Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-09-14
COMMITTEE Rooms,
No. ll05 Chestnut street,
prrTT ADE-T urrrA Gay,+ , NJ

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. =, 1860.
feU5H- Citizens. s.-The superficial observer
might suppose, after the fearful struggles,
sacrifices and suferings of the last FIVE years
that we could safely relax our efforts and
watchfulness, and, returning to our lndlvld-
ual affairs, permit the machinery Of govern
ment to run itself. An intelligent and pa
triotic survey Of the situation, however, viii
not warrant any such conclusion, but Will
impress Us more than ever with the truth
and wisdom of the adage, Eternal vigilance
Is the price Of liberty Six years ago the
people lawfully elected Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States, The mi
nority, enemies Of our government and
country, refused to submit to then defeat al
the polls, and, for the first time in 0af hlsto-
~, appealed from the ballet-box TO the
sword They dehantly threw of all the OBJ
legations OF constitutions and laws, rushed
madly into civil war, and fought with malig
nifty and desperation for four long olo0dy
years In the wicked attempt to overthrow
and utterly destroy the government handed
down By our fathers. This they did under
the pretext that a State had a constitutional
right to secede from the Union. The same
thing had been attempted in South Carolina
in 1882 but under the vigorous admiBistTa-
ton Of President jackson, the effort sigBally
failed, and the doctrine on which it was bas-
ed was repudiated. But in 1856, when the
Democratic party at Cincinnati nominated
James Buchanan for President, they Teviv-
ed the old State rights dogma Of secession,
by re adopting the Virginia and Kentucky
resolutions of IT9S and 1899, as a part OF
their platform. And at the Charleston Con-
vention, in 1860, although the party there
split into two parts, the one nominating
Douglas and the other Breckenridge for
President, both factions re-adopted the same
resolutions, which do not hold the relations
of the States to the United States as con-
stitutine government in the ordinary and
proper sense Of the term, but declared to be
merely a compact among parties having no
common Judge; each party has an equal
right to Judge for itself, a. well Of intrachons
as Of the mode and measure of redress
Under this free Democratic charter for
rebellion, the election Of Abraham Lincoln
was claimed by the rebel States as an In
fraction" of the compact, and they chose
secession and civil war as the mode. and
the destruction of the Union and OF the
Government as .'the measure Of redress.
Hence. when the war broke upon us in all
its fury, we found the Democratic party par
alvzed. 1t was suddenly brought face to
lace WIFI AilE ENEiACaA 4tNAA4OAA " At9 Wv "a
political creed, by its own political friends.
Hence, too, the sad Generalization and want
of LOYALTY and patriotism shown by that
marty during the whole war. Those of them
who preferred their country to their party
and platform abandoned both platform and
party, and under the flag of their country
manfully rallied to put down the rebellion,
while the leaders and the mass Of the party
did otherwise.
They had so repeatedly proclaimed the
right of secession they believed it, and were
everywhere found iustiiying or executing
the rebellion, denounced every means used
to suppress it; predicting the war failure,
and endeavoring to make good their pTedlc-
tions, and bodily denying there was any pow
er in the government TO 'c0erce a State.
The Democratic party thus acquired repu-
utation for conniYance at treason and dlsloy-
atty to the country which Justly consigned it
10 continuous and Overwhelming defeats
until at the close Of the war it had not a
Governor or a Legislature in single loyal
State. except little Delaware and the Legs
laiure of Kentucky And since the Phila-
delphia Convention it seems to have fallen
upon the expedient ofother noted criminals
and resolved to sally forth under a new
name.
Not until April, 1865, were the rebels fl
nally overcome, and then only by the power
of our armies, which they could no longer
withstand. There was no voluntary surren-
der, but their arms were stricken from their
! bloody hands The great conspiracy against
freedom had failed, and the armies and peo-
/ pie Of eleven reyolted States we're at the
mercy of the eonquerers, protesting q viii
hngness to accept any terms the yietors
might impose. Congress had then recently
adjourned, and, under the law. would not
assemble until the following December un-
/ less convened Try the President in extra ses-
SION The occasion seemed to be0ne Of suf
fcient novelty and importance to require a
meeting of Congress, but the President
Judged differently. He proclaimed that
these States had been deprived Of 'all civil
government, and the Supreme Court of
United Suites declared the whole population
thereof to be allen enemies @
The President proceeded, by proclama-
tions, by appointment OF provisional gov
ernors and other means, to create govern
ments for theke rehelliOus States. and upon
ff...gras- made re