The Portland daily press., 1866-08-29
A Dilemma.

The Southern papers are almost a, much
puzzled by the Philadelphia Convention as
the Copperhead sheets of the North. Some of
them, such as the Richmond Enquirer, object
decidedly to the ground taken in the address,
that "The war was carried on by the Govern
ment of the United States, in maintenance of
its own authority and in defence of its own
existence, both of which were menaced bv
the Instruction which it sought to suppress,o
The Enquirer says "the Southern people,
at least, repel and spurn the charge that thew
are rebels or insurgents;' that they denv.
too, that the Federal Government was on the
defensive, and was not the assailant in the
war, and at the stake would not admit that
they were constitutionally warred upon"
The Enquirer is consistent The war WAS
denounced, both South and North. as tyrani-
cal and oppressive, as an invasion of the
rights Of the South; Wood, Vallandigham.
Seymour and all those prominent Copper
heads who are now cunningy kept out of
sight in the new party, but still pull the
strings, continually asserted this. The South
ern members of that Convention were the
very ones who ''fred the Southern heart"
and called upon the people to iepel the invad-
ers. The idea of invasion was the central
idea OF the Southern mind, the key note of
the whole war; The rebels did not agree that
the Yankees had right to occupy their State
territory at their own pleasure and they
fought to keep them out, and, since they
have been beaten in fair fight resort
to assassination and threats to drive
them out. They are still sinvaders." We
agree with the Enquirer, that the MEM
bers OF the old Democratic party cannot con-
sistently accept the following doctrine pro-
mulgated in the address of .he Convention.
1t was that power and that authority which
the rebellion sought to overthrow and the vic
tory of the Federal arms was, simply the de-
feat OF that attempt The government of the
United States acted throughout the war on the
defensive. 1t sought only to hold possession of
what was already its own.
The whole argument and doctrine of the
Democratic party was precisely the opposite
during the entire war.
On the other hand some of the less consis-
tent but more polite papers are wiling TO ac-
cept the new dogma that the war was, on the
part of the United States, defensive" and not
offensive" The Norfolk Old Dominion gets
into quite furore about the matter 1t saws
eff the war upon the part of the Government
was Offensive instead of defensive then
Thad. Stevens has the question, and Congress,
in all its offensive legislation, was right.
"The same conclusion is reached from diff
ferent standpoints. If, in point of principle,
we admit that the Government carried on an
offensive war, we must, of necessity, admit
the right of the Government, by the law of
nations and of war; to hold us as conquered
provinces-to confiscate our property, and
hang nine-tenths of our people,"
The alternative is rather disagreeable, we
confess, but it must be rather humiliating for
the proud Virginian to eat his own words
deny his lifelong principles and accept the
doctrines against which he and his ancestors
and his progeny have fought with all their
strength. What abasement will not a South
erner submit to for the sake of obtaining po-
litical power! ~