The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-06-06
Has Treason any Justification?


less and ,cicked-and we believe these adjectives
expressed mildly enough the exact truth. But
since the peace party and the Democratic semi
war party have been marShaling forces to make
political and partisan capital out of the miseries
of the Republic, they have not hesitated to say
that the rebels had great provocation for their
treason, that being men Of high-toned, chlvarous
sense of honor they were almost driven into their
hostile attitude to the Government by encroach-
ments on their rights, and by the refusal of the
people to listen to their grievances and to their
demands for redress, and as consequence their
treason had many mitigating circumstances, if it
were not entirely excusable.
~ In times of excited discussion, and more es-
pecialy in times of great and stirring events like
those which have signaized our history for two
years, we are apt to drift away mperceptibly from
the original points of dispute, and get into ANNA
ted, sometimes angry, debate over irrelevant is
sues,--and in the discussions ofhe last six months
the cause of the Republic has suffered much, as
its cunning enemies, North and South, have with
drawn attention from the horrid features Of trea-
son to the accidents of the contest. Let us 20
back little and see what justification, if any,
treason had.
The interest, type of labor, political party, sec
ton of the Republic or whatever other terrtori-
al or political name we may choose to call it by,
which is now fighting the Government practically,
has had control of that Government for the last
twenty years. Every decision of its courts, when
the issue has been made, has been favorable to
Slavery, which is, as the Richmond Examiner
claims, the civilization for which treason is fight
ing. Every President during all that time has
done the bidding of Slavery. The Constitution
has, by the Administration, by its law officers,
and by all its funetionares, from the Secretary of
State to the postmasterS who stole abolition pa
pers from the mails, been construed in the inter-
ests of Slavery, and has been declared, by the
help of slave coult, the strongest bulwark of
the &" sum of all villainies" Territory has been
acquired for the express and avowed purpose of
making it into slave states, and wars of conquest
have been waged with the same ultimate obi ect.
Solemn compacts, like the Missouri Compromise
have been abrogated after Slavery had made all it
could out of them and lest the people should at
tempt by legislation to retain some portion of the
territories free from the faint of servude, or res
tore again that Compromise, the Court was made
to decide that henceforth Slavery could not be
excluded from any portion Of the public domain.
Ap6 Is haA oh itc
full share of immunity and influence in the Gov
eminent, it was not the fault of the South in mod
estly forbearing to demand its rights and priv
eges, nor of its allies North 10 not seconding its
demands, but of the Constitution which had given
liberty some rights in the Government as we'll as
Slavery.
But after having had all this influence in and
coatroi Of the Government for SO many years, the
traitors seized upon Mr.. Lincoln's election as the
occasion for their taking up arms. He had no
been naugurated; the party which elected him
had no control OF the departments of the Govern
oment the court, with fancy for Chief Justice
remained unchanged such men as Floyd, and
Cobb, and Foucey still disgraced the Cabinet 9
Buchanan, imbece and traitor as he was, still oc
cupied the White House, when the rebels com
menced their preparations for war. No tyranny
had deprived them of liberty, no man had been
thrust into dungeons, no right Of property or lib
srty had been invaded, no freedom of speech or o
the press had been assailed, no State Right, even
as they construed it, had been assaulted, not tn,
lightest touch of despotism had been felt in 81
their borders, when they began their career o