Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1863-09-22

| NohstitutIon-1 can say before God m
conscience is clean. l have struggled
long for peaceful solution of the diff
Guilty. have not only rendered thost
States what was their rights, but have
gone to the very extreme of magnanim.
ity.
The return we receive is war, armie.
marching upon our Capital, obstructions
and dangers placed upon navigation, let
ters OF marque granted to pirates, tc
prey upon our commerce, concerted
| movement to blot out the United States
of America from the map of the globe
The question is, are we to maintain the
country of our fathers, or allow it to be
stricken down by those who, when
they can nolonger govern, threaten to
destroy -
What cause, what excuse do disunion.
lists give for breaking up the, best Gov
ernment on which the sun of heaven
ever shed its rays2 They are dissatisfied
with the results of a Presidential election.
Did they never get beaten before?- Are
we to resort to the sword when we get
defeated at the ballot box? l under.
stand it that the voice of the people, ex-
pressedIin the mode appointed in the Con
81 ution, must command the obedience OF
every citizen. They assume on the elec.
tion of a particular candidate that their
rights are not safe in the Union. What
evidence do they present of this? 1 defy
any man to show an act on which it is
based. What has been omitted to be
done? l Iappeal to those assembled thou
sands, that so far as the constitutional
rights of the Southern States, l will say
the constitutional rights of slave holders
are concerned, nothing has been done
and nothing omitted of which they can
complain
There has never been time, from the
day that Washington was inaugurated
first President of the United States.
when the rights of the Southern States
stood frmer under the laws of the land.
than they do now; there never was a
time when they had not as good cause
for disunion as they have to-day What
good cause have they which has not ex-
listed under every administration.
If they say the territorial question
now, for the first time, there is no act of
Congress prohibiting slavery anywhere.
1t it be the non-enforcement of the laws
the only complaints that have heard
have beer of the too vigorous and faith
ful fulfillment of the Fugitive Slave Law.
Then what reasons have they?
The slavery question is a mere ex-
cuse. The election of Lincoln is a mere
pretext The present secession move
ment is the result of an enormous con-
spiracy formed more than a year since
formed by leaders in the Southern Con-
federacy more than twelve months ago.
They use the slavery question as
means to the acearnslien ELECTION OF
nutdate by a sectional vote,
in order to show that the two sections
cannot live together. When the histo-
ry of the two years, from the Lecompton
Charter down to the Presidential elec-
ton shall be written, it will be shown
that the scheme was made to break up
this Union.
They desired a Northern Republican
to be elected by purely Northern vote,
and then assign this fact as a reason why
the sections could no longer live together.
If the disunion candidate in the late
Presidential contest had carried the Uni
ted South, the scheme was, the Northern
candidate successful, to seize the Capt.
tai last Spring, and by a united South
and a divided North, hold it. That
scheme was defeated in the defeat of the
Disunionz candidate in several Of the
Southern States.
But this is no time for detail of
causes The conspiracy Is now known.
Armies have been raised. War is levied
to accomplish it. There are only two
sides to it. Every man must be for the
United States or against it. There can
be no neutrals in this -war-only patri-
OTIS and traitors.
Thank God, Illinois is not divided on
this question. (Cheers.) } l know they
expected to present an united South
against divided North. They hoped
in the Northern States, party question:
would bring civil war between Demo
Gratis and Republicans, when the Soutf
would step in with her cohorts, aid one
party to conquer the other, and ther
make an.easy prey of the victors Then
/ scheme was carnage and civil war II
/ the North
There is but one way to defeat this
In Illinois it is being so defeated by clos
ing up the ranks. War viii thus be pre-
/ vented on our own soil. While ther
was hope of peace was ready for an
reasonable sacrifice or compromise t
maintain it. But when the questio
comes of war in the cotton fields of tn
South or the corn fields of Illinois, l So
the further off the better.
We cannot close our eyes to the sa
and solemn fact that war does exis
The Government must be maintained
its enemies overthrown. and the MOI
stupendous' our preparations the le'
bloodshed and the shorter the struggl
But we must place certain restraints G
our actions even in time of war. W
are a Christian reople, and the war mu
be prosecuted in a manner recognize
by Christian nations.
We must not invade constitution
t rights The innocent must not suite
: nor women and children the victim
y Savages must not be let loose. b
), while | sanction no war on the rights
:, others, implore my countrymen not
g Law down their arms until our own rigl
e are recognized (Cheers.)
r The Constitution and its guarantt
o. are our birthright, and am ready to
n force that inalienable right to the /
r, extent. We cannotrecognize secessi
ID Recognize it once, and you have not
i'd lv dissolved the Government, but J
n, 6ave'destroyed social order, and upturl
ad the foundations of society. You h
at inaugurated anarchy in its worst for
IL and will shortly experience all the
'h- rors of the French Revolution.
Then we have solemn duty to /
form-to maintain the Governm
IS. The greater our unanimity the spec,
his the day of peace, We have prejud
NV to overcome, from the existence
- few short months since, OF fierce