National Republican., 1883-03-08
An Old Story 10 be Told Over.

| And now IL seems we are to have a renewal
OF the discussion of the real attitude of Prcsi-
| dent Buchanan toward the southern rebellion.
Judge Black, who was attorney general and
secretary of state under him, long ago made
some vigorous literary contributions on the
subject, and now Mr.. Buchanan's biographcr,
George Ticllnor Curtis. esq. rises to remark
in the New York Sun that when his book ap-
| pears it will put very different aspect upon
all these matters from any that they have
hitherto borne" Among "these matters is
the anti-cocrcion passage in Mr.. Buchanan's
last message, sent to congress after theNsecos-
sion of South Carolina How will Mr.. Curtis
even by the aid Of memoranda, recorded in
his own hand" by the eX-president be able to
put n different aspect" on such extracts as
these from that message.
How easy II would be for tho American peo-
pie to settle the slavery question forever, and to
restore the peace and harmony to this distracted
country! They and they alone can do 1t. Al
that is necessary to accomplish the object. and ull
for which the slave states have ever cUntendad, is
to be let alone and permitted TO manage their
domestic institutions in their own way.
These words were uttered in the face of the
fact that tho slave states had not only been
let alone" but Mr. Lincoln, the newly
| elected president was chosen on o distinct
| pledge by himself and his party that they
| should continue to be let alone. They re,
bellcd because the election decided that
the slave states should let Freedom alone
! in the territories. The message was a
highly seasoned, pro.slavery, democratic
stump speech, aboundng in innuendoes as to
ulterior but unavowed purposes of the incom-
| ing president and his party.
1t contained powerful argument against
the right of secession and in favor of the
binding power of the constitution and laws
upon the individual citizen, accompanied
with this statement: "Sccession is neither
more nor less than revolution. 1t may or it
may not be a iustifablo revolution, but still
It is revolution" 1t then proceeds to argue
that "no such power has been delegated to
congress or to any other department Of tho
federal government" MS "the power
to coerce state into submission
which is attempting to withdraw or
has actually withdrawn from the conGcder-
acy." Mr., Buchanan in terms declared that,
as there was no federal court in South Caro-
lima (tho judge and the court officers having
resigned), the rebellonc could not be sued and
there could be no force except as the posse
cOmitdtuS might be called on to aid the mar
shal to execute writ, Therefore given: a
rebellion, with no court to sue it in and no
writ to be executed, and no resistance could
be made by tho union to its own dissolution.
Here is a choice passage which "a different
aspect" would improve;
Tho fact Is that our union rests upon public
| opinion. Congress possesses many means
Of preserving 1t by cancellations but the sword
was not placed in their hands to preserve 1t by
force.
It is an ungraoous thing to speak reproach-
fully of tho dead, but tho truth of history is
of infinitely more consequence than is the re-
lieving of James Buchanan from the blame
which must ever attach to him for the en-
couragement ho gave TO rebellion, and the
stone he placed in every union soldiers shoe
ON the march against it. To use the homely
but expressive phrase coined by John Van
Buren, himself democrat and the son Of an
cx-president "Mr, Buchanan sat in tho
white house during the last half year of his
term like bread and milk poultico drawing
the rebellion tot head" No man believes
that with Andrew Jackson in the executive
chair the rebellion would ever have gone a