The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1863-09-01

tho North would give Us no guarantee for the
1 Slavery question. have before stated that
not one Of the Conventions Of tho seven Cot :
ton States ever demanded any guarantee
whatever. Nay, they even refused 10 accept
of any if their friends Of the Border States
would procure il for them. ,ll 5os stab he
The Legislature Of North Carolina, at it
regular seas on in January, 1861, adopted res
olutions appointing Commissioners to the
Peace Congress at Washington City, and also
to the Convention which assembled at Mont.
gomery, Alabama, in February, 1851, 70, the
purpose of adopting Constitution, and es,ab-
lishing Provisional Goysrnmenl for the Con
federate States of America. On the motion
Of Tho writer of this, tho resolution appoint
ing Commissioners TO Montgomery was amen.
| ded so as to instruct them ITO act only as
llfeaiators aud use every effort possible to
retare the uniou upon the basis OF ths Crit
tsadea propositions, as modified by Me Leg
.islatve If Vrg;nia." The Commissioners
| under these instructions wire TIE Hon. ID. l..
| Swan, Gen. M. w. Ransom, and Jotn H.
| Bridgers, Esq, who, upon their return sub
mitled a repor! to bis Excellency, Gov. Ellis
which was By him laid before the Legislature,
and was printed among the legislative docu
ments Of that year, where t may be consulted.
10 this report they say that they had the
most ample opportunities OF ascertanlng pub
lie opinion on the cotton States, and then add:
! We regret to be constrained to state, as the
result of our inquiries, made under such Cir
cumstances, that only very decided minor
ty OF the community in these States are dis.
posed at present to entertain tavorably any
proposition of adjustment which look toward
to reconstruction of our National Union. In
this state of things we have not deemed 1t
our duty to attend any of the secret sessions
of the Congress. The resolutions of the Cen
ersl Assembly are upon the table Of the Con
gress, and having submitted them at peace
offering, we would poorly perform the duties
assigned to US by entering into discussions
| which would serve only to enkindle strife"
But it will be said that these guarantees
could not have been obtained from the North.
This l admit to be true, and only produce this
piece of history to prove that whatever might
have been obtained, nothing would have been
accepted. But the Congress Of tho United
States did pass by the constitutional majority
OF two thirds the proposition reported bo Mr.
Corwin from the Committee Of twenty-six. to
30 atDcuu LuS SOustlluttOu hs W piOpOsuoiO
Slavery in the States. What stronger guaran-
toe could be given 80 far as the States were
concerned it povd be difficult to conceive.
What then would have been left to quarrel a.
bouta The Territories. During the session
Of Congress which closed on the 4th of March,
1861, acts were passed to provide temporary
Governments for the three remaining new
Territories, to wit: Colorado, Nevada and
Dscotah. These acts contain no trace or in,
plication or tue wlmot P.eviso any other
prohibition against the introduction Of Slavery,
but on the other hand, expressly declare among
other things, that "no law shall bs passed im'
pairing the rights Of private property; nor
shall any discrimination be made iu, taxing
different kinds of property, but all property
subject to taxation shall bo in proportion to
the value of the property taxed" ,
Now, when it is considered that all three Of
these Territories are north of 36 deg. 80 NJ,
and that in tho new Territory now owned by
the United States south Of that line. Slavery
actually crisis and is recognized by the Ter
| ritoriai iaw, the question may well be asked,
What was there worth quareing much les,
fighting aboutV Here was settlement Of
the question 10 the Territories made by Re
publican Congress, which gave the South all
that up to the timo Of the Charleston Conven
ton she had ever asked, and far more than she
could hope TO gain, in any event, by secession,
secession eve1 if il could have been effected
peaceably, would have been no oremedy for the
grievances Of which they complained. Nay,
so far as any grievances arising from a failnre
TO obtain return of our fugitive slaves was
concerned, think il must now be apparent
that il would have been an aggraration in
stead Of = remedy for the evil. | think all
calm and dispassiona'e men everywhere, are
now ready to admit that it would have been
far better for us to have accepted the terms
offered to us and preserved peace and the Un
ion, than to have plunged this once happy
country into the horrors OF this desolatiDg war,
which has spread pail over the whole land
has bronght mourning into every famly-has
rendered hundreds Of thousands of hearth.
stones desolate has filed the land wieh MAIN
ed and disabled, with widows and orphans
and squslid poverty-has crowded our poor
| houses and slmshouses-has sported away
| many hundreds Of Thousands OF lives and man
v hundreds of u llious Of treasure, only to lind
the institution for which they profess to have
gone to the war, in thousand times greater
jeopardy than ever before.
Such being the condition into which they
have brought the country, the question pre-
I sent. itself, as there no reinedyp A full +,
complete and adequate remedy, there is not {;
for what can restore the loved ones lost-ie
pair at once tho desolation or Remove imme-
diately tho mourning from our land Yet
there is remedy, which, with the belring
hand of time, will accomplish much, very
much Indeed, and which, with tho energy
that usually follows desolating wars, will, per
haps, romove most Of It's traces ia half cen;
tury. This remedy is PEACE, speedy beace
But they say that we are 80 situated That nc
proposition for peace can be made BY US,
that having proclaimed our Independence we
must fight untilit isyoputary acknowledged
by tho United States, or until we are com
pletely sutjlgaled. Oa the meeting Of the
! -, - n. I. Il. .l.oo he