Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1864-03-01
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, MARCH |, 1854

MARCH |, 1854.
man so vile so debased, SO unworthy OF hbert.
as to accept peace on such Illuminating terms
It would hardly be fair to assert that all tn
Northern people participate in these designs
On the contrary, there exists a powerIul pomI pi
ica party, which openly condemns them; J, nt
Administration has, however, been able tnu
Jar, by it's enormous patronage ana lts iayiSi
expenditures, to seduce, or by its sleglons
aHessian'' nercenaries, to overawe the masses
to control the elections, and to establish an ar
l bitrary despotisn. Ii cannot be possible tia
this state Of things can continue. The people
of the United States, accustomed TO freedom
lcanoot consent to be ruined and enslaved, IN or
der to ruin and enslave u.s. Moral, like physi.
cal epidemics, have their allotted periods, and
must, sooner or later, tie exhausted and dlsap-
pear When reason returns our enemies VIII
probably reflect, that people, like ours, VINO
have exhibited such capabilities, and extemPo-
rized such resources, can never be su0dued
that vast expanse of territory, with suoh pop
ulation cannot be governed as an obedIent
colony. Victory would not be conquest. The
inextinguishable quarrel would be transmitted
ssfrom bleeding sire to son." and the struggle
i would be renewed between generations yet un>
I born, To impoverish us would only be to dry
up some of the springs OF Northern prosperity
to destroy Southern wealth is to reduce North>
ern profits, while the restoration of peace would
necessarily re-establsh some commercial inter>
1 oourse. It NAV not be amiss in this connection
to say. that al one time it was the wish and
expectation of many at the South, to form a
treaty of amity and friendship with the North
ern States, by which both peoples might derive
the benefits of eommercial intercourse and move
on side by side, in the arts of peace and ciyilis
I cation. History has confirmed the lesson taught
by Divine authority, that each nations AS well as
each individual, should seek their happiness la
the prosperity of Others, aud not in the injury
or ruin Of neighbor. The general welfare of
all is the highest dictate OF moral duty and econo>
mic policy, while heritage of triumphant wrong
is the greatest curse that can befall nation.
| Until some evidence is given OF change of
policy on the part of the government and some
assurance is received that efforts at negotiation
will not be spurned, the Congress are OF opinion
| tha. any direct overt4res for peace would com>
promise our self>respect, be fruitless of good,
and interpreted by the enemy as an indication
of weakness. We can only repeat the desire of
| the people for peace, and our readiness to ac>
| cept terms consistent with the honor and in>
| tegrity and independence OF the States and com-
patible with the safety Of our domestic lnstltn>
tions.
/ AtOL COuGCAt WILL AGJOOtAu6 GA PAOP0SesAo 49,
peaceful settlement of the controversy, cruel
war of invasion was commenced, which, in its
progress, has been marked by a brutality and
disregard of the rules Of civilized warfare, as
stand out in unexampled barbarity in the his
| tory OF modern wars. Accompanied by every
act of cruelty and rapine, the conauct OF the en-
| emy has been destitute of that forbearance and
magnanimity, which civilization and Christians
ity have introduced to mitigate the asperties Of
| wa The atrocities too lncred. bI0 for
| ration. Instead of regular war, our resistance
| of the unholy efforts to crush out our Datioral
existence is treated as rebellion, and the set
tied international rules between belligerents are
ignored. Instead of conducting the war as be-.
twixt two military and political organizations, it
is war against the whole population. Houses
are pillaged and burned. Churches are defaced
Towns are ransacked. Clothing of women and
infants is stripped from their persons. Jewelry
and mementoes Of the dead are stolen. Mills
and implements of agriculture are destroyed -
Private salt~works are broken up. The intro>
auotion of medicine is forbidden. Means of SUBJ
sistence are wantonly wasted to produce beg
| gary. Prisoners are returned with contagious
diseases. The last lnorsel OF food has been ia,
ken from families, who were not allowed to
carry on trade cr branch of industry. A rigid
and offensive espionage has been introduced
to ferret out "dIsloyaty." Persons have been
| forced 10 choose between starvation of hel pless
children and taking the oath of allegiance to a
hated Government. The cartel tor exchange OF
prisoners has been suspended and our unfortu-
nate soldiers subjected to the grossest indigni-
| ties. The wounded at Gettysburg were depriy>
ed of their nurses and inhumanly left to perish
on the field. Helpless women have been ex>
! posed to the mos. cruel outrages and to that
dishonor which is infinitely worse than death.
| Citizens have been murdered by the Buffers and
McNeils and Milroys, who are favorite generals
! of our enemies. Refined and delicate ladies have
1 been seized, bound with cords, imprisoned,
guarded by negroes, and held as hostages for
| the return of re-captured slaves. Unotfending
non>combatants have been banished or drag
1 ged from their quiet homes to be immured in
| filthy jails. Preaching the gospel has been re-
| fused except on condition of taking the oath of
allegiance. Parents have been forbidden to
name their children in honor Of srebelh chiefs
Property has been conhseated. Military gov-
ernors have been appointed for States, satraps
| for provinces, and Haynaus for cities.
These cruelties and atrocities of the enemy
| have been exceeded by their malicious and
l blood thirsty purposes and Vaccinations in ref
| erence to the slaves. Early in this war, Pres,
ident Lincoln averred his constitutional inabili>
| ty and personal unwillingness to interfere with
/ the domestic institutions OF the States and the
| relation between master ard servant Presiden.
| tial considerations may have been yelled under
conscientious scruples, for Seward, in q conf
Dental instruction to Mr.. Adams, the Minister
to Great Britain, ON 10th March, 1862, said -
| Ii the government OF the United States should
percipitate1y decree the immediate abolition of
slavery, it would reinvigorate the declining in
surrection in every part of of the South" Sub.
sequent reverses and the refractory rebelious.'
ness of the seceeded States caused change of
policy, and Mr.. Lincoln issued his celebrated
proclamation, mere brutuw f1lneas, liberating
the slav es in the ''insurrectionary districtsn--
On the Oath June, 1776, one OF the reasons as :.
signed by Pennsylvania for her separation from
the mother country was that, in her sister coloa
nies, the skiing had excited the negroes to re-
volt" and to imbrue their hands in the blood of
their masters, in a manner unpractised by civils
lied nations. This, probably, had reference to
the proclamation of Dunmore, the last royal
Governor OF Virginia, in TITO, declaring freedom
to all servants or negroes, if they would join
"for the reducing the colony to proper sense of
its duty" The invitation to the slaves to rise
against their masters, the suggested insurrec
ton caused, says Bancroft, ia tarill of lndigna-
toh to run through Virginia, effaoing all diffsr-
ences of party, and rousing our strong, impas>
stoned purpose to drive away the insolent pow
er by which it had been put forth.n A cotem-
porary annalist, adyertiDg to the same procla-