Year: 1860

THE POLICY OF SILENCE.


Some of the quasi-conservatives of the Northern
States have been calling upon Lincoln to make an
authoritative exposition of what will be his policy
as President. They believe that if he will give as
surances to the South that its Constitutional rights
will be respected, it would go far to calm the
Southern people and kindle within them fresh
fame Of loyalty to the Government


0nthe other hand, the Abolition papers promptly
object to such course on his part They say that
he is not yet President, and it will be time enough
for him to indicate the tenor of his administrative
policy after he has been duly installed in the Pres
dental chair They declare that it will be proof
of weakness and timtdfty if the President elect
yield to what they call "proslavery camor," and
declare his Intentions before he assumes the robes
of office.


Mr.. Lincoln has decided the question himself
and he has decided it in accordance with the adj
vice of his Abolition allies. The other day great
celebration of their victory was had at Springfield,
lllinois-the place of LincoIn's residence. The
coming man. was Of course called on-of course
made speech. But, instead of giving any inkling
of his policy, he was in that respect, as mute as
an oyster-what might be called eloquently silent
His discourse was full of stereotyped expressions
of gratitude, of commonplace verbage, of mean
ingless platitudes. His friend Trumbul, was
rather more explicit-but even Trumbull failed to
meet the issue, or to say anything that was positive
and practical An assurance that the rights of the
South would be respected amounts to nothing, un-
less he had defined What those rights are and the
mode in which they are to be observed. People,
North and South, differ widely in their construction
Of the Constitution as affecting the rights Of each
section. And Trumbull, who is very far from being


fool, knowing this fact, knows also that his vague
assurances are not worth the paper upon which
they printed, and that the South will derive no
satisfaction whatever from their utterance. The
time for evasion and subterfuge has passed. and
the South wants plain, positive, distinct recogni-
ton Of what she conceives herself entitled to- and
she will take nothing else. If she cannot get this
in the Union, she wants to know it, and to know it
at once.


But, the truth is, there is need for Lincoln to
| declare his policy. We know well enough what is
| to be- The party that elected him would not have
done SO if they thought he would cheat them; and
they had him sufficiently commttedupon the record
to be satisfied he would prove true to their doc.
trines If Mr.. Lincoln had gotten up and told the
| people that his Administration would protect the
rights of the South as understood by the Southern
people, he would have subjected himself TO univer-
sal contempt and made himself worthy Of the
| brand of personal infamy and dishonor-because
| everybody knows that he was elected by party
organized upon the basis of hostility to those rights
as universally understood by the Southern people.
| fIumbull says that the rights of all shall be re-
| spected--but, how about the right which Southern
men claim of going into the Territories with theil
| property? Does Trnmbull coneede this? If he
| does, he has been imposing upon his own people
| for many long year. How about the right to re
capture fugitive slaves--a right expressly guar
anteed by the Constitution? Possibly they ma,
concede this abstract rght-but when they throw
obstacles in the way which render the right worth
less, it is an insult to the South to concede it. Al
we'll tell man, condemned TO Imprisonment fo
life iR our State Pententary, that he has righ
TO mine gold in California How about the righ
which the South claims, to be free from oppressive
duties and Government bounties to special North
ern interests? How about the right to be fret
from John Brown raids, Abolition incendiarIe
burning our towns in Texas and elsewhere, AM
| yagabond emissaries from the North iustilling in
| surrectionary poison into the ears of our slaves
| Does Trumbull mean these, when he talks abou
conceding the rights of the South2 If he does, h,
has been guilty Of hypocrisy heretofore and if b,
does not his declarations are utterly worthless am
even positively offensive.


This is no time for cap-trap, and vague, in
definite concentrations, Words will not do. Th
South so far as her political aud social rights ar
concerned, cannot feed, like the chameleon, Of
air. 1t is a meokery for Lincoln or his friends t
say her rights win be respected, when we knoy
that their Interpretation of our rights is exactl
the reverse of our otuta. Compromises have faile
to settle the questions in issue between us-e5
postulation and entreaty have done no good


generous forbearance on our part has been inter
preted into fear and cowardice-and now til


catalogue Of remedies is exhausted, with one es
ception only. If anybody is in doubt of what tina
last remedy is, few weeks of time will soon te
the tale.