The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-11-29

and racking his. shrewd brain with plans to
thwart its commander IF be can only be kept
IN that position until We are ready, be will never
be able to rejoin Gen. Lee. 90 -. shs
From the Springfield Republican
Politics In tAe BoFaer States. 8
We have briefly noted the remarkable fact
that, while the free States that have held cleo
tons recently have apparently pronounced
against the Presidents policy of emancipation,
the border slave States have either declared for
1t, Or manifested q strong tendency Of public
opinion in that direction. The wave of popular
reaction rose in the North, in the most decided
antt-slavery States, and rolled on with increased
momentum through the great central States,
only to be resistsd and beaten back in the slave
States themselves Surely this is most extra
ordinary and significant fact. Before the Pre-
sident proclaimed emancipation, one of the
most 'nfiuentia objections to the measure was
that It would be fatal to the cause of the Union
in the border States; that the measure would
be held to give moral justification to the rebel
lion, and that the really loyal men of those
States would be unable to stem the current
which would set towards secession Just as soon
| as the Federal Government should make the
abolition of slavery one of its objects, no mat
ter whether for military or moral reasons. The
most devoted Union men of the border States
predicted this result from an anti.slavery war
policy, and their fears and remonstrances seemed
entirely reasonable.
But how soon have events dispelled all these
fears and forebodinga The proclamation Of
emancipation Was followed by the invasion Of
Maryland and Kentucky by formidable rebel
armies, Offering deliverance from the Federal
offer good. The rebel leaders believed that the
declared sbolition policy of President Lincoln
must have fixed the majority of the people of
the border States in hostility to the Government
and that they would welcome the Confederate
armies and rally to make common cause with
them. Not only did the rebel leaders expect
this, but loyal men everywhere feared il, and
the period was one Of the deepest anxiety
to the Administration, quite 40 much on this
account % from any apprehension of danger to
the capital or Of the invasion of the free States.
But maryland, my Maryland" made no other
response than silent refusal of the profered de-
liverance and protection by Gen. Lee and bis
army, and he lost by assertions more men than
came to his lines in Maryland. Bragg Jared no
better, and went out of Kentucky poorer than
and hominy. Probably in both these grand
raids not FIVE hundred recruits joined the rebels
who would not have been just as certain to join
them if the proclamation Of emancipation bad
never been issued. Neither did any officer OF
our army resign on account of the proclamation,
| as it had been predicted that hundreds would do.
Thus the military mischiefs predicted on account
of the proclamation failed to be realized to any
considerable extent Undoubtedly popular
opinion in the rebel States was consolidated
and fixed by it for resistance to the last, but il
had nearly if not quite cone up to that before
the proclamation. -
The disastrous political effect Of the procls-
ton in the free States was due in great meas
ure to the idea, industriously disseminated among
our sboriDg people, that the abolition Of slavery
would be certain to bring host Of starving ne
groes to the North, to compete with white work
I ing men, and to crowd our poor houses and dou.
BILE the load Of taxation. This idea Was mos,
industriously elaborated by the democratic dem
agogues, and the actual arrival of few thou
sands OF these oontrabands in the free Statel
confirmed the alarm Of the Ignorant. How man,
thousands of northern citizens voted with th'
democrotic party from this false and sel6st
alarm it is impossible to say, but We believe ,
great many more than we're Influenced by %!
, scruples % to the constitutional power of tht
President to free the slaves These and othel
like influences, il is clear, carried enough mel
. over to the democrats to give them majorites II
} nearly all the States voting, as much to theil
own astonishment as to that Of the republicans
. If such was the popular reaction against th'
emancipation measure in the free States, wher'
all the interests of the people are to be reall!
} and largely promoted by it in the end, We nigh
. reasonably have expected still more decided
verdict against it in the border slave States
since they understand very we'll that slavery can
not long exist anywhere IN the Union after thu
slaves Of the cotton and Gulf States are trans
formed into free laborers. But the result mos
agreeably upsets all calculations and disappoint
ali our fears. Not single Congressman from
Missouri endorsed the proclamation, except Mr.
! Blair, and be gave it only qualified approval
But the people Of Missouri have spoken on tn,
subject, and with the issue squarely and bold,
; made, as the ouly one involved in the contest
have elected an emancipation legislature, ans
four out of nine of the representatives to the mex
} Congress are emancipationists, and possibly 6v'
} out of the nine. In Delaware the republican
are defeated on the saue issue BY majority 81
small that only the official count can determine
whether the democratic candidate for Governor
selected, although the Democrats are sure of The
representative to Congress. The present indi-
cations are that there will be strong emancipa-
ton parties in Kentucky and Maryltnd. They
may not be in the majoritp at the next elections
but they will be large enough to show that the
current sets decidedly in that direction. THIS IL
one of the revolutions that will not go backward.
1t begins in the right quarter, and We predic'
with confidence that if we obtain the victories
over the rebellion we have right to expect IN
the present campaign, the seeming verotct OF
the North against emancipation will De wlsn.
drawn, and President Lincoln may be sustained
BY q larger party, before another iall, tnan mas
ever rallied srnpnd any previous administration.