Year: 1862

From the Philadelphia North American-a
Conservative Paper.


No man in his senses can ignore the
existence of dangerous elements in the
free States, aud nowhere in greater mum
Der than in Philadelphia and throughout
Pennsylvania 1t is asserted by high
official authority that secret agencies have
been set at work industriously all through
the commonwealth to persuade men not
to enlist One thing is past denial. When
the question was pending whether Gov.
Curtin should call an extra session of the
State Legislature to make an appropria-
ton for the expenses of raising the State
contingent, or should assume suthority to
make the appropriation without such &C
ton, the leading Democrats called pri-
vatelv legislative caucus in Harrisburg
At this gathering it was determined that
if the Governor appropriated the money
without calling the Legislature together,
they would oppose the passage of the
appropriation bill to sanction his action !;
and should he call an extra session to
take the responsibility, they would in
that body load the appropriation bills with
clap-trap amendments and ingenious
lodges obnoxious to the Republicans 10
order 10 prevent its passage.


Luckily the Governor was well inform
ed of this reasonable contrivance to pre-
vent the filing up of the Pennsylvania
contingent, and he completely frustrated
it by refusing to call an extra session or
to make an appropriation on bis own re-
spousibility. He appealed to the people
to raise the money themselves by volun-
tary action and recruit the men, and nobly
and overwhelmingly have they responded
to this appeal. Defeated thus, the dis
loyal have gone on secretly in their dis
semination of the reasonable idea that
this is an abolition war, and that the North
is equally culpable with the South in the
contest The long rigmarole published
by the Democratic State Central Com
mittee has this idea throughout, and its
purpose is to persuade Democrats not to
enlist, IN order that, by filing the regi-
ments up with Republicans, the Demo
Gratis who remain at home may obtain
possession of all the State and local Offices,
and thus be in position to retard the
war policy of the national administration
and compel q compromise.


There never was a scheme baser or
more heartless and reasonable than this,
and as it passes the bounds which are
allowable to partisan freedom, it is not to
be presumed that the government will
quietly look on and see it consummated.
We make no charge of disloyalty against
the Democratic masses, the great body of
whom are known to be free from this
taint. But the Democratic leaders gen.
orally deserve to be regarded with Sus-
picion Their exertions at the present
time are entirely of a reasonable tendency,
and can Lave no other result than to
weaken the hands of the Government and
to strengthen the enemy in arms against
US. 1t will not do for men to preteDd
that they only contend now for strict ad-
herence to the Constitution. No more
plausible nor perilous pretext than this
can be put forward in time of war, when
the Government created by that Constr
tuition is in actual danger from the Efforts
of rebellion which is without precedent
in history for magnitude and ferocity,