The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1863-08-19
The RvlIs of the Time and tAsir Remedy
BY c. r. BucKALEw.


and increasing debt; great and unexampIet
bitterness in the social relations OF men
and last, butnot least, multiplied and grave
errors, usurpations and abuses OF powe
by men in public authority How these
evils can be most surely removed, an6
their recurrence prevented, is The great
the all-engrossing question which now con.
$ fronts Us and demands reply.
That reply is furnished in declaring the
policy OF The Democracy of Pennsylvania
"a policy so simple, so Just, so perfectly
conformed 10 the necessities OF the times,
,ha; none can misunderstood it, or sncere>
ly question its fitness for the repression of
existing evils.
That policy is connected with a sincere
devotion 10 the laws of The land, and with
a deep conviction OF the necessity of main.
tanning them in tact and unbroken. These
laws consist of the Constitution and statutes
of the United States, and of the Constitu-
lions and statutes of the several States, and
include much of the common law of Eng
land and those guarantees OF liberty which
are The boast of British history. These
laws of the land make up that American
| system of free government which has in
sured our prosperity and given Us high
| place of honor among the nations OF the
earth. But those laws have been assailed
-tha; system of free government has been
interrupted in its conrse-the States are
broken asundsr, and sounds OF violence fill
the land
II is timely, then, TO inquire. Who have
assailed those laws, and VINO are now the
enemies OF reunion and libertyl Against
whom, against what interests shall The voice
of this great State be spoken and her pow
er be exerted
Uuquesiionably the radical Abolitionisis
OF the North assailed the laws persistently
and earnestly for years-bY incendiary doc
umen's transmitted through the mails, TO
excite insurrection in the South; by seduc-
! ing negro slaves TO abscond from their mas
ters, assisting their escape, secreiine them
! from pursuit, by any raising mobs 10 resist
their reclamation. They also created and
kept up agitation in Congress by petitions
for unconstitutional laws, and The John
Brown raid into Virginia. mission OF ra-
! pine and biood-swas assisted by their con.
tribuiions, and was followed 5y The canon
Zaiiou BY them of lis leader as a saint
Insiiga:ec by them, many of the Northern
Legislatures enacted siaiutes to defeat or
impede the reclamation of fugitive slaves
under the laws of the United States, thus
giving Slate sanction 10 The revolutionary
spirit.
Ailast the Republican party was found
ed, and drew most OF the Aholitionisis into
lis ranks, and along with them obtained
their passions and their fatal dogma that
there are laws of The individual will higher
in obligation than the laws of the land and
that the latter, when they conflict with the
former. may be broken without guilt and
without .eproach 1t followed in due course
that the decision of the Supreme Court Of
the United States upon negro citizenship
and the rights Of Southern men in The Ter
rilories was denounced, and acquiesence
in it refused bE the Republicans, and the
validity of any law establishing slavery
was denied in their platform at Chicago -
They refused 10 be bound by the law, and
their platform was itself repudiation of
The laws. as II denied their obligation.
The AboItionisis and The Republican
periy are, therefore, frs, in fault, In break
ing away from good faith. duty and law,
and their example and the apprehension
of further acts of aggression upon South.
ern rights by them, provoked (although
they could not justify the existing great
rebellion.
That rebellion was against the laws OF
the United States. and pnt the whole body
of them at defiance. Although ii asserted
for itself a legal ground of Justification, it
is most manifest thai i, was lawlsss and un-
authorized. The compact of Union being
without limitation of time, must-be held,
as intended by It's authors, 10 be perpetual;
and The provision contained in il for its
own amendment provides the only lawful
mode by which lis obligation can be limit
ed or changed. Considering secession as
breach of the public law, and in view of
the immense interests rut in peril by it,
this State co1curred IN measures of hostil-
ity against the South. But this was done
10 SYNDICATE The broken ias0, and to secure the
objects for which the Government of the
United States was originally founded, and
for no purpose Of conquest, of oppression,
or of fanatical experiment Upon this
ground We may justify our conduct, and
submit it, without apprehension of censure
10 the judgment of future times.
But the war has lasted more than two
years, and its management, and the meas
urss OF legislation and of Executive policy
which have accompanied it, have given
occasion for frequent and just complains.
Il has been so managed that our armies
have been outunmbered where decisive
battles we're 10 be fought. or have been