Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-12-16
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Especial Correspondence Of the Chicago Times /
wAsHISGToS, December 10.
Yesterday was a dark day for the American
Republic. On thai day THE GREAT WORK upon
which the aboliionists have been laboring for
the last thirty wears eliminated in the annual
message Of man who had sworn 20 support the
constitution of his country, but who in this
message violated his inaugu alton oath, ,rampled
the constitution under his feet, and planted his
feet upon the rights and liberties of onehalf of
the States of the Union For thirty years the
abolitionisfs have been laboring 10 abolish slave
" in oil tie States, even IT, in doing So they
4 should destroy the Union. To-day they find that
1 work done tor them by Abraham Lincoln.
mean the work OF the destruction Of the Union.
! Slavery in the South they can never abolish. 1t
is an Institution ordained and sanctioned by the
Almighty, rs the most suitable condition for an
| inferior race; and what he ordains and sanctions
cannot b. moved by all the efforts Of puny men,
No one here, who had access 10 the proper
source of information, Al all surprised at the
radical tone and absurd feature of the message;
and n had warned the readers Of tho Times TO
expect the most ultra radical sentiments and
full Endorsement of the atrocious Whiting and
| Sumner doctrines in that document, they, too
were no doubi prepared foi it. Nevertheless, a
thrill Of horror ran through the breasts Of tie
true Representatives of the people, and of the
1 spectators in the crowded galleries of the House,
a the Clerk read those portentous sentences, in
which the obscure Illinois fatboaiman dared to
assert in the presence Of the past glories of the
Republic, the infamous falsehood that the South
ern States existed 10 longer; and 10 declare that,
| If they were ever recognized rs 5 ates again, IL
must be after they shall have pulled down their
venerable State governments, abolished their sa-
| cred State constitutions, and in a word, revolu-
| tionizcd their whole system of internal policy.
i The gallery was warm but felt chilled 10 the
very marrow when / thus heard Abraham Lin
coin declare that ten sovereign Stotes, equal and
| houored members OF the Republic, should never
be allowed to return to the Union, not only until
/ after they shall have tom down the pillars of
their State governments, and covered themselves
with tie fragments of their former glory but,
also, until they shall have acquiesccd in, and
approved of, al the illegal, unjust, and uncon-
stituiional acts of him, Abraham Lincoln, and
his last infamous CongreSsi-nOt until after they
shall have bowed down in the dust, and have
sung hosannas over the Emancipation Proclama-
ton and the ConfScation Act
Such Is, in brief, the pth and substance Of the
Presidents message. The intelligent readers of
the Times will OF course peruse it for themselves.
The nation viii never, never stand the monstrous
uSurpation which is now boldly proclaimed Us
the policy of the present administration. The
President dares TO assume that all the people OF
all the Southern States have committed treason,
and are therefore, objects of Executive clemency.
Does lie not know that the people read! And
does not the Constitution plainly say that no
person shall be convicted and be deemed guilty
of treason except after fair trial by jury, in
open court! Besides, does not the Constitution
plainly say that those only guilty Of treason
| who make the Constitutional Govern
ment of the United States! The verdict of his
tory will read that Abraham Lincoln himself, and
his political advisers, in that category, quite
as much rs those who are arraved in arms But
what imprudence it i in him TO assume that all
the people in the Sourh are traitors, and 10 de-
clare that they must take a test oath before they
can be allowed TO vote TO exercise any of the
rights Of citizenship! No noubt he thinks he is
very smart in SAYING that man i, compelled TO
take his oath Yet his proclamation shows that
he intends, ~ far as his power extends. that no
citizen of the South shall ever be allowed even to
vote again, until he has taken this oath. Can
anything be more mOns;rous! Look. for q mo-
mcnt, at the terms of the oath The owner of
plantation. whose slaves have been taken from
him By the emancipation proclamation, whose
crops have been left rotting in the ground, who
sees poverty and starvation staring him in the
face in consequence, and whose daughter was
one of those Young ladies at the SEMINARY at
Athens, in Alabama. who were subjected TO the
lusts of rurchin's soldiers-ihiS unfortunate gen
tleman is told that he may vote, and that he shall
have full pardon for the above otfenses (what
Cruel mockervl) if ne will swear that he approves
<and l. in favor of the emancipation proclamation
and the negro soldier bill; and, if ho refuses SO to
swear he Is to be regarded as g traitor, and all
his remaining property Is TO be conli>cated.
Such, your readers will find, is the plain English
of the message of Abraham Lincoln, formerly
cook. or assistant cook for mess of four honest
!, white soldiers in the Black Hawk war.
But still more mnudent /, Tint feature Of the
oil %tn
State governments of ell the Southern States by
single stroke of the pen This rcla,er Of vulgar
stories does not even take the trouble 10 enter
into any argument 70 prove thai the Southern
States no longer exist State and of course
have no longer any State government. oh. no,
He saws virtually THAT has been so well done
BY the letter of Mr.. Solicitor Whiting of the War
Department, and by Senator Sumner in his At
{ laniic Monthly article, that will consider
those points settled. | refer my Discontinued
feIlowcitizens, and nav traitorouS subjects in Po-
: land-I mean in Alahams-to those documents.
The old States and the old State governments
being then so comfortably out of the way it only
remains To set MP John Brown government. a
H0race Greeley Stale constitution and Wend-
ell Phillips and Charles Sumner State organiza-
ton in heir places. If The citizens of the South
refuse to acquiesce in this new order of things,
viii confscate sheir estates bcstow the latter on
: nv worshippers, and look 20 the blacks 70 reor-
ganizc society NJ the South.
In all this there is one grain of comfort. The
present Congress will never sanction any such
doctrines as those contained in this message.
LIT the people thank God for that. Let them
, take courage in tho fact that in this Congress
there are enough conservative members TO de-
feat any measure of legislation founded ON these
wicked unjust and cruel sentiments. AZ the
earliest opportunity, and at every opportunity,
: the Democratic members of Congress will give
utterance 20 the voice of the people on these sub
iects and will expose and denounce the atrocious
features of the message a they deserve The
speeches OF Reverdy Johnson and Col Richard
son. in the Senate and Of Messrs. VOORHEES,.
Pendleton. Fernando Wood, Cox and Brooks.
in the House. on these topics. NAV be looked for
with confidence that they viii do full Justice TO it.
and n their consti,uenrs-who, now. are the
whole BODY of the people Of the nation, except
the shoddyitcs and contractors and their allies.
} Y
A SUBLIME IDEA. 1T Is very seldom any