The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1863-10-24
Rebel UItimatuimI iinaISo of Peace.
From the Richmond Enquirer, Oct. l6l

Rebel UIfimatumo OF Peace.
i ,-,[From the Richmond Enquirer, Oct. l6l
Save on our own terms we can accept 4
peace whatever, and mustfght until DOOM
day rather than yield an iota OF them, an
our terms are :--,.rr ,rel ffst a1lg,s.
Recognition by the enemy of the inde
pendence of the Confederate States.
+ Withdrawal of the yankee forces frol
every foot of Confederate grounds, ,inclu ludip
\ Kentucky and Missouri.
Withdrawal of the Yankee soldiers froI
Maryland, until that State shall decide b
a free vote whether she shall remain in tn
old Unienor ask admissioRiptes the consc
eTasy.
Consent on the part of the fedenf gov
ernment to give up to the confederacy II
proportion Of the navy as 1t stood at tn
time Of secession, ,-orste pay for the same
Yielding up of ah pretsnsions on the par
of the federal government to- that pOrtio
of the old Territories which hes west Of to
Confederate States. 20 sZr1ao Gil O. % 4.., ~ q
~ An equitable settlement on the basis o
our absolute independence and equal right
of all accounts of the publicdebt and pub
lie lands, and the advantages accruing from
foreign treaties S1.7-sla-I TIE a--'--i''-,
These provisions, we apprehend, comnrist
the minimum of what we must roqdife be.
fore we lay down our arms. That IS to say
the North must yield alive nothing. The
whole pretension of that country to prevent
by force the separation of the States must
be abandoned which will be equivalent to
an avowal that our, enemies were wrong
from the first, and, Of course as they waged
causeless and wicked war upon US, they
ought in strict Justice to be required, accor
ding to usage in such casesrto reimburse to
US the whole of our expenses and losses IN
the courae of the war. Whether tets last
proviso is to be insisted upon or not, certain
we are that we cannot have any peace at
all untiI we shall be in a position not only
to demand and exact, but also to enforce
and collect, treasure for our own reimburse
ment out of the wealthy cities in the enc
mys country. In other words, unless We
can destroy or scatter their armies, ana
break up their government, we can have no
peace, and if we can do that, then we ought
not only to eXtort from them our own iull
terms and ample acknowledgment OF their
wrong, but alsoa handsome indemnity for
the trouble and expense caused to us by
their crime.
Now, we are not yet in position to die.
tate those terms to our enemies, with Rose
Grams army still in the heart of our country
and Meade still on Virginia soil; but
though it is too soon to propose such con-
ditions to them, yet it is important that We
should keep them plainly before our own
eyes as the only admissible basis Of any con-
ceivable peace This we'll fixed in the Con
federate mind, there will be no more fear
full looking for news from Europe, as If that
blessed peace were to come to us over the
sea, and not to be conquered on our own
ground. There will be no more gaping for
hints of recognition and filing OF the belly
with the east wind; no more distraction or
diversion from the single momentous busi =
ness of bracng up every nerve and sinew
of the country for battle.
1t is especially now, at the moment when
great and perhaps decisive battles are I'M
pending at two or three points, that we
think it most essential to insist upon the
grand and entire magnificence OF the stake
and cause.
Once more we say it is all or nothing
This confederacy or the Yankee nation, one
or the other, goes down, downto perdition.
That is to say, one or the other must for
felt its national existence and lie at the
mercy of its mortal enemy.
We all know by this time the fate in
store for US if we succumb. The other
party has no smaller stake.
As surely as we completely ruin their ar
mies-and without that is no peace nor
truce at all-so surely shall we make them
pay our war debt, though we wiring it out
of their hearts. And they know it well,
and, therefore, they cannot make peace ex-
cept through their tterexhaustion and alb
solute inability to strike another blow.
The stake they have to forfeit then, if
they lose this dreadful game, is as vital as
ours. So is the stake to be won If they
win anything. 1t is no less than the entire
possession of our whole country, with us IN
it, and everything that is ours, from Ohio
to Rio Grande, to have and to hold to them
and their heirs forever.
But, on the other hand, what we mean
to win is utter separation from them for all
| We up uot "dhh W So'Si' shSih
country; but after levying upon it what
seemeth good to us by way of indemnity,
we leave it to commence its political life
again from the beginning, hoping that the
lesson may have made them sadder and WI
ser Yankees.
We shut them out forever, with all theiI
unclean and scoundrely ways, intending tc
lead our lives here in our own Confederate
way, within our own well guarded bounds
and without, as St. John says, are dogs.
And let no Confederate feeble knees anC
tremulous back bone say to US, this com
plete triumph is impossible; say that WI
, must be content with some kind of com
promise, and give and take; on the contra
~, We must gain all or lose all, aud tina
the Confederates will indeed win the gian
game, we take to be as certain as any fu
i ture event in this uncertain world.
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