Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-09-09
[From the Richmond Examiner, Sept. 81


by the Democratic Convention at Chicago,
uniting upon him both the peace and war
sections of that party, opens quite a new
act of the grand drama which occupies the
stage of this continent. The very first thing
which is now to be determined is whether
Lincoln and Seward, with theirpowerful and
compact party in full possession of the gov
ernmcnt, will stand quietly by and suffer
the power to be wrested from their hands
by an ordinary Presidential election in No
vember. Their mission is not yet accom-
plished-Lincoln is not yet acknowledged
President of the whole of those United
States" Of which he was elected their chief
magistrate. His term, therefore, is not yet
over-it has not begun to run. He and his
ministers have already several times, and in
no constitutional election of President of
the United States again, until it shall be
concurred in by the whole body of States,
and until after he shall have enjoyed his
own; you might as well have stolen from
him his flat-boat on the Ohio, and put it
openly up at auction. Besides, the mighty
achievement which he says God raised him
up and drafted him into that apex" express
ly to accomplishing less than redeeming a
whole continent and saving the last hope Of
free government for the human species-is
not yet accomplished and the hosts of
champions of human freedom that sur
round him have not yet extracted the
"last dollar" from the treasury. He
is ready and willing to finish his glo-
rious mission; his multitudes of bold army
contractors are still willing to save their
country he has an army of half million
at. his orders, and generals to lead it, on
whom he and the huIMn species can de-
pend. Is it to be supposed that he will now
permit disgraced officer, one whom he has
not found worthy even to lead a corps in
that army, to be set up by faction, to be
quietly elected, to hurl him, him the EN-
peror of thirty-siX States, from his throne.
in the very midst of his momentous labors,
in the very moment when the back bone of
the rebellion" is as it were broken, and the
Re-United States are on the very point of
dazzling all creation with open effulgence
before unknown, and throw all again into
confusion and chaos, blast the hopes Of
prosperity, and intlict cruel disappointment
and dismay on two hemispheres? 1t is not
to be thought of. Lincoln must make coup
detat; there is precedent tor it in Europe
(for we know the Yankee nation would do
nothing without precedent in Europe), in
the French coup d'etQt of second December.
That bold stroke, too, was successful, and
the man of December is now Emperor of
the French. 1t must be acknowledged the
example is encouraging; besides, how much
more magnificent and glorious will this
coup d'etat be than that-as the Yankee copy
of everything is always IN large-not to
found a dynasty in corner of decrepid
Europe, but to establish a millennium OF
happiness, freedom, and Yankee notions
upon mighty young continent! A coup
d'etat then is his obvious course. He is
nl Il Il.
and Charleston railroad, and bringing
dan, or to overawe Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio. The moment those Chicago Demo-
Gratis promulgate their platform" why not
arrest Mcclellan and the other ringleaders
of Chicago, together with leading Demo-
Gratis throughout the country, all simulta-
neously, thrust them into the deepest dun
geons of Fort Warren, and, at the same in
slant, make some salutary slaughters under
prettnse of suppressing riot and sedition in
various towns of the northwest?
This would ''strike terror" q great point
gained, and show that he is man not to be
trified with. 1t is hard to say how this
method would answer; but there are men
close to the ear of Lincoln who are quite
capable of advising him to make copy
only bigger and bloodier, of the famous
coup of Louis Napoleon.
If he will not, or cannot, come up to this
mark, then we presume that he is lost; the
Republican emperor and his shoddy court
and nobility go out--a Democratic Empe-
ror and a newer new RoblesSe of Demo-
cratic shoddy come in. If so, how will it
affect us? The platform of Chicago Is now
known; and, seeing that peace Democrats
ard war Democrats have compromised on
Mcclellan, the said platform is half peace
and half war; it floats between peace and
war, being constructed in such way as to
drift to either side, and settle down next
March in war or peace policy as circum-
stances may require. Armistice will cer-
tainly be feature in the new policy; ar
mistice with view to negotiation. And
now, supposing that armistice to be ac-
cepted, it must be admitted that the situation
aoould be regarded by many good Confederdtes
as more pe,flous TO our independence than Lin
coins iodr to the k,,e; for those negotiations"
toiU not necessarily be confined, as they ought to
be, to the Confederate Government; they may adj
dress themselves secerally, perhaps ano6icially,
to State Legislatures; they may toiad their acdy
through every rdn,ifcdtion of society, by COM
merciaI transactions and priudte intercourse:
mag approach Influential individuals in the
shape Of promises of fpoliticdl support, ndy of
hard money; IN eUeiy conceirabie manner that
season OF armistice ooud be used TO create here an
Union party once more. The effort would fail;
yet 1t might distract and divide, and intro
duce troublesome discord, when now there
is good practical unanimity. There can be
no doubt that should Lincoln permit an
election--and should Mcclellan be the new
President-and should he offer an armistice
for rnegotiation-event though 1t should be
real, genuine cessation of hostilities by sea
and land--the cause Of Confederate independ
ence apould then begin to haze a ne,o kind Of
perils 10 encounter, andwould have to meet
them bya new effort of public virtue more
heroic than military achievement itself.
And, after all, be 1t remembered that, If
such an armistice is proposed, it is accom-
panied by an implied threat. This is the
very feature which gave Mcclellan prece-
dence over all ompetitors--that he Is a
General and ayoung Napoleon, and Is sup
posed TO know how the war can at any time
be brought, to successful issue, II Lincoln
would but let him have his own way. We
are about to be asked, then, to negotiate un-
der the Damocles sword; they dare to hold