Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-08-04

In dealing with sayages it becomes in some de-
gree necessary TO resort to unusual measures
Of severity, as no argument short oil such
measures will reach and convince them. II they
cannot be pursuaded to recognize the rules OF or
binary civilized warfare by any other logic than
that of retaliation, it becomes not only nght,
but duty, to retalate. They must be made TO
feel in their own bodies something OF the uhlaw'
fu punishment which they indict on Others, in Of
der that humanity, on the whole, may be the
gamer by the severe lesson thus taught them.
President Lincoln has justly recognized this prln-
chile in bis recent order informing the rebels that
If they murder or cnslave Federal troops, rebel
prisoners in our hands will be shot, or put at
hard labor on the public works, man for man.
We have been unable to understand, and do
not row, why this order was not sooner published
Some of our Generals in their departments have
acted upon the principle contained in IT. but only
we believe, so far as white soldiers were concern
I'd. The colored troops, Of whom We have many
thousand in the service, have hitherto, apparently,
been treated as outside the protection OF the Gov
eminent. This ORDER however, reaches the case
Of coored soldiers, and puts them in this respect
lust where they should be, on an equality with the
other troops in the service. jeff Davis himself
must recognize the strict justice OF this order,
and will be compelled to respect II.
-. fnn
rebels have from the outset Of the war, continual
" threatened to spare no coored soldier, or OIL
Ger Of coored troops, fighting for the Government
Of the United States. They have captured many
negroes VINO have been in our service, some as
soldiers, and some as teamsters and in other ca
pacities, and have never yet, we think, exchanged
such prisoners for rebels in our hands. We know
they have in some cases murdered these negroes
in cold blood and have, no doubt, in other cases
either sold them into slavery or set them at hard
labor on the public works. They have held and
refused to exchange our officers who have been
captured while commanding coored troops, and
Tor a long time Col. Sireight has been kept in
confinement and refused an exchange, because
the rebels have pretended to believe that his raid
was intended to stir up negro insurrection. AZ
ter the capture Of Port Hudson, no negroes were
found in the place, either among the prisoners or
in the hospitals, although in the gallant, though
unsuccessful assault made by the colored Louis
lana regiment upon the defences Of that strong
hold, many negroes must nave been taken prison.
ers, unless they we're murdered outright And
after the recent assault upon Fort Wagner, where
the 54th Massachusetts regiment (coored) dis
played such bravery, when the exchange OF
wounded prisoners was made no wounded men,
bers Of tho 54th we're found. The rebel colonel
said that there were none. 10 short, the rebels
have everywhere refused TO treat negroes in our
service, when captured by them, as prisoners Of
war, but have uniformly either murdered them
on thu spot, or reserved them to be sold into
slavery. 1t was time our Government took some
action on the subject, and the Presidents order
will be received by all except the partisans Of
slavery and treason, as eminenlly necessary and
| wise.
Blu. to make it efficient, it must be rigdy en-
forced. We have already quite an army Of col
ored soldiers, and il what we have are protected
by the Government, there will be no trouble in
getting many thousands more troops, such as have
proved their fighting qualities under the guns Of
Port Hudson, and on the parapets Of Fort Wag-
ner jeff. Davis has thus far, whenever our Gov
eminent has stood firmly on its rights under the
usages Of civilized warfare, yielded, and abandoned
his threats with such grace as he could command.
Although he proclaimed that all officers who led
colored troops should be turned over to the
States in which they we're captured to be deal
with by the laws Of such States for melting slay
instructions, he has never carried out this threat
And Il our Government now exhibits fxet
determination to compel the rebels to treat col
ored Union soldiers like other Federal troops
though the rebels may bluster good deal, the,
will not be likely with the balance Of prisoners s.
, largely in our favor, to carry out their threats
Retaliation under such circumstances Is an argu
ment that even the most rabd, pro-slavery fire
| eater can and will understand.