The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1863-10-20
THE 3 ! DAILY REGISTER. j :,
TUESDAY,. Sc. -! I1ocToBER 20, 1858.
From the New York World. N $ y y
Unconditional Loyalty.

10 ---r
Q From the New York World V 'l2.i5 ~
Unconditional Loyalty. 3 :,
) This phrase originated with the Church
England Cavalier party in the days of jaime
III. The organization contended that gov
ernment was divine right; that no matte
what the king might do, the duty of tn
subject was to obey, not to oppose or resist
that if men believed his measures wrong
they might pray to God to inspire him witt
! wisdom, and endeavor to persuade him o
his error, but that at such point Legitimate
opposition ought to end. This theory wa!
admirable and simple so long as Disse1teri
and Wings were to be fined, imprisoned
and judicially murdered. But, hey presto
q change; the king began to attack the
church in its conscience and property. The
party that preached lamb-like docillty to
others showed the temper of lioness be-
reaved of cub, and William of Orange soon
after occupied the seat from which James
had been driven.
There is NO such word as unconditional
applicable to any of the relations of life
The tie between man and wife, between
parent and child, between subjects and a
government, between states in a federal
compact, is conditional. No man or COM
munity can abjure law and claim law; none
can omit to perform the obligations of
contract and claim the benefit OF contract.
The Administration bears the same relation
to the United States as a hack-driyer does
to a hack.owner Its business is to drive,
and not to dictate; and the reasoning which
confounds the administration with the gov
ernment is lust that which would contound
the captain of steamboat with the steam
boat company. If a majority OF the United
States were hereafter to form political
party for the purpose OF assessing the ex
penses Of this war upon certain prominent
Republicans and upon the Eastern States,
we apprehend that the Times and Massachu-
sets would not find unconditional loyalty
quite so inevitable as at present. we have
doubts whether Massachusetts would not
talk secession and state rights as loudly as
she has before done, and we mistake the
spirit of the old Bay State if she would not
call her sons around her and strike alone for
independence.
There is no more necessity OF uncondl-
tional loyalty on the part of the people
than on the part Of the rulers. Indeed
much less. Mr.. Lincoln might have finish
el his four years without an opposition, If
he had simply boen content to perform his
functions as his predecessors had performed
theirs in times of war. He did not; he
chose to assume that in time of war the
President becomes dictator, with power
of limb and property, and he absolutely
kicked the Democracy into an opposition.
And of what has the opposition complained
of violations of the Constitution. What
has it asked2 Obedience to the Constltu-
ton. We deny that Mr.. Lincoln has any
more rights than Mr.. Polk had. We as.
sert that to make war successfully he need
exercise no more power than MIR. Polk did.
We saw war is one business and politics Is
another business, and that there is no con-
nection necessarily between the two
When Sheriff summons a posse cOm'tatus
to enforce the law, we not only see no pro
priety, but very great impropriety, in his
using it for local politics; and the President
summoned a posse comitatus, in the very
language of the law, to suppress an insur-
rection against the law. We insist that,
outside OF the limits of military operations,
the right of every individual, Of every
State, and the condition of property OF all
kinds, is the same as before the war.
For maintaining these sound principles
of government the Democracy has been
assaied with every epithet of contumely,
with every accusation Of disloyalty, which
men incapable of answering argument could
devise. We know perfectly well that in
time men will be ashamed of themselves,
and will regret the imputation of bad mo-
tives which would stamp half population
with disgrace. We are very careless OF this
abuse. If our opponents save the Union,
we shall rejoice in their success; If they FAIL
we shall then possibly be permitted to try
our hand, and we do not despair of success
even after the mismanagement OF four
wears.