The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1863-03-10

mere is gOou zeal OF Talk ABOUT the
of conquering or subjugat.
ing the South, which is based upon very
vague notions Of what conquest and
subjugation signify. 1t is surprising to
find how even intelligent men have been
imposed upon by this favorite boast of
the rebels and their sympathizers. A
pretended saying of Napoleon is quoted,
that it is impossible to prevent any
people determined on achieving its in
dependence, from accomplishing lis pur-
pose = and it is confidently asked
whether any one ever heard of the sub
jugation Of twelve millions of people de-
termined to be free. We reply, that
history, ancient and modern, is full of
instances of the only sort Of conquest or
subjugation which any sane man propos-
es shall be submitted to by the South.
No one thinks it possible or necessary,
for the purpose in view, to occupy the
whole South with garrisons, but simply
to destroy the only support upon which
its arrogant pretensions are based, name
ly, lis military power. This gone, what
becomes of all the rest and this remain
ing, where is there any hope of perman-
ent peace and safety to us? For what
is all war, but an appeal to force to settle
questions of national interest which
peaceful discussion has failed to settle !;
and what is an army, but only another
argument, the alima ratio, which, if
successful in decisive battles, must give
the law TO the conquered To say
nothing of instances in ancient history,
Poland, Hungary, and Lombardy, in our
day, were just as determined to be free as
the South is, and quite as full of martial
ardor {; and certainly Prussia, Spain un
der the Bonaparte dynasty, and the
French Empire, are all examples of ma
tons which valued their independence,
and had tenfold the resources for main
tanning it which the South possesses );
yet the capture of Warsaw, the surren-
der of Villages, the battles Of Novara, Of
Jena, of Salamanca, and of Waterloo,
respectively, settled as defnitively the
fate of the inhabitants Of those countries,
and their future condition, as if the
terms imposed by the conquering army
had been freely and unanimously agreed
upon by the representatives of the peo-
pie in Congress assembled. And, in
like manner, can any one doubt, looking
at the present comparative resources of
the two sections, that if we should gain
two decisive battles, one in the East and
the other in the West, which should re.
suit in the total disorganization of the
two rebel armies, and thus enable us to
nterpose an impossible barrier between
them, we should soon hear voice implor-
ing in unmistakable accents peace on
our own terms 1t would not be mat
ter Of choice, but of necessity;a simple
question of how far the progress of cx-
! hauslion had been carried; and that once
settled, and 70 reasonable hope of sue
cess remaining, the war would not last a
week longer This is the experience OF
all nations, and our Southern rebels, not,
wiIhs;anding their noisy Boosting, do not
differ in their capacity resistance from
lie rest of mankind. Hard pounding
this, gentlemen" said the Duke Of Well
ington to his officers. as he threw him
self within one OF The unbroken squares
Of his heroic infantry at Waterloo, "bat
oue'H see uho can pound the longest :"
and the ability Of that infantry TO pound
the longest on that day settled the fate
of Europe for generations. = Il
The only possible hope for the South
is in our own divisions. Let us remem-
Der that with success all things are pos
sible without it, all our hopes and the
cries vanish into thin air. With success
in the field, we should not only disarm
the rebellion, and rid ourselves forever
of the pestilent tribe Of domestic traitors
/ by burying them deep in that political
oblivion which covers the Tories of the
Revolution, and those nho sneered at the
gallant exploits Of our navy in the war
of 1912, but also force public opinion
abroad, whose faithlessness to the great
principles which underlie all modern
civilization has been one Of the saddest
developments of this sad war. TO exclam
at last, i" Mpidiam gloria SuperaSti"