Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-02-29

people. the passionate man may close bis eyes to
II or dispose of il with threat to treat Northern
traitors on either side as we treat Southern
traitors, but there stands the great fact, like
rock, that the people of the North are divided on
questions which have arisen since the war began,
questions which all concede to be Of vital
import, and that millions Of men are on opposite
sides.
Il used 10 be acknowledged everywhere that
the moral forces in this country were Of the high
est inn ortance-that moral union was vastly
stronger than physical union, in orr government.
Ii is as true to day as ever. Ii never was so
true In hours like these, moral union is OF
vastly more importance than ever before. In
times of peace the nation is little shaken BY the
of elections resulting in the success OF
one another party by small majority. In
times Of war these differences become of vast
import, big with national fate. Why close our
ewes TO this TRUTH The alone is not 20 de
termine the fate of the Union. The results Of
the war are after all TO be determined by the
voice of the people. in the old way If the South
is conquered the millions Of the South will be
come voting power in the country. All plans
TO keep them out will inevitably fail before many
years. The American system may stand the
shock of war; but it could never stand the trial of
an attempt to govern millions of men for any
length of time unrepresented, a conquered or
as a condemned race. That truth ought to be in
our constant view. 1t must be considered in esti-
mating the progress of the nation. To what are
we progressngi How far do the moral forces of
tue American system begin to operate3 In what
direction they operating2 When shall we be
again people determining our great questions
by peaceabe votes, and what are ikely to be the
constituent elements of parties, and the bids for
votes which one and another party will make?
Is the theory of conquest, and forcble govern
ment of vast population, tenabe in view of the
/ tremendous truth that one half of the people of
the North are opposed to that theory, and have
refuzed to give assent to it by word or act?
The theory on which the war began was the
simple enforcement of the laws. The fact that
millions were in rebellion was recognized, and
the plan was simply to convince those millions
that rebellion was hopeless, that submission to
law was necessary. and that the only proper
American method of settling great questions was
by the ballot box. If that theory had been
steadily pursued. the result might have been that
the millions in rebellion would have seen that
their military experiment was hopeless, and that
the other, the ancient and assured resort for real
or fancied wrongs. open to them. The new
theory, that may be conquered and governed,
their laws and Institutions assigned them by the
power against which they have repealed. is now
under experiment and in looking at the probable
success of this theory we must take into our &c
count the whole history of political parties n our
country, the fact that there is an immense voting
population in the rebel States. aud that those
votes will inevitably be sought by one or another
party in the future Let US then not fail to give
consideration to these questions of moral force,
as possessing the highest importance in consider
ing our future If we look at the war as the one
absorbing subject. military success as the sole
necessity to national success. we omit the very
fundamental question in our whole system on
which our future rests