The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-06-27
The Springfield Resolutions.


Impeachment is an admission OF such cui'
inability on the part of our rulers as to un-
fit them for their positions. The Repubii-
can papers admit the imposibility OF such
defence by not attempting it. They pass
over the long black list Of charges in ST.
lence, but by grabbing its language and per-
yerting its sense, they strive to base a |
counter charge against the democracy |
on the 23d resolution. That resolution
isas follows:
"that the further offensive prosecution !
of this war tends to subvert the constitu- !
ton and the government, and entail upon /;
this nation ali the disastrous consequences |
of misrule and anarchy; that we are In |
favor of peace upon the basis OF a restora-
tion,of the Union, and for the accomplish |
ment Of which we propose national con-
vention to settle upon terms OF peace, |
which shall have in view the restoration !
of the Union as it was and the securing |
by constitutional amendments such rights |
to the several States and the people there
Of as honor and justice demand.
The abolition style Of commenting upon
this resolution Is as follows
Inc ABOVE llnell ne
who talk OF armistice and q convention TO
restore the L MON, with amendments TO the
constitution to give slavery more power
than it had before very well know that
there can never be peace and Union on any
such basis The convention was composed
Of q pack of .judaScs who would betray
their country for the thirty pieces of silver
or rather its equivalent, the triumph OF de
mocracy at elections They lit not Il
finer, nor give one word of encouragement
to the suppression of the rebellion and the
restoration of the Union by the only posi-
BILE means of accomplishing it; but take
advantage Of their coun,rys peril, by
united effort 10 restore the slave democra-
cy to power, though the nation be ruined d.
thereby.-O ta,ra Rcputl!can.
! Old Hampton OFT 40 in the above bat
copies the Chicago Tribune, Journal &c,
/ (not forgetting to omit part of the reso-
lution) so that the specimen is a fair one.
| What Hampton means is, that the only
way to suppress the rebellion is by wiping
out slavery, which involves, of course the
| desolation of the south, the detruction OF
of state equality-in short, all the compro-
misses and guarantees of the constitution
| upon which this Union is founded, and
7 therefore the destruction otthe constitution
itself; and that the democrats who believe
the constitution should be saved and the
Onion restored as it was, are villains and
"Judases.'
/ But let Us see who are the real Judases.
/ When this war commenced, Abe Lincoln
said he had no desire, nor had he the con
stitutional power had he such Il desire, to
interfere with slavery in the southern
states; and republican congress, af.er
the battle of Bull Run, gave the unani-
nous and solemn pledge, tina: this war
was 10: to interfere with the rights Or
domestic institutions of the people Of the
South, but simply to restore the authority
Of the constitution and TO maintain the
| Union Now the President, the adninis>
tration. and the whole republican press
and party, including Hampton, say that
to suppress the rebellion and restore peace
without first freeing all the negroes is
impossible ana so tue democrats, who
heartily supported this war in the com.
mencement when It was waged solely 10
maintain the constitution, because now
that it has been changed into an unconsti
tional abolition crusade, are traitors
to what? They cling to the original pur-
pose OF the war-the abclitiouists have
abandoned it. Who are the Juaases?
AMI that Is what the above resolution
means. This war was commenced to
/ j. ~. \ h. q,
the assaults of traitors in arms. The
abolitionists have made it war of offence
against the local institutions Of the south
and the rights of the southern states to
equality in the Union. Should Mississip.
pi offer to return to the Union to morrow
she would under the present abolition
policy, be rejected, unless she first consent.
ed TO give up her constitutional right to
hold slaves or not as she pleased. Is this
fighting to defend the constitution? The
democracy..say no--tliis is waging war. of
offence and subjugation, the end Of which
not only will tend to, but inevitably
must "subvert the constitution and the
government, and is as much treason to
the Constitution as the rebellion itself
This Is what the democracy oppose, and
this is what they mean by the further
ofG,l5irc prosecution of this war. But to
| det.lI the constitution they are ready at
all times. Traitors in arms must be SUBJ
lued with arms, and the democracy are
now, as they ever have been, ready to
fight traitors if necessary; but believing
as they solemnly do, that the masses of
the South are nerved to TIE fight more by
| their hostility 20 reasonable abolitonism
at the north than by hostility TO the con
stitut.on, the democracy propose to de-
monstrate to them, that political abolition
ism well as the rebellion can be s0uelch-
/ ed, and if this can be done as well by a
convention of the states as by fighting,
! they have no objections to trying it.
/ 1t is 50 seldom that we find any good
| sense in the action of ecclesiastical bodies
that drop religion and take up politics.
that we present the following resolution,
adopted at the recent meeting of the Gen.
eral Assembly Of the Cumberland Preshv
teran Church at Alton as much as a matter
of curiosity as to commend its Christian
! Spirit:
On the subject of American slavery, we
submit that we should not view it as if it
were about to be introduced, but as already
in existence We do not hesitate to de-
clare that the introduction of slavery was
an enormous crime-surpassed by few
crimes that have disgraced the history of
the world and that there are at present
great evils connected with it, and that we
believe will more or less be CONNECTED
with II uiii, II exists AZ To The ranaadu