The mountain Democrat., 1863-03-07
Tn. pr.,,d.ut ana slavery.

= his reuutatiOn, his administration and hi
country, weakly yielded to the Abolition
: pressare"-a pressure which be knew
| tn he unreasonable and mischievOus AM
totally sectional and selfish. Instead o
|, rejecting, with digni6ed contempt, as any
! able and resolute man occupying his posi-
ton would have done, the sinister advice
!! of Wade, Sumner, Greeley, Garrison anC
other Abolition fanatics, he accepted it
Eas made it the policy of his Administra
| ton, and BY so doing has divided the
NoyAS sentiment Of the free States, discour
! aged enlistment, partially demoralized the
army. disheartoned the border States
strengthened the rebels, and driven from
his support the conservative masses
Abolitionists who have been accustomed
to manifest their hatred of the Union by
exhibiting the flag Of the Republic with
the Union down, and whose standing mot
to has been, "no Union with slavehold-
ers." have been in cstacies, Of course,
since the President issued his Constitu-
tion-defyi0g PrOc'-1a-'i"7--e orn"l9n'a-
7 tfon winch ms party friends in Congress
have refused to declare warranted by any
authority, civil or military. On the other
hand, citizens loyal to the Constitution
and fervently devoted to the Union, have
been disbear.eDed, mortified, bumliated.
They feel that they have not only been
wronged in the grievous wrong inflicted
upon the country in this hour Of its ire.
mondous struggle, but that they have, for
the last two years, been trifled with and
deceived. The Abolition schemes Of Will
son, Wade, Phillips, Clay, Giddings and
their associates, in the face of his frequent
declarations to the country, have received
Mr.. Lincoln's sanction.
In his Inaugural Address, delivered two
years ago, the President made the follow
ing solemn declaration of faith and pur-
poSe
Apprchensions seem to exist among
the people of the Southern States that by
the accession of Republican Admins
ton, their property and their peace and
personal security are to be endangered
There has never been any reasonable cause
for such apprchensions. Indeed, the most
ample evidence to the contrary has all the
while existed, and been open to their in
spectIon. 1t is found in nearly all the
published speeches of him who now ad
dresses you. | do but quote from one Of
those speeches when declare that have
no purpose, dir, city or indirectly, to inter.
fere with the institution of slavery in the
States where it exists. believe | have
no lawful right to do so, and have no in
clinalion to do So Those WHO nominated
and elected me did so with full knowledge
that had made this and many similar
declarations, and had never recanted them.
And more than this, they placed in the
platform for my acceptance, and as law
to themselves and to me, the clear and
emphatic resolution which | now read:
Resolved, That the maintenance invi-
oate OF the rights Of the States, and espe
cially the right of each State to order and
control its own domestic institutions ac-
cording to its own Judgment exclusively,
is essential to the balance Of power on
which the perfection and endurance of our
political fabric depend. and We denounce
the lawless invasion by armed force Of the
soil of any State or Territory, no matter
under what pretext, as among the gravest
of crimes"
We can conceive of no language moro
direct, positive and emphatic, which could
have been used either by the President or
the Republican leaders, than is here used
to declare both their want of constitu-
tional right t~mcddle with slavery in the
States, and their determination never TO
to do so. Yet the men who used this Ian
guage and made these most solemn decla-
rations, have now as boldly, as audaciouSly
declared the directly contrary purpose,
and their determination to employ all the
power and resources of the country to
carry that purpose into effect. What
must the people think Of the President
and the party who thus recklcssly and
shamelessly ignore their declarations and
violate their pledges and repudIate their
platform?
Was the President sincere or hypo-
critic when he said, in the presence of
thousands Of witnesses and when he knew
that his real sentiments were looked for
by the country with painful solcitude, 81
declare that have no purpose, directly
or indirectly, to interfere with the insttu-
ton Of slavery in the States where it ex-
lists. believe | have no lawful right TO
do so, and have no inclination to do So
The language of President Lincoln meant
fidelity to the Constitution, or it meant
nothing but deception 10 honest men,
His subsequent course places him in no
enviable light. We now know to a Ger.
tainty what he meant. The people can
no longer put confidence in his declara-
| TONS lie has deceived them too grossly.
They had faith in his declarations Of fideli.
ty to the Constitution, until he issued his
emancipation proclamation. That opened
their eyes to his weakness or duplicity, or
both, and furnished the strongest evi,
dencc of his lack of frmness, lack of prin-
ciple, and lack Of honesty. They know
that he yielded to "pressure" which he
knew was seeking to lead shim into a
course of action directly hostile to all his
pledges and professions to the Constitu-
ton, and they know that they have been