The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1865-06-03
The Registry Law.

The guilty are towards As the day draws
near when the wheat is to he winnowed from
the chaff of the Saveholders' Rebellion, and
the men who stood up against their country
when the assassin held the knife at her
throat, are about to receive very mild
chasisement, it is astonishing how the Cop
perhead party shake and quake with fear and
apprehension of judgmeni to come. Dis
loyalty to his government curing the Rebel
lion is to disqualify man from voting in this
State in the future, if sucl offense can be
proven against him. AMI should such
crime not disfranchise him? Isn't the pun
ishment of disfranchisemeit for such offense
very light? Those who ere guiltless have
nothing to fear, and do moi fear; and when
we find man apprehesve about what
political status he will be placed in by the
I" star chamber as they call their neighbors
who know them best and are to judge them,
viz: the registering oficers-we may be sure
that he is mt exactly satisfied in his own
mind about the course lie has pursued toward
his government during the four years of re-
belion and civil war; For had he been zeal.
Gus in throwing his Influence against the foes
of the human race, as yell as of our State
and National governments, as he was in
giving it in their fav,r when opportunity
offered, he would not Ear the justice of his
neighbors now.
Every man must know, who has kept him
self but moderately wellinformed on political
Subjects and acknowledge the same, if the
truth is in him, that the Copperhead party of
the last four years was nothing but an ad-
junct of the armed Rebel party of the South I;
that it received its orders from Richmond !;
and that its existence depended upon the
success of the Rebellion. To that porty the
country is indebted for half the war debt,
carnage and devastation for had that polti-
cal organization been but half as Jealous in
upholding the arms of our Executive, and
soldiers in the field, as they were in framing
excuses for the Rebels and their crimes, and
otherwise extending aid and sympathy to the
insurgents, the secession conspiracy would
have been overthrow in half the time it has
required
Where a rebel emissary had chance to
smuggle vote it was cast for the Copper
head ticket; all sympathizers with the Rebel
lion were found voting with the Coppcrhead
party; all the plotters and raiders. the assas-
sins of public men, and hotel burners, and
pirates of the lakes, and blockade, runners,
and recruiters in the loyal States in the early
stages of the Rebellion, and the recruits that
they succeeded in beguiling into the rebel
armies, all, all belong to the Copperhead.
Democratic party. And now that the loyal
people have put down and utterly stamped
out of existence the formidable Rebellion,
they turn their attention to this Copperhead
party, and by a registration of voters intend
to weed out of this rebel organization
Copperhead Democratic party-all those
characters who have been active in promo
ting the interest and success of the Rebellion,
that proof can be found against, and perhaps
the honest men who remain may be able to
form political organization, that in future
may assist to promote good government and
the ends ofjustice.
The punishment to traitor of cutting off
his privilege to vote is very light compared
to the enormity of his otfense. And every
man who was against his government in this
four years struggle for existence is nothing
less than simply traitor, whether he took
up arms or not his intention was as vile as
his who welded the sword. When you hear
man bowling over the terrors of the regis.
try law you may safely set it down that his
heart was not on the side of his country dur
ing the Rebellion, but with the stern
statesman " caught in petticoats. He who
was mean enough to forsake his country in
the hour of her greatest need, should be put
on the back bench among no-voters: and
we hope notice will be taken of those Cop
perheads who howl the loudest against the
law, for it is pretty strong evidence that they
are guilty of the crime it proposes to punish,
and they should not escape.