The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-29

: y Z
| cratic party of those States respectively. That
is to cay, the great body Of those who had pre-
| viOusy run the Democratic machine were
/ early and atdent teCessonists, while the mass
OF The opposite party was either verse or luke.
! warm. Thus, every Democratic Governor of a
! State, those OF Delaware and Kentucky excepted,
! was gt the head of the hunt for disunion; and,
/ of the exceptions, each openly condemned all
/ forClble resistance to the movement.
III. The Federal Government was then wholly
in the hands of the Democratic party, save that
! the House of Representatives was tied-William
Pennington moderate Republican, having at
length been chosen its Speaker by one majority
But in no single department did that Govern
ment oppose any earnest resistance to secession.
President Buchanan in his message of Decem-
Der 3, 1860 squarely proclaimed that Congress
had no TlghJ to use force to prevent the with
draWal of State from the Union, nor to COM
pei her to yield obedience to its laws. To do
this, he argued, would be TO make aodr on a
state, which Congress had no constitutional
power 10 do. (See american Conflict Vol. l.
p; 37O) This proclamation of national anar-
Chy was backed by formal opinion from his
Democratic Attorney-General, jeremiah S.
Black, who was afterward his Secretary of state,
who affirmed that the use of armed me0 to en-
force the laws in the existing statelof things
would be "Wholly Illegal" He further urged
That an attempt to make seeded State ful6l
her Federal obligations "would be- ipse fdcto
an expulsion of such State from the Union"
(Ihe very sopbistry which we hear every day
from the Democrats of lS67.)
~. During that memorable winter Demo-
cratic conventions were held in several States
that in this State (held IN Twedde Hall,
Albany, January 81, 1861 being one of the
aolest and strongest that was ever convened.
But from none of these conventions, nor from the
Democrats in Congress, nor from the thousand
10 fifteen hundred Democratic journals pub
nsned IN the country, was voice raised in
depreciation of, or dissent from, these disorga-
nlzlng doctrines. On the contrary they we're
generally re-echoed and almost universally ac
QulesCed in.
V. Seven States having seeded before Mr..
Buchanan's term expired, their Democratic
members vacated their seats in Congress, with
very rare exceptions. OF their few anti Demo-
cratic members, nearly Or quite every one re-
mained to the close.
VI. Mr.. Lincoln was inaugurated on the 4th
OF March, 1861; and mis- inaugural Address was
mainly devoted TO the Inculcauon of doctrines
regarding secession and coercion the exact
opposltes of Messrs. Buchanan and Blacks.
Mr.. Lincoln was well know wn to hold (as we did
and do) the right of the people to modify or
change their form of government as tran
Seeding all written constitutions or charters;
but he, with great clearness and CogenCy, yet in
perfect kindness, demonstrated that a President
must to the utmost limit of his ability, cause
tine laws OF the Union to be respected and
obeyed in every State and TerritOry-that,
should collision OF forces result, his position
would be strictly defensive and conservative
that the consequent war would be made Upon
him, not 6y him. Never was manifesto more
firm and lucid; never was one less irritating.
Either its doctrines were sound, or any State
might at any time dissolve the Union. Yet, of
the five hundred Democratic journals within our
reach, we believe no single one approved and
sustained the positions OF Mr.. Lincoln.
II. Throughout that winter and the ensuing
spring, all the organs Of Democratic opinion
within our observation Teprobated Mr.. Lincoln
and the Republicans as disturbers and disunion-
lists, because OF their intent to oppose force by
force, if that should become necessary to main
tain the integrity and authority of the Union.
We can recall no instance of Democratic reouke
to those who were openly, ostenCatiousy con-
spring and armlng to resist the Union, which
they proclaimed already dissolved.
VIII A Coniederacy of the seeded States
having been formed, leading Northern and
Western Democrats openly advocated the seces-
sion of their several States from the Union and
their accession to the Southern Oonfederacy.
III the Union is to be dissolved" said Judge
George w. Woodward democratic candidate
for Governor in 1863, Il want the line to run
north Of Pennsylvania" Ex-Governor ROdman
NJ Price, OF New Jersey, wrote and printed
letter elaborately urging that New Jersey
should forthwith unite her fortunes with those
of the slaveholling COnfederaCy. (See it in
american Conflict" volume |, p. 439) And
Ex-Governor HoratiO Seymour, of this State pr-
vateIy argued that New York should likewise
unite with that COnfederaCy whose head was
Jefferson Davis, 1t was held by leading Demo-
Gratis that the Union might thus be recon
st1ucted without bloodshed or convulsion-Only
New England, and perhaps two or three of the
more fanatcal States of the Northwest being
excluded tbererom, as unacceptable to our
Southern brethren.
TX. Actual hostilites were commenced by the
Rebels-not by firing on Fort SUMTER as is
often asserted, and as Pollard now pretends,
but months before while MIR. Buchanan was yet
President They seized and appropriated the
forts, arsenals, armOrles, ordnance, arms, muni-
tiOns, custom. houses, postOfices, sub-treasures,
etc, throughout nearly halt the Union, without
a shadow OF rcslstanCe-his Democratic SeCre-
tares of War and the Treasury being conspicu-
Gus, active disuniOaists, and he himself with
cCnnspllOrs. DlaVtl1nUS their
hands. Before Texas was out of the Union,
according to Rebel computation the bulk of
our little army had been betrayed by its COM
mander General Twiggs, and surrendered to
three Rebel Commssoners-Feb. lS, lS6l-a
fortnight before Mr.. Buchanan went out of
office. II ever a Government torbore till smitten
on both cheeks and till tobacco juice had been
spit into its eyes, that did the Federal Govern
mcnt before graphing with the shareholders
Rebellion. And yet, from first to last, the
Democratic journals and canvassers represented
the war for the Uniop as waged by Mr.. Lincoln
and the Republicans, and assumed that the
Rebels were assaled and standing on the
defensive!
X Democratic protests and remonstrances,
public aud private, against the war as cruel
fratricidal, wicked, revolving, abhorrent, etc.
etc, were abundant throughout the struggle;
not one of them so far as we can recollect, ad-
dressed to the Rebel chiefs but all assuming
| that Mr.. Lincoln and the Republicans were
waging hostilites needlessly, If not wantonly,
and might have an honorable peace whenever
they would. Thomas H. Seymour, of Connect.
/ cut, was the author of one OF the earliest of
! these paraly zing misslves; and he was nomI-
! mated by acclamatlon by the Democrats of Con.
necticut as their candidate for Governor in 1868
and his election enthusiastically supported by
! the party.
XI. In this city, one of our Democratic iour.
! mails, the Daily NelUs, was an open unqualified
| contemner Of the war on our side and champion
/ of the Rebellion, from first to last. 1t did its
| best to prevent enlistments in the Union armies