The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1864-09-08

continue. If the people Of the
South, from the Revolution to thii
time, have not enjoyed the CON
pletest rights Of self.government
then no people in the world have
certainly no people in any Of the
American States have, and on
whole system of federal union is
the moet stupendous sham or rec.
ord. The people Of New York and
NJ massachusetts, have been no freer
or more independent than they;
we possess no rights which they
do not possess, the complaints
made by one may be mado with
equal pertincncy and force by the
other; and the same reasons which
arc alleged to justify the revolt Of
South Carolina might be made to
Justify a revolt by Ohio or Yer
mont. All stand on the same
privileges, none hold or exercise
prerogatives Of any sort, or may
iustry claim the slightest pre-em-
incnce of right or freedom.
What a shameless and prepos'
terou, assumption it is, then, to
assert that any pant Of the nation
has been divested Of it's rights Of
self. government by a system so
lust. liberal and benefcent! Yet
It is upon this poor and sorry fetch
that Jefferson Davis seeks to wash
his hands Of the oceans OF blood
shed in this sanguinary war.
But what Davis means, If he
means anything beyond the effect
his words abroad, is, that the
Sou tn demands the right to resist
at will any act Of the federal Con-
gress that may seem to it injurious
or unnecessary. Secession ut will,
such as the constitution of the
provides for-bold,
naked, undisguiscd disunion-
what is termed indie.
pendence, or the right OF self-gov-
ernment. In the ordinary accep-
tation that right means only the
right to an equal share in the con-
troll Of the government, such as we
have always held in this country,
but in the glass of the shareholders
it has a deeper Significance and
becomes the right bo overturn and
destroy the government, by either
peaceable or violent methods.
Now we have greatly mistaken
the people Of the North if they
will ever consent to incorporate so
anarchial and destructive a doc.
trine among their constitutional
principles. The right OF revolu-
ton, as the last resort Of an oppres-
sed people, of a people driven to
the extremity OF suffering by
wrongs that can be averted in no
other way; they will maintain; they
will maintain it, however, as an
abnormal or irregular method,
imposed by necessity, not choice;
but tho right to annihilatc consti-
tutions as u part Of the regular
political procedure they never will
admit until they have lost alike
thoir morality and their wits.
Putting the issue OF the war, then,
upon Davis's ground, we do not
500 how there can be any reconcilia-
tion; we do not see how any party
can propose terms Of peace, which
will not be, IN effect, terms Of dis.
union. To grant the right Of Sc.
cession is to grant disunion, and
the South will gain by consent
what che now seeks to gain by
war. Ia thorc any party willing
to concede this, willing to concede
a prinniplo which would sooner or
later disintegrate the nation, and
render anarchy a rule, not an ex.
Yet Dapis demands no
less than this as the cery condi.
ton of negotiation; we must rec.
,gnize his right to selfgoyernment|
hat is, his right to annul any
in which he may engag-,
before he will treat with us; but,
~ his own showing, how can we
;reat ut all with ons who contends
hat the right to abrogate conpacts
,t will is the very substance of
elf.govsrninent.-N. y, Epening
D,y l,.o..ay tSs