Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1862-03-05
Opinions Of Secretary Stanton.

The Continental Monthly attributes the
language which follows to Mr.. Stanton, the
present Secretary of War. The "neces-
sary fact" alluded to at the close Of the ar
tiele is The very fact we have urged from
the opening Of the rebellion, and the one
on whicha consistent and effective opoli-
cy7 on the part Of the Government might
have been based. The Secretary is report
ed as follows;
"Filst and foremost, | believe Slavery
to be the casus 6elli. To treat the casus
5ezlt above and beyond all other consider
ations | hold to be the duty of the true
commander-in-chief; as the surgeon disre-
! cards the secondary symptoms, and probes
| the wound. / would treat this casus Jelli
as the Constitution allows us to treat it,
not one hairs breadth from the grand old
safeguard would | step. Under the Con
stitntion believe slavery to be a purely
local institution. In Louisiana and Texas,
slave is an immoval by statute aud is
annexed to tie reality as hop-poles are in
the law Of New York. In Alabama and
Mississippi, the slave is chattel. In the
first named states he passes by deed Of
natural act and registration; in the other,
by simple receipt or delivery. Thus even
among slave states there is no uniform
system respecting the slave property. 10
the Northern States the slave is a pefsgn
in his ballot relation to congressional quota
and constituency, and also an apprentice to
labor to be deliyeree up on demand
The slave escaping from Maryland to Penn
sylyania Is not to be deliyere up nor cared
about, nor thought about, until he is de
manded.
Liberty is the law Of nature. Every
man is presented free in choice, and moi
even to be tralnpIed by apprenticeship,
until the contrary is made clearly to ap-
pear. One man may be New York dis
charged convict, for instance -un unpar-
donable convict. He emigrates southwark
he obtains property, according to local law
in slave. The slave escapes to New
York. The conyict-unpardoned-ma
ter enters the tribunal there on bis demand
Quoth the escaped apprentice, Mr.. Claim
ant, you have no standing In court Your
civil rights are suspended in this State IN
til you are pardoned. You are not par
doned, therefore | Will not answer aye OF
no to your claimant, until you are legiti-
mately in court, and recognized by the
judges. | take it that plea would avail
And if the crier wanted to employ per
son to sweep the court room the next mo-
ment, he could employ that defendant to
do it. There is not man ii the rebe
States (whon1 zoe publicly knoao of) who
has standing under the Constitution re
gardiag this slavery question. BY bis Owl
argument, he lives in foreign country; By
our own argument, he is not rectus an Gu
rja
Were an invading General, and want
ed horses, | would decoy them from th'
rebels with hay aud stable enticements.-
If | wanted trench-diggers, camp solutions
or artilerists, or pilots, or oarsmen, o
guides, and being that General, saw ne
groes about me, / should press them int,
my service. Time enough to talk abou
the rights Of some one 10 possess the ne
groes by better claim Of title Of serve,
when that somebody, with the Constitu
ton in one hand and stipulation Of allegi
ancc in the other, demands legal possession
| believe that the acknowledged fact, tha
wherever our army advances, emancipation
practically ensues, will carry more terro
to the slaye-owner than any warike Incl
dent But ] would have them understand
that this result is not our design, but ne
cessity Of their rebellion"