The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-03-29
TIE HAWK-EYE
HssIS,,. MARCH -.

hE ia w ne II II
FraAav, MARCH -.
what de War has already aece0pll1Ae1.
The evils under which we suffer, the peril to
our institutions BY the civil war. which is de
lueing our country with the blood Of our own
people, all have their origin in the propagation
and anal dominance in . large section Of the
Union, Of the doctrine that our Government -
: simple confederation Of Sovereign Statss--a
limited partnership with thirty -four eqsai part.
ners, oil having the right to terminate their
connection with the Federal Govsrnment when
ever they please. This poison OF State sover-
eighty has been spreading year after year. Ori.
ginating in Virginia and South Carolina it gra.
dually spread throughout the South. The Gov
srning classes Of the South, being themselves
fcuda aristocrats, despising labor and laboring
men, and being in sentiment and feeling opposed
to government founded on universal suffrage
Ito free institutions-to any thing spproxima-
ting equality even among white men-hating
the Declaration of Independence, and deepising
all that we In the Free States hold sacred and
worth living and dying for in our Republican
form Of Government-these men, proud, vain,
ambitious Of sping the aristocracy and privi-
legged classes Of Monarchical governments, ha::
ting industry and despising thrift, invented this
internal doctrine, TO be used at the proper time
to sid them in initiating revolution for the
overthrow Of Republication in America.
To what extent this virus Of State sovereign
~. covering under 1t the right of "peaceable
secession" was propagatcd and diffused through
our whole political system we all know. A year
ago even in the free States, men who had been
looked up to as leaders-who had some rsputa-
ton as lawyers, and were presumed to under
stand the genius Of our institutions, told the
people that we had no constitutional power to
coerce sovereign State--that our political sys-
tenn was based upon the consent" Of the people
and whenever a majority Of the people Of a
sovereign State chose to sever their connection
with the Federal Government there was nothing
more to be said or done. Even the then Presi-
dent of the United States, when this conspiracy
eliminated, and the head conspirators were tel
egraphing from Washington. to their confeder-
ates, to take their respective States out of the
Union, and the panorama of rebellion com
menced to move, even in this hour Of peril and
alarm, Mr.. Buchanan gravely announced:
'sThe Federal Executive has no authority to
decide what shall be the relations between the
Federal Government and the States"
Congress possesses no authority, by force of
arms, to compel State to remain in the Uaion.
''Whle Congress possesses many powers Of
preserving the Union by Cancellation, the sword
was not placed in their hands to preserve it by
force"
Thus the Executive head of the nation-the
Oonmander-in-chief Of our Army and Navy un-
der the Constitution, announced to the world
when rebellion raised its head and displayed its
hideous features, that no power existed to pre-
serve our existence as Nation. Through bis
weakness or wickedness, it matters not which,
the people were sought to be bound hand and
foot. Nothing could be done because We were
hampered by our Constitution-nothing should
be done except "fasting and prayer" against
which the old public functionary" found no
constitutional inhibition.
But as fasting did not seem to do any good
and all compromises were scorned by the con.
epirators, Mr.. Lincoln reluctantly resorted to
other means of preserving the National exist
euce. We all remember the explosion which
followed his calling out the militia. The border
States famed up 10 perfect blaze of indigna-
ton. They would not permit war to be wsged
upon the rebels. Kentucky was going to occupy
position Of armed neutrality. No Federal sol.
der must tread her sacred soil. Virginia, Ten
nessae, and Missouri, although sound for the
Union, would never permit the seeding States
to be subjugated. The people Of all these
States, like Mr.. Buchanan, had SO long mouthed
these false doctriues as really to more than half
believe them, and their doubling, hesitating
half and half position was taken advantage of
by the conspirators and their States forced into
rebellion by an active minority.
One years war has most thoroughly dispelled
the illusion of peaceable secession. That refuge
Of lies and political distractions, State Sover-
eighty, with the false. prophets and orscles, no
guilty conspirators, and rebellion is only sus-
tanned by such armies as it has been able to put
in the field Its moral force is gone, and its
physical force lie fast being borne down by the
armies of the Republic. No one any longer
doubts our power, or that it is our duty to put
down the rebellion and preserve the integrity Of
our territory Those who a year ago croaked
about "subjugation" and told us we must march
over their dead bodies before we should make
war upon the seeded States, now implore our
armed interposition for their delverance and
protection in Tennessee, Virginia. and other
States. Abstractions and sbstractionists are
played out.
Col. Gar6eld's Official Report of the battle of
Middle Creek has been published. This is the
fight in which Humphrey Marshall was routed
and left his apple brandy. We make the follow
ing extract from Garfield's report:
The firing had scarcely ceased when brilliant
light streamed up the valley to which the enemy
had retreated. He was burning his stores and
fleeing in great disorder Twenty-Five of his
dead were left on the field, and sixty more were
IouLu utAt uAy uuTOWH iltc u SUTRe III Tue lille.
He has acknowledged a hundred and twenty five
killed ana a still larger number wounded. A
field officer and two Captains were found among
the dead. Our loss was one killed and twenty
wounded, two of whom have since died. We
took twenty-five prisoners, among whom was a
rebel Captain. Not more than nine hundred of
my force were actually engaged, and the enemy
had not less than thirty.five hundred men,
SALE OF THE TERRE HAuTE, ALTON & ST. LOUIS
RAILKoAD.-Tha Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis
Railroad was sold Monday at Alton, under de-
cree of the District Court Of the United States
and bid of by Robert Baysrd, Russell Sage, S.
J. Tilden, J. G. Richardson and Jos. Tucker.
man, all of New York, the purchasing committee
for the bondholders, at the sum OF eight thoue-
and dollars.
E The last weekly report of deaths in hos
pitfalls at and near st. Louis, includes only the
names of three Iowa soldiers Solomon
CLARK, Co. E, 9Th Infantry; Morrow Steward
%. q, 9Th Infantry; and Il. d. Linton, Co. E,