TIIE JO
Couclers
Thursday, Juice 11.1861.
M. W. MtALARjEY, E MOIL
The President's
linving been convener) on an extraordinary
occasiol, as authorized .by the ConstitUtion,
TOtir attmtlon is not called to any ordinary
subject of legislation.
•At thp beginning of the pre.sunt Presian tial
term, fdur mouths ago, the functions of the
'Federal Government were found to be getter-
ally suspended within the*.several States - of
South Carolina, Georgia. Alabama. 2lissisSip
, pi, Louisiana, and Florida, excepting* Duly of
the' Post-Otlice Department.
Within these States, all the forts, arsenals,
dock-yards, custom-houses, and the like, in-
Oittling the moyeuble and stationary property
At and about arm ktd been seized, and were
It'd in open hostility to this Sdovernment. ex
cepting only Forts Pickens, Taylor, and 'Jef
ferson, cn and :near the Florida coast, and
Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, South Car
olina. The fortS thus seized had been put iri
-improved condition, new ones had been built.
and armed forces ;laid been organized,, and
were organizing, all ti.vowellly with the same
hostile purpose.
The forts remaining in the possession of the
Federal Government:in and near thcse States
were either besieged or menaced by warlike
preparations, and especially Fort S.umter-was
nearly surrounded by Well .protected hostile
batteries. with guns equal in quality to the;
heap of its own, and outnimbering the later
as ten to one. A disproportionate share of
the Federal muskets and rifles had somehow
found their Way into_ these States, and had
been seized4o be used against the Government.
- 'Accumulations of the Public revenue, lying
within them, had been seized for the same
object. The Navy was scattered in distant
teas, leaving bat a very small part of it with
in the immediate reach of thp Government.:
°facers of the Federal army had resigned
in great "numbeis, and of those resigning a
, large proportion's had taken up arms against
she Oovernment.i . Simultaneouslyand iii com•
mon witlt all this, the purpose to sever the
Federal' - n'on was openly nynwed.
in accordance with this purpose, nn ordi
nance bad been adopted in each of flese
Mate:, declaring the States respectirety t be
t;epttrated from the National Union. A for
mula for instituting a combined Government
of those States had been promulgated, and
this illegal organization, in the 'character of
the " Confederate States," was already in
. s•tLing recognitou, aid, Lind intervention from
. foreign rowers.
Finding, this condition'of things, and be-
lieving it to Le an imperative duty upon the
ineorning, Executi7e to prevent, if possible ;
the consummation of such attempt to destroy
the Federal Union ; a choice of means to that
etfil became indi. , pePsable. This choice was
made, and was declared in the inaugural ad
dress. The poicy chosen 'looked. to the ca-
haustion of all t.e.teeful measares before a re
sort to any stronger one. It >ought enlY to
bold the public- places °and property not al
ready wrested , froirt the Oovernment, and to
collect the revenue, relying for Ithe rest on
time, discussion, 'and the ballot-box ;" it prom
ised a continuance of the mails, at Gervern
ment expense, to . the Very people 'who were
resisting the Govermnent„ and it gave repeat
i.d pledges against any disturbanCes to any of
the people or any of their rights, of Mil that
which a President might constitutionally and
(
justifiably do in such a c. - e 3 everything was
florborne, without wbien t was believed im
possible to keep the , Gov Imri - elt - on foot.
On the' sth of Marel , the present incum;..
Lent's first full day in 13 ee, a letter fl'om Ma
jor Aritlewon, con 'ng at Tort- Sumter,
written on the 28th of February, and received
at the War Department on the 4111 of March,
!vcs by that Department placed, in his, hands.
This letter expresses the,professional °pip
fon'of the writer, that reiibforcements could
not be thrown into that fotlt within the time
for his relief, rendered necessary by the lim
ited supply of previsions, and wito.a view of
lioldinvtossession of the dame, with a force
4,fles- than 20,000 good and well disciplined
men. •
This Opinion was-concurred in by- all the
I,lTieers of his command, atql their memoranda
t,n the subject were made inclosures of Major
.Sudenzon's letter. The whole was immedi
ately laid before. Lieuttnant-General Scott,
who at once concurred with Ml:Aur Anderson
in-his opinion.
On reflection, however, he .1.41; full time,
consul ing with other Akers, both of the \r
an-d the Navy, and at the end of four day . s
ratite reluctantly but decidedly iIQ the same
cuneluiion as before. He also Anted, at the
value time, that no such °so - flick:at force was
then at the control Of the GovernMent or could.,
be-raised and-lfrouglt•to the ground within'
the'time whbn the provNimis in the fo‘rt would
be exhausted, -in a purely military point oil
lie.w this reduced the duty of the Administra
tmn in the ese to the mere matter'of getting
the garrison safely out of tile-fort.
It tras believed, howeveil, that to so fib:m
il-on that position, under the circumstances,
would be utterly ruinous ; that the necessity
under which it was tole dons would not be
fully understood ; thEt by mapy it would be
eoastrned as a part of a .vauntary policy;
. that at home: it would discourage the-friends
id' the( Unioe, embolden its adversaries, and
gl far to insure the latter, a' recognition
abroad ; that, in fact, it would be mir nation -,
desteuction consummated.
This could not be allowed. Starvation was
not yet uporithe garrison, and, ere it WO 111.1
be - reached, Fort Pickens might bere-enforc
,ed. • This last would be a clear indication of
poliey, and' would enable the country to ac
.c'ept the evacuation of Fort Sumpter as a mil-'1
itary necessity ; An order was at once direct-
ed to be sent for the landing of the troops
from the steamship 'Brooklyn into Fort.Pick
ens. This ia: - rdigigtouldr - Trot go shy laud, but
must take the lOger - and surer route by sea.
The first return news from the order was
reccired'just one week hefote the fail of Sum
ter. The news itsgf was that the offieer com
manding the Sabine. to tvbieh• vessel the
troops-had Ileen transierred from the Brook=
lyn, acting!upOn some quasi armistice of the
.late Administration; and pf the existence of
-which the present Administration,. up to the
time the orderiWas dispatched, hnd'only too
:ague and uncertain rumors to fix his atteu,
tention, had refused to land the troops. To
aiiiv re-enforce Fprt Pickens, before a' crisis
would be reached at Fort Sumter; was impos
sible, rendered so by the near exhaustion of
provisions in the latter-named fort. '
In iirecaution against such a conjuncture
the Got-aliment had a few days before.dom
milted preparing. an expedition, as well
adapted as
_might be, to relieve Fort Sumter,
expedition was intended to be ultimate-
Iltazsed or-not, according to current- circum
stances. The strongest anticipated case for
usin4. 'it was now presented, and it was re
solved to send itlfqrward, as : had been it
tended:
In tlfri contingency it was also _resolved to
notify. Or Governor •of South Carolina that he
$
might ekpeet an! attempt would : be made' to
provision' the fort, end. that ifi the attempt
should not be reiisted, there WoUld be no at
tempt to throw In men, arms, orammunition;
without eurthet notice, or in case of an attack
Upon tbe',fort. . this noticvwfta accordingly
given, wfierenpon Lie fort' Was attacked and
bombarded to its fall, - without even awaiting
the arrivitof the provisioning expedition.
.It is thus seen that the assault upon, an,
reduction of Fort: Sumter, wass in no 'enseift;
matter of self e derbnee on the pltrt of the asi:
' They Well knew that the garriSon
in On fort could, by no possibility, commit
aggression upon them; they knew hey were
expressly. notifiedthat Wee giving of bread to
the few bravo and haugry teen of the garrison.
was all whicit would on that occasion be stk .
tempted,', unless themselves, by resisting so
much,' should provoke more. i
They knew that this government &Well .
to keep the garrison in the fort, $ not to asnittl
thein,ibut merely to - maintain • visible t i oss94-
slum and thus to preserve the Union from ae
tnal and immediate displution, trusting i ffs
bereinbefore stated, to time, discussion and:,
tine ballot-box for a final adjustment, and they
assailed and reduced the fort, for precisely
the reverse object, to i drive out the visible au
thority df the Federal Union and thus to force
it to immediate dissolution;,' that this was
their object, the Executive well ,understood,
and..haring said to them in the , Inaugunil
Address: " You can have no conflict withodt
being yeurselvesflae aggressorp." i •
Ile took pains not only to keep this declar.i
tion, but also to keep the case'so far from in
genious' sophistry' as that the world should
riot misunderstand it. By the affair at Fort
Sumter, with its surrounding , circumstances,
that point was reached. Then and thereby
'the assailants of the Government began the
NAL.
conflict of arms without a gall in 'sight or in
expectancy to retnrn their fire save only the
few in the fort sent to that harbor years be
fore, for their own. protection, ang still rendr
to give that protection in whatever was lawfd.
In this act, discarding 'all else; they have foie,-
ed upon the country the distinct issue—itn,
mediate dissolution or blood. And this issue
embraces mote than the fate of 'these ,United
States. ' It presents to the Vliole feud!y pf
man the (lectron whether a constitutional re
,public or democracy, a government of the
people, by the -slm people,; can or cannot
maintain its territorial integrity against !its
own domestic foes. It presents !the question'
whether discontented individuals, too feud in
numbers to control the mhitinisttation accord-
ing to the organic law in any ease, can al
ways, upon the pretences made in this case pr
any other pretences, or arbitrUrily withdut
any pretence, break up their goVerument, and'
time practicalit put an end !to free ,govern.
ment upon the earth.• It forces us to ask, !‘"ls
there in;all republics this inherent and fafal
wealtnlss?” Must, a government of necessity
be too strong for the libertlealof its owe Peo
ple, or too weak to maintain its own existence?!
So viewing the issue, no choice was left lint
to call oat the war pciwer of the, Gcivernment,
and so ,to resist the force cmployed,for its de
struction by force for its preservation. The
call was made and time response of the country
was most gratifying; surpassing in unanimity
and spirit the most sanguine expectations.
Vet none of the States commonly called Slave
Smtes, except Delaware, gave a regiment JJ
through the regular State organization. ! A
few regiments have been organized within
,some oilers of those States by individual 'en-
terprise and received' into the Goventment
service.
Of course the seceded States, so called, And
to which Teas-Bail-been joined, about . the
time of the inauguration, gave no troops up
to the Cause 01 the Union. The.porder States,
so called, were not uniform in their action,
tom of them being almost for the Union,
while 'in 'others, such as in Virgiaia, North
Caroline, TC , lnessee, and Arkansas,
the anion
sentiment was nearly repressed and silenced.-
The course taken in Virginia was the most re
markable, Perhaps the quest important.
A Conycntion elected by the people of that
state to consider this very question of dis
rupting the Federal Uni"4, was - ines-..sion at
the tapital of l'irginite . C‘Wn Feat Sumter fell.
To this body' the people had! chosen a large
majority of professed Union Men. Almost
immediately after, the thil 'of Sumter, many
members of that majority went: over to the
original Disunion minority, an with therp
adopted an ordinance,---for -taiiliraiving the
State frOm the Union:. • 4 f.
Whether this change was u - r4glat by their
great approval of the assault upon Sumter, or
their great resentment at the Government's
resistance to that assanit, is not definitely
klinwn. 'though they submitted the ordi
nance fur ratification to a vote of the people
to be - taken on a...,day then -soniewhzt, more
than a mouth distant, the Convention and the
Legislature, whic4i was also in : session at the
same thne and glee, with leading men of the
State, not membeilf either,immediately eom
ineneed acting as if the State was already out
of the Union.
ii They pushed military preparations vigor-
I ously forward all over QIC State. They seized
the United States Armory, Harper's t'&ry,
and the Navy - -yard at Gosport, near Norfolk.
They 'received . . perhaps invited, jute; their
State large bodies of troopswith their warlike
appointments front the so-called. Seceded
-States. They entered into a treaty of teMpo-
I mu alliance with the so-called Confrideratei
states, and sent memberilto their Co'hgress,
at Montgomery, and finally ; they permitted the
insurrectionarrGovernment to be transferred
to _their Capitol at Biehmend.
The people of Virginia have thus allowed,
this giant insurrection to make its nest Withiu
her borders, and- this C-2A ., ernmeut,' has no
choice left but to - deal it where it Ands
it, and it has the :less to regret as the loyal
citizens have in due form claimed its prdtee
tion. Those !eyed- citizens this GovernMent
is bound to recozuize and protect as being in
Virginia. In the Border States; so called, in
fact the :Middle States, there are those ,rho
Eu l er a policy which they Call atr armed'nen
'trality. !That is an arming of those States'to
prevent the Union forces passing one,way or
the Disunion the other over their soil. This
would b 4 disunion completed. •
Figuratively speaking, would be the
DuiWing of an impassable wall along the:line
of separation; and yet not quite an imps sable
one, for,'under the guise of neutrality, it Would
tie the hantla of the. Union men, and freely
pass supplies from among, them to the insur
rcctidnists, which it could, not do as nal open
enemy. At a 'stroke : it' would take all' the
trouble off the hands of Secession,texcept Only
what :proceeds from the external blockade.
It Would do for the disunionists that which
of all things, they most desire, feed them:well
and give them disunion without a- truggle of
their: own. It recognizes no - fidelity to the
Constitution, no obligation to maintain - the
Union, and while very many who have favor
ed it are doubtless loyal
.citizens, it is dever
thel4s very injurious in - ;effect.
Ileeurring to the action' of the Government,
it may be stated that at first a call was made
for 75,000 militia, and rapidly following this
a proclamation was issued for closing the
ports' of the insurrectionary districts by pro
ceedings in the nature of blockade. So far all
was believed to lie strictlt
At-V.os paint'llf insuriectiontits.annotinced
,
their purpose to -enter upon the practice of
privateering. i '
Other calls - Wcre,,made for volunteers to
serve three ytars t f unless sooner discharged,
and also for l'ar2,-e additions to the regulaear-
My and navy. -These measures, whether
strictlylegal or not, were ventured upon .nn
der what appeared to be a popular deniand
and a publie.neeessity,trustimx, then, as now,
,- hat Congress•woOld readily ratify them.
1
1 lt is loved that nothing has been done
beyond t e constitutional competency of Con
gress. S .on after the firSt call for militia, it
!‘‘ as considered a duty to authorize the Coin-
, mantling- General, in proper eases, according
to his discretion, to suspend tha4rivilege of
the writ of habeus corpus, or, in other words,
to arrest and detain; without resort to the or
dinary
processes.and forms of law, such Mai-
Nicluals as he 'rnight deem dangtrons to t the
publilafety. Tifis authority has purposely
been ei: reised but rery sparingly.. Neverthe
less,. the legality and propriety , of l!stliat has
been done under it are questidned, and the
attentitm of the country has been called to the
proposition that one who has sworn to take
care, that the laws be faithfully - executed
should not himself violate theta.
Of course some consideration was given to
the question of power ain.l propriety before
this matter was acted, upon. The whole ,of
the laws which were required to be faithfully
executed. were • being: resisted and failing of
execution in *nearly one-third of the States.
Must they be allowed to finally, fall.of execu
tion, even had it been perfectly clear that by
the use of the means necessary-to their execu
tion, some single law, made in such extreme
tenderness of the citizen's liberty that practi
cally- ix .reliever more of the guilty than the
inuocent, should to a very limited extent be
violated? To state the question more di
rectly, are, all the laws but one to go unee
cuted and the Government itselt-!.o go to
pieces lest that one be violated? Even in
such a case, would not the official oath be
broken if the Government should be over
thrown, when it was believed that disregard
ing the.single law would tend to preserve it?
lint it was not believed that this question was
presented. • It was not believed that any law
was violated. The provision of the Constitu
tion that,the privilege of the writ Of habeas
cotlptts shall not be suspended unless when in
cases of rebellion cr invasion the public safe
ty may require it, is equivalent to a provision
that such privilege- may be suspended whdn
in cases of rebellion or invasion the public
safery does require it. It was decided that
- ve ha* a case of rebellion and that the pub
lic safety does require the qualified suspen
sion of the prifilege of the writ which was
authorized to be nin,de. Now it is insistea
that Congress, and not the Executil'e, is vest-
ed with Oils pc,ver.
Ilutthe (oustif4ion itself is silent as to.
whielyoti.li'ilcr, is _to 'exercise the poster, and
as the provision was plainly made for a dan
gerous cniei : Oncy, it Cannot be believed that
the framers of„the instrument intended that
in every case,the danger should rnn its Course
until Congress could be called together, the
very assembling of which might be prevented ;
as was intended in this case by the rebellion.
No more extended argument is now. afforded.
as an opinion at some length will 'probabl:
be presented by the Atzorffey-General.
Whether there shall he nri - g- legislation upon
the subject; and if so, wha4.is submitted
tirelly to the better judgement of Congress.
The forbearance of this Government had been
so extraordinarily and so long continued, as
to lead some foreign nations to shape their
action as if they supposed the early destruc
tion of our National Union was probable..
While this,cm discovery:; gave the Execu
tive some concern, he is now happy to say
that the sovereignty and rights of ,the United
Slates are now
_everywhere practically re
spected by foreign Powers, and a general
sympathy With the country, is manifeeted
throughout the' world.
The reports Of the Secretaries of the Treas
ury, War and the Navy will give the infor
mation in detail deemed necessary and con
venient for your deliberation and action,
while - the,rlixecutive and all the Departments
will stand ready to supply omissions or to
communicate new facts considered important
for you to know.
It is now recommended that you give the
!legal means for making this contest a short
arid decisive one; that you place at-the con
trol of the Government for the war at least
400,000 men and $400,000,000 ; that Dumber
of men is abOut one-tenth of those of proper
r ages - s1 ithin the reg - ons where, apparently all
are willing to engage, and the sum fs less
than a twenty-third part of the money value
owned by the men who seem ready to devote
the whole. A. debt of six } hundred millions
of dollars now is a less 'sum per head than
wa~the debt 'of our Revelution when we came
out of that strunle, and the money value in:
the country bears even a greater proportion
`to what it was then than does the population.
Surely each man has as strong a motive now
to preserve our liberties as each had then to
establish them.
right result at this time will he worth
more to the world than ten times the men and
ten times the money.. The evidence reaching
is from the country leaves;no doubt that the
material for the work is abundant, and that
it needs only the hand of legislation to give it
legal sanction, and.the hand of the Executive
to give it pricticalishape and efficiency.
One - of the greatest perplexities of the Gov
ernment is to avoid receiving troops faster
than it can TrOvid° for them; in a word, the
people will save their Government, if the
Government: itself will do ituart only indif
ferently well. It might seem at first thought
to bp of little difference, wltether the present
movement at the South be called secession or
rebellion. The mover's, however, well under.:
stand tile 'difference. .111 the beginning they
knew that they;gould never raise their treason
to nny respectable; magnitude by any name
which implies; violation of law.; 'they knee
their, people possessed as much of moral
sense, as much of devotion to law and order,
•
and as much pride in its reverence for the
history and government of their common
country, as any other civilized and patriotic
people.
They know they could make no advance
ment directly in the teeth of these strong and
noble sentiruents.l Accordingly they com
menced by an insidious debauching of the
public mind. They invented an ingenious
sophism, which, if conceded, was followed by
perfectly logical steps through all the inci
dents of the complete destimetion of the Un-
The sophism itself is that any State of
the Union may, consistctitly with the nation's
Constitution, and therefore lawfully and
.peacefully, withdrafr from the Union, with
out the consent of the I.lnionior of any other
State.
The little disguise. that the siippOsed right
is to-be exercised only for just cause, them
selves to be the sole, judges of its justice, is
too thin to merit any notice. With 'rebellion
. .
thus sugar-coated they have been drugging
, the public mind of their section for more than
thirty years, until at length they have brought
many good men to a willingness to take up
firms against the Government .the day after
sortie \ assemblage cf men have enacted the
farcical pretence of talting,their State out of
the Union, who could have been brought to
no such thing the day before.
This sophisui - derives ranch,
: perhaps the
whole of its.curreucy, froni thp. assninpltion
that therel, is some omnipotent and ;sabred
supremacy', pertaining to it'•State, to each
State of our Federal Union.:.:Oni. Stai4s hayn,
neither mare nor less power than that reserv:-
ed to them! in : the Union by thelConStitntion,
no one of them over having: been a State! out
orthe Unibn. The original ones passbd'lnte
the Union 'even ; before they! east off their
British colonial dependence,, and. tlre new
ones cantielinto the Union directly froth a con
dition of 'dependence excepting Te.x/.5,! and
even Texas in its temporary : independence,
was neveri•designated us a State. '
The neay 'onus only took the designation of.
States on 'coining into the Unicin, while ;that
name wasladopted for. the old ones is and by
the Declaration of indedendence.. Therein
the united Colonies were deelared to he! free'
and intlei*dent States. But even then the
object plainly was-not to declare their bade
pendenee 'of one another, of, the Union, but
directly tse contrary, as!tlieir mtanal pledge
and their palatial action 'before, act the time
and afterwards, abundantly show.,Fl e •
The express plighting of faith 14 : each anal
all of the !original thirteen iStates tits ar
ticles of Confederation tiro' years later, that
the Union shall be perpetual, is most conclu
sive, having Mever been States,' either:in-sub
stance or in name, outside! 01 . the Union
Whence this magical omnifinteneft Of State
rights, asterting a claim of power to lawfully
destroy: the Union itself? Much is aid about.
the sovereignty of the States, buClthe word
even is not in the,National Oonstit,tltiOn, nor,
as is believed, in any of the: Statei COnstan
tions. I ' • g
What is a sovereignty, in .tha political
sense of the term.? Would it be far wrong- to
define it axe:Weal cloMmunity Witfmta a po
litical superior ? 'Tested by this, Po' one of
our .States except Texas was a streteignty-,
and even - Texas gave up the, clafiracter on
'coming, into the Union, by Which rret ! she ac-•
kuowledged the Constitution of dm' United
States, and the laws and treaties or the Unit
ed States( made in pursuance. theied. ThC
States h#c ( their status in the Ultion. and
they barb no other legal, s'atu4 If they
break from this; .they can ortli - tio against
law and by revolution. ;3 ; .
The etiion, and not themselves feperately,
procured `their independence and Iteir, liber
ty. By conquest or purchaSe the Ifiliou g - ave,
each of'them whatever of itadeped4efice and
liberty it tiles. The Union is.oldekt than any
of the States, and, in' act, it crea* !them as
States. ,Originally some . dependent 'eblanies
made th6Union, and in turrtethe Union tiros
off their Old dependence for thudlold r.ade
them - States, such as they are. Not onb of
them ever : had a State Comititutioi indeku-'
dent of the Union.
Of corirsa it is not 6rg,otten thpt all
nea - v States formed their Constitnicoris bi
they , ente l recl the Union, nevertheipS : de
dent upon and l reparatory to coin/fig,
Union. - Unquestionably, the Stag hart
rights :Intl powers reserved to thent in an
the. national Constitution, .but :long t
surely are not included all conceivable 1.
howe'ver mischievous or destr4ctive,
at Most, such only as were known iq the w
at one tithe as goverlanentalpov,•qs, and!
tainly a Power to destroy the goqratueti
self, had never been known as a devermi
tal, as a mere administrative power.
relative matter of National Mower; and
rights as a principle, is no other:::'. than
principle orgenerality and Joe:llia.. W
ever concerns the whole should be clonfine
the General Government, while whatever
cerns onlY the State should be c4.fined
elusi , , , elylto the State. This is all shore
original principle about it, Whaler the,
tional Constitution in defining bounparie.
tween the two has applien Ate prig' iple
exact accuracy is not to be questiolied.
are all briund by that definiag„ avallput ()I
Trion: What is now combated is the pcs,i
that SeeeSsion is ennsiste'ret with thetiCom
ttdu, is lawful and peaceful.'
It is not contended that there is naiy ex•
law for it, and nothing slionld ever lie tin
as law which leads to absurd and tailittA
sequences. The nation purchitsed wAlt m ne
the countries out of which severali of t iese
States welt Formed. Is it just that iihey Shall
go off without leave and without refunding ?
The nation paid, very largeag
gregate,the ag
gregate, libelieve nearly a hundred 4 ihtillions,
to relieve norida of the'aborigival t 4 lies. Is
i*st that slit shall now'be off without con
sent, or without any return? .The I ation is
new in debt for money applied to benefit
ofthese so-called Seceding - States in i -ommon
-with the rest.
Is it just either that credit Ors shall go un
paid,-or the rernaininr , States pay tho t hole
A part of the present National Debt vas con
tracted tb nay the old debts of Texasl
Is it just, that she shall leave and pay no
past of this herself? Again, if one Slate ma)
secede, so may another;. ant' when '#'ll shall
have seceded none is left to pay th n ie debts.
Is this . q . nite just to creditors?
,Did h i re noti
.
fy them of this; sage view of Ours ithen we
borrowed their money? If we now recognize
this doctrine by allowing the secethirs to go
in peace, it is difficUlt to see - ,:; . 11a1; %i ,.4 13 can do
if others ;choose to go, or to extort teOns upon '
which they ndill psomise to remain. The Se
ceders insist that our Constitiltion ridwits of
secession. • •
They have assumed to make a National
Constitution of thr own, in which, of neces
sity, they have either discarded or retained
the right of secession, as they insist it exists
in ours. •
If they have discarded, it ; they thereby ad
mit that on prinCiple rt ought not to exist in
ours if they , have retained it, by their own
construction of ours, they shoW that to be con
sistent
: they must secede ftdm one another
whenever they shall find it the easiest - Ivay of
settling their debks, or effecting ariv 'other
selfish or unjust object. The' principle itself
is one of disintegration, and upon which no
Government can possibly endure. .
If all the-States save one - should assert the
power to drive that
.one out' of
,the Union, it
.is preSumed the whole class of jseceder 'poli
ticians would at once deny the power, and
denounce the - act - as the greatest outge upon
State lights. But suppose that precisely the
same apt, - instead .of being' called, driving
the Fond out, should be :called the se- I
Ceding of the others from that one, it would
be exactly what the seceders claim to do, un- i
indeed, they make the Point, that the one, j
because jit is a, minority, may rightfully ido
what the others', because they are a Majority,
may not rightfully do. ''These politicians heel
subtle and - profound in the rights of minori
tics. They are not partial! to that. poise'.
which made the Constitution, and speaks from j :
the preamble, itself, - "We, the people."
It mad- well be questioind Whether there is
to-day a majority of the legally Qualified-fro
ters of lany,States—except, :perhhps, South
Carolina—in favor 'of disunion. Thorp is
much reason to believe that the Union men
are the Majority in many, if not in every other
one of the so-called seceded States, The cfht-'
trary has not been demonstrated' in any one
of them.
It is ventured, to affirm this even of Virginia,
and Tennessee, for the result of an , election.
held in military camps, where ihe bayonets
are all on one side of the question voted upon,
can scarcely be considered as a demonstrat-i
NM
ing popular sen s Ument.' ,Atlsuch an election . ?
alt.that, large , Plasi:ls o" art). at once :for•ilic
Union,hrtd against no ieion,,lwould-re hoereed I
to:votet, amilustlfthd ion. • , •..
,"• I .
I -
Ittnay be .affirixtedtwithout exltravagipe,6, ,
thht tUp'free. histitittio s welanjoy have devel
riPell..thd poWers and':lmproved the. condition
of par
,i,tvliole 'l4ople eyond - any "C - xatitple ,in,
tliewdrld. - °fill:ifs : e:now..have 'a Stritt*,!
i
and intkesiltdilltistration. ' So larg,ertw art 4 1
as the (Ibvernrieni r has now on'focit wits nevhr I
before ;know ii, Withon.,, a soiidier in it l?tit tvlin 1
1 has tal4en his place the'-e of his own freddhoicld.
Bat More tnin. 'this . there are'many sine
1 regiments whoke---metnbers, one and anottnli.,.
posScsi full pragtfeal Inottdedge: of all the
arts, siCienees, prOtes - stons, and whatever'. ele:', I
I whether useful,' or chigatit, i 3 knowu(in the
whole I world, and there is scarcely oitelfrchp :
.1
1 which ;there coitlil . mbt be selected a President,
a Cabinet, a Congress; and, - perhaps n Conk,
abundantly colitpeteu r to administer the i Gdi-
eminent itsclfJ Nor do I say this is not, tilde
alSb itt the arrity,'of oar latd friends, now 1-
versaries, in this contest. Out it is so inu,.ll
better Abe: reitspn.wq the Ciovernment which'
has conferred Sack banefits on both them a i ii
as:'iliciuld not .bdbrolien up , l IVltoever in a . y
section proposes 'th: iliandon such a Gdivern- 1
- tient Would ad well to conider in deldre4ce .
to wl4.t 'principle it ps 'thit he does it,i What:
bettenhe is 13.1M1Y-to kit in its stead, Whether :
Cll . () substitute NI ill . Ive, 6.5 he intended to
gire, SO much of goo to the pedple. Thdre
are same fdreshadowings on this isubledt. II
01.1 C adversaries hal. - e adOpted rine: declar-
atioua of independence., in 'which, unlike the
good bid one p.ermedit . ),y Jisa,-2..r.a,0", they omit
the )vords, "all, inen . r. e created el al." IWhly?
They 'have adoitted,a tempdrary national Con
stitutionin the pte big•of which, unlike our
good; old one signe : by WAsnixordx;Y
tlt
i i
omit,;" fie, the peep e," and substitute,: " e ;
the Deputies of the fsovereign and ibdep n
dent States." 1 • 1
billy? why this d• liberate Pressing - but of
view 'the rights' of ten; had tire aethottY
of the people •?, This is essentially a peopl's
_ i
Conte - St. 'On the' sid l ethe othe Union 4 .• it itt a
struggle for raiin.tainlng in the world that fqrm
and s;u4tarteel of -gol ernment wiidse 'leading,
Object i 51173; eldvate the condition of Men 09
lift, artificial WeightS, from his shoulders ; to
elearith,:: path's of laudable; pursuit for all itO
itOrd to all in unfqtered start and a fair
change in the race of life, yielding to: partial
and temporary deparitures from uecessity.l .
This is the .lendin ,' oljJet of the Cov - Mm: -
ittentl for' who'.ie lexis &nee we contend.: I am
mostJhajipy in e. 'belie that the plain people
n !
undo-stand and eppr elate 'this. It is worthy
of ncite that while i this,. the Government's
hour of trick, large- umbers of those in ' the
Arne- and Nitt-,who have I been favored With:
theciffices, hatdres.imeti and prevetOlilse to
the hand tellidit Pan:lamed them, n el one mini-'
mon ;soldier o'r •common sailor, is kfidwn to
hard deserted his ti. g, Great liodo,C .is nit
to those oflic§rs :who remained true: dr-spite
the example of theij' treacherous assoeiaks,
bat tlhe ,t , r4244:e4 - ,tilou'ir and the moat 'i.ulpoi.t.-
ant fact of all, is the nainialous drinnes l 'of
the 'common soldin s and common I saNt.S.
To the last min; so tar -as kriJwit, they Imre,
saccessfilly resisted the tdaitclous effort~ of
thoses w : hose coMmands bit an hour; bet: I'o,l
they'obeyers abs'olute I,lw.
I • I
, Ttif , 3 Lithe Ottrroti - Ciestinet of plain people.'
They understintil - without an argument that
the "destroying the Government, which )vt - ts. •
madO by W.t.siii.;';:irro:f; means no good to dicta--
our 'popular coyernnitnt has often bites call
ed ah experiMmat. ' Two ppints in it Our Pee : -
ple bare settled::'• thf :stiegesiful estahlisting
anti the succeisful a druiniStering of it.' ne
still; reamins-Lits iucce44fal , ina tta
iatiace
against afortaidablelinternal - attenintltO oVer
throw it. :" • ,1 , . 1- • .1 I .
this now , for- them to dentonstrate toj the
" .
world-that tlibse:whii'ean fatly carry nit elelc
tioM can also isapprilis a rebbllion ; that bll
lots are the rightful land pcieeful sucee,4cirs
let Wallets, and that when- blillets lini - eI dirty
" andiconstitutionly decided. 'there can .bd Ito
i Sucdessful appeal Pack to 411ets ;: that there
I can he no successful tippeal - except to UAW's
I I
themselves.. - At ',su.;ceeding elustioti's , such
li - Übe a greit lesso r Of peace, teachirtginim
that; V. hatthey ca -- not - talte:by an' election
neither can they•• tahe it thy a war; -teaching
all the folly Of 'oein,s- the beginners cif a tvar.
Lhst there ne-some uneasines in thetiniads
of candid men - as to what ls to be the Onctse
or ' the Gove:ria,Luent - towards . the Southern
1 bt,qes, - after; Lie rosellioa shall have been
suppressed, the: r..x..Q, i,tive deews it r:•Opcir'to.
say it will be his pugpose l ithen, as cried, to 'be
gpided hr the Constitution and the laWs; and
that he probably wit hat . ° no differeatrtia- '
j - dersltandieg C'f, "the bower and duties . of the
:Federal Goverramen , relatively to the' rights
!of
the-
Stites ."and th peoPle under-.the Con- I I
stitution than that xprest; ed in the Inaugural'
Address.
Fie'. desires. ; tnpres rve OM Govermient,that
i.t may be adinialistyred for all as it as ad-
Ministered 1./j. the Men who made it. Loyal
citizens even-when:l have the - right to claim
ithislof their Govern' lent, nd the GoVerninent
has ?no right 'to; hod o, wit' ho r neglect j1...' It is
it
. not perceived that in giving .it there• is, any
'coerci, coetchm, or tiny co quest!, or any subjugation
I i - _ , : 'tiny just sense ofltheselt2rais. I ,
-
The Constitution • pro \tided ; and i all' the
!Stakes - have :ttecept.nl th provision, ' " That
the' United States shall. guarantee to every
'State iii -this (Union 1 repdblican forth-of got - .
eminent ; ' but if a State 'limy lawfully gel out
1 of the Union; ha:vitt dend so,ltrriay'alse-dis
lcard the republicanrermof,gerermitent ; so
l!that to prevent • itsgoing ut is an indispens
'aide means Lto 1 thl.'erl of maintaining the
guarantee inention-d, •and When an' end, is
.laWful and ' ol,? ligitory, the indiSpensable
means to it tire els lawful and obligatory.
...
It was with the ..epcst regret that the Ex
,
l ectitive found the d ity of employing: the war
;power, in defehce di the !Government" forced
'upon him. lie "cotild Ind. perform this duty
. or" 4 surrenderithdexilstence of the Government.
No compromise by Ipublid servants, eOuld; in
`this ca,se, be a !env; no that compromises.
arc' not often pi.dpc ) -but rat no popular Gov
,' :
crtiment canllong servive a marked precedent
that • these Who:c.'rry an election can only.
sale the Governme. t front immediateldestruc
i
tlonliy giving nip t e main point upon Whiclr
I the' people gave - t‘he election. The; Petiple
'themselves,
n', own eliberate decision and:no their l servants, Mtn safely
I r"everse thes". lAs a
I private citizen,
the Execative could notlhave
!'Consented that the e institutions shalt perish,
Much less cOuldhcl in betrayal of so . Vast and
fro sacred a trust a these free people had eon
-1 fidetlle timi lle elt that he had no Mortal
i•i , I
I; rgh tto shrink, .no evenlto count the, chances
Of his own life in hat might follow.' Infull
't-icw of his great r sponsibilitY, he, has 'so far
done, what fhe _de teed his duty. You will
a•
now,taccordin to your :own judgment per
form yours: Ire . incerely hopes , that your
I . .iev. - S. and .yourat Lions - may so accord with
his, as to assure al faithful - citizens who have:
f
[teen disturbed-in their irights, of a certain.'
and speedy; rest° ation ito them, under the
; Constitution and t e laws, and - having thus
'chosen our Cause N ithout guile andwitit Pure
;purpose, let ms ten w our trust in God and go
e l l
t*orward. without f hr and with manly hearts.
.: - I, AIIPfAIIAII 'LINCOLN.
the
;fore
)en
the
the
.Mll
ccr
t
res , •.
lied
•on-
Jul; - 4, 1,51
■
The key-note of- this Message is the:
AsseTtion that' the Union must be preserv.
ell i 4 its integrity .at - whatever. cost. To
lhisrend, the President-asks CongresS to
bell !on the ~nountiy for Four' Hundred -,
Then.sand Men (including those already
in the field); and Four Hundred Millions'
Of bath's. Lame as these requibitions
are, We are, sure they will be proMptly
and; heartily responded to by both Con
g,reas and the Nation. The President's.
!argument agaiast the pretended Right of
Secession is clear and forcible; but it is
very much' like arguing that A man's leg
hasonn right to secede from his beidy.
The' traitors never supposed they had any
other right in the premises than that
founded in the strength- of their battal
lions. Whenever they find themselves
whipped, the Right to Secession wilt be
no more. It is very clear, from the de.
velOpments of this Message; that Fort
Sumter could not.have been saved, by
liny means at-the President's command,
at any time after'Mr Lineoltics inaug.nr
ation. Yet we are not convinced that
the attempt to relieve it should not have
Been made instantly dnd untonditionally.
It whould have been a National : disgrace
and disaster had Sumter been lost with
o'nt an effort to relieve it; while the less
Of that fort under the actual eircumstanc
eS was a positive advantage to, the Na=
tional cause. The Country`will hail with
joy the President's assurance that our
foreigri z relations are uniformly on a sat
i4factoify footing. We have on lianik the
simple business of crushing out the great
rebellion, and we -trust every care will - be
taken that ifrbe not complicated with any
other. .No Compromise with
,Treason;
but the most energetic effortsifor its sup
pression !—such is the National duty and
the National will. ; We rejoice to find the
President so emphatically faithful to the
one anu sa,J tesponsivi to the ether:—
Yr/Lune.
.9c/1E LAT.pST. WAR NEVFS.
There bad been, at the latestacbounts
no inoveMent of Gea. Patterson 'or of
Gen Johnson. On Sunday shots were
• cy.changed b4ween the pickets of the
form!er'.; troops and a.company of Rebels,
whOretreated as usual. • A false - rep,mt
of an advance by Gen. Johnsoni - yester:
day imiused the Sth, 9th Lnd 16th of
PiMusylvanin, the Scott .Legion, 'and a
company of the,2nd-. Cavalry to turn out
,'And march two mites Southward: Gen. •
Cadwalador led in poison. The report
had on:y the'result, however, to show
with what spirit and "alacrity the men
•coUld'adiance to 'Meet the foe. -
On Sunday night there was a skirmish
between the picketS of the .National
troops - and some Virginians at or ,near
Great Palls. 'Two:n3embers'of the Ger
man Turneillifi.!'s were killed. .0n the
sid'c of the enemy it is.6uppoSed that a
dozen were--fEitnilv hurt.
It is repOrted that four companies of
the 10th Ohio Reeiment were yesterday
besieged at Glenville, Va„, 40 'miles'
Southwest of Buckhaunon, ly aregi
meat of Virginians and •1;500 militia,.
under 0. Jennings Wise." GPI. Tyler,•
with the 7th Ohio'Regiment how Wes
ton, and Col. Lytle, with the 10th from
13ucklignuoa, went to.their relief.
The number of rebel troops in Virgin
ia, exclusive
. of those at Norfolk' anti
Richmond is stated to be about, 47;004.
Travelers in the interior of the State de- .
Clare 'that hardly a white man is tk.te•
-.N.— ,- -i..,
seen, the male population having ea'
pressed into the military service. 1
,Betweeu 7,900 and 8,000 horse' ail)
eo be ,purchased for use at Washington,
and...several thousand for Fortress 14c4Y- -
roe and Gen. Patterson's column:
Capt. Thetnas, of the' St. Mht:y's Cav
alry; who assisted in the capture of the
steamer St. Nicholas the other day; was
arrested at Fort McHenry, on 'board of
the I Mary Washington, together with
seven of his confederates. The gallant
captain for an hour eluded the search of
the police, having taken snug qtarters in
a.bareatz drawer in the ladies' cabin. •
Tlr. Holman, of. Indiana yesterday in
troduced into the House of Representa
tives a resolution which was adopted, pro.
viding that the House at this extra sea;
sion shall entertain only such bills null
Tesoiutions as have to do with military
and naval affairs, and that all others be
referred to the proper Committees, and be
considered at the nakt session of Congress.
Mr. Van Wyck of New York, yester
day submitted to-the House a Retrench
ment biht , whi6li in the mini d good
one: It scales the salaries or otti6r emol
uments of . functionaries and empl'oyees of
the Government very fairly, -and contains
some other wholesome provisions. We
do not, -however, consider its proposition -- .
with regard to. the Mileage of Congnss
a' just one. He proposes to abolish all
allowance whatever\ for traveling to and
from Washington. That would be un
fair and'unequal. A Member train Ore- .
gon or NeVada ought to be paid more than
one. from - Maryland' or .Penniyliania—as
much more as .the fair cost of traveling
to Washington and returning. We say
ten cents per mile by the shortest mril
route would be a fair allowance, and we '
trust Mr. V.. will Solnoilify . hie bill..