Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-05-05

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the parts of the country In rebellion the
freedom of all persons who have been held
as slaves, must be affirmed and maintained
Events, as they rolled onward, have remov-
ed every doubt of the legality and binding
force Of that proclamation. The country
and the Rebel Government have each laid
claim to the public service of the slave, and
yet but one of the two can have rightful
claim to such service That rightful claim
belongs to the United States because every
one born on their soil, with the few excep-
tions of travellers and transient residents,
owes them a primary allegiance. Every one
so born has been counted among those rep
resented in Congress; every slave has ever
been represented IN Congress mperfectly
and wrongly 1t may--but still has been coun-
ted and represented The slave born on
our soil owed allegiance to the general gov
ernment. 1t may in time past have been a
qualified allegiance manifested through his
master, as the allegiance of ward through
It's guardian or of an infant through It's pa
rent But when the master became false to
his allegiance, the slave stood face to face
with his country and his allegiance, which
may before have been a qualified one, be-
came direct and immediate His chains fell
off, and he stood at once in the presence of
the nation, bound like the rest of us to its
public defense Mr.. Llncoln's proclamation
did but take notice of the already existing
right of the bondman to freedom The
treason Of the master made it public crime
for the slave to continue his obedience; the
treason of a state set free the collective
bondmen of that State. This doctrine is
supported by the analogy eff precedents-
In the times of feudalism the treason of the
lord of the manor deprived him of his serfs.
the spurious feudalism that existed among
US differs in many respects from the feuda-
lism of the middle ages; but so far the pre-
cedent runs parallel with the present case; for
treason the master then, for treason the mas
ter now, loses his slaves In the middle a
ges the sovereign appointed another lord
over the serfs and the land which they
cultivated; in our day, the sovereign
makes them masters of their own
persons, lords over themselves.
1t has been said that we are at war, aud
that emancipation is not beligerent right
| The objection disappears before analysis. In
La war between independent powers the in
vading foreigner invites to his standard all
who viii give him aid, whether bond or free,
and he rewards them according to his abii-
ty and his pleasure with gifts or freedom;
but when at peace he withdraws from the
invaded country he must take his aiders and
comfarters with him; or if he leaves them
behind, where he has no court to enforce his
DEGREES, he can give them no security, unless
it be by the stipulations of a treaty. In
civil war it is altogether different There,
when rebellion is crushed, the old Govern
ment restored, and its Courts resume their
jurisdiction. So it is with VS.. the United
States have Courts of their own, that must
punish the guilt of treason and vindlcate the
freedom of persons whom the fact of Rebel
lion has set free. Nor may it be said that,
because Slavery existed In most of the States
when the Union was formed, itcannot right
fully be interfered with now. A changeh has
, taken place. such as Madison foresaw. and
for which he pointed out the remedy The
Constitutions of States had been transform
ed before the plotters of treason carried
them away into Rebellion. When the Fed
eral Constitution was formed, general eman-
cipation was thought to be, near; and every
where the respective Legislatures had au-
thority, in the exercise of their ordinary
functions, to do away with Slavery; since
that time the attempt has been made In
what are called Slave States to make the
condition of Slavery perpetual; and events
have proved with the clearness of demon
stration, that constitutio1 which seeks to
continue caste of hereditary bondmen
through endless generations is inconsistent
with the existence ofRepubEcan institutions
So, then the new President and the people
Of the United States must insist that the
proclamation of freedom shall stand as a
reality. And moreover, the people must
never cease to insist that the Constitution
shall be so amended as utterly to prohibit
Slavery on any part OF oursoil for eyermore
Alas! that a State IN our vicinity should
withhold its assent to this last beneficent
measure; its refusal was an encouragement
? to our enemies equal to the gain of pitch
ed battle; and delays the only hopeful meth
cd of pacifcation The removal of the
cause Of the Rebellion is not only demanded
by justice; it is the policy of mercy, making
room for wider cemency; it Is the part of
order against chaos of controversy; its sue
cess brings with it true reconcllement, a
lasting peace, a continuous growth of conf
; dence through an assimilation of the social
condition Here is the fitting expression of
the mourning Of to-day. And let no lover
of his country say that this warning is un-
called for The cry is delusiye that Slave
ry is dead Even now it is nerving itself
for fresh struggle for continuance. The
last winds from the South watt to us the
sad intelligence that man, who had sur
rounded himself with the glory of the most
varied achievements who but week ago
was named with affectionate pride among
the greatest benefactors of his country and
the ablest generals of all time, has usurped
more than the whole power of the Execu-
tive, and under the name of peace has reyiv-
ed Slavery and given security and political
power to traitors from the Chesapeake to the
Rio Grande. Why could he not remember
the dying advice of Washington, never to
draw the sword but for self-defense or the
rights of his country, and when drawn, new
er to sheath it till its work should be accom-
plished? And yetfrom this bad act, which
the people with one united voice condemn,
no great evil will follow save the shadow on
his own fame. The Individual, even in the
greatness of military glory, sinks into insig-
nificance before the resistless movements in
the history of man. No one can turn back
or stay the march ofProvidence. No senti-
ment Of despair may mix with our sorrow.
We owe it to the memory Of the dead, we
owe tito the cause of Popular liberty through
out the world, that the sudden crime which
has taken the life of the President of the
United States shall not produce the least
Impediment in the smooth course of public
affairs This great city, in the midst of
unexampled emblems Of deeply-seated grief,
has sustained itself with composure and
! magnanimity 1t has nobly done It's part in
guarding against the arrangement of busi-
ness or the slightest shock to public credit.
i The enemies of the Republic put it to the
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