Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-03-07
TnE pnmocnAr1o pAnrY.
Brief Resume that all People Desiring
to be Historically Corrcct in their Infor-
nation Should Resd. .

A Brief Resume that all People Desiring
to be Historically Coryect in their Infor-
nation Should Resd. .r.
From the New York TrIbune.l
The circumstance that member OF
Congress is branded as a liar for stating
in his place that very many Democrats
were sympathizers with and virtual al
lies of the late rebellion, compels us to
ask attention to certain historical facts.
If any one can contradict them or break
their force, we beg him not hide his
candle under bushel.
!. Secession was first inauglIrated in
South Carolina, directly after the popu-
lar choice of Presidential Electors early
in November, 1860, whereby the Access
sion of Mr.. Lincoln to the Presidency
was assured. The men who inaugurated
il were all Democrats-that is, they had
supported for President Van Buren, i'm
1910, Polk in 1874, Cass in 1S4S Pierce
in 1852, Buchanan in 1855, and j. G.
Breckenridge in 1860. There may have
been one or two exceptions, but we know
of none. There was certainly no Repub-
lican among them, whetherin that orany
other State. And, whatever their i'm
pulse to accession, their 3)rcterf for il was
the triumph of the Republicans in the
choice of Mr., Lincoln aforesaid.
2. Other States-at least ten of them
followed South Carolina in her so-called
secession. Two or three more pretended
or were claimed to have done so. In
every instance, this so-called secession
was substantially the act of the Demo-
cratic party of those States respectively.
That is to say: the great body of those
who had previously "run" the Demo
cratic machine We're early and ardent
secessionists, while the mass of the OPP
posite party was either adverse or luke
warm. Thus, every Democratic Cover
Kentucky excepted, was at the head of
the hunt for disunion; and of the eXcep-
ton each openly condemed all fOrcible
resistance to the movement. oH.
3. The Federal Government was then
wholly in the hands of the Democratic
party, save that the House of Represen-
tatives was tied-Wm. Pennington
moderate Republican, having at length
been chosen its Speaker by one majority.
But i'm no single department did tlrat
Government oppose any earnest resis-
tance to secession. President Buchanan,
in his message of December 3, 1860,
squarely proclaimed that Congress had
no right to use force to prevent the with
drawal of State from the Union, nor
to yield obedience to its laws. TO do
this, he argued, would be TO make Uar on
q State, which Congress had no consti-
tutional power to do. tSee American
Conflict, Vol l., p. 370.) This proclama-
ton of national anarchy was hacked by
a formal opinion from his Democratic
Attorney General, Jere. s. Black. who
wasafterward his Secretary Of State, who
affirmed that the use of armed men to
enforce the laws, in the existing state of
things, would be "wholly illegal" He
further urged that an attempt to make a
seeded State fulfil her Federal obliga-
tions ''would be i'3se fdcto, an expulsion
of such State from the Union. (The
very sophistry which we hear every
day from the Democrats of 1863
4. During that memorable winter
Democratic Conventions were held, in
several States-that in this State theld at
Tweddle Hall, Albany, January 81, 1861
being one of the ablest and strongest
that was ever convened. But from
none of these Conventions, Dor from the
Democrats in Congress, nor from the
thousand TO fifteen hundred Democratic
journals published in the country, was Il
voice raised in depreciation of, or dissent
from these disOrganiZing doctrines. On
the contrary, they were generally, re-
echoed and almost universally acquiesc-
ed in. . . a'- - .
I, s. Seven States having seeded before
Mr.. Buchanan's term expired, their
Democratic members vacated their seats
in Congress, with very rare exceptions.
Of the few anti-Democratic members,
nearly or quite every one remained to
the close. ..' ... .... r.....t.
6. Mr.. Lincoln was inaugurated on
the 4th of March, 1861; and his inaugu-
raj address was mainly devoted to the
inculcation of doctrines regarding Str
of Messrs. Buchanan and Black. Mr.
Lincoln was well known to hold (as we
did and do) the right of the people to
modify or change their form of govern,
ment as transcending all written consti-
tutions or charters; but he, with great
clearness and cogency, yet in perfect
kindness demonstrated that President
must, to the utmost limit of HIS ability,
cause the laws of the Union to be respect
ed and obeyed in every State and Ter
ritory-that, should acOllision of forces
result, his position would be strictly de-
fensive and conservative-that the con-
sequent war would be made upon him,
not by him. Never was manifesto more
firm and lucid never was one less irri-
tating. 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 sus-
tanned the positions of Mr.. Lincoln.
4. Throughout that winter and the
ensuing spring, all the organs of Demo-
cratic opinion within our observation re-
probated Mr.. Lincoln and the Republi-
cans as disturbers and disunionists, be-
cause of their intent to oppose force by
force, if that should become necessary,
to maintain the integrity and authority
of the Union. We can recall no instance
of Democratic rebuke to those who were
openly, ostentatiously conspiring and
arming to resist the Union, which they
proclaimed already dissolved. -
s. A confederacy of the seeded States
having been formed, leading Northern
and Western Democrats openly advoca-
ted the secession of their several States
from the Union, and their accession to
the Southern Confederacy. "If the Union
is to be dissolved" said Judge George w.
Woodward. democratic candidate for
Governor in 1852 ~ Want the line to
run North of Pennsylvania EX-Gov-
ernor Rodman M. Price, of New jersey,
wrote and printed a letter elaborately
urging that New Jersey should forthwith |
unite her fortunes with those Of the slave
holding confederacy. (See it in ''Ameri-
can Conflict" vol. 1, p. 439). And ex-
ft~.,o.,, ~. uaraf 10 Cayrno,,,, -nf this Stota |