Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-02-27
The Party and Politics for the Day.



The character of the opposition to the
government is showing itself, in cOnse-
quence Of our freedom Of opinion, in its
true aspects, as the really ally and friend
Of the rebel Shareholders and the disclos-
ure must we are quite sure, lead to the
formations on parties no higher, broader
and juster grounds than any heretofore at
tsined. 1t must come to be seen, in the
course Of our inquiries and discussions,
that the controversy in which we are en-
gsged is only by accident sectional one,
and that the vital point is the struggle Of
8 slsvehOlding oligsrchy and Of free labor
democracy for the possession Of the con-
tinent The South has taken up arms in
the spirit Of the old msil-clad knights, who
pounced from their rocky fortresses upon
the caravans of commerce or the cities Of
industry, in furtherance Of their privileges
Of class and their exclusive or arbitrary
interests. The North meets it as the thrifty
burghers met the barons, feebly at first,
with 3 respect even for the lOrdly class
long accustomed to rule, but gradually
with defiance, and in the end with reso-
lutte, hard handed, indomitable energy and
q CORY zeal OF freedom, which toPpled their
huge castles, their feudel privileges, down
upon their heads in awful ruin.
The discerning southern leaders have so
clearly seen the nature Of this contest,
that it is wonderful it has no more gem
orally made its way into the minds of
northern statesmen. Mr.. Spratt, of South
Carolina, in his famous letter 10 Perkins,
of Louisiana, ridiculed the idea that seces-
siOnism had grown out Of any aggression
Of the North upon the lights Of the South :"
it was still less the result OF any act Of
oppression on the part of the United States
Government; and the only reason 10 be
assigned for l. was "the difference in the or
ganlzation OF society North and South, one
being democratic and the other aristoratic.
Democracy said Mr.. Garnett in his let.
ter 10 TrescOlt, and slavery are incOm-
patible.' Those pestilent and pernicious
dOgmas-the greatest good Of the greatest
number, and the majority shall rule is
a favorite expression Of De Bow Review,
the organ Of the slaveholding class.
Nor let it be supposed that these Opin-
ions are confined TO a few; they are COM
NOR in southern society; and what Gen
erai Hamilton Of Texas told US is confirm
ed by other authorities. "The leaders in
this rebellion are actuated, he said, "by
a distinct purpose, TO supplant popular
government and establish a monarchy,
with slavery as its cornerstone" adding
that if you could, as have DONE hear, in
the hotels and in the streets, and in par
lors,, echoes Of that sentiment from men
who, two years ago, were regarded as 10y
al, saying Republicanism is failure-we
new realize the fact that we must have
stranger gOVernment-you would feel, fei-
low citizens, that there was something
more involved in this revolution than
simple desire te get rid of the hated Yank-
ee. Dr. Russell, as he tells US in his Diary
just published, was surprised by so much
in the South as the frequency, the ser
iousness and the zeal with which the gem
tlemen he encountered declared their IN en-
archical tendencies, which they carried so
far, indeed, as TO prefer a provincial ex-
istance under Queen Victoria TO an indie
pendent existence with free institutions