Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1863-08-19
Prom the. .columhla Guardian.
tThe crisis andiour DUTY


- The Crisis and our duty. -
Its vain to deny that we have met with
sad and serious reverses. t'is not the part
Of manhood to disguise these facts, but to
look them steadily IN the face. Should we
succumb before adversely, We would become
the scorn. Of the universe. Still, worse, we
would become the prey of the :Femorseless
vultures of Yankeedom. If the war has
proved anythingit has demonstrated be-
yopd peradEenture that the Yarkeeis is as
cruel aud bloodtbirsty as he is false and
faithless. Ne pledge that he would offer,
d no guarantee that he would make, could 10.
spire confidence in our security. No one
would doubt for a moment that the Yankee
would violate his faith Us soon as we were
in his power There is not man at the
South so stupid and idiotic as to have the
slightest confidence in Yankee truth, honor
and honesty. Our only hope, then, under
God, consists in lighting to the bitter end
Spectators and mammon Borshippers alone
prefer subjugation to determination. The
heart of the masses is right. To the great
body of the people, then, would we address
ourselves WHAT'S our duty in the present
exigency? This is the question of 'ques-
tions.
1t is plain that our great want now is
men, and the problem is how to supply
them. No one can travel ouapy Of the
great lines of railroad without being con-
vinced that there is 30 lack Of young men
in the country, whatever lack there may be
in the army. Why are there SO few troops
in the field? Tha answer is the silly ex.
enrtion bill got up.by demagogues. One
hundred and fifty thousand substitutes have
been received, not ten thousand of whom
are DOW in the service. The rest have de-
serted or been discharged for disability. In
thousands of cases, the substitute papers
we're fraudulent from beginning to end, and
the men were never forthcoming. Again,
more than a hundred thousand have been
exempted as postmasters, teachers, clergy
men, printers, shoemakers, artizans, mill
wrights, tanners, &c., &C., &c. These two
causes have kept quarter of million of
arms bearing men out of the field. But
even after the troops are enrolled and or
ganized, there is another heavy source of
depletion. Then comes the mighty effort
of the wealthy and influential to get sons,
wards and kinsmen in soft and safe places,
as clerks in the various departments, as
pirre Bureau men, as staff officers, candi-
dates-for moral honors, &C., &c. We have
q staff large enough for an army of mil
lion of men and each staff officer must
have his sub-staf, clerks, hireliugs, depen.
dents and strikers. All the young staff. ling
are thusaproRided for, Another hundred
thousand are thus pub eus of the field, =, =
heremedy for these gross evils is simple.
Let the Congress forget demagoguism for a
little while, and call out our whole arms.
bearing population; cast into the depths of
the sea that bill of abominations-the ex-
emption bill. Let the Executive have the
sole right to grant exemption. Put all=for-
eigusrs and Marylanders in the ranks, or
Danish them from the country: ALLOW no
officer to employ as clerks or agents other
than those who have been wounded, or have
been in at least six battles. Give nuskets
to two thirds of the staff officers, to nine.
teuths of their employees, and to the whole
of their staflling.
II may be objected that the cancellation
of all exemptions would derangc the whole
machinery of society. This would doubt
less be so, and cause much temporary dis
comfort aud inconvenience. But We opine
the suffering would be infinitely less from
that source than from subjugation. We
doubt, in fact, whether the misery would be
as great as it is now. The substitute hirers
and other exempts are, as u general rule,
engaged in the unholy business of enhan-
cling the price of all the necessaries of life.
They are the spectators, the extortioners,
the blockade runners, &C., &c. The levy
en- masse would instantly bring down the
market valae of all those articles most need.
ed by the wives and children of men in the
field.
But if there should be Inconvenience
from the levy en- masse, it would be at the
worst but transient. Three hundred and
fifty thousand fresh troops added to our vet
eran hosts would soon drive the invader
from our soil, restore to US our conquered
territory, and secure the independence of
our country. IN FOR The WAX.
p, ~ l,toet Nortb