The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-05-03
Confederaie FacetIpe.

TIN III Etb&Ioldt ADLe4llEeuC6r
One would suppose that the circum
stances which surround and " govern the
situation ,, of the Southern Confederation
| ct the present moment were not of q nature
| to suggest the Indulgence in equivokes or
facetie, especially in the legislative acts and
/ executive proceedings of the q Confederate
| Government" Aud yet in what sense can
| the following resolution, recently passed by
the Confederate Congress, be regarded as a
serious declaration2
- ReSolUed, That the ports OF the South
ern Confederaey are open to the free entry
| Of goods from every nation in the world
| except the United Sta:es"
As we understood the facts in the case,
these ports can at present be hardly said to
be "opeu to the free entry of goods from
every nation in the world There are
very palpable distractions in the way,
which 90 resolution of the Richmond Con-
gress can remove; and, ualess we are labor
ing under strong delusion, it is only the
nation which is excepted from the scope of
this declaration that has the privilege of
freely entering many of these same South
ern ports-a privilege which it holds under
another authority than that granted by the
resolution in question.
Aud President Davis, it seems is also an
adept in this species Of solemn joking. A
notable instance of it appears in his Ia e
" message recommending a military con-
scription of all males in the Confederacy
between the ages of eighteen and thirty
five years The principal reason which he
assigns for this step is contained in the fol-
lowing extract:
"Fhe vast preparations made by the enc
my for a combined assault at numerous
points on our frontier and sea board have
produced results that might have been ex-
pected. They have animated the people
with spirit of resistance so general so
resolute, and so self-sacrifeing, that IL re-
qltires rather TO be regulated than to be slim
aLated."
The point of this untimely waggery is so
we'll explained by the New York CONNER
cial Advertiser that We cite its commentary
on the foregoing passage.
There is an argument for you So gen
erdt, so resolute, so self-sacriicing is this
spirit of resistance at the South, that law
of CONSUMPTION is necessary But then, in
Inmates Mr.. Davis, this is not to force the
unwilling into the service, but to keep the
over-eager youth and aged out Of it. As
therefore, every law pre-supposes the i'm
posing of penalties for breaches of it, we
infer tbat this act must contain clauses pro-
viding for the exemplary punishment of all
below the age of eighteen or above that of
thirty-hve who may presume to offer Them
selves as defenders of Secessia. Alas ! to
them the door is shut for the present The
juveniles must grow older or the seniles
must grow younger before they can be le-
galy clothed with the panoply of insurrec-
ton. They must soldier at home in time
of war, and leave their fresides only when
these are invaded. But is it not droll that
a CONSUMPTION act hadlto be passed to ''reg-
ulate and restrain mot to call forth, the
Southern people 10 defend their country
from invasion? We would ike to publish
the clauses which prohibit so imperatively
the enlistment of all except the favored few
between eighteen and thirty-fge."