New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-05-11
" NEUTRALITY AT RICUnOND.

Whether it be or be not possible to induce
Shareholders to see the most conspicuous facts
as Others see them, and to use words in the sense
which they have ever borne to the appTehen'
sion of mankind in general and the compiers Of
dictionaries in particular, is one OF the issues
now being tried in Virginia, Georgia and Loulsi-
ana. Hitherto, they have insisted that words
should mean precisely what il might at the time
be 10 them convenient that they should mean,
without the smallest regard TO the sense which
they had ever before borne, and in which they
were still received by ninety mine hundrodths OF
the human family. Thus, democrat, IN
all the dictionaries We ever opened or heard of,
is defined as one who holds that the members or
subjects Of the State should be the fountain OF
power in such state-that the ultimate govern
ing power should be lodged in the great body OF
the people. Yet the Slave Power has always
maintained a peculiar Interpretation, whereby
a democrat is one who uph,lds the night OF Capt.
tai to own and sell Labor--of the few to live in
idle luxury on the unrequitcd toll and
sweat Of the many-of the right of the
cunning and strong to do as they will
with the weak, ignorant and simple.
If there be in the English language two radi-
cally opposite aud irreconcilable terms, then
democracy and slavery are such: yet, in the
vocabulary of the Slave Power, our slayehold-
ers are The most eminent and Trustworthy DEM
ocrats, while the end Of democracy is the
strengthening diffusion, and pcrpetuation Of
slavery. SO slavery agitation has long been
detested and execraied; but the term is made
applicable only to agitation against Slavery: TO
agilate m Jaror Of Slavery, whether by ntrgues
to wrest departments from a sister republic
wherefrom to form new Slave States; by bullying
Spain to sell Cuba; by repudiating tho Missouri
Compact; by subjugating Kansas through force
and fraud; or by breaking up the Democratic
party itself-is esteemed unexceptonably con-
sentative and commendable.
These gross poryersions Of language were
among the immediate causes of our great Civil
War. They rendered impossible a mutual I'M
dcrstanding between the North and the South
throughout its inception. When the North
said, Let us keep the peace the South re-
sponded by Selling the forts, arsenals and SUBJ
treasures Of the Union. When the North sad,
Let US freely discuss our grave miSunderStand-
ings; let us hold National Convention, and
see if we cannot adjust our differences before
we resolve to separate, and thus part in peace,
if part we must;' the South responded Through
Senator Clingman) You may discuss to your
hearts content; but, as for our part, we are
hanging "free debaters" on trees down ourway;'
and so they seized our little army through
treachery, bombarded and captured Fort Sum-
ter, rushed upon Harper's Ferry Arsenal and
the Norfolk Nayy-Yard, and attempted to do
the like with Washington, when the North
aroused and stood on its defense. And, after
having thus inaugurated the most wanton re-
bellon and civil war recorded in history, its
authors turned square about and wondered why
the North would not let the South alone
Mr.. JEFF. Davis has recently given striking
example Of this peryerse logic in q letter which
he caused Lis private secretary to sign in his
behalf (April Sth) to Lord Lyons, in response to
a protest from Earl Russell against the per
petual violations Of the neutrality Of Great
Britain by the Com 'ederates in constructing and
fitting out ships of wav in British ports to cruise
against and nipre the Cnited States. The fact
being notorious, and its utter incongruity with
the laws and rights of nations too palpable to be
disputed, the average reader VIII be puzzled to
guess what JEFF. could say for himself that