Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-07-25
Communicated.
For the Pomeroy Weekly Telegraph.
Shall the Union be the Same
as Heretofore.
HARTFORD CITY, June q, 1862.

as Heretofore.
HARTFORD CITY, June 21, 1862.
The following expressions have got
to be exceedingly common these times,
and especially among that class of in
dividuals, whose sympathies are strongly
drawn out toward secession, and who
not more than twelve months ago argued
strongly in favor of letting the South
GO Of, and thus affect dissolution of
the Union. Viz: s.The Constitution as
it is, and the Union as it was"
Now I would like to know, in the FIRST
place, what has come over the dreams of
these people, that they seem to be SO
Exceedingly anxious, just at this time,
for the salvation of the Constitution and
the Union 1t is certainly not because
they love it more now. thai they did
then. This manifested solieitude and
apparent concern for the Constitution
as it is and the Union as it was, is moth
ing but hypocritical cant-it is not
what they mean. But it is because
they see indications of great and import
ant changes being broug ht about in the
Government in consequence of this re-
bellion; and that these changes will
have the effect of overthroWing the
great moloch of slavery, which :hey ad
mire SO much, and for which they
would have been willing even to have
sacrificed the Constitution and the
Union not more than one year ago.
This is doubtless the paramount rea-
son why they are crying out SO inces-
sanity Just now. The Constitution as it
is and the Union as it was. The cir
cumstances now trahspiring, are remov-
ing the blindness so fast from their eyes,
that they now begin to see that if any
changes should be made, they viii, in
the very nature of things, give less pro-
lection to their peculiar institution,
than it had previous to the war. Hence
their cry now is, since they begin to
dispair of the success of the JEFF. Davis
conspiracy, save the Constitution, save
the Union. So we say, save the Con-
stitution and perpetuate the Union
But the great question is, shall We have
the same Union and the same Constitu-
ton Without any changes whatever,
hereafter, that we have I'd heretofore?
We answer that we do not believe that
it win be. And we will now proceed
to give some reasons for our belief upon
this subject.
Although we are willing to admit that
the same territory will be embraced in
the Union, that will exist after this re-
bellioG is crushed out, that existed
previous thereto, and perhaps a great
deal more, yet we are not prepared to
believe, by any means, that the cendi-
tions of the two Unions will in
every respect be Identical There must,
in the very nature of things, be some
change. What that change ewill be we are
not able at present to point out, and
even if we were, it would not perhaps be
policy to do so But one thing we feel
most positive of, and that is, that it is
cotsumate folly in any one to expect no
changes to take place, either in the con-
stltutional character of the Union or the
policy Of its Administration. We can
not suppose for one moment, that the
men who are at the head of this Govern
ment, and who must understand the
causes that have precipitated this
country into all the horrors of civil war,
will be content by simply bringing
things back to the point at which this
unholy rebellion commenced, and then
leave them there without even making
an effort to inaugurate policy that
will forever exterminabe the great cause
of our troubles as to So patalyze its
power and influence, that it will never
be felt more And permit me here to
say in all candor And it is the deep
and settled conditions of my mind, that
if there is nothing Of the kind done we
are sacrificing our men and money to no
purpose whatever.
! We don't expect that the great fun
damental principles that lie at the
foundati in of our Government will be
changed. We believe that they are be-
coming deeper and more firmly settled,
and fixed in the minds of the loyal peo-
pie of this country day by day. We be-
tlieve that the great the immortal prin-
ciples enunciated in the Declaration of
Independence, viz: That all men are
born free and equal, and endowed with
certain inalienable rights, among which
are life, liberty and the pursuit of hap
piness, will ever remain. These are
the principles for which our forefathers
fought and died, and they are the prin-
ciples for which the Government is con-
tending to-day, against wicked and
&ungodly hoard of traitors.
But while we are willing to admit
that these great central ideas of our Re
publican form of Government, will ever
remain untarnished; yet, we do believe,
that in order to their greater security