Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1862-12-05
An Article that every man ought 70 Read.

An Article that every man ouRhfto Read
Reactions may change events, but they can
not alter principles. The Government Of the
United States and the Union Of which il is the
supreme authority, are threatened by rebels in
arms. The authority must be maintained en-
tirely, or il is altogether overthrow. Youmay
make ever 50 small hole in the side Of your
ship, but it viii be large enough TO admit the
ocean, and your ship will inevitably go down.
/ You may make the slightest concession Of the
threatened authority Of the Government, but in
making il you relinquish that authority utterly.
II the city magistrate and police militia, after
endeavoring for many day TO disperse a riot
should at least say, "very we'll what is that you
wantg" and allow the rioters to destroy only one
building or burn only one poor Irishman, that
city is conquered. is there any security for
peace, for life, any longer except in the whim Of
! the mobi 1t is precisely so with the war. Eli
| ther the Government must be maintained in ev-
cry particular of its authority, or it is dishonor-
ed entirely. To change It, TO allow the rebels
( to go, to declare that such rebelliOns end in
compromise Is TO renounce the Government al
| together and to proclaim the intention Of sur
render.
The Constitution Of the United States clothes
the Government with authority to do what. un-
1 der any circumstances, il inevitably and in
stinctively would do; namely, defend its own
existence by force. Whatever is necessary to
/ this defense the Government may lawfully do:
and it is, Of course, itself the Judge Of the ne
eessiiy. 1t may stop mouths and pens; it may
seize property and liberae slaves; it may cut of
supplies, and by famine and force and fear, COM
/ pei refractory citizens to obedience
All this the Government may do Common
sense apprises US of it, even if we were not
carefully provided by the Constitution that in
case Of rebellion and invasion the writo habeas
corpus may be suspended, and that the Pfesi-
dent, as Commander-in-Chief Of the army and
navy, shall forcibly compel submission TO the
! law. But the Government is the people. II
they disapprove what is done, it will be undone
or it will be fruitless. If they are not in earn
est, they will not justify earnest war. II. they
are in earnest, they will not tolerate trifiing and
delay.
In our own case the truth remains true, what.
ever happens. If for any reason the people
shall tire Of the war, or the forcible compulsiOn
| Of the rebels 10 obey the law; IL they shall say
that they willing to put down the insurrec
ton if they can do it with a half million o.
men and five hundred millions of dollars but
not If the work requires six hundred Thousand
men and thousand millions Of dollars; if they
say they are willing to use ield-pieees but not
gunbOats; if they say they do not object tc
touching, or even trying to touch, the source oI
the supplies; If they shall say that they will.
j ing to shoot rebels in the field, but that they
! prefer to guard the slaves Of rebels upon the
plantations; If they shall declare that everybo-
dy may say and do Just what he pleases during
the war, short Of actually taking up arms
against the Government; if they shall say that
the rebellion was really caused by the men whc
are now fighting against it, and not by the reb-
els themselves; and, finally, if they shall say
that the game is not worth the candle, and that
they will no longer "imbrue their hands in fra
tricidal blood" they will compel the authori-
ties to make peace with the rebels upon the best
possible terms, whether of separation or COM
promise.
Such result is inevitable if the people are
tired of the war. That such peace could be
but truce breaking into worse wars may be
true, but that would not help the result Tha
such peace would be the total destruction o
the Government, the ruin ofthe popular system
and the betrayal Of the hope Of civil liberty ev
cry where is unquestionably true; but wha
then7 If the people are willing to betray them
selves, to be forever disgraced, and TO becom,
these Of history, it is in vain that the au
thoritIes protest.
What then is the duty of every truly loya
mani Simply to show as plainly as he car
that the welfare of each one Of us depends UP.
on the unconditional maintenance Of the Gov.
ernmenf; that no civil right is secure for a mo
ment except in this Government; and therefore
TO maintain il the most decisive and radica
measures must be adopted by the authoritie
and supported BY the people There have al
ways been, there viii always be, but two issue
ont Of the war. One is absolute victory; tn
other is entire submission. If we are truly II
earnest as the rebels are we shall win the victO
~. cost what II may. II we are not in earnest
We shall be conquered and disgraeed.-HdTPer'
Weekly.