, 1862-05-19
RENTERS Pm ss,CLA ua TIoE.

TIL rcccE1 proclamation Of Gen. Hunter
is tie theme Of general discussion, in all
circles There is considerable divergence
Of opinion as to the cxpcdiency OF pract~
cability Of the step taken, but there is
great unani1nity Of sentiment that the
slaves of the rebels in South Carolina
ought to be freed, as punishment to the
atr"e1ous traitors Of that pestilent State.
Eo,.h Carolina brought this terrible war
upon the country. Slr has been hot-bed
Of Gis1oya'ty since the days Of notification.
The rebellion was there planned, or
ganized aud precipitated- Without cnusc
OF proyocatinn. she plunged into
secession and dragged the other South
CTR States after her. The hc1csies
taught and preached by her politi-
Clans p1oselyted the surrounding States,
sapped their loyalty and poisoned their
affection for the Onion Tic crime Of
these wicked men las cost the loyal peo-
pie Of the North more lives than the whole
white adult male population Of South
Carolina. The number Of Northern sol
xliers who have lost their lives in battle
and by disrase since the war began, is &C.
tua,ly morc than the voters of that State,
and the cost to the Treasury is greater
than the whole money value Of South
Carolina combined. Who will stand
between the fiendish traitors Of such
community and the severest punishment
that outraged justice demands? None
but those who themselves are rebels at
heart. Had Gen Hunter confined the
scope Of his proclamation to South Caro-
lima, ninety men out Of every hundred in
the Free States would have sanctioned and
defended thcact Yet, it must be confessed
that Florida and Southern Georgia are
scarcely whit hetter or less guilty than
South Carolina. The only point
of any considerable weight tha. can be Of
fcrcd against the proclamation is, thai
Gen. Huntcr has no: the military force al
lis command 10 execute it, and there
fore i. may fall stll-born. Another OBJ
jec:ion is that his proclamation frees the
slarcs Of loya'ist as we'll as Of rebels
Technically this is true; but practically
there are but very few loyal shareholders
within his district There may be some II
Northern Georgia, score or two in all
but in South Carolina it is the boast Of til,
rebels, that there il not one Union s2aod
1ozdeY in the State And il there be any il
Florida they are unknown One thing
certain that if any STAKEHOLDER within thcs
States, shall he able to prove SATISFACTORY
that he was loyal during the rebellion, h
will be indemn1fed ont Of the Nationz
treasury for his peruniarT loss. This is a
that any man ought to ask or expec
whatever may be the species Of propert
taken from him by the Government i
time Of war.
Gen. Hunters proclamation, if not r
iec.ed by the Government, may enah
him to defeat the rebels and whip the
out Of his department. If the slaves get
hear that the Government has declar
them free, they viii be very apt to refuse
serve the rebels any longer, and gene1
s.strikc" against working for nothing a
boarding themselves would,,give the secc
50 much to do at homo that Gen. Hunt
would be able to march his forces where
he pleased. Before the war can
ended and peace permanently restored
the rebellious Cotton States, does I
every sensible and refiecting m
believe that some such course as that p
posed by Gen Hunter must be adoptt
A different and milder remedy for the {
case may be Administered to the paticnt
the border States But down in the {
States, where the whole slaveholding &
is putrid with secession and treason,
axe must be laid at the root Of the tree
that region must be abandoned to the ret
What loyal citizen is willing to see the
ter alternative adopted?