The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer., 1863-01-30
SLAVERY THE CAUSE OF THE WAR.

L YIN IftGuNC, ouu oii OShSho Va ee1'
school, that slavery is the cause Of the
war;" is, in One sense, really true; but it
is not true in justifying sense. Slavery
is the cause of the war for precisely the
same reason that property is the cause of
robbery. Mr.. Lincoln says that had it
not been for slavery no war could have
taken place. We can soy with equal
truth that were it not for the existence Of
property, there would be no Stealing
These propositions are both self-evident.
But if it should occur to any one to look
little further into the subject, and to in.
quire if the existence of property justified
robbery, then another question is opened,
which would undoubtedly bring a mega
tive reply, even from the most enthusias
tic "friends of [uiggcr] freedom" And
may we not with equal fairness and pro-
priety, ask if the existence of ''slavery,"
per Sc, which is simply, in the eyes of the
law, the existence Of property, justi6es its
destruction, by war Or by any other vio-
lent or illegal means?
1t is astounding to contemplate that
man with Intelligence sufficient to attain
the Presidential chair, should plainly and
unqualtiedly assert, as Mr.. Lincoln did in
his Message to Congress at the opening
of its present session, and on other occa-
sions, that "savery was the cause of the
war" Suppose u thief, upon being AZ
raigned before the criminal court, should
attempt to excuse and justify himself
upon the ground that the existence of the
thing stolen was the cause of his stealing,
is there any judge or jury in the land
that would acquit him upon that plea 2"
Yet We all must acknowledge that his
plea would be quite as valid as that of Mr.
President Lincoln with regard to "slave-
ry." Mr.. Lincoln says that slavery was
the cause Of the war, and that we must
rob the shareholders of their property, in
order that the war may be terminated =
This is an extraordinary theory for a
President of the United States to advance
in this age of civilization and Christian
ity.
"Slavery" is the huge bugbear that abb
serbs the whole attention of Mr.. Lincoln
and his disciples. They are SO SPELL
bound in staring at its magni6ed proper
tions, that they are entirely obliyious to
the fact that slavery of itself, when let
alone, is very innocent and harmless in
stitution, and that the real state of the
case is, that they-Mr. Lincoln & Co.
are actually making war upon slavery |"
The records of history, from the most an
cieht times to the present date, can scarce
ly furnish a parallel to this stupendous
perversion and Justification of truth Ev-
cry man in the country who bas ever read
newspaper, OF heard the affairs of the
Government discussed, is perfectly aware
that MIR. Lincoln's party had its origin and
existence in opposition to "slavery'-not
in any principle of government, of law
and order, or of public good-but solely
in fragrant and revolutionary opposition to
the Constitutional rights of a great body
of our citizens. For thirty years they
have boldly proclaimed their unrelenting
hostility ito, and their detestation of the
Constitution of the Government; and
have impiously denounced it as ga league
with hell" In their treatment of the
Southern people, they have claimed to be
guided by "Higher Law" than the Con-
stitution and the Bible. And when, after
long suffering, and submission to insult
and contumely, the South felt obliged,
for the preservation of liberty, self-respect
and property, to withdraw from the repeat
edly violated compact, Mr. Lincoln and his
followers suddenly discover that they
(Mr L. 4 CO.. have great love and re-
spect for the Union" with "slavchold-
ers,'' veneration for the Constitution (the
"league with hell, and a perfect adora-
tion for the ''Flag,o (Which they had, in
times past, trailed in the dust in Boston.
Finding that they could not keep the
South in. the Union and rob her of her
property, they drove her out, and then
called for million Of men to destroy the
lives of her men, women and children,
and their property, under the specious
prctencc Of restoring the '.Union r And
10 Justification of bis wicked and mcst un-
godIy war, Mr.. Lincoln now has the cool
ness 10 tell the suffering people Of the
North that "slayery was the cause Of the
war r Truly, Mr.. Lincoln, you "cGanot
Escape 5sst0xyi