Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1864-12-01
PEACE PROPOSITIONS.

| the ReDelll0uS StateS. IL Is even asserted
| that Commissioners are to be sent to Rich
mond to tender the olive branch to JEFF
DAVIS That all these rumors are without
foundation, we have no doubt They may
have their origin from speculatons caused
by Gen. Buffers late speech, OF from sur
misses in regard TO the language of the
forthcoming Annual Message of President
LINCOLN. 1t is not worth while for any one
to have any anxiety for fear the Rebels are
to be asked tie come back into the Union,
- unanointed, unannealed,
With all their mperfections on their heads"
nor that JEFF DAVIS is to be invited to ac-
cept the hospitalities of the White House
at Washington, and advise with the present
occupant as to the best method of restor-
ing the Union
We have every confidence that President
LINCOLN will continue to manifest the same
prudence, the same exalted craftsmanship
he has already shown, III all the movements
he may inaugurate looking to termination
of the Rebellion, and restoration or re-
construction of the Union. The country
has just decided by an overwhelming ma
jority i'll favor of the policy pursued i'll the
past, by the Administration-and it would
be poor time indeed for President LIN
COLIN to take step backward, when the
people are demanding and expecting pro-
gress. We have no fears Of any such ca
lamity.
The country unquestionably desires peace
A nation of grateful hearts would hail with
thankfulness the day when war should
cease. But as desirable as peace may be,
there are evils which are far more to be
dreaded, than even this cruel war, which
has deluged the country with blood, and
made SO many homes desolate. When
peace comes, let it be peace which shall
ensure the future tranquility and prosperi-
ty of the country. Let it not be hollow
insincere truce, which in few years shall
be broken, to rc-enact the dreadful scenes
of the past four years. The blood and
treasure of the country have not been who'll
ly spent in vain, if we shall emerge from
the present trials purified from our great
national sins, a nation of frecmcn, with
every relic of barbarism wiped away, and
| fitted by common Institutions, and common
interests for the glorious destiny and the
proud pre-emincncc which would then
| await us.
In our Judgment, the great peril Of the
country is past. 1t was this {: That the
nation should weary of war, and bIoodshed,
| and privation, and rather than bear with
the great burdens placed upon us, be
ready to submit to an untimely peace. In
this WEAKNESS Of the people, unused to ma
tional burdens, lay the great hope Of the
Secessionsts and their Northern sympathi-
zers Thank God the danger is avertcd
! by the reelection of ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
At the polls the voice Of the people has
spoken its demand for restored, reconstruct
! ed Union. The testimony is that no sacrifice
iss too great, no burdens ooOnerous, which
wipes out the disgrace Of human slavery,
and gives us homogeneous nation, idcnti-
fled in all its interests and purposes
Peace with Slavery, is a dcluson and a
snare. No permanent peace can be made
which leaves in the hands of the Rebel
leaders the same powerful influence which
they have used to such an unholy purpose.
1t is only by dcpriving them of that great
social and political power that we can
hope for an enduring peace. The power is
to he taken from the hands of the aristoc-
racy of the South and guided by the work
ing men. The progress of our army is
surely doing this good work Every foot
step they take breaks down the domination
of the proud, insolent, slaveocracy. The
shackles Of the bondmen fall, and the nom
Shareholders become the prominent class,
partly by the absence of the Shareholders,
who have been the chief conspirators in
the Rebellion. The laboring class are not
slow to recognize the fact Of their cmanci-
patton from the political power Of their late
lords as witness Maryland, Missouri,
Tennessee and Louisiana. In these states
the non-slavcholdcrs have assumed the
control, and as far as practical have pro-
vided for the early emancipation of the
blacks. They know too well the social and
political tyranny which ground them in the
dust In this glorious work, they have
been joined by many Of the slavc-owning
class, who have the sense to see the fate
eff the institution, and who submit grace
fully, and many gladly, tor inevitable dcs-
tiny.
Shall any peace be made which restores
the ancient order of things? Which re-
establishes Slavery, and reinstatcs the oil
garchy that believes Capital should own
Labor? Shall the Union men who have
helped rcgenerate the states lately darken-
ed by Slavery be again placed under the
dominion of the Rebel leaders In al our
desires for Peace, let us not forget those
Southern patriots who have suffered persc-
cution for the sake of the Old Flag. When
! .or,nc ~ should b,ino, tbon, a,,,I,