Litchfield enquirer., 1864-03-17


 ;tln the Soil itself. and that since th,ir hegei I'd from thi, Hall. the question upon whicl their Pryors, their keitts their Cubbs ar, Harksdales have so often convulspd ba been definitely settled, and that freedom i now securely seated upon our immeasuEahl' Territories for the illmtable future. and tha iaHl-nce of despised New England has plant ed the seed of free republics as near the set | ing sun as she IS herself to his rising beams so that when her choral hymn of rejoicing lib eriy sweeps Over the Father of Waters 1t cal be caught up by younger voices, and pealed il one Continuous and unbroken train until it i: lost in the deep toned anthem of the vast peaceful sea. They will find that their oil, feudal Bas,ile, strong and nprpgnaLlt. thou. | 1t once seemed. has been under ninel hy Gu, armies, and blown up and scattered into fras ments by those Of their own kin who preferred the destruction of slavery to the death of the nation. They will find that military necess lies. which they themselves created, have placed Springfield rifles into the hands of slaves from which the same necessities ha prev ious y struck off the fetters, and that a hundred thousand ot these once grovell!ug bondsm -n !narshaled into the armies of the Union. and tFaiEed Tn military skill and discipline, now de 1 hantiy hold the acres over which they were once tracked by blood hounds, and domineel the plantations where they once toled under the lash of the overseer. They will return lhaliy with wonderful! increased respect fol l U cie San, lowing obseqnlously y to him, as d respectable living thing, sel:sustainel by their sult"Iahce. with d power and wilt of his own and breathe in his nosIriis not breath.d into by them, with a ri 1t h md strong ennngh'tu 5ruise and break, and with a face that will iierr;itier be q terror to all his enemies. 7. The Presidents l'lAn is just to the insur- gent States.
 And tirst--are those excluded from annps. ty and pardon, justly and rigtttully eyclu ded? Thls question deserves no ncety of dis. cussion; for upon it there can be hut little honest difference of opnion. The main con ditons which the President imposes upon l tn yse he restores to pardon are contained in an oath, and the virtue of an onth lies in is obligatory and binding force upon the con science. He therefore j lStly exc ude from pardon all who have dt mons 0 ed by mani es, perjury their contempt of its obligations. The iorsworn juiees who have :rreudpred honor on our decoro, bench for inf;.lny Oil a inlg- n,ent sea. reared by civil War, the fprsworn oFicers. military and naval. who have rr.slitu ted to ,he belon tie ski 1 in arms which
 
 the Government, are justly and righteousy d ebarr+d from amnesty bpcaus. h y have n, { | conscience or honor enough left to be graz pied by an oath
 Chimes differ in degree, and the experience of mankl"d establishes that while some cal, be s.ey par,uned without derinpnt to ll: connon veal there are others which canno, 20 umpuni>hea without it's constant Per ol It's crr;ain destruction. The high civil and dlpIomatc n,agil.tes of this most unprovokel rebeih on. the military Mploc|is whose rank en titles tn m tu guilty p'e.eminencc, are left to l lie unshrived, unattendsd, in the pit they have dI2oei for tl-!nseiveS, te .ausn pmpns the c7I'.!es pronounced inrXnab!e by the consen. tlng voice of al the ages. is that those arch rebels anl arch traitors whp instilAte anl lead civil War-tht sun and expressed es s3nee of every crime. The society which tot, e"aIrs such pa'rIell4s cannot exist moment In safety. Rome could not enjoy repose ! while Catine lived. trance was drenchel in blood unt1l Rlbesprrre Was guil!otinel. Davis Will convu se seceSsi, soon as he Is not al lowed to rrlgn. and ifts bonds had been worth stealing, Floyd would have robbed it before he d.d
 The miscrennts who have violated the laws of war. an 1 os;r.cz.d themselves from human sympathy by numbering and torturing dis arsned and helpless prisoners of war are justly left to work out their own damnation and why? Bee Use to forgive |. thug who mains and murders in tn. name of chva " would be an outrage upon civilization.
 Secondly. Are the terms imposed upor those included in the amnesty just and | right?
 What are these terms? There are five o hem:
 1. An oath to sustain the Constitution. 2. An oath to sustain the anti slavery legislation. 5. An oath to sustain the Presidents prucla na,ion. 4. Slave property is wi.hheld i'll gen raj restitution. 5. Pro, eftY, w!ere the rights of third parties intsrvene1, Is also withheld
 The committee will observe that the first t',rre of these conditions are iu the form of an oath. Now. l agree mainly with my friend from Ken ucky, MT. ieaman.l who has spoken upon tLii Question. when h. ays tha' great qnaIrels are settled by the fortunes oi w,r and by the domination of great i,!eas and ! principles. rather than by the tormal.ty o 'akin, outls and recording them and tina, res torationSis attained when the ideas and the l forces of the nation nave prevailed cvrr the 1 ideas and the for;rs of secession and national HeTFaLlOn. IL iI D art to l1c, nOWt T. lnat l this explanation of the method by which ,cial la xs and influences rather than political agencies may reunite q divided society. The teas and forces of which he speaks are enl- bu,lird m human beings who at the present stage of ou" advance must continue 10 be gov | erued and directed by political administration and its appropriate machinery. Sociology must l wait for many decades before it's sublime specula;ions can be applied to practical "ff, i In political parallCe, the elements which lie represents as struggling for prepondef'nct are l loyalty and dlsioyaty. An oath of all-giaBc! 1 nlay not be all ntalliblp mole dscrinii iatlng between those who will faithfully and sin ,erely, support .a Government and those whD Will desert and betray it. but who can at present prop ,,in,i q better test /? can conceive of d stage in our future cu!min ito when al the masked disguises and hypoc.sies of mankind will be stripped off, and their most interinl motions and impulses stand revealed. l car imagine that the inhabitants of earth may ye become as perfect as the inhabitants of the higher spheres, whu according to clairvoyani philosopher are incapable of deceit and can not speak at all without speaking the truth But iu the nineteenth century. and wi;h our present imperfect means of penetrating men $ real purposes. we mnst rely upon the old fashioned oath of allegiance as the best crite- 1 riOn uf their rectitute or want of it. It Is the