The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-09-02
The Voice Of a Canadian.

Q ~ tHt ENttVF " me FoFffQN0 I'FcS&
Dear Sir--Will you permit the voice OF q
Canadian, lover of freedom and honesty, tc
fall, through your columns. upon the ears and
trust the hearts of your numerous readers
i dare believe that the many, too many alas
thoughtless, hot, and bitter sayings, that have
fallen from the lips and pens of English, Cana.
dian and American editors and politicians
have not altogether closed the ear, and shut
the heart Of the American people 10 the plead
| ings OF Canadian who daily prays that the
/ wicked rebellion which casts such q gloom
over this fair land, may speedily be crushed.
and the United States of America, free from
1 the deadly incubus Of slavery, may behold the
I ''Star spangled Banner" floating from every
hill top, proclaiming ION earth peace, good will
towards men," l am no politician. Mine is a
/ higher, holier calling; but | am member of
the wide spread human family. | see in every
man, white or black, my fellow, my brother,
made by the same diciae hand, redeemed with
the same most precious blood, and destined to
inherit the same eternity of happiness or mis-
cry. Every thing therefore which affects the
human family, affects me as a member of that
family; and envy not the feelings and con-
dition of the English or French man who can
look coldly and carelessly on the great strug-
gle of your country; a struggle between
right and wrong, between freedom and slave
ry. The gospel which cherish, and regard as
the elevator OF nations, the refner of society,
the peaee-maker of the world, is emphatically
q n If t. -
self, wrong, only wrong, and always wrong; I;
I but viewing war as an accident or a coRse-
queHt il permits il, and permits all God fearing
men to defend by the sword and the cannon
their country, their rights and their property
Here then you have in this country num-
Der of men, tie minority, who. confessedly in
consequence of a failure to elect as chief mag
istrate of the nation man whose feelings, SEN
timents and principles are in unison with their
own on certain subject, refuse to aeknowl-
edge his position, aud submit to his constitu-
tional administration. Tez q Hasutr7r oI men
who did all this even before he was inaugural
ed, before he had acted in an official capacity
at all. The great argument Of these traitors
was, that Abraham Lincoln would interfere
with their rights, and destroy their peculiar
Institution. What ssperlatiye nonsense. He
had no power ifhe had the will to do so. The
constitution Of the United States gave them
rights which no President, no Senate, and
nothing but the ,ciH and roice Of the people
dare interfere NTH.
Did not the President in his inaugural ad-
dress declare his purpose to keep inyiolate his
oath, and extend to every man and every State
I their constitutional rights? But the Southern
I leaders could not, and would not believe the
/ solemn oath and the public solemn declara-
tions of the "Back Republican" They taught
; the people that all these would be disregarded
aud broken, in the sight OF high heaven and
| The civilized world. All the power of guilty
cons Siencei They themselves had proved re-
creant to every high trust committed TO them
they had periured themselves before God and
the world; they had occupied seats in the
Senate Chamber in the day time, and in the
night coneocted schemes of rebellion and Sc
cession and they were afraid that Lincoln and
his party would become equally recreant and
perured Thus was this cruel war inaugur-
ated.
And now | ask the people of the loyal
states, yea, ask, challenge The copperheads
the peace men, the democrats of this country
TO point out single arbitrary act of Abra.
ham Lincoln. Has he not groaned in spirit
over this bloody conflict? Did he not urge
beg. beseech the rebels TO shed no blood, fire nc
cannon, brandish no sword? Did he not mild
ly, kindly humbly pray them again and again
to lay down their arms. and come into the
Union, where all their rights should be gram
j ed and protected? True, he was an anti
: SIdrery man, but if he had been an anti-slav
cry angel he must have remained powerlesi
as an infant touching the abolition of slavery
> He could use his influence to induce tn,
slave states on terms, agreeable to them
ssleeS, to lberate their slaves. "Ah, but b,
issued proclamatihn, declaring the freedom
of the slaves Of those in arms against the Tn
ion, and wherever his armies went slaves wer
r freed, aud thus citizens were robbed Of thou
! sands and tens of thousands of dollars
WHAT pity. What an act of despotism, +
e conhscate the property OF rebels and traitors
k especially after he shad almost gone down o
his knees to beseech them to lay down thei
;. armszafter he had given them repeated int
: nation Of the final consequences of thei
. persisten: rebellion But Lincoln even no,
q refuses TO admit any propositions for peac
: which do not embody the utter extinction
slavery" Horrid! o, how arbitrary! Ho'
II despotie Why not allow this slave-holdin
), aristoeracy-these men who have originate
: and perpetuated this awful war till the land
70 filed with mourning and woe, till tens
'e thousands of homes are made sad and tens
n thousands OF hearts are forever broken-th
.e war which has rolled upon the country
/, mountain of debt-which has suspended bui
" ness and depressed commerce-whieh h
u laid more than q million Of men North al
'e South in premature graves-why not allo
q these men agser all their work Of death al
Ne destruction. to come back into the Unio
r without one stroke upon their backs, witbo
or even one gentle reproof; yea, TO come ba
nd with all their human property, the confess
"- cause of all the misery which afliicts I
land? ask you, citizens of the loyal stat
IN the name of your country, in the name
your children, in the name of your God, a
90 you prepared to admit TO your embrace t
ize men who have SO blighted and withered yo
ms land; carrying with them the instrumt
S ois which has struck every blow, which has sh
ms every drop Of blood, which has filed yo