The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-04-27
The Opposition.

opposition TO the ADMINISTRATION, 10 keep Tue
number of dscortented men as large as it can be
conveniently, with the design OF consolidating
them by and by into party which shall carry
the next Presidential election. How patriotic this
plan of warfare upon the Administration may be,
or how far it is calculated to strengthen the reb-
els, is matter of opinion about which men may
differ. 1t is only, however, carrying out the tao
tics by which, in times of peace, administrations
and parties in power have been broken down.
This opposition is now composed OF the multitude
of aultfnders, the carpers and critics who are IN
cessanty looking for defects in the administration
of the Government, bringing their most powerful
microscopes into to magnify these defects, and
then heralding their discovery in most exaggerat-
ed language. This they are doing, not for any
present purpose of serving the Government by
pointing out its mistakes, but with the hope that,
through general dissatisfaction with the man
agement of the affairs of state by those now 10
office, to create popular reaction which shall,
two years hence, elect men 20 office of different
political faith.
The leading Democratic papers make no secret
Of entertaining such a purpose, and they claim
that they have perfect right under our form Of
Government, to thus make political capital out of
the accidents, mistakes and blunders of the war,
as we'll as out of the hardships and the burdens
which have necessarily aud inevitably come upon
the people in consequence of the treason Of jeff
-.
derstand that it is quite idle to address any ar
gument or remonstrance to the party hacks who
are thus endeavoring to reconstruct the broken
fortunes of the Democratic party while the
country and the Government are in imminent
peril, it may no. be out of place, or useless, to
reason with the mass of honest people upon whom
these party leaders rely for their success at the
ballet box, and to whom they appeal in the name
OF a party, once honorable and full at fight when
ever an armed foe assailed the Republic.
There is, or ought to be, no man in the Union
desiring its preservation, who will allow himself
to act upon the thought, or even think, that the
fate OF the country is not his fate. No man can
be disinterested spectator of this struggle be-
tween the Government and traitors. No man who
has any patriotic love ofcountry can fold his hands
and say, i" 1t is the Abolitonists who have brought
this war upon the country--let them take care
of it, This country belongs to the people, and
not TO party. 1t does not belong to the Republi.
cans any more than i does to the Democrats.
The fate OF the country is the fate of an entire
people and not the fate Of party only. If jeff
Davis treason succeeds, Northern man can
never shelter himself from the scorn of the world
and Of history, under the plea that be was Dem
ocrat. Nothing but denial of bis nationally will
shield him from ignominy We are all in the
ship together, and all have an equal interest that
she shall outride the Storm and continue 10 peace
her prosperous voyage and the man who does
not in his heart and with bis might, do what he can
10 keen the timbers of the ship together, unques-
tionaby prefers fragment of the wreck to the
whole ship, or is expecting to be picked up by
some other craft, and spend the rest of his days
under some other flag than the Stars and Stripes.
We are not, however, of the opinion that every
person must agree that the Administration is do
ing, in every respect, the best thing possible; that
President Lincoln can do no wrong that nobody
blunders at Washington, or in the field in the
presence of the enemy. The men in office are,
like other men, liable to errors in judgment, and
NAV make sad and runous mistakes and these
errors and mistakes should be pointed out, that
thev NAV not be repeated. But the temper and
spirit and purpose ofsuch criticisms upon the con-
duct of the Administration, may make them ex'