Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-09-04
as the Republican Party ResPon.
49, chile

importance until the momentouS issues in
volved in this national life struggle are forev-
er settled. The question is not who COM
menced, but how the most speedily shall
end this war? ?" While an opposition faction
may find time to ventlate subject that has
no practical connection with the war in its
present aspects, by ignoring present duty. we
prefer to attract the attention of the people to
the duties and responsibilities of the hour,
and defer to future period other and i'm
practicable questions. AS, however, in the
political contest upon which we have entered
into in this State, some may be led astray in
relation to the causes of this rebellion, as
written by men whose sympathies are all
with slavery and treason, we step aside from
our usual rule, and meet the question" Is
the Republican party responsible for this
war, as charged?" We reply, no. That
this negative may not 60 to the world unsup-
ported by proof, we extract from letter
written by the Hon. R S. Donnel, Speaker
of the House of Commons, aided by +. b.
Satterthwaite, President of the Governors
Council, and approved by Governor Vance,
Of North Carolina, State now in rebellion,
and published on the 3lst day of July last, in
the Raleigh Standard, the leading paper Of
the State, the following paragraph in relation
to the guarantees demanded Of the North:
"But it will be said that these guarantees
could not have been obtained from the North.
This 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 the United
States did pass by the constitutional majority
of two-thirds, the proposition reported by
Mr. Corwin, from the committee of twenty
six, 20 so amend the Constitution as to per-
petuate slavery in the States. What stronger
guarantees could be given so far as the States
we concerned, it would be difficult to con-
ceive. What then would have been left to
quarrel about? 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 remain
ny new territories, to wit: Colorado, Nevada
anu DiCOGAl. 1ucSt dCtS CoHtdiueu uo uaIe
OF indication Of the Wilmot Proviso, nor any
prohibition against the introduction of sla-
very, but on the other hand, expressly declare
among othrr things, that "no law shall be
passed impairing the rights of private proper
ty; nor shall! any discrimination be made in
taxing different kinds of property, but all
property subject to taxation shall be in pro-
p rtion to the value of the property taxed"
Now, when il is considered that all three
of these territories are north of SO deg. 80
min. and thatin the new territories now owned
by the United States, south of that line, sla-
very actually exists and is recognized by the
territorial law, the question may well be ask
ed, what was there worth quarrelling, much
less fighting, about? % Hero was a settlement
of the question in the territories made by a
Republican Congress, which gave the South
all that, up to the time of the harleston
Convention, she had ever asked, and far more
than she could hope to gain, in any event, by
secession. Indeed l think it must now be
apparent that secession, even if it could have
been effected peaceably, would have been nc
remedy for the grievances of which they
complained Nay, so far as any grivances
arising from failure to obtain return OF
fugitive slaves was concerned, think it must
be now apparent that it would have been an
aggravation instead of a remedy for the evil
think all calm and dispassionate men every
where, are now ready to admit that it would
have been far better for us to have accepted
the terms offered US and preserved peace and
the Union, than to have plunged this once
happy country into the horrors of this desc
lating war, which has spread pail ever the
whole land-has brought mourning into every
family-has rendered hundreds of thousands
of hearthstones desolate-has filed the land
with manned and disabled, with widows and
orphans, and squall;d poverty--has crowded
our poor houses and aims houses-has sport.
ed away many hundreds of thousands of lives
and many hundreds of millions of treasure
only to find the institution for which they
profess to have gone to war, in thousand
times greater jeopardy than ever before"
They stop not here but add
But how different has been the course oil
the secessionists. They seem to have resolv.
ed years ago that the Union should be de-
stroyed, and then to have set themselves to
work to forge such grievances as would seem
to give them decent pretext for the accom-.
plshment of their premeditated schemes
The first effort was made in the days of null
LITIGATION by the secessionists of South Caro-
lima. The grievance then complained of was
the tariff, although the State Of South Caro-
lima, herself, had been from the foundation OIL
the Government nearly up to that period, as
strong an advocate of high tariff as any
State in New England. That question was
compromised-South Carolina obtained all
that she ostensibly demanded. A revenue
tariff, with incidental protection, became the
settled policy of the Government, and, excep,
for short period under the tariff of i942
was never departed from. But still they were
not satisfied. Immediately after the passage
of Mr.. Clay's compromise bill, the newspaper
organ of the secessionists at Washington, de
clared 'that the South could never be united
On the tariff question, and that the slave
question was the only one that could unite
them" And Mr.. Calhoun, if mistake not
SAID the same thing in a speech at Abbevlle
in South Carolina. about the same time; and
of course was followed by all the lesser light,
among his adherents. Then commenced tina
violent agitation of the slavery question which
had nearly eliminated upon the admission o.
California, in 1850. Again by the efforts o.
those immortal statesmen Of the last age
Messrs. Webster, Clay, and others, was the
matter compromised. The whole country a,
first appeared to be satisfied with the settle
ment, but it soon appeared that there were a
number Of reckless spirits among the exrem
lists of the South, that would be satisfied with
nothing short of dissolution of the Union
OF this class of politicians, W. L. Yancey
may be fifty selected as representative man
He Immediately began to agitate the question
again. He went to the Democratic Nationa
Convention at Baltimore, in 1852, as dele
gate from the State of Alabama, and there
proposed as the ultimaatum on which he could
continue to act with the Democratic party
and upon which, in his opinion, the slave
States could consent to remain in the Union