Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-08-25
PEAcE-BREAKINe AND pEAcE.MAK1Na.

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two thirds of the people on each side Of the d.
viding line anxiously, absorbinely desire peace,
and are ready to make all needfa sacrifices to
aNsare a." At the same time it proposed to remit
the question of peace into the hands of the "rebel
chief" on the one side and of President Lincoln on
the other, though being perfectly aware that
neither of these parties or will effectuate the
anxious, absorbing desire of the country.
Recurring to the discussion of this subject in its
number Of Monday last, the Tribune says:
President Lincoln, we understand, believes that no
peace 10 now attanabe that is not based dsuniOn
aud he holds that he has pwer he certainly hss
to assent to such peace Hence his refusal
TO receive the rebel commissioners except conditions
TO which they were unprepared to accede We bink he
erred IN this THAT he should not only have received but
invited proposition they should be empowered
make-the more exacpg and uDavOrabe the better for
the national But the Intelge has right to
assume that we hold the Of slavery OF the
necessary and proper bases of peace That 10 the lnte
gencer's view-not We indicate conditions
and bases desiring to leave our Government wholly
embarrassed by volunteer suggestions on tiiSbead
We know no allowable, practicable mode OF ad Just
ing such strife that cOnvusng the country other
wire than through the scon Of the constituted recog
Missed authorities on either side. md we hold the chief
obstacle to the caon of country to be tho abect
submission of the Southern whites the sway Of Jesr
Davis and his cOnfederates in the wicked want0n,
causeess inauguration OF this atrOcous Let those
whites evince disposition to treat with otherwise
than through Davis Co., and warrant its prompt
ciprocatiOn."
When the New York Tribune refuses to Gem
barrass" the Government by volunteering sug-
gestons" on any head, we may safely take it for
granted that its views under that "head" are in
very indefinite and uniformed shape. On subjects
about which it has strong and positive conclusions
it never manifests any such consideration for "the
Government" but has lcctured the President in
terms which on one notable occasion drew from
him public remonstrance addressed to its editor,
and the fear of similar embarrassment was equally
confessed by the President when in his interview
with the Border States representatives he told
them the time had not yet come for him to break
with "the Greeley faction" If the Tribune will
eindcate no conditions and no bases" as being
either necessary or proper to secure peace, it is
safe to say that it does not purpose to "embar-
rass" itself any more than the President in uti-
ma.ely advocating "the best attanable peace with
or without slavery and with or without Union.
We know of no other subject on which our out
spoken contemporary practises similar pru-
dence. And we think it only just to say that
there is no journal in the country which can SO
consistently as the Tribune take the lead in advo-
eating disunion peace. To do so, it need but
recur to the familiar maxims it inculcated at the
instance, on the 9th of November, 1860, it said
IF the Cotton States shall become sati,fed that they
do better out Of the Union than in it insist let
ting them 90 peace The right secede may be reno
tuttona,y one BUT 1T EXISTS NEVERTHELESS.
resist the right of any state remain in
the Union and nuly defy the laws thereof To WITH
DRAW FROM THE UNION Is QUITE ANOTHER MATTER;
aud whenever considerable section of our Union shall
deliberately resolve to 60 cut WE SHALL RESIST
ERCIvE MEASURES DESIGNED TO KEEP IT N. We b, pc
never to live in Republic whereof section is pinned
to another by bayonets.
That distinguished advocate Of disunion in Vir-
Qihia, the Hon. WILLoUGHBY NEWTON In a let
ter ad cressed to the editors of this journal under
date of November 81, 1860, and published in the
lntelligencer of November Gath of that year, en-
closed to us at the time the number of the Tribune
containing the article from which the above cita-
ton is TAKEN and in the of his letter refer
red to the comparative views of the Tribune and
Inteligencer the subject of secession as follows
We quote from Mr.. Newton's letter:
Pardon me for ying that the views of the Inteipen
Ger hi. subject to to be crude and not we'll
considered they Of the dark ages and are much
more 10 accordance with the teachings Of the deep oms
Of the Old World than with the liberal ideas Of this free
Republic in which it has been generally conceded that
man is capable of self government and that communities
have right to select for them elves their
aud to ieform, alter abolish them they may Deem
necessary promote their happiness and safety
mend your careful attention p,rp sensible article from
the Nep York Tribune uh oh enclose you ~ pubica
ton authority to iohch do often refer but Which
presume ,oiu he receprd phout question this discus
SION similar sentiments, If mistake not were expressed
few years sgo in be Senate Of the United by
ators Wade ard Fe,senden. But this by the way. "Nm
cuss the quesuon principle. affirm that State has
right to secede from the Unioni and eoroiiary IL
,ooud be rong eng human pomer attempt by
10 prep nj the exercise Of The right Toone whose mind
thoroughly imbued with knowledge Of the history na
ture and conditions Of the Federal compact this PROPOSE
ton seems so plain that it is almost axomatc.'
When the Tribune expresses the opinion that
" the chief obstacle to the pacifcation of our
country" is to be sought in the abject submis-
sion of the Southern whites to the sway of JEFF
ferson Davis and his confederates," it gives us
good opportunity to remind that journal that before
the outbreak of the war it contributed very largely
according to the Of its influence, to create
the conditions Of that "abject submission by in
culcatiDg doctrines which justified the secession Of
the Southern States equally with the secession Of
the thirteen United Colonies from Great Britain.