The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-06-29

| 4
WASHINGTON, June 9th.
Shall there be an Armistice?
Four years ago thirty four United States
were all peaceably and prosperously con-
federated together, and the central gov
ernment, administered by President Bu-
chanan, was only known and felt by the
benefits which, like the dews of heaven,
descended alike upon all classes and con.
ditions of the people. Noao these States
are engaged in the bloodiest and most
destructive war known in the history Of
our race. A million lives have been sac
rifced and probably ten thousand mil
lions of property wasted, and no man can
say that either of the contending forces
has made any progress in regard to the
objects sought, or that there is any rea
sonable prospect of their doing so at any
time in the future. The causes of this
horrible state of things are too palpable
to be mistaken by any one whose reason
is not absolutely overthrown by delusion
and sectional hatred. Tour years age
eighteen States combined together on tho
sole principle of hostility to tho other
fourteen States, and, in conformity to the
letter and formulas of the Constitution,
by sheer sectional strength, seized the
central or Federal government, and de-
manded submission to their rnle! This
is simple fact which, of course, no one
will question. What q stupepdous ana
molly, under a system of self governments,
for majority of the States to combine
together and usurp- the common govern
ment and expect the minority to submit
to their rule! Or, in other words, what a
monstrous violation of the compact of
Union or Federation, when the common
government, or common agency OF the
States, is usurped by a sectional majority,
and, from an instrument of common good,
this government is to be perverted into
an instrument of destruction to the mi
nority! This was the fact--simple, pal
.pable, historic fact-a majority of the
United States, combining together, and
against the minority, elected Mr.. Lincoln,
and took possession of the government,
which they were pledged by their princi-
Piles to WELD for the utter destruction of
society in the other States. m
No.one will question the fact, but the
supporters of Mr.. Lincoln deny the oon-
sequences wrapped up in it. First, they
deny that this is confederation of States,
and claim that it is nation, and the
States have no more right to seeede or to
revoke their powers delegated to the cen
trail government than county or town
has. In reply to this, we need only refer
to the fact that Mr.. Lincoln is at Wash
lington, against the ariH Of tloo-thirds of
the Americin people, and therefore, if we
are nation and not a Federation of
States, of course our system does not diff
fer in principle from the Old World sys-
TEN, where the minority rules the majori-
ty. The simple fact that "Old Abe is
the constitutional President, despite the
will and wishes of vast majority of the
people, settles the discussion, of course,
and no one but an ignoramus or knave
will pretend that we are anything else
than Federation of "United States. =
Again, the. supporters of Mr.. Lincoln
deny that they are hostile to the other
States, or that their "principles" are in
conflict with society, but, on the contra
ry, claim that these "prinoiples' applied
in the southern States would result in the
utmost good to the Southern people as
we'll ms to those of the North. To this ii
might be sufficient to say that the people
of the South must be the best possible
Judges of that, or, in other words, that
South Carolina must understand better
than Massachusetts, what were hurtful OF
otherwise to her own people. We, the
writer Of this article, have devoted many
years to the investigation of the general
question, and without any partizan or sec
1 tional feeling, we say that rather than
South Carolina should submit to Mr.. Lin,
coin and permit the "benefcent pr:nci
4 Piles" he embodied to be carried out in
that State, it were better that every citi
zen, woman and child were slaughtered
at once. indeed, we say, and we Ano,o the
perfect truth of the assertion, that it were
better that the earth opened and enguif-
ed the entire citizenship from the Poto'
mac to the Gulf of Mexico, rather than
the "principles" represented by Mr.. Lin.
T coin should ever be applied to them. Ii
:, this be SO, what an awful madness has got
4 ten possession of the northern mind
! when two millions Of men have been hurl
|, ed against the people Of the South te
force them to submit to doom so horri
F Bile, that, in comparison, itlwerc better te
| Euerish at once, or to force them tosubmii
! Ito the application of "principiess 80 dead
, Ily and horribly destructive In their con
sequences, that it were better that the
= earth opened and 'engulfed them! In .
:. brief newspaper article we cannot demon
r strate this terrible truth, but we may state
facts that should eonvinos pny sane mind
- b