The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-10-18
THEIR COMMANDERS IN CONvEN.
TON.
Correspondence Of the New York Evening Post.

| BALTIMORE October Z,
The arrival of . French and English wal
ship in our harbor has already been noted in
your columns. Let me tell you something Of
what their captains have been saying while
here.
The Collector of the port paid them the usu-
al official visit. The Frenchman was very po.
lite, as q matter of course. He spoke Eng.
fish very little, but manifested no little
anxiety as to the movements of the rebel
army, then at Frederick. He betrayed his
sympathies in broken English for the sue
cess of the rebel arms and fully expected the
fall Of Washington and Baltimore. The Eng
glishman was more outspoken. "How long do
you propose to tarry with us?' was the ques-
ton of the Collector. "That depends on the
future movements of the Confederate army
We shall remain for some days if it occupies
Baltimore, but if it captures Washington we
shall 60 wherever our presence shall be requir.
ed, for we are lookicg out to protect the inter-
ests of British subjects"
"If your visit depends on either cfthese
emergencies" calmly replied the Collector, 81
fear we shall not have the pleasure of your
presence very long, for the capture of Rich
mond by the Federal army is a much more like
| " event, and that at an earlier Nay, than the
fall of either Baltimore or Washington into the
hands of the rebels"
edo you think so?" said the Enlishman, with
affected surprise.
81 dol" said the Collector, with the polite
tender Of his segar case to his coloquists,
who took therefrom prime Havana each.
INTERVIEW OF THE OFFICERS WITH GENERAL
MORRIS.
The Frenchman has gone, but the Marquis
of Huntington, accompanied by Captain Lyons
and Lieutenant Leslie, whose war steamer, the
Racer, is still in our harbor, recently paid
their respects to that brave old soldier, Gen.
William W. Morris, the commandant CT Fort
McHenry. In the course of conversation one
Of them inquired of the General whether the
employment of paroled prisoners taken at Har.
per's Ferry against the Indians was not vio-
lation Of the parol. IF it is not to take up
arms against the rebels till exchanged-and
80 understand it to bel should think their
being employed against the Indians would not
be violation of the terms of the engagement"
'But is it not q violation of the spirit
of the parol?" 81 do not see it." "Wou!d not
the United States be compelled to employ
against the Indians portion of the force they
are now employing against the Confederates, if
their parolled prisoners could not be so used"
Certainly, but the rebels do rot claim the In
dams to be their allies, and the argument is
not therefore, tenable." 'sBut suppose you
were at war with u.s." The same rule would
hold good" But if we were the allies of the
Confederates?" "That would alter the case
very materially; but in that event we might
not need the assistance of parolled prsoners?"
The visitors did not press the subject furth-
ther, for the manner of the General gave an
appreciative zest to his words 1t must be re-
membered that the foreigners are themselves
the authors of these stories, which they told
with no little glee, as the result of discomft-
ure they they had not looked for.
'sOur FeIIoW-CItizens..
"But when you talk of severe measures and
vigorous prosecution of the war, do you not
forget that the rebels are our fellow citizens,
with whom, when We have subdued the rebel
lion. we must live as fellow-citizens still?''
No; it is not in the least forgotten. But
while they have been and shall yet be fellow
citizens they are now desperate conspirators
and rebels. The first duty, as also the most
pressing necessity of the Government, is the
overwhelming and speedy suppression of the
rebellion. For the possible future peace of the
country, and for our living together at all, that
is the paramount duty of the hour Killing
them, overrunning their estates, destroying
as an army necessarily destroys, Smelling
their camps and their towns. if necessary; seiz-
ing their property for the use of the army, and
to help pay the expenses of the war they have
waged against the Government; liberating their
slaves who reach our lines and at last freeing
all slaves, that the rocking foundations of their
industrial system may strike paaic to their
hearts-all these measures are not gentle.
They do not win affection although they do
compel respect as power always does They
cprf nj nd
are war; and war makes IMMEDIATE friends
To call men who have risen in arms against
this Government without shadow of right or
excnse-for the debate upon slavery was Just
as constitutional as that upon tariff or bank |
and who have pursued that purpose by every
dishon orable and bloody means-who have fill |
ed with anguish hundreds of thousands of
hearts AMI homes-who have paralyze the |
prosperity of a great nation, and, for mo-
ment, atfrighted the hope of humanity and |
civiization-to call these men 'sour erring |
Southern Brethren" is to mock the agony of a |
nation and insult common sense.
But they are to be our fellow citizen? Well
suppose they are. They are to be SO only when
they have satisfied themselves that they are
not strong enough to break away and dsown
US. They are to be made our fellow citizens
in the future by conquest, by subjugation.
Pray for what other purpose have we hundreds
of thousands of men in arms, ships of war; and
tremendous artillery? For what, other pur-
pose did we kill and wound thirty thousand of
them, as General Mcclellan reports, at Ante
tam? Why have there been a hundred thou
sand of them disabled in the hospital ar Rich
mond? Simply because they do not yet believe
that we mean what We say, when We declare
that the Union shall be maintained For the
Union we know is the nation; and to destroy
the Union is to ruin the nation.
The rebels are to be forced at the point of
the bayonet to be our future fellow -ctizens i
That is the result to which every loyal man
looks forward They are not to be concihated
nor wheedled, nor bamboozled. They ar6to
be starved and shot and MANNED and impovof-
ished and exposed in every way until they
submit. There can be but one other result of
the war. There can be but one. And that is
,Us shall be starved and shot and hurt in
every way until We are tired out and sur
render.
Under these circumstances-audt there are