already been executed upon at least four
| ffths of those subject to it. However objectona-
BILE in its conception, let u.s. at least, be just and
/ impartial in its execution. But [ am sure that if
every who has his country's good at heart,
but knew of the necessity which existed at the
| time, he would render it a cheerful obedience
Within five weeks of the date of its passage, one
/ hundred and forty-seven of our best trained and
victorious regiments would have been disbanded
and scattered to their homes. And this during
the very darkest days in the history of the War
Fort Donelson and Nashville had fallen; Gen.
Halleck with overwhelming and victorious
army followed by vast fleet of iron clad boats
was passing into the very heart of the South the
great and magnifcently equipped army of Nc
Clellan, was in the act of springing, a tiger,
upon Richmond, and to make his success doubly
sure, was waiting for this very thing Of disbandng
our regiments Roanoke Island and Newbern with
all their dependencies on our coast were in pos
session OF the enemy, as was much of S. Carolina
and Georgia. ust imagine the result! The Con-
federate government having failed to provide in
time for this terrible emergency, utter ruin was at
the door and must be averted; the law was passed,
and the country was saved 1t fell hardest upon
the patriotic soldiers in the feid-they had
already served twelve months most of them with
out furlouahs, and they had looked forward and
counted the days slowly revolving as they seemed,
to the time when they should see home and all
that was dear to them. Sorely were they disap-
pointed, but how did they behave? Resist the
law, as, with arms in their hands and doubling its
constitutlonality, they could have done? No, in
deed, they swallowed down their bitter sorrow,
they dismissed all hopes of seeing their homes
and families, grasped their muskets and set again
their resoue faces towards the flashing of the
guns. God bless them for it An exhibition of
purer patriotism has not been seen on the CONT
nent, and our government can never sufficiently
appreciate it.
| remember with thrill of pride, the conduct
of the gallant men so lately was honored by COM
handing. They too, discontinued, and spoke
loudly and bitterly against the harshness of the
law. [ called them together and simply laid be-
foro HON. he & tho;r
peaed to their patriotism to sustain it; made
them no promises, held out no hopes; I even told
them that though they promised furloughs
by the law, they would not get Them that there
was nothing before them but fighting and suffer-
ing. They quietly dispersed to their quarters,
and in four hours the regiment was reorganized
for the war! This will answer for history of
our whole army.
ii they who went out first, and have suffered
and bled from the beginning, could thus submit, |
oh! cannot these who have so far reposed in peace
In their protected homes, give the remainder of
their time to their country? Our brave reg-
ments have had their ranks thinned by death and !
disease; will you not all go cheerfully to their
help? They have struggled for you, and now you
are needed to struggle with them. Let the law
be executed impartially upon oil, rich and poor,
high and low.
Any proposition for the further increase of our
army shouiu, anu uhder our present prosperous
might safely be treated with more
deliberation, and that method sought out which
would be most acceptable to the people Then
let those of US who remain at home bend every
energy to the task of clothing and feeding our de-
tenders in the field, and providing for their wives
and children. They should constitute our first
care. All the fruits of the earth should be saved
most carefully retrenchment and reform should
begin in our households, and extend to everything
public and private. Now is the time for an i'm
taion of that heroic self-denal by which our
mothers of the first revolution rendered their
names worthy of bright place in history, and l
doubt rot we shall examples in North
Carolina that will put our boosted manhood to
shame
Fellow citizens, there are also other dang ers
which beset US, besides those which come from the
Zoe. Bloody revolutions have necessarily chaotic
tendency. Yielding ourselves up gradually to
martial Notwithstanding ourselves by Slow
degrees to submit to the exercise of arbitrary
power in our military leaders, and looking with
ess and less concern upon the disordered morals
which state of war always must produce we
may endanger both civil liberty and the frame
work OF society. The time honored principle in
he character of our liberties, "that the military
should be subordinate to the civil authorties,H
should still be honored and maintained 1t should
never be departed from except in cases of most OBJ
'ious and undeniable public necessity, when the
safety of the State would otherwise be imperilled
It won through centuries of strife by our