The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-03-09
The PeriI-The Wnrning-The Po.
st' f' IfticaI Drift.

.....-
If we were asked TO writo what We
aought, we would ooolly take this from
the editorial of the baltimore Gazette, as
exactly what We thought and what all
sound minded people should think--that
IL ever political prophecies and warn
ingS- were verified and tustihed ny
= events The downward progress OF THIS
nation Is nov, sadly yiudicating the sagac-
ious patriotism, which toretolu .tne con
1~seananccs of attempting 20 maintain, by
violence and slaughter, a government
founded on consent. II. would, Of course,
be folly TO pretend that any special wisdom.
required 70 foreseo results so natural and
obvious N those which were predicted,
The slightest recollection OF history-thc
~faiutest perception Of tue relations between
rnttse and cffGct-ought To have made clear
10 every reasonable mind the future of a
people, who set about what they called.
Saving" their political system, by tramp
ling upon every principletnd guaranty
which made IL worth preserving. The
mere Gmatics. who had kindled the haine
could not be expected to see what was
plain to calmer eyes. They had nothing
but their own wicked purposes before them,
and they were ready and willing TO con-
summate these by the sacrifice of both the
Constitution and the people, With them,
perVersity or passion had put an end TO
reason. But there were millions In the
Northern States who we're not fanatics and
were not blind. There were hundreds
of thousands who called themselves Demo-
crats-hundreds Of thousands more who
prOtcsscd TO be conservative, law-abtding
citizens, by whatever name they might be
called. The destinios Of the nation were In
their hands. They were committed, by
principle and by pledges of them0st sacred
character, TO the maintenance of Justice and
law and to Cancellation and peace. by the
slightest exercise of patriotism and man
hood they could nave sQyedthe shedding of
every drop OF fratcrnal blood that stained
the contest, They could have maintained
the Constitution by honorable compromise.
and might have consUVratcd and perpetu-
ated tho influence of republican ipstitu-
tiouS, by showing their capacity Otake the
sting Of death ont of civil discord.s And
they could have done all this without risk
of any sort to themselves. They were i'm
mensely I'm the majority, as to numbers,
and they had the wealth. the intelligence
and the influence of their section with
them. But they had not thcmoral courage
to stand firm before the first onslaught of
demagogism. They fell PROSTATE mt the
first veil Of a city mob. They surrendered
ut the first summons ofa party catch-word.
Nay, they not only surrendered but went
over, almost IN mass, to the men whom
they despised, and to schemes which, rs
they knew, involved the overthrow of all
that they revcrcd in the Institutions of their
country. They were warned of the pcril'
which must follow the Introduction of force
as an element in u popular Government.
They we're told of the folly of attempting
To preserve, by armies. q Union which camC
from affection and would be worthless
rs soon rs brotherhood ceased to ami
mate it, They were implored to remcm-
Der, as the plaincst lesson of history, the
imposSibility of preserving freedom with
out respecting law. They were warned
against the wretChed weakness of sup
posing that they could entrust absolute
power 10 their rulers and yet live free,
themselves, under its shadow. They were
Counscled to stand by the constitution rs
their only refuge and hope, assured that Il
they permitted it to be violated, IN what
they might consider 70 be their interest tol
the time, it would uolOnger be n safeguard
to any interest or a barrier against any
wrong. They were told that their love fol
the Union was only appealed 10 by way OF
cnsnaring their sense of right. IL was
demonstrated 10 them that even If the for.
tunes of war should be ultimately Will
them, victory would be but the beginning
Of their real danger, inasmuch as conquest
would put an end to equality and lib
crty, and II was madness to suppose thai
Il nation could be enslavcd in one of IT,
sections, and free, under the same Govern
ment, in the rest.
1t is needless to say that all these warn
ings were hooted ut, even by those OncC
pledged most deeply 10 the truths which
they involved. Indeed, the renegades wer,
worse than the Turks. Throughout tn,
whole OF the heart-rending struggle whiel
followed, the mostreckless advocates of thu
EXTREMIST measures We're those who haC
apOstatized FROM their recorded convictions
Two years have now we'll nigh gone by
since the last sword ofthe war was sheathed
and Avharhi la the tIpiOn MhpTp fhn npapN
for which the nation and its institution
were upturned What has been seen 0
the patriotic officials who were to hrin,
back and deliver up the extraordinary
powers with which they were entrusted TO
the hour of crisis Where is the constitu
ton, in whose sacred name so much bloc
was shed aud so much hope and Happiness
and plenty were turned to desolation
Except the knaves who have grown fat o
power and plumber, the mOnopolists VIII
have thriven on high tariffs. and the tax
gathering leeches that suck outtbc marroN
of the land, who Is there, from the ARGOS
took to the Rio ,GRande, that is better o
for the war? Who but these should nC
pray God, on Bonded knees, to be remitte
to what we were in 1861, before the tore
of the "irrepressible conflict was put I
its incendiary work? Not a discardG
warning of those days but has bee
brought home 10 us in sOrrOwl Not
prophecy, whose fultlllment Is not write
on the crumbling walls of the great edifc
which our fathers builded. And how man
thousands who scolfed at warning, when
have needed it would have been our salvi
ton, are now timidly mutterlng their id
and useless protestsl How many, who d,
nOunced hesitation rs "%treason" and remOI
trance as 'rebellion,r are now shuddcrir
at the terrible uncertainties of a futul
which they could hRVe averted by the con
monest exercise of moral integrity N
courage! What right have they to be vi
tuous aud indignant now? Their oW
hands undermined the tower, why shoG
they wonder that It totters?- Wi
what effect can they invoke n
sanctions of q Constitution whiC
for tOur years they were stcadi
engaged in bringing TO disgraceg Thu
strengthened the hands Of radicalism VIII,
they might nave crushed it. What is d
use of their talking conservatism nov
Learned %jurists, who taught us that d
President, as Commander-iu-Chief had
right to suspend the provisions of the Co
s%titution when he thought Ithe life of d
nation" required 1t, have surely small eau
10 complain, ut this day. II the gauntlett
hand Is thrust into their faces. Courts