Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-07-19

The President charged that there was dan
ger of the commanding officers of the So
called districts usurping powers hateful to
all American instinct, fatal to all the OBJ
jects Of such legislation, and feartally per-
llons to liberty i'll the North. For TINS he
was loudly denounced, and all the spoKes-
men Of the measure sOlcmnly declared, II
their places in the Houses of Congress,
that the object was to save and not de-
stroy that the military satraps would have
no power but that Of policemen f; that the
measure was redolcnt Of mildness and love,
and was hostile to oppression or martial
government. With such interpretations,
the people were willing to tolerate it for
the sake of having an end of agitation
80 was the President. He accepted the
Infamous engine. and defed even the Su-
preme Court to dislodge him from it for
he, too, wished and must have hoped
how delusively in our opinion at the time,
our columns for two years back bear am
pie WltneSS-tO reach repOse for the coun-
try. And what next ? AS soon as it be-
came probable that quiet would, to the de-
struction of an ascendancy which exists
only iii tumult, actually force it's blessed
way, the very authors of the measure come
here to repudiate it in the very sense in
which they forced the country to accept it,
and now, after more than two years of to-
| tai cessation of all manner of hostility or
contumacy against the authority of the
| United States throughout the entire land,
| the Union is to be kept in state of disso-
luton, and every interest, material and
moral, in the country exposed to still new
| peril by Ulnheard of cOncOctionS, distilling,
as we write, in the bad hearts of these un-
considerable demagogues, and about to
pour their corroding poison into the al
ready polluted statute book.
How is this amazing record to be ac-
| counted for VIII any person in his sen.
ses believe that what VIC have mentioned
were measures intended for the restoration
of the Union Yet, is there any one SC
listless OF 50 forgetTul that he does not know
or recollect that every one of them was up,
held against distinct and otherwise irresis
tible public sentiment by not one thing ii
the wolld but the repeated, earnest, pas
slonately solemn declarations, resOundins
from every stump in the land, that they
were necessary for the early salvation o.
the Union, or, at least, conducive to a set
tlement ? Would any of them have beer
tolerated by the people ? Was any attemp
over made to procure the tolerance of q sin
gle citizen on any other but the paramount
and all-suticlng hope, dearer than light tC
the popular soul, that they would shorter
the road to repose
Thus far we have come. We would glad
ly shut the book, turn our back to the past
and open the volume of the future. Blu
what IS TO come If this progress goe
on, It's tendency can only be reckoned b,
recourse to its astonishing history during
the past two years. We are rushing tt
something. The time must soon come whel
the gigantic selfshness Of leaders may Civ
&c n (f fonIau1x to tho hI6
eous madness Of followers. Already tn
legislature OF revolution has virtual
; possessed itself of the potential substanc
OF the legislature of the Union under tn
Constitution, preserving all It's forms.-
In its former character it establishes tao
relation with subordinates of the EXecutiv
. of the United States, which is exclusive {
| the latter, bysolemnly passing through Cor
9 gress a resolution Of thanks to officers {
the army for dis0bcdience to the constitl
tional authority of the United States, &C
: ing through its appropriate organ. Th
next step is directly to enact such form'
division of the Executive power, SO thi
! the Presidency shall devolve, according
6 locality, upon the constitutional o. upo
the revolutionary Executive.
, The historian records that when til
l earth was trembling with the gatherir
hosts of fierce and gloomy collision b.
!, tween Pompey and Cesar when Brundl
1 sium and Pharsalia were nigh ; when Act
, um was coming, and when the last loI
6 convulsion with its Augustan interval onl
= which shook Roman society with the Il
D tional death-agony, prolonged for five hu
J dred years, was about to set in, the peop
of Italy were in q state of apathy and /
= credulOus Indifference.
. People of the United States is this 20
: will Speak, for it is your country, and
y you will that civil liberty shall perish, be
= so. But we implore you to open your ey
- in time to make your choice, and not p
e yourselves and your children over t
Z brink, and swiftly falling in the dark ably
y before knowing your dan2e-. We can (
no more.