The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-08-08
The True Policy Of Pun< shment'
New York Times Of last Friday.

From the New York Times Of last Friday.
One remarkable popularity was noticed
by all in the grand Union square meeting,
and is an evidence. no doubt. of general
popular feeling, and that was, that all
demands for the most unsparing punish,
Inent of the rebels, and for the most vigor.
Gus measures toward them, were met with
the greatest applause. From every quar-.
ter we receive, ourselves, communications
urging the most extreme penalties of the
law on the reasonable States and COM
munities. A universal confscation of
real estate, so that loyal settlers may
occupy the deserted properties, the wasting
of rebel fields and harvests, the armed
occupation of their houses, and the ap.
preparation of all property, are some of
the mildest of the penal remedies recon-
mended. In the meeting before referred
to, one of our most benevolent and excel
lent citizens, calmly advised sending all the
rebel inhabitants further South, and occu-
plying their houses with our soldiers. All
these strongly expressed feelings are good
signs in one respectfully show that the
people demand vigorous action, and viii
sustain the Government in it. They prove
that the popular instinct feels what has been
thus far our mistake.-the not striking at
our enemy's weakest points. Still, the
time has come when sound statesmanship
and practical Christianity should indicate
some distinctions and limitations in this cry
for punishment and revenge. It might
as well be understood now as hereafter,
that there are some things. which the Ameri-
can people can do, and some which it
cannot. Whatever be our wrongs re-.
ceived from the Southland their nums
Der is infinite--we cannot exterminate
or make houseless and landless the whole
five or six million whites implicated in
this rebellion. The thing is simply impos.
sible. If we begin an indiscriminate, uni
versal policy of destroying rebel property,
confscating it, and ''sending women and
children South" and the like, we merely
excite every man, woman and child to a
pitch of fury which would lead them to take
to the mountains and swamps rather than
submit, and which would call out a storm
of wrath to which the rage of Europe, un>
der Nap0le0n's eXactiOns, was feeble. We
must remember, ourselves, how many years
it needed before the ashes over our burnt
homesteads, in the war of 1872, cooled
again. Not all the British victories or
insults ever sowed such dragon teeth of ha.
tired as did their destruction OF the public
buildings of Washington and other towns.
To let an army plumber buildings, or even
occupy them-to permit every soldier to
grasp and get as he likes-is simply to de-
moralize our army, and enrage the enemy
past any possibility of submission.
Our policy is simply this. This aoor is a
class aoar. 1t is war of the aristocracy of
the South, nominally, against the people
the working people OF the North, but really
against the whole people, and against DE
mocracy itself. The politicians have hood
winked the Southern masses or bound them
down under the chains OF military despot.
ism. Our great object should be to insert a
wedge between the arietocrats and the
masses. We can never subjugate the South
or hold it, without doing this. We must
show the working classes in every way, that
we aim at their benefit and are against their
proud and oppressive masters. In this
view, we think that some portions of Gen.
Buffers measures in New Orleans, to con-
ciliate the masses and hold down the aris-
tocracy, have been very wise and statesman
like. With this policy we should strike
without favor, at the higher classes. We
should free their slaves, not merely from
military necessity, but because the emanci-
patton of the negroes tends to depress
the traitorous aristocracy, who hate the
Union and Democracy, and always will
hate them. We should con6scate their
estates, and divide them, not merely among
our soldiers, but cell them cheaply to, or be-.
stow them on the poor white men OF the
South. The ruling class, the office-holders
and disloyal planters of the rebel States,
should be nearly destroyed. No poor man,
no mechanic, or laborer, or small farmer,
should be injured. The blow should fall
on the rich. Then, as our armies advance,
they should, of course, to certain degree,
feed on the enemys country; but this
should be done with perfect system and UNI
der military law. Plundering, and any oc.
cupation without guards of houses, should
be strictly punished. There reed be no
fear that our army will not sufficiently des-
olate the rebel territory. An army, even
to its friends, is like flock of locusts. Its
track, with the best of intentions, over Vir-
GINA would be like that of tempest.
But there are other aspects to this ques.
ton, which it is the duty of our religious
teachers BOW to present, and yet which, We
fear, are not sufficiently presented. 1t
Christianity has any reality, and is not a
myth to the Northern people, it is time
that its power were felt in this hour of our
wrath and distress. Revenge does not be-
long to nations any more than to individu-
ais. Vindictiveness is not merely mark
at unwise craftsmanship, but it is something
against which we utter daily prayers. Ii
our holy faith has still power in the land,
it will control those most natural, but bitter
cries OF a wronged nation for revepgeful
punishment and evil on its enemies. Justice,
legal punishment we must have, but not
lawless revenge.