Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-03-31
Rreeu nlt. freeman
=. MONTPELIER, VT.
Tuesday Morning, March 81, 1903
IAN Abolition War and the Proclamation
of Freedom

IL There uhs otVh iADAh sHV SNS '''N-o
tiliti.s in the present rebellion, any one thing
apparently frightful to the prosaVery men OF
North and border States, it has been the bug-oesr
of their own creation, an abolition war" In
speeches and in the press this has been the one
present apprehension, the gloomy fancy that
has continually appalled, their imaginaiions, the
terrible anticipation that has caused them more
hours and days and weeks Of uneasine" than the
treason Of jeff Davis and the murder OF innocent
loya men all over the insurgent States. Ihese
pro-slavery men, have, as they dropped oil INTO
the land oil dreams at night, with sleepy rhetoric
pro,ested against an abolition war" In MD
night slumbers,-which would otherwise have
been sweet and quiet,-the grim lerebodng has
pursued them, and they have wildly talked IN
their sleep against " 40 abolition war;" WIN
the frat consciou sness in the morning the tor
menting vision has returned to them, and in their
matutina drinks they have been startled into
eloquen. protests by the evc-recprrlng picture OF
81 an abolition var" The ghost Of Banquo was
nothing in comparison with this their distemper-
ed fancy, aud their case had seemed to be really
past cure, and hopeless.
But, at last, we are glad to nece a symptom
OF returning sense, an occasional gllmmer OF
r.ason, and intermittent utterances OF truth from
these gentlemen. There are moments when these
crazy people confess that they do rot see TINS
ndppl thew
quite busy in arguing that there is and can be no
such thing And they seem to be chuckling over
this discovery, as though it were really as novel
and interesting fact to every one, as 1t is to them
Ftr instance, they have discovered that the war is
carried on in its general scope, since the Emancl'
patton Proclamation, precisely as it was before.
Armies are still relied upon 10 fight treason
Sh)t and shell are still fred from cannon. The.
usaees Of civilized warfare are still adhered to.
Material forces are still employed to combat re-
bellion. The aspect OF the contest is mainly IN
changed. And from these observations, the old
friends Of slavery are drawing the comforting
conclusion that the Proclamation is a dead letter,
from which their old allies need have no Ap
prebsnson, and which will accomplish absolutely
nothing.
While we do not agree with them in their in-
fersnces, we congratulate the men who have
been 90 frightened at the shadow Of an abolition
waiss upon their better perception OF facts. They
now seem TO be firm in the faith that the Procla
nation is entirely harmless, and to be consistent
they ought to stop howlngati it. II is mere words
they say, empty sound, por Fl pyaetered niha, and
has not at all weakened the rebels, while it has
given the pro-savsry party at the North great po-
tical victories and if This be true they ought to
acknowledge their Indebtedness to it, and to the
men or the Influences which inaugurated it. We
are sorry to notice. however that while proclaim
ing its utter failure they aba,e not enc ot Of tner
assaults upon it, or upon the men who sustain it !
and this leads US somewhat to doubt the sincerity
of their belief in its entire ineihciency.
The truth is. so far as their arguments are con-
cerned, these Northern friends Of slavery have
all along proceeded upon the assumption that
when the Government made an attack upon
slavery, il was made as an end and not means,
ard an immense amount Of clamor and consider
able political capital have been made out Of this
same false and deceptive style Of augmentation,
They have denounced Republicans as in favor Of a
war for the abolition of slavery, when the most thai
any Of these Republicans have asked for was, that
slavery should be made to work as an instrumen
tally in crushing treason. BY sktully ringing
the changes upon an " abolition war" and retsr
aung their assumption that the purpose Of the wal
had bess,changed from an attack on treason L
an attack on slavery, they caused a great man!
honest, iimid, ard simple souls, who admired tn,
Constitution, to trembe for the shattered con
dltion Of that instrument, when,in TRUTH the Gov
eminent never has had any other object in view
than 10 preserve the Constitution in all ito pro
visions unframed, and 10 restore its authority, JUS
it is, osll parts Of the nsurgsnt territory from
which its embems have been driven. And Their
is no more convincing evidence Of this single pur
pose Of the Government than this discourse o
the rebel sympa,hizers who now ridicule III
Emancipation proclamation as use!e. paper Tn
very fact that The war has not only not changed il
any oil its essen,ia phases, ia consequence Of hi
policy Of the Government but that no effort Ia
been made to change 1t, is proof conclusive tina
the Proclamation was only one of the mutitud
of agencies employed by the Administration i
fighting treason, and not declared end for wbic
the battle Has,io be waged. A, means its polio
aud It's c'nsttuu1nality could be legitimately dis
cls'ed, Just as the same discussion might be in OF
der respecting the blockade. And itisN mean
only that ills to be'jadged. lfit comes short o
accomplishing all that it, most ardent advocate
claimed for it, LET il be aInigned jus, as we wOu
arraign and, Try the plan of a campaign, or th
movements Of an army, remembering all the tim
that ii isawar measure looking to the overtime,
of the rsbeMon, just rs the CONSUMPTION act is
war measure looking to the same end.
And we advise the friends, as well as the en-,
mics, Of this. measure, to possess their souls in d.
tienee The actuai liberation Of four millions
slaves cannot be accomplished in single day. an
more than the actual defeat Of six millions
traitors eau be accomplished in the ZANE .ho,
time. Dependency on the che hand and esul,
ton on the other, are quite too ,oon now. III
seed has been. sown, and we must wal, awhile ic
the harvest Many thousand, Al, the North, ,
well as at the South, are doing what The, .sn.