The mountain Democrat., 1864-10-29
A Word vita RspublicaAs.

Mr.. LlncOlnS adherents (says the San
FranciseO AFeus) With suprsme sssu-
rance, arrogate to themselves the name Of
the Union party, vaunttng their loyalty
and their devotion to the Union. But to
what are they lOyalf To what sort Of a
Union arc they deVOtedf When We
speak of the Union, We are generally un.
derstood to mean that formed by, and
whose terms are defined in, the Constitu.
ton. Are the Republicans In favor Of
that Uuione, IfsO, they differ very vide.
ly from their candidate, whahas declared
in the most important state papers Of his
Administration, that he will only listen to
proposals for peace and reunion on the
condition that slavery be abandoned. He
is at best but conditional Union man,
and the condition he imposes on permit
ting . reunion, is no less than an entire
reconstruction Of the social system Of the
South on . new basiS This is simply
revolution.
Those who. with fair notice Of Mr.. Lin.
coins revolutionary projects, favor his re-
election, may in one sense be Union men;
that is, they may desire q Union Of some
sort with the South; but it is not the
constitutional Union Of our fathers, but
some new Union on terms and conditions
not yet defined, aud which no man dare
affirm he can define, for they are left to
the sole arbitrament of Lincoln.
Republicans, pause you are on dan
gerous ground.
II we are to have new Union with the
South, is it to be willing or an enforced
one? Are we to live with them, after Il
is formed, as fellow-citizens, or as tyrants
and slaves? A government of force is re.
pugnant to the genius of our institutions
and cannot fail to subvert our own liber-
ties. 1t is scarcely possible that the rank
and file Of our Republican fellow.citizens
should willingly vote to create such. Yet
vote to re.elect Mr.. Lincoln, allowing
him to define and enforce on the South q
new Union, is practically a vote for the
creation Of q government Of mere force,
and which rests on the arbitrary will of a
single man. What is this but despot
ism? We entreat honest Republicans to
reflect on the infallible consequences Of
their course.
A despotism once erected in our coun-
try. would be probably the most arbitrary
and oppressive the world has ever seen.
Such q government, in small states and
old communities, is prevented from devel.
Oping its whole capacity for evil ; laws Of
long.standing, ancient customs, a closely
knit social structure, traditional respect
for authority on the one side and usage on
the other, temper the most despotic forms
Of government, and, in practice, restrain
the will Of the prince within the bounds
of known law. Grievances are readily
made known to him, and he has the in
ducement Of interest and fear to correc,
them; but no such conditions exist here.
The moment the will of the President is
substituted for law,we shall find ourselves
the subjects of dozen subordinate auto
Gratis. He can only govern through great
executive departments, and the largest
authority must necessarily be conferred
on subordnates, especially in the frontier
States. Each executive department will
become little tyranny in itself, and each
local head, local satrap, liable indeed tn
removal, but incapable Of supervision by
his chief at Washington. Such govern
ment would shortly become intolerable
1t would be union or rather consolida
ton Of the country, but such one as
those who were duped into making it,
would pray, when too late, to be deliver
ed from.
And to bring about such q union, men
are found mad enough to dissolve the
present one and trample down the Con
stitution which formed it. How true il
is Of nations, that those whom God would
destroy, he first makes mad
Conscientious Republicans! what man
Of you dare rend asunder the Union o
Washington Jefferson, Adams, Madison,
and Hamilton, and trust for the construc
ton of q better one to the wisdom oi
Abraham Lincoln, aided By the counsels
Of the rash fanatics, Goddess parsons, and
unsexed women, who have pressed him
into his crusade against slavery! Shal-
low infidel philosophers have torn many
o government to pieces. but never, in all
history, have they built up ONE.
The Democratic party knows but ont
political Union of these States; thai
which the Constitution creates and de.
6nes. To that the Southern States agreed,
and we have the right to compel them to
live up 10 their engagement. To force
upon them another and different Union,
to which they never did agree, we have
no more right than they had to depart
from that to which they did. Both are
alike to substitute force for consent, and
to destroy free government. The party
which in the flush Of victory proposes q
war for subjugation. would, in case Of
disaster to our arms, accept the aIterna.
tive of separation, for they are necessary
corelatives. The creed of the united De-
! :