The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-10-10
FRANCIS J. Crumbs SPEECH.

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FRANCIS ]. Crumbs SPEECH.
We have already noted that Francis j.
Grund, widely known as political writer
of the Democratic school, and late editor
of the Age (Philadelphia), has renowned
the support of Judge Woodward for Gov
ernor OF Pennsylvania. On Monday night
he delivered an elaborate speech before the
Union League, stating his position thus:
~ am a War Democrat. l have been a
| War Democrat from the hour the Rebels
attacked Fort Sumter, and l shall continue
| a War Democrat as long as there is Rebel
| in arms against the lawful Government OF
| the Union.''
When the Rebellion began he was Consul
at Havre, where, without instructions. he
at once refused to give clearances for
Southern ports, and made American cap
tains take the oath of allegiance. He felt
| that the North had no choice but the
| sword, and has cherished that opinion
ever since. Mr.. Grund traces the course
| of Davis and his disunion colnpeers very
closely saying:
1.-The South did not know the North then;
| it scarcely knows the North now. North
ern politicians, who courted favors with
Southern men, Northern aspirants to the
Presidency, who wanted Southern votes,
carefully concealed from the South the true
state of public feeling in the Northern
States; and thus the South was led into
| the erroneous belief that the North would
never attempt to coerce them, should they
conclude to raise the standard OF disunion.
To this extent the Democratic leaders in
the North, from pure seltishness, have been
aiders and abettors of the Rebellion,
though am willing to believe that some of
them did not know what they We're doing.
"Jeff. Davis on that occasion, and on
Northern Democratic politicians, crammed
| by Northern Democratic aspirants to the
| Presidency. Some of these Northern Dem
ocrats never dreamed of keeping their
promises to the South; some OF them
knew they were unable to fulfil them, and
| some of them, no doubt, were foolish
enough to believe that they would new
er be called upon to make them good
This is the way the Rebellion was gradual
| ly prepared and matured, and whether Mr..
| Lincoln or any one else were elected Presi-
dent in 1904 Republican or an unyieid-
| ing Democrat-the drama which had been
rehearsed so long was bound to be per-
formed, though the actors were most
grievously disappointed in the audience"
Abiding to the universal contempto of the
North, expressed by Southern leaders, quo
| ting from Secession speeches of Calhoun
and others, and showing that in 1850 jeff.
Davis offered to be the Southern leader in
rebellion, and paying honorable tribute to
the loyal patriotism of Henry Clay, Mr..
Grund proves the settled purpose OF the
Southern conspirators to break up the
Union, regardless of any compromise that
could be offered. He says of 1850:
| "Can any one doubt that the Rebellion
was planned then, and that the election of
| Abraham Lincoln, ten years later, had no
more to do with it than the man in the
moon? His election merely furnished
| In bf = n
shallow pretext for carrying out a well-ma-
tured design"
Convinced that rebellion was for years a
| foregone conclusion with the conspirators,
! (of whom Gov. Hammond said at the Nash
vile Convention: 1--WE are sent here to
make up our minds what is to be done by
the South; the people are TO do whatever
we command them; we are the leaders ~
MIR. Grund remarks:
"NOw, / do not mean to say that the
election OF a Democratic President in 1860
would not have postponed the Rebellion,
| for a Democratic President would have
been obliged 10 keep many of the conspira-
tors in office, and to appoint others, who
might have used their position as means
Of spreading and fortifying their doctrines;
but to say that thereby peace and harmony
would have been permanently secured, is
gross libel on the human understanding.
| Nor would the breaking out of the Rebel
lion have been postponed for long time"
| The Rebellion being fixed fact, the
question is, "What is to be done?" Mr.. G..
| says the South must believe that there is
no hope to escape condign punishment !;
| that their Confederacy is mere optical de-
fusion, that their leaders have educated
them; then they may lay down their arms.
Here are words of wisdom:
| eff, as some assert, the South, with a'few
individual exceptions, is unit on the sub
1 Sapt Of Tnla SC,
treason in every Northern man, be he
Democrat or Republican, to oppose the
war. If, on the contrary there is Union
party at the South, overawed by superior
numbers, and powerless for all purposes Of
political organization, then it would be
worse than treason not to come to the aid
of these men, and cowardly to abandon
them to the vindictiveness Of the Rebels
In either case, there is no other case possi-
ble-is the prosecution of the war an i'm
perative necessity and duty, alone bind
ing on the Administration and on every
patriotic and law-abiding citizen. The
President would be recreant to all his sa-
cred obligations as Chief Magistrate if he
did not use every available means at his
disposal to increase the number and eff
cheney OF our troops; and the people would
be traitors if, under the shallow pretext of
party adhesion and party obligation, they
were to refuse him the support indispensa-
BILE to success. No honest citizen who
loves his country, no man of reflection who
looks into the future, can be in doubt on
that subject. Without prosecuting this
war and bringing it to a sussessful con-
clusion, we are dishonored, degraded,
and divided people-the scorn of despots
and the terror of all nations aspiring to lib
erty.
Concerningt the Democratic lCopperhead)
cry for negotiation, Mr.. Grund Indignantly
| exclaims
| Negotiation with whom? Negotiation
in regard to what? Can the Government
negotiate with traitors ? Can there be q
question as to what ought to satisfy the
Government The Southern people must
either lay down their arms and return to
their allegiance, or they must be brought
back by force. There is no other ground,
no ezzo-termine, compatible with our ma
tional existence. President Lincoln can
not negotiate with the rebel government
on any terms, or listen to any proposition
which jeff. Davis and the members of his
Cabinet might be disposed to make them.''
| The President was fully justified in re-
fusing to receive Alex. H. Stevens:
| 'Mr. Lincoln preserved the high dignity
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