American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-09-28

reins of power were held by southern men,
most of whom are now in arms against
the government. Let that pass. The
question hinges upon the responsibility OF
the rejection of the Crittenden Compro-
mise. 1t was rejected BY whom?
Reference to page 400, part first of the
Congressional Giobe Of the second session
of the Thirty-sixth Congress, will place
the responsibility for the rejection of that
Compromise where it properly belongs
1t will be seen that the Crttenden Com
promise was defeated by the substitution
Gin efiec)o what is known as the CLARK
Amendment" The record shows that
the vote on the motion to the substitute
was-yeas 25, nays 30. The vote on the
adoption of the Clark proposition, taken
directly alterward, was-yeas %, nays %,
The presumption would be naturally, that
if the south had votes enough to reject
the substitute, it would also have enough
to reject the proposition when offered in
dependently. There was falling off in
the negative vote on the proposition, as
compared with that on the first motion to
substitute, of Segca votes. This is ac-
| counted for by the fact that Senators Ben
jamin and Slidell, of Louisiana; Wigfall
and llemphill, of Texas; Iverson, of Ga.
aud johnson, of Arkansas-sir Southern
S"RdiorS-sot IN their seats and refused to
rote. Had these six southern men voted
no" the Clark proposition would have
been defeated by n major ty of four votes,
and the Crittendcn Compromise could have
been taken up and carried by the same
majority. 1t appears of record, then, that
the Crittenden Compromise was rejected
bacause six of the leading Senators from
the south virtually refused to vote for it.
A motion to reconsider was carried some
weeks later, and direct vote upon the
Compromise was taken. The PROPOSE
ton was lost by single vote But one
of the six Senators referred to voted on
that occasion nearly all of them having
withdrawn on the secession of their re-
spectivc States. Had they remained to
vote for the Compromise, it would have
been adopted.
The chief object in alluding to this mat
ter is to show that when, before the overt
act Of war was committed, the south had
the election of compromise or war, she,
through her highest dignitaries, deliber-
ately chose war.
The south would not have compromise
then. Is it reasonable to suppose that it
would accept such an accommodation
now? Her rulers have the southern mas
scs by the throat, and can mould them to
their imperious will. They are playing
for a great stake. They could not with
draw from the contest now unless forced
into withdrawal. Pride, love of power
both inbred and fostcrcd by the institu-
tons of slavery-would force them to
elect, as they declare they do elect, exter-
mination rather than submission and un-
ion.
Early in the struggle-before the gov
ernment had taken the aggressive-Pres-
ident Lincoln offered peace in most liber-
al terms. The terms were, briefly, the
laying down of arms and the abandon
ment of their hostile attitude The world
knows how those terms were met 1t need
not be repeated here. The desolation of
southern fields; and the vacant scale in
thousands upon thousands of homes, both
north and south, bear the record. Still
later, amnesty and pardon have been Of
fered by the President; still the chiefs of
rebellion abate not title of their energy
to maintain themselves in their wrong
They demand recognition and independ-
ence of a government they hate. Init
mate knowledge of the directing minds of
the rebellion teaches that they will never
abandon their wicked scheme until oblig-
ed to do so by the sheer force of such iron
circumstances as control the results of
war
There is no ground, then, for the hope
of peace through compromise; no hope
of permanent peace. There is no such
discharge in this war These who go be-
fore the country upon such vicious pre-
texts, are not deceived themselves, how
ever much they may deceive the ignorant
and unsuspecting. To chargeself decep-
tion upon them in matter so unmistaka-
bly, clear, would be equivalent to charg-
ing them with imbecility. They do not
deceive themselves. The pretext of seek
ing the defeat of Mr.. Lincoln that peace
may return to our borders covers a sinister
purpose. If they wish peace they can
have it but in two ways-in cowardly
abandonment of the struggle, followed by
disunion. or by n more yiporous Gf nassi