Des Arc weekly citizen., 1868-03-28
The True Doctrine.

We clip the following from letter by an ex-Federal officer to the Iuka Gazette, in which we imagine we see the style of Capt. Avery, gentleman who served through the whole war against us. His letter closes as follows:
 Thad Stevens, tho infamous, said in his speech: "The President had perscver- ed in his lawless course through long series of unjustifable acts. When the so called Confederate States of America were conquered and had laid down theit arms and surrendered their territory to the victorious Union Government, the dispo- sition of the conquered country belonged to Congress alone. No power but Con- gress had any right to say whether they should be admitted into the Union as States, and entitled to the privileges of the Constitution of the United States"
 The reasonable inference from the above is that Thad Stevens has reached and ae- cepted the doctrine that the ten States are now and were at the surrender, out side the Union. Then they were actually, and not ''so- called" the Confederate States of America. Their Government was the one chosen by the people, in their own way, and they owed no allegiance to the Government of the United States If Thad Stevens is correct then l and every other Federal soldier must share the igho- miny, the infamy which must ever attach to the name of Maxamilian aud other ty- rants who would force government up- on people against their will Either they were out of the Union from the pas sage of the ordinances of secession, or they were never out and are not now out. If not out they are entitled to equal rights with the other States. If ever out, then every man killed in the attempt to get them back was murdered, and we Federal soldiers are d set of mscreahts, deserving a thousand deaths for our unnumbered crimes. There IS no shirking this issue. The supposed good to be gained IS no ex cuse for our actions. The end, whatever it may be, never justifes means in them selves bad, or criminal We can only re- leve our skirts of oceans of blood by sup porting the true doctrine that the Federal pact was not broken for one moment Any other view of this question makes us robbers of the rights and property of in- dependent people, and murderers of those people in the pursuit of gain. Neither Congress or any other power had any right to say whether they should be admitted as States. They had already been admitted. as States, and were entitled to all the priv ileges under the Constitution of the United States. Thad. Stevens and his infamous coadl tutors used us for an end. That gains ed they abandon the position under which we bore arms, and tell us that Congress is the only power having a right to dispose of the conquered country" In the name of every Union soldier deny that there is any conquered country on this continent, In terms as indignant as can be used, l deny for all of us the character of mer- cena.y wretches which these fellows would } fasten upon us, when they say that for eleven, thirteen or sixteen dollars month, we would have helped the Government to murder people and conquer country that Congress might tyranize over 1t. May the foul islander blister thetongue of Thad.
 Stevens or any other wretch who gives it utterance. tai ANON.