The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-09-12

ting the maxim that cObbler should stick
to his last, has bad habit of lecturing loft
lily about political affairs, especially OF the
foreign variety. Upon the I'D uit., A. d.,
1853, it undertook discourse upon amer.
Jean affairs, but as it evidently dashed itself
into choking rage before beginning, it's
utterances were very far from coherent
The people Of the North are 'spassionately
unreasonable care s.blinded to the conse-
quences of the struggle have incurred
ia mountain Of debt''-have suffered q
national MISUNDERSTANDING organized
ty, trample out its liberties" and are now
suffering under that ''maximized form of
government which is but another name for
despotism.'' Our prudent statesmen have
become INFATUATED by the madness Of the
crowd. The voice of Reason has been ST.
fenced. The sword is made the arbiter Of
questions which no sword can decide.'
But this will do for fagmentary quota
ton. We intend to present to our readers,
before we have done, with solid chunk of
extreme richness. If it be "passionately
unreasonable to stand firmly for the fun
damental law of the land-if the ''conse-
quences of the struggle" are to be consld-
cred, when that struggle is for law, justice
and order-if debt is to be avoided, when
only by liberal use of the public credit
can the national existence be maintained
if great debt, though not yet SO great, by
three-fourths, as that of England, necessl-
tates anarchy-if volunteers, or cOnecrlptS,
who, being called, cheerfully respond, can
be said to constitute "a standing army
if our soldiers, drawn from all classes and
conditions Of men, must; , OF necessity;
Heaven and the Illustrated London NeaCs
have mercy upon us, miserable offenders!
| If we are already suffering under "a des-
potism" are we not the most fortunate Of
sufferers, since no citizen here suspects his
own agonies or is conscious Of his own tor
lures? For "a maximized form OF Coy,
eminent" ours is certainly still a very mild
one. Our "crowd" was mad" the other
day, or rather the basest and most ire
sponsible portion of it-but has it not al
ready been persuaded to return to the forms
and shows, at least, of reason? When Re-
bellion lifts it bestial head, what arbiter is
left between the true and false, the men
who respect oaths, and the men who break
them, but the sword? There is always q
mortal quarrel between loyalty and lies
Upon that quarrel we have entered. We
had no choice. It was not a matter of in
clination, it was not an affair OF taste, it
was not point upon which we had time
to consult the writer's for the London news
papers. We had been robbed Of our pro-
perty-we were the innocent parties to
broken bargain-we were Government
defied by it's own citizens sworn to it's
maintenance fOrever-sworn without res
ervation, and pledged SO solemnly that an
honorable withdrawal from the contract
was impossible. Writers like this one in
the picture paper are as ignorant az posi-
BILE of the nature of our political relations
to the Seeded States. The Union never
was, and never was intended to be a mere
copartnership. The question was discuss
ed at length in the Convention which fra
med the Constitution, and when that in
strument was adopted, it was universally
understood to be an irrepealable compact,
which neither party was to be at liberty,
| upon any pretense whatever, to abrogate.
But we are getting serious, when our on
'lly business at present is to display the folly
/ Of getting into passion. That we may do
this the more effectually we will now pre-
sent to the reader the extract above prom
ised, which we trust will be read with mod
flied fear and trembling. 1t is long, but 1t
will repay perusal, and it is as follows:
"But, while the North has done little or
nothing to end the war, it has done much
to end its own liberty. The Government
established by George Washington has
] ceased to exist. The Constitution founded
, by the Fathers of the Republic, has been
abrogated on the plea of military necessity,
and can never again be restored. Mr.. Blu
chanan was the last President of the United
i States. Mr.. Lincoln is the President Of q
geographical division, and of sectional
party even in that. Martial law prevails
everywhere except in New York, New Jer-
sey, the six little States of New England
and remote California, too distant to suffer
by or take any interest in the illogical and
murderous conflict. In all other portions
of the broad domain the discretion of Pro-
vost Marshal, or a laundering dragon
suddenly converted into Dictator, super
sedes all law. The Courts are powerless.
The press is under surveillance stricter
Franca
torn from their beds at midnight and con-
signed to military prisons, without the in
tervention Of judge or jury or the specifca-
ton of any real or supposed ofense. In
contravention of the fundamental laws of
the Federation and of every State that COM
prises it, fOrcible CONSUMPTION of the
young men has been ordered; and the pro-
lject of the utter destruction ofthe sovereign
rights of the States-the abolition of local
Parliaments and their reduction to the po-
sition of English counties or French depart
ments, is openly avowed by the organs of
the Administration, and strenuously advo-
Gated as the only means of preventing a
new secession and the breaking up Of the
North and West into half a dozen or more
Republics. The public debt is known to
amount to 400 millions of pounds sterling,
and is suspected, on sufficient reason, to be
so per cent. in excess of this frightful sum.
Everywhere are to be found the elements
VI ulsoIueI anu duaTcNy; anu everywhere
the easy-going people, the sordid traders,
the merchants, the professional men-eve-
rybody, in fact, who desire to grow rich in
a country where nothing but wealth is held
in esteem, where public virtue is scot
and genius the target of contemptuous I'M
popularity-are calling out for king Gov
eminent as the one thing needtul. The
king Government will come. The way is
prepared for it. The new election for Pre-
sident will be the election of dictator, car
ried on, perhaps, under the forms Of the
law, but with armed soldiers at every poll
ing place, to take care that the choice OF
the soldiers be, or seem to be, the choice OF
the people. One thing, perhaps, might yet
even save the liberties of the Northern PEG.
} ple-peace and commercial alliance with
the South. But the Government, deficient
in generosity as in intellect, is powerless tc
make the offer. There is no man of sufi.
: Gent intellect, honesty and courage in the
Administration even to suggest such a So
luton of an otherwise insoluble difficulty
The President is as obstinate as Stuart
,, and as conceited as Bourbon. He learns
4 nothing from experience, and has neither
= the sense tn 900 the RIGHT nor the courage