, 1864-04-30

znd when the paeElon8 are aroused, It II
lard matter to draw nice Distinctions. But
in pcacc, such questions arc settled by
court, which is placed shove The influence Of
passion, and can therefore &c: clearly and
candidly, however much excited the parties
In litigation become But in war, the same
parties are Ntigants, court, aud its executive
officers.
In the matter OF the Fort Pillow massacre,
there are several questions involved, both of
law aud ofiact, nnd the application of the
ono Will be determined ty tie state Of the
other. The question whether we have the
right to rctalinte, Will depend upon the fact
whether m offence agaiast the laws OF war
has been committed. And in deciding this.
we must be able to make case SO plain, that
the rebels themselves ere forced to see aud
acknowledge Its justice; or made to feel,
that they are In cur power to that extent that
they arc obliged to submit frsm inability to
help themselves. Otherwise they will retail
late our retaliation, and thus areciprocate
butchery and murder may be lnaugurated,
from which we most shrink, whatever may
be the fact with them
It is sometimes the case in war that gsrri-
SONS are put to the sword, and the slaughter
is held as justihable. In such instances
quarter Is refused, no surrender being nc
ceptcd. The difference between this case,
and that In which surrender is accepted,
and men become thus prisoners Of war, is
wide and easily understood. Toput prison
crs Of war to death, is ordinarily murder;
and is doubly atrocious from the fact OF their
helplessness, and that they have committed
themselves to the honor Of their captors.
But the instances In which garrison is
put To the sword are those where some re-
marknble provocation e1ists-such as pro-
tracted siege, attended by other exasperating
circumstances; and 1t is therefore in itself a
retaliation Of alleged wrongs or barbarities.
In our own revolution there were two or
more such cases. In regard to extreme re-
sistance, however, it Is proper to say, that its
effect upon brave and generous enemy Is
often the very reverse, and is held to entltle
the prisoners to generosity. Thus sword
issometfmes returned in surrender, on ac-
accouut OF the yalor Of the man made prison
er in using It
In tho case Of Fort Pillow there was Of
course nothing Of any such conditions There
was no protractod resfstance-no cxasperat-
ing circumstances, other than d single one,
to afford a color OF cause for the butcherg
that cusued. There is, however, doubt
hitherto as to single point In the facts. Ac-
counts differ as to whether there was sur
render, rendered md accepted, or not II
there was, there is not color Of excuse OF
any sort Tor the butchery; the act was then
that of killing prisoners Of war, and was muir
der Of the most outrageous kind. If no sur
render was accepted, but If It was rafused,
and the men were bayoneted and shot down,
while on their feet, then whatever the nature
Of the act mhy have been, it was OF differ
cnt sort from that Of killtpkxacknowledged
prisoners of war.
The actual truth In regard to the motive
which impelled the rebel force to kill the
Fort Pillow garrison, is not difficult to reach
The reason was, that the men were blaek-or
In command Of, or In company with, black
men. That Is the truth, and the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth. Neither
protracted siege, nor desperate fighting, nor
any violation Of the laws Of wnr had any
thing to do with It. But men, once slaves,
had got arms In their hands, and were as-
Stunning to be soldiers against the tsgorern-
ing ace,''-aud that e1hausts the reason.
But the probability that no surrender had
been accepted gets color from the fact, that
In the summons to surrender by Forrest, the
condition was included, that il he was Obliged
to fight for the fortress, no quarter sould be
given to the black troops. The act was
therefore plninly not prompted by anything
that attached to that special case-but it is
the acting upon policy which applies to
other cases, and has been since acted upon If
not before, In the taking OF Plymouth in
North Carolina 1t is therefore scarcely in.
cluded In the province OF the laws Of war al-
luded to, since the massacre in such cases is
allowable By special circumstances, applying
to some particular instance alone. But to
fix upon the policy Of putting all garrisoas
taken In war to the sword, places the
whole mattcr upon different ground, and
takes it out Of the legal provision altogether
In the present instance, It Is the continual
ton Of the old disagreement The rebels and
ourselves do not stand upon the same plane.
They have one sort Of civilization, we an
other. We arm black men to fight against
white ones; they enslaye black men to serve
white ones.
What Is the remedye It is difficult thing
to settle on this very account We do not
reason alike. This question in this particular
dispute Is the very question Of the whole var,
and will be decided precisely as the war itself
is decided. # the rebel cause WAKES, and
ours wanes, they will grow more imperative
with every month, and will set up their will
A. the law, and we shau have to submit. But
If they wane while the Union trinmpbs, they
will Of force rccede and yield; and black
men will stand entitled as soldiers TO the
anne rights under the rnles Of w1r as arc
white mel.
Il 1norc particular nuswcr is sought, as
to whether We shall take prisoners
now In our hands and put t:.rc, to death,
on account of the bntchery Of these men
whose surrender WIS not accepted, tue din
cultics Of 1t suggest themselves at once
Tie 1wo cascs arc notin principle alike It
might IT. allowable to warn tle rebel author
iti,s, that If that policy is to be- persisted In
If captured men arr to be slain hereafter
when taken, unless OF q special color, then
their officers nov in our hands, or at auy time
taken. will be executed; and by way Of en-
pbasis-a List Of their ,.amee, with q state
ment that they are already In ward for that
purpose, might be furnished This wou1d
be an act Of mere prevention, ana would be
1ustiGable In principle, whether In fact it
world be practically efficient or not.
But the policy which this slaughter must
inaugnratc, unless disayowed and atoned tor
by the rebel authorities, is that Of retaliation
in tie san~ circumstances aid Of tie same Kind
We shall not take prisoners II the rebels do
not However abhosrcnt to our feelings or
to our principles, there is NO help for it A
black flag on one side brings ont those Of
the same color on the other, as sure IS face
answers to face in glass. We're VicIAburg
TO be taken tomorrow, instead Of having
been captured last July, we could not answer
for the'lIfe Of Pemberton or a soul of his
army. We doubt If the rebels Gin face this |
music very long. !
The true ground for us to assume, and to
assume at once, is, TINT what the rebels do !
to black men wearing our uniform, We will |
do to white ones wearing theirs; that as re-
CARDS color, we make no difference among
soldiers, where the rights of War are con.
,erned. II We fai1 In carrying our point, We
,hall I'll in the war; If We succeed, We shall
,a1y 1t. We can see no middle ground.