The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1864-11-09

1scnsc of honor than Mr.. Polk possessed;
7 and rs NIr. Polk became q tool in the
hands Of faction,-being Protection
ist during tho contest Of IA, and an.
Anti. Protectionist after that contest had
. been decided in his favor,-so it is in
tended that General Mcclellan shall be.
como a tool in the hads Of another fac.
ton. Mi. Polk was employed to effect
the destruction Of black tariff :"
IGencral QcClcllan is employed to de-
stroy natiou that is supposed TO be
givcu up to "black rcpublicanism." We
DO us. believe that the soldier will be
found SO successful al instrument as the.
civil pn proved to be.
Al ounce Of fact is supposed to be
wor;l ton Of theory; and the facts Of
the last four or five years admit Of our
believing the worst that can be suspected
Of the purposes Of the Democratic party.
1t il no, uncharitable to say that the
Headers and managers Of that party con-
template, in the event Of their triumph
in November, the surrender Of the coun.
try to the slavcholdinS oligarchy; in the
event Of their defeat by small majority,
the extension Of the civil war over the
North.
Four years AGO VIC could not be made
to believe that Secession was possible
thing. We admitted that there were
Scccssionists at the South, but We coafd
not be made to believe in the possibility
Of Secession. Even South Carolina
couldn't bc kicked out Of the Union" it
was commonly said in the North. There
were but few disunionis,s at the South,
almost everybody said, and almost every.
body believed what was said concerning
the state Of Southern opinion. In Il
few weeks We saw,''not South Carolina
kicked out Of the Uuion, but South
Carolina kicking the Union away from
her. In few mouth, wG saw eleven
Sta;cs.,ake themselves out Of the Union,
form themselves into Conicderacy, and
raise great armies to 'iight agaiust the
Union. Yet it is certain that in the
Imunth Of November, 1850, there were
net twcnty thousand rrsoutc disunioniStS
in all tLc SlavcholdiuS States, leaving
South Carolina and Mississippi aside
and not above fifty thousand in all the
south, including Mississippi and South
Carolina. How, then, came it to pass
that nearly the whole Of the population
n III. South became rebels in so short Il
time? Because they were under the do
muion Of their leading men, who took
them from the ight road, and conducted
them into the slough OF rebellion. BE.
cause they were encouraged so to net BY
the Northern Democracy as made rebel.
lion inevitable. Tho Northern Dem.
ocra,ic press and Northern Democratic
orators held such language respecting
"Southeru rights " as induced even loyal
Sou,hrons to suppose that Slavery was
to be openly recognized by the ConSti'u.
ton, and spread over the nation. The
President Of the United States, North.
crn Democrat, gravely declared that
there existed no right in the Govern
mcnt to cocrce 4 seeding State, which
was all that the most determined Seccs.
sionist could ask. -. %sa - "-... ..
Ius,ead Of doing anything TO strength.
en- the position OF the Federal Govern.
ment, the President did all that he
could Ia, assist the Scces>ionists, and left
the country naked to their attacks; and
he par,al on the bestiof terms with those
Rebels who left his Cabinet, where they
lad long been busy in organizing resist
ance to Federal authority. Tho leaders
Of the Northern Democracy, far from
exhibiting loyal'spirit, urged the slave
holders to make demands which were at
war with the Constitution and the laws,
aud which could not have been complied
with, unless it had been meant to admit
that there was no binding force in exist
linz institutions, the validity Of which
had not oucc been called in question tor
sevcnty.two years.
The real Scccssionists of the South,
Rhctt and Yanccy and their followers,
availel themselves Of the existingstate OF
alfairs, and precipi,ased rcbellion,-a
step which they never would have taken,
! had they not.been assured thatn no resist,
anco would 10 made to their action 30
long as Mr.. Buchanan should remain in
the Presidency, and that ho would be
supported by tho leaders Of the North
ern Democracy, who would tako their
followers with them along the road that
led to the Unions dissolution. South
Carolina, rabid as she was, did not rebel
until tho last Democratic President OF
the United States had publicly assured
her that he would do nothing to prevent
her. from reducing the Calhoun theory
to practice; and had, she not rebelled.
not another, State would have left the
Union. The opportunity that she could
not get under President Jackson she
IN