The Portland daily press., 1862-07-18
Employment of Negroes for War Purposes.

Employment of Negroes for War Purposes.
In what manner, and to what extent, the
government shall use colored men as aids in
the work OF suppressing the rebellion, are
questions now deeply agitating the American
people; but questions, nevertheless, in relation
to which the public mind is fast settling into
remarkable degree of unanimity. No man,
with half an eye, can fail to discover the upris-
ing spirit of our people, or to foresee the all
but omnipotent fiat Of the popular win to put
down this Internal rebellion at whatever cost
though to do so fire be kndled so intense that
in it shall be fused the last slave fetter and
though it leave the whole sunny South as
desolate as was Sodom after the rain of celes-
tial fire.
The truth is, the war has not yet been pros
ecuted in earnest except by the rebels; it has
been characterized, on our part, by tender
ness of rebel life, and respect for rebel
institutions, which they have proved them
selves to be utterly unworthy Of, and which
are now shown to have been only the fruits of
mistaken kindness. We are not sorry that
the government has been forbearing and long,
suffering in its policy, but the day for the ex-
ercise of such qualities is past; forbearance
has ceased to be virtue, and to-day the Amer
lean people expect, nay, demand that vigor
shall mark all its efforts, that parleying shall
give place to powder and SHE'LL and that the
rebels shall have the choice between only two
alternatives, - unconditional submission TO
the authority of the federal government, or
utter destruction. The American people ask
the government to act upon this idea, and to
act promptly. As Gen. Wallace said, they ask
for WAR; as yet we have had only skirmishes.
We have had enough ofentrenchments, enough
of the defensive, enough offeeling safe against
an attack" and We now demand the advance,
the assault, the storm, and we want to make
the rebel hosts feel that death or submission is
just as sure to follow, and to follow speedily,
as the thunder crash is to follow the lightning.
In word, the people ask to have restraints
removed, and to be allowed to take rebellion
by the throat and strangle it with as little re-
morse and as little ceremony as faithful pa
rent would observe in shooting the ravisher of
his virgin daughter, or the murderer ofhis inno-
cent babes. Is this an unchrstian spirit? We
denyit 1t is the same spirit that, indignant
at the usurpations of those who had convert
ed Gods house into a den of thieves, braided
the scourge of small cords, and drove the in
vaders from the temple
And the means to be employed in this work
of righteous determination rebellion,-what
limitations shall the government use in select
ing them? In answer to this question we
doubt not we utter the feeling of three-fourths
of our white population, and ninety-nne one
hundreths of all loyal men, when we say that
government should be limited only by the law
of utter impossibility, and that of christian
humanity; and humanity demands that short
work should be made of it, and will sanction
whatever means are necessary to secure this
end. And such means may be used without
squeamishness; and this leads us to the re-
mark that every muscle, no matter whether
covered by white or a dark skin, should be
made available for this purpose The rebels
hesitate not to use scalping-knives in the hands
of the wild Indians; they give to their SOL
diers, to prepare them for their hellish
work, maddening draught Of whiskey and
gunpowder; and, thus prepared, delirious with
passion, and oblivious to all moral sense, they
are pitted against our soldiers. God forbid
that any velvet policy should longer hold back
the American people, to prevent them from
making an end of a work for which they have
no taste, and which they have entered upon,
and are determined to see through, not from
any love OF war; not from any disregard of our
common brotherhood, but from as high sense
of duty as ever animated that honest old
Roundhead, Oliver Cromwell or as sweed
the hearts of Hancock, Jefferson, and Adams
when they placed their names to the immortal
Declaration of Independence.
We are no advocate ola rash, indiscrimnate
license to lawless men to prey upon even the
rebels in arms; we advocate no arming of
slaves to be turned loose upon defenceless non
combatants, to massacre helpless mothers and
their innocent babes. We don't believe in any
thing of the kind, and we have yet to find the
first sane man who does; but we would use col
ored men-.free or bond-in any way that they
can be made useful. If Gen. Hunter can Or
ganize them into regiments and battalions in
South Carolina and use them to carry war in
to Africa, we say "God-speed" to him. If
Halleck can use themto fortify Memphis, God
speed to that; if another commander can use
them to convert Vicksburg into an island,
another God-speed to that, and if Butler can
use them to perform the hard toll beneath a
tropical sun, under which a Northern man
would sicken and die then still anofbar CD
speed for such use of our colored brethren.
We have not particle of squeamishness on
this point. Use them, under the restraints of
military order and discipline, In any ,coy,
with or without arms, as soldiers or as labor