Hanging Southern leaders.
This is the settled purpose of the
Federal leaders.
In advocating an inhuman bill before the Federal Congress, one of the
Senators said that the deluded masses, upon returning to their allegiance, might be pardoned, but that the gallows was the doom of the leaders.
This is no doubt their real purpose, and yet our people act as if they were dealing with a foe who respects the rules of civilized warfare.
Is there no retaliatory legislation to meet such barbarous enactments?
Do we intend to proclaim by our conduct to the enemy that he may hang our leaders, and that he may hang the masses also, if they do not renounce their allegiance to States which, even under the old Union, were acknowledged to be sovereign as the
General Government, and that all this may be proclaimed without any peril or risk on their part?
If so, this is indeed an unequal contest.
Even amidst the sickening scenes of slaughter which are daily perpetrated of men, women and children, we content ourselves with simply parrying the murderous blows aimed at our hearts, and do not prepare to strike back again with that vengeance which such brutality ought to arouse.
We may consider this very merciful and humane, but if mercy to the enemy it is cruelty to ourselves; if humanity to the wicked it is barbarity to the good.
The adversary we deal with does not understand such compassion.
He believes that it is fear and cowardice, and is inspired to new vindictiveness and ferocity by that belief.
Few men — none, indeed, but men of the highest courage, find much pleasure in a hunt of lions, but a deer hunt or a fox hunt is a very different affair.
Our enemies at present have all the excitement and pleasure of hunting down those who only endeavor to baffle his pursuit, but have no idea of visiting him with the ignominious death which he proclaims against ourselves.
Heaven forbid that we should advocate any departure from the ordinary rules of civilized warfare, except to meet and to avenge every such departure at the hands of our enemy.
That at least the
Southern people must insist upon, and if they propose to halter us as rebels against an oppressive Government, then let us also halter them as rebels against humanity and against God.
