The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-03-14
What II Loyalty 2

In England loyalty means fidelity to the
reigning sovereign. In the United States
it means-what? Fidelity to the reigning
President? So the republicans would have
US believe; but the doctrine is heterodox
and anti-republican. To make fidelity to
the person Of the sovereign in England
reasonable and consistent they have in
vented the convenient fiction that The
king can do no wrong" The king, the
fiction runs, acts by advice of his minis
tiers, and if any wrong is done in the 60
yernment, it is to be charged to the bad
advice given, and the ministers, not the
sovereign, are to be held responsible
Ia the U. s. no such fiction prevails.
Here the President is held to assume all
the responsibility himself, his cabinet
ministers being his mere agents or Lieu
tenants. He stands exactly in the place
of the ministers in England, while the
government" here takes the place OF
the sovereign. The President, and not
hi. cabinet, is the administration" Gov.
Seward in one of his dispatches to Mr..
Adams, our minister at London, fully re-
cognizes this doctrine, by saying, I" In this
country, it is not only consistent with the
constitution, but essential to its stability,
to canvass the proceedings of the admins
tration freely and this Is done without a
thought of disloya'ty to the government
The democrats are called copperheads,
traitors, &c, because they challenge and
protest against the policy of the admins
tration. What would have been the ans.
wer Of Chatham, Canning, Fox, Burke,
DC, if they had been called traitors, when,
as leaders Of the opposition N the English
parliament during the Napoleon wars
they battled against the measures of, and
more than once overthrow the subsisting
administration and effected a total
change of its policy? Traitors! History
has demonstrated that in numberless in
stances the stern opposition Of these men
alone saved the government, and that of
the two parties their acts showed them
the more loyal.
The democracy are the opposition"
What is their duty? They see the admi-
nistration adopt a policy which in their
consciences they believe will end in utter
ruin and devastation of the country. Shah
! they tamely fold their arms and raise no
voice of warning? Nay more-shall they,
as the republicans demand, not only raise
no objection to this ruinous policy, but
hn
tuition to the winds. join in, heart and
SOUL to push on the car of ruin-pile on
wood and crowd on steam to hurl the
mighty train, loaded with all they hold
valuable and precious on earth, over the
precipice into the abyss below?
We do not so understand loyalty. While
the administration persist in their present
ruinou. policy, 70 urge the people with all
their might to support the government
in that policy, would be making ourselves
p1t;eeps criminis in the ruin it is frausht
with.
Our loyalty compels US to acknowledge
Abraham Lincoln as the head of this GO
vernment, and as such We will obey all
legal commands or take the consequences
II he orders our arrest, we will obey the
mandate if we think it legal, and if not
we will contest its legality before the pro-
per tribunals If we are drafted to enter
the army, we shall 60, or pay our $500
unless We first become satisfied that the
draft is illegal, and then we have RICH,
| 50 ~ hafn he
tribunal. If in the army, we shall obey
all the commands of our superior officers
without questioning, for that is soldier :
duty. And If any man, by mob violence,
or in any other illegal way undertakes to
resist the government in the execution of
any Of its measures we hold it our duty
to aid it in maintaining its authority.
These are things which we hold pertain
20 loyalty. But the assumption that, be-
cause it may embarrass the government,
We are not at liberty freely and at all
times to canvass its acts, its measures or
policy we utterly scout
In the language of Webster, The high
constitutional privilege, to CANVASS public
measures and the merits of public men,
l shall defend and exercise, within this
house, and in all places in time of peace
and at all times Living shall assert it
and should l leave no other inheritance
to my children, by the blessing of God,
will leave them the inheritance of free
principles, and the example Of manly
independent, and constitutional defense
Of them"