The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-09-14
McGREGOR, IOWA. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. IA, 1854.
From the Fort Wayne Qnd) Times
The P0rtentous Hour.

From the Fort Wayne (Ind) Times.
The Portentous Hour.
The people have seemed to sleep for tn
last three and half years, while the mir
ions of despotism have piled their avocatio
with the assuidity of men bent on accom-
plishing their designs before their victim
awoke. One after another the pillars of tn
Union and the Constitution have been pull
ed down by these bad men; and at expos
tulation from those who saw the danger
were awake to the bad ends designed-th
tyrants have claimed that it was all don
in behalf Of the Union. When the VT:
Of ha6eas corpus was suspended, it was de
Tended on the ground Of necessity to saw
the Union; when slavery was interferet
with, the excuse was, that it was neces
sity to save the Union when the mails
were violated, it was claimed to be justified
by necessity; when innocent men wer,
seized and dragged away from home-pu
upon trial before q tribunal unknown t.
law-it was urged that the public safety
required it. When Ministers Of the Gospe
we're desposed who refused to bend the
knee to the behests of tyrants-it was JUS
tilted on the ground Of purifying the church
and making it conform to loyalty as inter.
preted by tyrants. When the sovereign.
ties of the States were invaded-it was
claimed that they should yield for the pur.
pose Of saving the Union. When the cur.
rency was tampered with-and the true
standard gold and silver--were legisated
to an equality with "greenbacks,"-it was
justified on the score of saving the Union.
When elections were interfered with and
the right of suffrage completely put at the
option Of military usurpers-the Union was
to be saved thereby. When negroes were
raised to the dignity, or rather, when white
men were degraded to footing with negro
soldiers-it was to save the Union. Year
after year the North has responded to the
calls of the President to save the Union as
he declared, and yet none of these things
have saved it. None Of these things have
tended to satisfy the people that the end
desired is Union. And now since the peace
of the North has been destroyed; bank
ruptcy just about closing our business our
currency prostrated; public security endan.
gered; the public heart throbbing with fear;
our homes desolated with war; our grave
yards whitened with monuments of war !;
our asylums with INDECENT; our population
decmated, and the South, field on
whose surface have rotted nearly a million
of braves and since, offers of peace have
been scorned by the President-whilc the
North and the South cry for Peace; and
since a call for SOC, 900 more victims Of this
Haynau Of America, has been made-the
people have ended their sleep. They are
awake; and the Peace sentiment is increas.
ing every hour, with such rapidity as only
an outraged nation can rightly estimate.
We do not counsel resistance to any legal
but 1t is for the people to say,
and with them the responsibility of the
decision rests-whether they will set them.
selves at work against the encroachmeDts of
the despot who now rules with the power
of the sword, or hoping for better things,
be more deceived and more deluded, until
the hour of reclamation shall have passed.
To avoid the collision we conjure the men
in authority to stay the hand Of oppression;
to stay the sword; and to ground their
arms; to heed the voice of reason to listen
to the laundering tongues of millions in
spired with love and good will-with peace
and unity-with hope for the present and
security for the future; and to measure
with the greatest accuracy, the power that
millions of stalwart arms carry, when nerv-
ed with passions which unbearable outrages
have northumberland inspired with the
hope of rescuiag the heritage Of liberty
from the hands Of the usurpers. The
CALL FOR 100000 MORE MEN, CANNOT BE
ANSWERED and just as sure as the engine
IS set at work to draft from the people this
quota Of victimS-JUST THAT SURE WILL THE
CONTEST FOR RIGHTFUL SUPREMACY BEGIN.
The people will likely then decide that
Lincoln and his minions are THE
sEAL TRAITORS TO THE CONSTITUTION and
he power and influence of whom must be
arrested, if the least vestige OF constitu.
ional liberty would be left. You men of
authority, must avoid the collision. You
must not press that cup longer to the lips
'f the people. VIII nothing suffice to
'atiate your thirst for power, and your ap-
petite for blood, but 10000 more victims
20 be torn from their homes, to wage war
or blood, and power, and the NEGRO? Take
need Of the hour. The people are consid.
,ring whether it is the blood lion in the
South, or the sneaking wolf at the North
hat is to be slain. Remember you'll 1t
S the first blow that costs. The step once
aken can never be retraced, any more than
he life can be relieved. Don't take it.
IL you do-be the responsibility on your
leads. By all that is sacred don't take
t. lfyou have reason left, heed its prompt
ngs. -