The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-08-16

,ur forefatbers had 10 sepate themselves ironi
he mother country. -. g.,
Mr. Poward-May I ask the Senator l lloLn
Missouri whether, in his opinion IIe puia-
oraof in tie New York 1Fi5tnls 10 Whien ne
refers was 8 justification, IN "noie VI part i0A |
the treason Of Mr.. StePhenss 80,
ST- Rlair-T will reply that do not consld-
- tl,at an1-tbin0 iustiies treason, and do
,of think fhe conduct OF the SecesslOnists OF
tbe south. justified that traitorous expression
of oninion on the part Of the Tribune, for I re-
,o,i II Is traitorous. l say, Sir, that It did as
much to discourage the efforts of the Union
men in the South as anything that occurred at
that period. It was simply a declaration
which those accepted, I suppose, and were
glad to accept, who wished to nd themselves
Of the Union, that they might 60 out in peace,
that they would not follow their step; and
this did great deal TO prevent resistance on |
the part Of the Union men at the South at the |
time Of the establishment Of the de factO Gov
eminent TO which they were subjected.-CO'1- |
qressional Globe, Part 2, Sd Session, 4st Con-
gress; PIP. l,S44, 1916.
These statements, made by Gen.
Blair, created some sensation. The
Tribune tried to break their force,
and on the 30th Of February, 1871,
General Blair returned to the charge
prepared with proof. Here is what
he said:
When speaking on this subject the other
day, gave from memory certain deductions
of the New York Tribune, then as now the
most influential organ of public opinion in the
Republican party IN this country, and spoke
of the unhappy influence of this paper ct that
time, In giving encouragement to the Seces-
sionists and in discouraging the efforts Of the
Union men in the South.
now quote the extracts from that paper to
which referred, and the Senate and the
country can Judge whether my statement or
that Of the Senator is the correct one. On
the 9th Of November, 1850, the New York
/ Tribune said:
THere he read some of the articles already
quoted, and resumed:l
Mr.. Stephens Of Georgia, and many others
who have since been disfranchised breasted
the storm with heroic courage. Regardless of
popularity, and thinking only of the peace
and happiness Of the country, they struggled
against secession and warned the people OF
/ the disaster they would encounter. On the
/ other hand, Mr.. Greeley assured them that
these dangers were all imaginary, and insisted
that ''they should go in peace" that they had
a clear "morai right to 60"
Words were never uttered more fatal than
these to the peace Of the country. Mr., Steph-
ems was defeated IN his effort TO prevent seces-
sion in Georgia by few votes only, and moth
ing Is more certain than that these were OBJ
tanned bv Mr. Greeley's declaration that seces-
sion was rightfulsnd peaceable. have been
informed that these declarations were read IN
the Georgia Convention as a full reply to tho
warnings of Mr.. Stephens. The refusal OF
Georgia would undoubtedly have arrested the
movement. Who, then, is more directly re-
sponsible than Mr.. Greeley for the vindictiye
spirit which animates the dominant party IN
the prescription which has pursued and Is still
pursuing the whole people Of the Southp
Nor was Mr.. Greeley's reiterated advice the
result Of an honest error. No man under
stood better than he did the use that would be
made of his declarations, and how etfective
they would be in promoting dlsunlon.
1t will thus be seen that, at the critical mo-
ment he gave his voice, and lent his influence
in favor of this division.
He upheld the free right Of secession and de-
MED the right Of coercion.
HIS INCONSISTENCY.
Listen next to his son TO Rich
mond' demand under dates of July
1, 2 and 3, 1861:
The Nations War-Cryl Forward to Rich
mondl Forward to Richmond The Rebel
Congress must not be allowed to meet there on
the Doth of Julyl By that date the place must
be held by tho national army.
After our Bull Run defeat he at
tempts to lay the blame of defeat up
on the administration, and called on
them to resign, July 10, 1861:
We have fought and been beaten. God for
give our rulers that this is true, and cannot be
disguised. The Cabinet, recently expressing
in rhetoric better adapted to a love letter, a
fear of being drowned in its own honey, is
now nearly drowned in gore; while our honor
on the high seas has only been saved by one
daring and desperate negro, belonging to the
merchant marine. The f'sacred soiP Of Vlr-
einia is crimson and wet with the blood Of
thousands of Northern men, needlessly shed.
! The great and universal question pervadilg
the public mind is: ''Shal this condition Of
things continued"
The decimated and indignant people viii
/ demand the immediate retirement of the pres
ent Cabinet from the high places of power,
/ which, for one reason or another, they have
/ shown themselves incompetent to fill. Give
us for the President, capable advisers, who
/ comprehend the requirements of the crisis,
and are equal TO them; and for the army,
/ leaders worthy the rank and file, and our ban
ner now dropping, will soon float once more in
/ triumph over the whole land With the right
men to lead, our people viii show themselves
unconquerable.
Next he confesses his own errors
July 9th, 1871:
We have confessed our own terrible mistake
in the premises, and are trying to amend it.
Gen. Scott has been equally ingenious and
candid. ait was miscalculation of forces" he
saws Of the recent disaster. That is the real
truth. None Of us had any idea of the i'm
mense numbers and tremendous enginery of
the war that the rebels had silently collected
around their position at Manassas Junction.
Whoever ordered or planned the attack on
that position was utterly unaware Of their
strength.
About eighteen months after
wards, Feb. ID, 1868, hear him de-
Tending his "On to Richmond" war
cry:
1 did urge that the great Union army,
/ rotting in idleness and debauchery about
| Washington, should advance upon the rebel
lion It was called out to put down. 1t ought
| to have done SO a month earlier than it did
not part of it, but the whole. and it might
have been triumphantly in Richmond, and
/ the rebellion half suppressed before the day of
Bull Run. How needless, how wanton, was
that disaster-hoW disgraceful to those who
might and should have prevented it, history
will establish.-TTibupe 2, 1868.
In consequence of his inconsis-
tency and continuous meddling, the
martyred Lincoln was led to exclai1n,
oWhat Will quiet Horace Greeley;
he gives me more distress and caus-
es more harm than JEFF Davis"
h. G. AS A PEACEAIAKER.
Next we find him undertaking to
negotiate a peace at Niagara Falls
with Sanders and Jewett, of incen-
diary fame. He proposed to close
up the rebellion by paying $400,000,-
600 to Loyalists and Secessionists
alike" He said, sit may save us
from a northern insurrection." We
next find him trying his hand on the
finances.
WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT FINANCES.
On February 10Th, 1852, he utter
ly condemned the issue of green
backs and predicted the ruin of the
country. On the 18th of the same
month, we find the following com
mendation of the policy he had just
been opposing.
When, therefore, we hear that the Govern
ment ought to have maintained or ought now
to resume specie payments, we know that the
speaker means that it ought to give up the
contest and let the rebels triumph.
Here is a specimen gem Of the
"what he knows" about financial
policy, under date of June 9Th, 1867.