The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1866-07-14
Leniency towards Rebels.

Every Rebel paper and politician is harping
of the beauties of charity and forgiveness, and
counselling leniency towards "our misguided
brethren of the South" The rebellion, they
say, is dead those lately in opposition to the
Government have returned to their allegiance,
and now we shall forgive and forget, should
take these ''mlstaken men, to our confidence,
give them back all the rights and privileges they
possessed before the war, and elect them again to
be our rulers. If it were really true that the
people of the South had forgotten their treason
and had, in good faith, come back into the Union,
resolved to live obedient to its laws and govern
ment. we might forgive them for their crimes in
the past. But the rebellion is not dead Though
disarmed and disorganized for war, it is armed
and organized for civil conflict, and to that these
rebels are now turning with unslaked appetite
for power And in this they are formidable -
not because they have the numerical strength to
control this great country, but because CONSOLE
dated by community in interest, in principles
and in crime, and by common and consuming
hatred of their conquerers, they are ready for
any alliance with Northern traitors, copperheads,
democrats, or any other disloyalists, which will
hold out prospect of restoring the reins of gov
eminent to their blood-stained hands. If any
man believes that the rebellious and traitorouS
spirit of 1861 does not existin 1885, he lis wretch
edly mistaken. 1t would this day break out
again in open war, with double fury, if there
were decent ground to hope for success. We
may travel the South from one end to the other,
and 90 from one end of the border States to the
other, and we will fail to find single man,
whose heart was really with the rebellion, who
is not this hour as venomous rebel, at heart as
he ever was You can find plenty OF such who
say they ''Gccept the resuIt," THAT is ''grn and
bear it, but no one that shows the least COM
junction for what he has done, or the faintest
purpose to atone, by future fidelity to his coun-
try, for his horrible crime against its CeRstita.
ten, It's Government, and Its people The whole
mass of them are bound together by ties which
will not be sundered till this generation shall
bsve passed away. Whenever they are allowed
to VOTE they vote together, in solid mass, and al
ways for rebels No man who has been loya
gets vote from them, unless he expiated the Of
fence of loving his country, by an open, nncon'
ditional and slavish loyalty, in political contests
to them, such as Montgomery Blair and Others
are now exhibiting in this State. The worse the
rebel the more acceptable to them. But the 9th.
er day, the pirate Semmes, yet unpardoned by
the President, was elected Judge in Mobile, but
the military commander there, by order of the
President prohibited his assuming the Office IN.
I'll he should be pardonsd! This is one of thous-
ands of instances. They prove that rebels are
still power in the land-a power that, always
FESTIVE, reckless and ready for mischief, is more
dangerous this day to the integrity and welfare
of the Nation than ever the Rebel armies were.
And they are a power which unprincipled poll
teians are making haste TO court, and Esau-like,
sell their birthright Of honor, patriotism and
principle for mess of treasury-pap pottage cook
ed for them by the slayers of their brothers, and
served up by hands still reekiug with the blood OF
the Nations heroic sacrifice for the Union.