The Morgantown monitor. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1863-1864, 1863-06-27

tempt to overthrow the Government
of our fathers and it is my duty, as
soon as these ceremonies are closed,
to proceed at once to aid the Federal
authorities in their efforts to stay Its
destructive hand. | do not intend
to insult your loyalty or intelligence
by discussing before you to-day the
dogma of secession. Its bitter fruits
are to be seen all around US. 1t is
like the poisonous Upas tree that
blights and withers everything that
comes within its influence. We have
seen and felt enough Of it to know
that it is fraught with evil, and that
continually. The politicians Of many
of the Southern States, having al
inordinate desire for place and pow
or, and it becoming apparent that
the greatNorth West was improving
and increasing in population so ra-
pidly that the controlling influence
Of the Government was soon surely
to be with the free States, and that
the South must surrender power
which they had so long exerted to a
majority of the people according to
the principles of our Governments
they became desperate, and deter
mined if they could 40 longer con-
troll, they would destroy the Govern,
ment. BY fraud and falsehood, and
incendiary speeches, they influenced
the psloc mind in the South, and
induced them to believe that they
were suffering great injury from the
General Government; that the rights
of the South were not only disre-
garded, but trampled under foot !;
that Mr.. Lincoln was a sectional
President, and that his election was
the crowning act Of insult and injus-
tice }; that if they submitted to it
they were reduced to state OF deg
radiation worse than slavery itself !;
and, fearing that the people still had
some reverence and respect for the
Constitution, they insiduously taught
the faithless doctrine that peaceable
secession was in consonance with the
constitution, and absolved them from
all their obligations to support the
Government. All this and mach
more Of like character they taught
until they succeeded in prevailing on
the authorities in many Of the States
to embrace their doctrine and at
tempt to carry it into execution, and
thus they inaugurated Il war OF re-
bellion, and have prosecuted it tor
over two years with zeal worthy of
a better cause. 1t has assumed fear
full proportions, and it demands all
the energies of the Government au-
thorities and of the loyal people to
defeat its ruinous purposes.
Under these circumstances what
course should the loyal people Of
West Virginia pursue2 But before
| state what we should do, will
state that it seems to me that the po-
sition of our people in the beginning
of the troubles, and their condition
since, have not been understood BY
our friends around US. In the COM
mencement of these difficulties we
were part Of Southern State, whose
convention passed an ordinance Of
oUUcsoIUn, and ehio n.UU iuo1iu-I 'nts'-y
to sympathize with the South with
out rejecting whether it was right
or wrong. We were situated between
the South snd the North, and in case
Of collision it must necessarily re-
suit that ours would be contested
territory that if we adhered to the
Union the South would deal with Us
more severely than if we were a part
of g Northern State, or OF one that
had not attempted TO secede; and
that we would be, what we have
since been SO truthfully called by
many, the great " breakwater " be-
tween the North and those in rebel
lion in the South. All these matters
were weighed and considered by lis,
but we determined, with full be-
lief of what would occur, and what
has since occurred, that tho Govern
ment was too good to be lost, and
that the rights and immunities that
we knew we were enjoying were too
precious to be surrendered on the
uncertainty of the results of expert
ments in the future. We thus took
our position with our eyes open !;
knowing what civil war had been,
and what it could only be again if
once commenced and we have not
been deceived. Our State has been
invaded by traitors in arms against
the best government that a kind and
benifcent God ever inspired man to
make; they have applied the torch
to public and private property; they
have murdered our friends; they
have robbed and plundered our peo-
pie; our country is laid waste, and,
to-day, gaunt hunger stares many
families of helpless women and chill
ren in the face. This picture is not
overdrawn. 1t is a simple statement
of facts. Yet, Notwithstanding all
this, the Union men Of West Vir-
GINA have not looked to the right or
the left, but through all these diff
orl+;o, o,5 1aDrarc thav have stood