Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-10-25

county can be free which has to sleep
with her hand on her sword.
But why resort to general reasoning and
the condition OF European na,ions to prove
what 1have asserted, when the proof stares
us in the face in the example of our own
country. We see it in every sight; we
feel it in every emotion; we hear it in
every sound. When our present govern.
meut was established, every thing possible
was done i'll the interest of State Rights,
every conceivable guarantee was taken for
individual treedOm-as little as possible
was conceded to the Federal government.
The Federal government was "cabbined,
cri55ed, confined, hedged in by saucy
doubts and fears" The school of extreme
State Rights were at work framing Con-
stitntion for q federal government, with
the accumulated suspicious of seventy
years. They did their work well. The
problem to be solved was the framing of
federal government, with the minimum
OF power TO its functions. | thought at the
| time it was useless labor, because l con-
ceived, in the humility of my Judgment,
that the Constitution of country was that
| which its necessities pointed ont, and that
you could not in advance say that would be
the necessities of Confederacy exposed to
perpetual var with neighb0rmg power
! Of superior force. But the trainers of our
Constitution were not deferred by any such
considerations as these from their work.
They established their Confederacy, guard.
ed and limited in the interest of the rights
OF the separate States as much as possible.
! We'll, we have been at war not quite four
! years, and what is the result2 Is not our
Federal government in the exercise of eve-
ry possible power of a national centralized
military despotism? Suppose there were
! no States, only provinces, and unlimited
power was conferred upon you and Con-
gress, what greater power would you ex-
ercise than you now do? Have we not
! carried CONSUMPTION to its last limits? Is
not every man in the country between II
and 30 subject to military authority 3
None are exempt except upon cOnsidera-
tons of public interest. Have we not
been compelled to lay direct taxes in the
very teeth Of the theory of the Constitu-
tionE Have we not issued such vast
! amounts Of paper money as to unsettle all
vaiues! Have we not compelled the hold
ers OF cnr paper money TO fund it, or lose
! one-third! Iiavo we not seized all the
! railroads! Have we not destroyed rail
roads and built others? Have we not es-
tablished an universal system of impress
ment of property, ct our own prices, in
! our own money! Have we not establish
I'd government monopoly of the eXpor-
tatlon of the great staples Of the country!
Have we not forbidden the importation of
Injuries! Have we not compelled those
! whom we permit 10 remain at home, to
execute bonds to furnish their products to
US at our prices? Have we not suspend
ed the writ of hdb,ca corpus &? Have we
not introduced the passport system, which,
10 = i :" think, trl'57-ed exclusively to
the iron dcspotisms of Europe? In short
has not orr Federal government done every
thing that centralized military despotism
could dol Indeed if you were appointed
Military Dictator, what greater powers
would you exercise than you now dnl | al
hide to these things not 70 complain ofthem
but to lament them. If YOU tell me they
are necessary, | reply that is precisel ~ my
argument. Ny argument assumes and re-
quires that necessity. 1t is plain that our
government exercises the power Of a cen
tral dcspOtism. blame no one for it. |
am sure those who are at the head Of the
government would GLADLY have it other
wise, but necessity cnmpels the course
they have taken. Blu: shall be told, per-
haps, this necessity is limited to the war,
and when peace returns we will 90 back
to our old state of liberty. That depends
upon the kind of peace A peace without
reconciliation carries in its bosom the seeds
Of new wars. This armed peace and its
offspring war would fas:en upon rs perma-
l., t. =.
common to hear it said that the United
States have gone into despotism. If so,
then it is very sal truth for us, for that
would develop their maximum military
power, and would, Of course, necessitate
the same thing i'll the same way on orr
part. The truth is, we are vitality interest
ed in the preservation of free institutions
in the Northern States, because the people
ofthe United States will not only make their
own institutions, but they will make ours.
If they require their maximum military
strength by going into despotism, we must
DO the same, Just as if they were to Orig
nate new and overpoweringly destructive
modes of warfare, we would have to re-
sort tU tbs Same or be overwhelmed
Some persons of intelligence concede that
the Northern people have gone into des-
potism, but ridicule The idea of such ca
iamity Detailing rs. To 81 CHI 1 would re-
ply, we are but human beings, not Gods,
and we acted upon necessity as other
people. The truth is, that the government
at Washington las not dared to exercise
power on the grand scale that our govern
nent has The Lincoln government has
not venturcd to resort to an effective coll
scription; it has not rcsorted to taxation
rs we have it has no tax in kind; it does
not prohibit imports; it does not nonopo-
lie the exports; it does not rely on I'M
pressments. 1t plays the tyrant, but it