Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1863-06-09
"Times have Changed"

In the season Of Peace, 20 to 80 year
ago, in spite Of our treaties with Mexico
men and money were openly raised, NORTH
aud South, to enable the Slave Power t.
wre,t Texas from Mexico.
Iu Van Buren's day, the Democrat.
in every Northern State were engaged il
breaking up Au.i-Sla!ery nevspapers-ol
mobbing Au.iSlavery conveutions-aud
they allowed mails to be robbed aud Anti
Slavery papers excluded, at the whim oi
every Postmaster. "Freeaom Of speech, u
and "freedOm Of tie press" and "ihe righ'
Of the people to assemble" we're all crushed
out, aud iu few Of any of the Free States
was there any Law for those who dared to
speak out against the "dark idol Slavery"
In tho South, men would hsvs bsen mur.
dered if publicly speaking or printing in
opposition to that sccursed institution
",hs sum Of oil viilaiuies." Against not
one Of these fragrant, palpable Violations
of Law and Of Justice, did the Democrats
Of that day "protest," iu Mass Meeting gs
or Conventions neither newspapers nor
orators Of that stripe mourued over the
destruction Of GUARANTEED privileges. o.
the contrary, leading Democrats headed
mobs-apologizsd for them-and laughed
and gloried in Outrsgiug sll the natural
aud chartered rights of "Abolitiouists."
In abort, any crime to fauor ,Slapery ,ca,
pe.tec'.y 'constitutionai."
slime makes all things even" Now,
in time of WAR-with our Nation strug.
Cling for "self-existence, the FIRST law Of
Na.ure"-those very Democrats have to
swallow their own medicine, which has not
(like wine) improved BY age. They suffer
0hOugh iu q far less desree) the wrongs
they SO recently inflicted. But they think
it all wrong for the Government or its
officers to exclude reasonable, iucendiary
documents from the mals-all wrong to
break up the X. G. Cs plotting to riss
10 arms against the Government-awful
bad to lock up open traitors-very cruel
for the Soldiers to demolish Copperbead
newspapers. To call them "Sscessionists"
they think 40 insufficient excuse for their
sufferings. In a ,7orl, all their ouiroyes
against us-rhen turned against ReJeis-
are very "mn-con-sti-tu-tion-aL."
"Bus it is your bull tha. has gored my
or" quoth the Farmer. "Ah indeed"
said the Judge, "that alters the case"
People speak aud write agains. Slavery
now, ell over the North, and 10 much of
the South, fearlessiy.
Then was Peace-now is War. But,
we condemned mobocracy then as now
We advocated free discussion then as now
yet Treason aud Sedition should be cowed
down BY public opinion, aud punished by
Law, although there are fifty reasons for
arbitrary and unwarranted acts where one
existed iu the time to which we refer.
Since writing the above, we 6ud the
following in the Honeslalc Democrat:
Military law is summary 10 its opera
tion, but it is as much the law of the land
as is the civil law. 1t is as essential to
the defence of the cation, 10 troublous
times, as the civil law ever is to the ,
defence of the rights Of individuals Loco
focos, who have approved Gen. Jacksou's
course at New Orleans, 10 first defying the /
authority Of the Courts and tbeo arres,iDg
the judges, should reflect twice at least
before they grOwl.
"More than this. The Locofocos have
not been celebrated for championing the
rights of free speech for unpopular men,
on unpopular subjects. For thirty years,
they systematically mobbed the abolition
lists for proclaiming ideas that they held
to be obnoxious. Remember what scenes
transpired in almost every town of auy
throughout The Northern States.
Remember the burning Of Penusylvania
Hall 10 Philadelphia, the murder of Love-
joy as Alton, the sack of abolition printing
offices At Baltimore, Boston, New York,
Utica, Cincinnati, and elsewhere. Re-
the burning of antislavery
churches in New York, the sack of tho
dwellings Of Cox, Patton. Tappau, and
others. The party that has, for more
ihnn one generation, engineered these
a,gr1nt outroges on the freedom of speech
and the press, ought to be ashan,ed 10 CON-
plain now. See what laws they proposed
10 restrict the utterance of men! What
rules they made for searching tho public
mails !! what orders they enforced for
fasting out Of the mails, and the burning,
# all printed matter rejecting on the
institution Of Slavery! Men who have
'uoh sins to answer for against the rights
II their fellow citizens, against the plainest
principles Of juctiee, against the most ob-
'ious dictates Of charity, ought not to
shine when the hand Of military law 10
aid on some Of their own number"
How THEY DO IN DIxrE.-"If . man
peak or write sgainst our Confederate
.ause, be is branded aud expelled As