Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-10-29

| loathsome baseness of the doctrine, as thus
announced. 1t is the robbers creed, sought
| to be nationalized, and would push back the
| hand on the dial-plate of eur civilization to
the darkest periods of human history. It
must be admitted, however, that it furnishes
the fitting " corner-stoaen for the governments
| of rebellion, every fibre of whose body and
every throb of whose soul is born of the
| traitorous ambition and slave-pen inspira-
| tions of the South.
To these detestable tenets is added that
other pernicious political theory of state SOW
| ereignty, with its necessary fruit, the mon
strous doctrine of secession--a doctrine which,
in asserting that in our fsderative system a
part is greater than the whole, would compel
the general government, like a Japanese
slave, to commit hari-kari whenever "a faith
less or ihsolent state should command it to
do
Thus, the ritual, after reciting that the
states Of the Union are free, independent
and sovereign" proceeds as follows:
"The government designated The United States
of America has sovereignty, because that is
attribute with which the people, In their several
and distinct political organizations, endowed,
terms OF the compact, by all the states, through
the express will of the people thereof, respectively
"a common agent, to use and exercise certain
named, specified, defined and limited powers which
are inherent of the sovereignties within those
states Ii is permitted, far regards its status
and relations, as common agent in abe exercise of
the powers carefully and jealousy delegated to it.
to call itself supreme but not Sovereign In
accordance with the principles upon which Is
ercise only delegated power hence, if those who
she'll have been chosen to administer the govern
mens shall assume to exercise powers not delegat-
ed, they should be regarded and treated asuT-
PeTs. The reference to inherent power war
power or military necessity on the part of the
functonary for the sanction of arbitrary exer-
nfa nf nv i'm mill
| ton or excuse ~
To tkis is added, as a corrollary:
cit is incompatible with the history and nature
of our system OF government that Federal author
| ty should coerce by arms a sovereign state.
The declaration of principles, however,
| does not stop here, but proceeds one step
| further, as follows: ..'
"Whenever the chosen officers or delegates shall
| fail or refuse to administer the government In
strict accordance with the letter of the accepted
constitution it is the inherent right and the solemn
( and imperative duty of the people to resist the
functionaries, and, need be, to erpel them by force
Of arms Such resistance is not revolution, but is
solely the assertion of right-the exercise of all
the noble attributes which impart honor and dig
nifty to manhood"
To the same effect, though in milder tone,
| is the platform of the order in Indiana put
put forth by the Grand Council at their meet
| ing in February last, which declares that,
Inc rignt 10 alter or dbOtfSh their govef ent
whenever it fails to secure the blessings of liberty,
is of the inalienable rights Of the people that
can never be surrendered"
Such then are the principles which the new
member swears to observe and abide by in
| his obligation, set forth in the ritual, where
he says:
| "I do solemnly promise that will ever cherish
in my heart Of hearts the sublime creeds of the T.
| X excellent Knights), and will so far as in me
lies, illustrate the same in my intercourse with
men, and will defend the principles thereof if need
/ be with my life, whatsoever assailed, in my own
country first OF all. do further solemnly declare
/ that | will never take up arms in behalf of any
| government which does not acknowledge the sole
authority of power to be the will of the governed
In the same connection may be quoted the
| following extracts from the ritual, as llustra-
| ting the principle of the right of revolution
and resistance to constituted authority insist
| ed upon by the order:
sour swords shall be un sheathed whenever the
great principles which we aim to inculcate and
have sworn to maintain and defend assailed."
Again:
81 do solemnly promise, that whatsoever the
principles which Order inculcates shall be as
| sailed in my own State or country, will defend
| these principles with my sword and my life in
whatsoever capacity may be assigned me by the
competent authority Of our Order"
And further:
al do promise that will, at all times, if needs
be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed
in my country first of all-against any power
government usurped, which may be found in
arms and wagng war against people or peoples
who eDdeavoring to establish, have inaugu-
rated, a government for themselves of their own
free choice"
Moreover, it is to be noted that all the adj
dresses and speeches of its leaders breathe
the same principle, of the right of forcible
resistance to the government, as one of the
tenets of the order.
Thus p. G. Wright Supreme Commander,
in his general address of December, 1868, af-
ter urging that "the spirit of the fathers may
animate the free minds, the brave hearts,
and still unshackled limbs of the true dn,oc-
racy" (meaning the members of the order,)
adds as follows: "To be prepared for the
crisis now approaching, we must catch from
afar the earliest and faintest breathings of the
storm to be successful when the storm
comes, we must be watchful, patient, brave,
confident, organized, armed"
Thus, too, Dodd, Grand Commander of the
order in Indiana, quoting, in his address of
February last, the views of his chief, Vallan.
digham, and adopting them as his own, says
"He (Vallandigham) judges that the Wash
ington power will not yield up its power, I'M
til it is taken from them by an indignant
people, By force Of arms"
Such, then, are the written principles of
the order in which the neophyte is instructed,
and which he is sworn to cherish and observe
as his rule of action, when, with the arms
placed in his hands, he is called upon to en-
gage in the overthrow of his government
This declaration-first, of the absolute right
of slavery; second, of state sovereignty and
the right of secession third, of armed resis-
lance to constituted authority on the part of
the disaffected and the disloyal, whenever
their ambition may prompt them to revolu-
tion-is but an assertion of that abominable
theory which, from its first enunciation, serv-
ed as pretext for conspiracy after conspira-
cy against the government on the part of
southern traitors, until their detestable plot
ting eliminated in open rebellion and bloody
civil war. What more appropriate name,
therefore, to be communicated as password
to the new member upon his first admission
to the secrets of the order could have been
conceived than that which was actually
adopted-that of "Calhoun pa man who,
baffled in his lust for power, with crashing
teeth turned upon the government that had
lifted him to its highest honors, and upon the
country that had borne him, and down to the
close of his fevered life labored necessarily to
scatter far ard wide the seeds of that poison
of death now upon our lips. The thorns
which now pierce and tear US are of the tree
he planted.
Judge Holt then sets forth the specific
purposes and operations of the order under
the following heads, giving summary of ev-
4