Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-12-21

tory win read that Abraham Lincoln himself, and
bis political advisers, are in tEat category, quite
as much as those who are arrayed in arms. But
what imprudence it is in him to assume that all
the people in the South are traitors, and TO de-
clare that they must take test oath before they
can be allowed TO vote or to exercise any of the
rights of citizenship No noubt he thinks he is
very smart IN saying that no man is compelled to
take his oath. Yet his proclamation shows that
he intends, as 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 monstrous7 Look, for mo-
ment, at the terms of the oath. The owner of o
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 Turchin's soldiers-fhis unfortunate gen.
tleman Is told that he may vote, and that he shall
have a full pardon for the above offenses (what
cruel mockeryD ifhe viii swear that he approves,
and is in favor of the emancipation proclamation
and the negro soldier BILL and, if he refuses so TO
swear, he is to be regarded as traitor, and all
his remaining property is to be confscated.
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 impudent is that feature of the
message which assumes to sweep away all the
State governments of all the Southern States by
a single stroke of the pen. This relater of vulgar
stories does not even take the trouble to enter
into any argument to prove that the Southern
States no longer exist as States and of course
have no longer any State governments. Oh, no.
He saws virtually "Ihat has been SO well done
by the letter of Mr.. Solicitor Whiting of the War
Department, and by Senator Sumner in his At
lantic Monthly article, that we will consider
those points settled. 1 refer my discontented
fellow-citizens, and my traitorous subjects in Po-
land-I mean in Alabama-tO those documents.
The old States and the old State governments
being then so comfortably out of the way, it only
remains TO set up John Brown government, q
Horace Greeley State constitution, and Wend-
ell Phillips and Charles Sumner State organiza-
ton in their places If the citizens of the South
refuse to acquiesce in this new order of things,
viii coniiscate their estates bestow the latter on
nv worshippers, and look to the blacks to reor-
ganize society at 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
Let the people thank God for that. Let them
take courage in the fact that, in this Congress,
incIc aic ehouSh cOhScifaihe mcniucts W uc-
feat any measure of legislation founded on these
wicked, unjust and cruel sentiments. AT the
earliest opportunity, and at every opportunity,
the Democratic members of Congress win give
utterance TO the voice of the people on these sub
jects, and will expose and denounce the atrocious
features of the message as 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 will do full justice to it.
and to their constituents-who, now are the
whole body of the people of the nation, except
the shoddyites and contractors, and their allies.
X