The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-11-12

no emancipation. The only thing on which
people would take respective sides was, shall
the national policy be free or slave! call
you to witness with what forbearance, fdel-
ity, and integrity, the North for period of
eighty years, respected rights which were
but civil rights, and utterly contrary to
moral rights. [Cheers and hisses.l The
fidelity Of the North to the great doctrine
Of State Rights. her refusal to meddle with
an evil which sne hates, her determination
to hold fast by the fundamental compact,
viii! one day be deemed worth something
better than contemptuous sneer, and an
allegation Of enormous national vanity
Loud cheers.] The forbearance Of the
North is one of those things Of which she
may be justly proud. It,is the product Of
principle, the fruit Of liberty, the inspiration
of that Christian faith which is the mother
both Of liberty and principle; and I am
proud Of the regard for Irrational fidelity
which the North has displayed, even by
the confession of her worst enemies. [Cheersl
This is the reason why the North did not
go for Emancipation. She wanted to en-
deavor to save national institutions, she
wanted to save the Territories, she wanted
to save those laws which, if allowed to 60
on for series of years, would inevitably
1 first have circumciscd, then suffocated, and
generally destroyed Slavery. Loud cheers
That is the reason why that most true, hon
est, religious, and conscientious magistrate
Mr.. Lincoln the rest of the sentence vas
lost in the prolonged burst of cheering with
which Mr.. Lincoln's name was received. J.
How, then, did the nation pass from con-
flict with the southern policy to direct at
tack on Slavery itself? Because in an i'll
advised hour, according to the opinion o
that wisest man Of ibe South, Mr.. Stephens,
they beleagnred the National Government
and the national life with the institution of
Slavery, and they obliged the people and
the sworn President, who was put unde T
oath to defend that Constitution and the
National Government, to take their choice
between the safety and the life of Govern
ment itself and the Slavery with which it
was belea asured. II a man lays down any
thing in the street, and blocks up the pas
sage, so as to force people to walk over
| it not the fault Of the people who walk over
it, but of those who placed it in the way
AS with an individual the fundamental
right of siIfdefense cannot be withdrawn
without immortality, so the first element
Of national life is the right to defend that
life, and as no man attacked in the thigh
way violates the law, but obeys the law
that is. the necessity of defending the law
by knocking down his assailant, SO when
any nation is assaulted by any local inter-
est or by any foreign State, or by any inter-
est whatever, it is the right and duty Of
thai nation, in the exercise Of the right of
selEdefense, to destroy thlt enemv which,
iEno, destroyed, would destroy it. [Cheers. ]
As long "a the South wouli allow the
conflict to be merely political one we were
content to meet the issue as one Of policy,
but when they threw down the gauntlet,
and said, "Slavery shall 60 to the adjudi-
cation Of war" we could do no other than
accept the challenge, [Cheers.l Police have
no right to enter your house as long as you
act according to law, but when You defy
the law Won have right to enter So in a
constitutional Government we had no power
to touch Slavery while Slavery remained a
constitutional institution. but when it lifted
itself up from its state ofbunlity AMI at
tempted to become national policy it be-
came national enemy, and no longer had
= national sxemption. But it is said after
all the President issued bis proclamstio for
political effect, AMI not for humanity
Cheers and Kisses Why, the right to
issue the proclamation was politicel, but the
disposition to do it was not Mr.. Lincoln
is an officer, and in the Presidential chair
has no more right to follow his private feel
ing than a Judge has the right to follow his
private felings on the bench. He is bound
to ask what is the law, and not what is bis
private sympathy. When Judge sees
that the rigid execution and Interpretation OF
the law e, with justice and humanity
and pity, then he is all the more glad that
his private feelings go with his public Of
flee. [Cheers Suppose in the next house
TO a hnm,ne surgeon there Isl boy VIII 0
fills the night with groans and cries because
he has cancerous disease. The father Of
the boy is taking no care, aud the surgeon
would fain go in and ease the lad of his
pain bat he is not called in. and it is no
business Of his. At last the father says,
I"Come in AMI save NY SOM; he goes in
professionally, cuts of the leg, and saves
the child, t, the inGpte disgust of the neigh
Dor over the way, who says, "Oh, you
would not go in as a neishbor. and cut Ills
leg Of" Laughter. should like to
know how any man has right to cut off
your leg or mine, except professionally -
Hers is the great point Of stumbling We
could not touch Slavery in time Of peace,
because it was local institution. How do
we do it now? Because in time of war it is
shifted out OF its sphere--it is no longer a
local institution, but national and public
enemy. [Cheers.l But it is said, '.Why
not let the South go9 Since they will not
be at peace, why do you not allow them to
separate from you ?" Oh if the Southern