Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1865-05-11
CLhAkflELD, Pa, WEDNESDAY, MAY H. 1868

80 ''"sI nave slTOnB seMDlanCe
= o oi soundness. And such it, in fact, has,
lhe constitutional right of secession u
+ winch Ia their cause, has from the first
been extensively believed in. Even JEFF
teIson and Madison favored it more or
less directly. Nearly the whole South had
= come TO believe 1t, and no small part of
the North. /. is true that the American
people have now put their final and effec.
tual veto upon the doctrine Of " secession "
lhey have done this, not only on the bat
tie-held but Mt the ballol-boX also. Gen.
McCIellan's nomination was but device
10 get votes, Mr.. Pendeton, an omen
ana unqualified advocate of the doctrine
represented the Democratic marty and
your vast majority over him goes along
with our military victories 10 prove thai
Inc American people have no LONGER
any nailerce with the doctrine. Even
'hose who have clung to it the most tena-
cIously, and those who still see strong ar
guihenls Tor II must give il up. The ma
'Ioh VIII mark with her strong 'disfayor
every one who will continue to uphold
ms doctrine which has cost her so much.
Nevertheless, not TO let the extended CON
Vlcilon nj the North as well as OF the South
present as well as past, of the truth of tho
uoctrlne, mitigate in some degree the
I''me OF the mad,clinging of the Sou
tbern people to it, is to be,ray great and
guilty insensiOiity 10 the claims Of reason,
cardo: and charity. lie is not a right,
hearted man who can read without sor-
row for General Lee and without some
measure of excuse for him, the accounts
OF his hesltatiug between the claims Of
his country and his Virginia, to his para
mount allegiance. Charge the general
with guilt for choosing Calhoun instead Of
Webster for his aXpounder of the Consli-
tuition. But admit it TO be more hi3 mis-
fortune than his guilt that, in respect to
state sovereignty, he grew up urder the
teachings Of Jefferson and Madison instead
OF those of Washington and Hamilton and
Jay. Candor will allow the like plea even
for Jefferson Davis Let him who "is
without sin this sin OF taking as q po-
political authority not Calhoun merely,
but even jefferson or Madison -'lct him
first cast a stone at" Jefferson Davis. The
simple truth is, that our nation had not
learned that God did not create one race
Of his children to be tramped upon by
another; nor that she is but q single ma
N'S' '''o'NeN'' VI u iGLtll VI DdtlODS, nesc
lessons she now learned. The war has
taught them; and the cost of learning
them has been 100 great that she should
ever forget them. From the Jack Of
e8M9n ard 8snenfi6f int "SoRtn nor the
North had been willing to learn them, so
neither can put the entire blame Of the
war upon the other. Hence neither is TO
punish the other but both are to forgive
each other. God says to the North as
well as to the South, "Go, ard sin no
more"
I called Secession" the cause OF the
rebels. Perhaps, it will be said that not
secession but slavery was it. Nevertho-
less if slavery was the ultimate cause-il
to perpetuate that abomination and ex-
tend its borders was the end they had in
view, still it cannot be denied that "se
cessi0n" was their proximate cause.
But it will be said, that the South does
not abide by the rules of international
war; and that, therefore, the North is re-
leased from them. Sorry am to have
to own that Sho does not She statves and
murders prisoners Of war-than which
there is no more abhor-ent crime. But
what il tho spirit which prompts her to
it? It is the pro-slavery spirit. The same
, spirit, which ignores .he rights of black
men, alo VS. the rights OF no man to stand
in her way. And is the south alone res
pousble for this spirit? The North i:
scarcely less so. Until the rebellion, the
commerce, politics religious and social
influences in the North were mainly in
the service Of slavery; and did much tc
| give strength and rampancy to its infer
, nal spirit. Nothing like half the people
of the North thought man disqualified
, by MS slaveholding to preach the Gospel
os Jesus Christ; and scarcely one in q
81 hundred of them would have refused to
, vote for STAKEHOLDER for President
Surely, in the light of their common res
possibility for slavery, and. for the spirit
l it generates, the North as well as the
. South is to be charged with the rebellion
l and, with all its horril fruits, including
! even the starving and numbering Of prii
1 oner5. The whole is the work OF both
aud it is the foulest hypocrisy, a7 well a
/; the deepest injustice, for the North L
), punish the South for any part of il. !
q drunken father has brought up his son
: to be drunkards, and if, in one of the
, family carousals, they tall upon him, ht
y should not, if he shall anerward get then
Q in his power, punish them either for thei
s drunkenness or for beating him. All i
Q becomes him TO do is to guard himsel
q and them for the future; and this he cal
y most eiiectually do by clearing his house
Q and forever keeping it clear, o: intoXica
: ting liquors, So, too, the duty of th
o North is not to punish the South, bu
1t simply to provide for the future safety c
h both North and South. scarcely nee
d say, that the main thing to this end is t
3 rid the land of slavery. and to restore t
t, its victims the civil and political rights c
o which it has robbed them. To this wou
!. add no death, no imprisonment, no ban
II ishment-noLhiug but the breaking up Q
IT the large landed estate Of tho South 70
1t the benefit Of the needy, and the perpo
ual withdrawal Of political power from
J. the disloyal leaders, and the temporal