The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-05-03

,,;nc;pal reason Why foreign winters an0
e.-s;er nolticisns hare failed 70 epPrehend me
real ch.ra cseristics Of The present. var 10 Amels
;cs and 70 prophecy corrseuy Neco'ne ~
sucs il, shat they do not underssanc 80. inv 20.
s ssanle are vagipg it. They speak OF the gov.
P...s,t a n L were one Of the European sofs
- central power, residing in certain men, Wno
1900 certain prerogativeA When she govern
-. =. - weak that fort sitter fort fell INTO
.h. h.nds Of the rebels without even an enoft
- .s.;stance. they thought that the country
:. -. sv.. Zen. hopelessly ruined. What couid
: rcveromeut do which had NO army, no navy,
ma no money! Nay. what could govssn%en \.
10 which had no power except that wn,cn -
derived from the people! And what could me
neople do when they were divided! tney Sase
IA over 70 political peEdition, and tney VIII MOI
The h;storian of this rebellion will notice thie
difference between the loyal and the disioyM
novers.-that one is purely popular and the
other purely political or personal Ine recei'
lion was not . popular movement Il was inl'
tia,ed and perfected by politicians TO carry
Il into operation and to carry It on, It has been
necesaarv 70 resort to all the machinery OF yer.
rorism and couscription. The loans have all
been forced loans. An irresponsible despotism
has used the people simply 90 its tool for erect
ing it's ambitious purposes. Now this was some
thing that the European presses could under
stand and measure. This was after their own
sort and style, and they did not perceive what
their was to meet and master it. The power Of
a united people, using the machinery of the
government for its purposes In crushing out re-
bcllion, was something that it was not possible
for them to appreciate. Their education, habits
of thought and ideas Of government rendered
full appreciation impossible. The consequence
is that oil their reasoning and all their predic-
lions have been wrong.
The uprising Of tho American people conse-
quent upon the war opened by the rebels upon
the national flag, was, in fact, the revivifcation
Of the government, and from that moment to
this the people have carried it on. The people
have told the government to borrow, and to
promise in their name to pay. They have done
this in good faith, and without the first thought
of ever regulating. The people have called
upon the government to tax them, and the gov.
eminent is only too slow for them in this bust
ness. The people ON the other side Of the wa
ter have looked on and seen our government
piling up its indebtedness, and confidently pre-
dieting that as soon as taxation should touch
the people, it would destroy the government OF
dethrone its policy. But the people absolutely
clamOr to be taxed. We have never heard
one word against it from any lip. On the con
trary, We never hear the subject mentioned
without impotence to get at its results at the
earliest practicable moment.
It is the remark of the English officers who
have recently visited our camps upon the POt0
mac that they have never, in any part of The
world, seen so fine an army. Why? Simply be
cause the men who compose it are men of intelli
gence-men who came from the people armed
with great, patriotic purpose. The armies o {,
the United States are not composed of the of
securing of great cities, and the poor and tn
helpless, or the dsspated and the vicious. Their
are some of all these classes represented in tn
army, without doubt but the masses are th'
bone, sinew and intelligence of the nation, whit
enlisted from sense of duty, and who fight be
cause they feel upon their own shoulders tho re
sponsibilities Of the Government. These mel
understand what they are fighting for. The.
cannot be defeated. They went voluntarily int
the field, their numbers limited only by the ne
cessities Of the service, and they will leave it
they leave it alive, to work in some sphere Of in
dustry to pay the debts which the war has rem
dered unavoidable. -
So far Us the United States are concerned, tn
war is emphatically a war of the people. TIL
humblest plowman feels the same responsibility
| that the President does-thc same in kind, il no
in degree. The President and all the members Q
the Government were private citizens yesterday
and will again be tomorrow. To-day, they ar
only the instruments the people use to accomplis
| their purposes-their necessary executive ms
chinery for carrying on war and providing means
Our neighbors across the water have looked fol
and predicted, mobs, but the mobs will not ar
pear, simply because the Government is the II
strument Of the people, and the people will nc
rise against the power which they institute, 8
long as it obey their wishes. The taxes they ar
to pay are laid by themselves, and will not be RI
sisted or quarrelled with. If this war be carrie
through successfully, as the people are determine
it shall be, it will be such aesson in self-goverr
ment as will shake all the old world thrones an
theories to their foundations. -[Springfold RI
publican.