Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1866-08-14

" " tii1C pdit VI IL. IL I'll
people should take a notion to con
slider it irreverently, no amount o
certificates or names will stop thei
laughter. Besides, it will be a littl
risky for the certificates. But if the,
are willing to risk it, you may be.
On re-perusal Of your paragraph
about situations, | incline to thinl
| have put q wrong construction OF
it. You use the same languag,
which has been commonly used b,
the leading and most virulent re bells
who, when thoroughly overcome
beaten and disarmed, have not beer
willing to acknowledge themselves
in the wrong, and have invented the
phrase about accepting the nation
Al situation" When put to it they
say =" loyalty" as your circular does,
taking pains to explain that by /" 10y
ally they mean they cannot help
themselves. Other parts of your
circular are manifestly aimed at them,
and since it is language which | new
er heard a truly loyal man use,
must infer that such is its meaning
here. The circular seems to com
plain that these men were not let in
to Congress soon enough that Con-
gress took time to debate what CON
dltloas to put upon them, and does.
IN fact after debate, insist upon some
very mild conditions. In preference
to being hung, they " accept the ma
tlonal sltuation," and are pardoned
Your circular seems to imply an
opinion that an outrage has been
committed by holding them little
IN check, by taking time to consider
their cases, and determine what the
welfare of the country requires. And
If | get your right meaning, you
adopt the reasoning of these unhung
traitors, who after deluging the land
with blood better than their own. in
vain effort to destroy the onstitu-
ton, now with brazen front com
plain that they are not admitted to
representation in Congress. It is
not complaint that the delay has
been unreasonable, but you put it on
Constitutional grounds, and com
plain of hard or unreasonable con
ditions, but of any conditions. Your
idea Of remedy appears to be not
to invite these unhung rebels to
come up to higher level, and use
language common to all real lovers
Of the Union, but to invite the
country down into the vocabulary of
treason to hold Union Convention
OF the kind that " accepts the nation
al situation" What did you ever
hear of me to cmboden YOU to ask
my approval Of such a convention ?
| hold q Federal office which is of
advantage to me, and which | should
like to keep, but you must pardo on
me, there are some things | can not
do, you had called together the
men who " accept the national situ>
alton to confess their sins, make
atonoment, or receive punishment, |
could have approved the call con
sistently with my past conduct. But
the tongue which could name such
cabal when assembled a Union
Convention" and seek to impose it
on the country as the same Union
party which it has been fighting, and
by which it has been once put down,
| had hoped fereverf is in danger of
appearing Ike & forked tongue.
| have done what | could to en-
courage and uphold the soldiers and
sailors who have compelled these
men to accept the situation, and
my heart is warm for them. can
not now subject these same soldiers
and sailors to their pensions and
honors measured to them by snch in
huences. ] hope to support for a
higher command the soldier who
fought it out on thai line from
Vicksburg to Richmond | do not
mean " to turA up the breech, or
split, or divide off IN any manner
which will prevent my looking him
or the rest of our soldiers ard sail
ors honestly in the face.
Very respectfully,
A. G. SANDS,
United States MARSHAL.