previous next


Signs of the Times.

persecution of female prisoners at the North--peace meetings — sentiments of the press, &c.



From our Northern exchanges, received up to Thursday's date, we make up the following extracts, showing the growing feeling in Lincoln's dominions for a speedy and peaceful settlement of the political difficulties which now envelop us:


Now the female prisoners in Washington are treated.

A Washington correspondent of the Baltimore Exchange writes:

The ‘"Grand Army of the North"’ no longer running from Richmond, is now warring against women, and the public appetite which must be fed accepts this food. A constant reader of your paper, I notice your moderate notice of these ‘"female rebels,"’ and for the sake of truth send you the enclosed; leaving to your discretion to do with it what your judgment suggests — for mine, awed by the surrounding bayonets, dares not venture beyond the truth, and even trembles at this; but to facts. Imagine a listener rather than an actor, relating her experience. On Saturday at 11 A. M., Mrs.--entertaining her visitor, a lady friend, was surprised to see two men enter and announce to her that she was under arrest, as well as her family. Immediately, armed men stationed themselves in her parlors, at all the doors, and round the house; while four men proceeded up stairs, throwing open the sacred doors of her apartments, forcing open desks, wardrobes, drawers, boxes, tearing the bedding from the beds, searching the pockets of dresses with an activity which threatened destruction to everything. Remonstrance was in vain, for they were told to hush, else they should have guards placed over each of them. Their hands were violently seized because a pocket-book was detained, and the unfortunate female pushed into a room with a soldier over her.--Their soiled clothes were insulted, bringing the tears into their woman's eyes. Every insult in act and speech was shown to them, and when their desks and pockets had been robbed of their contents, they were all huddled into one room with armed men to guard them.

The regulars of the United States Army have been gentlemanly in their deportment. I have long wished for some term to define a mass of vulgarity, ruffianly conduct, insults to unprotected women, and have found it in a New York detective policeman. The prisoners have four over them; they have turned them out of their parlors, sleep and smoke on their sofas, answer the bell when their friends call. Their cards and notes are all examined. They illuminate the house, seated at the front window with their legs over the chairs; thrust themselves wherever the ladies meet together, (the family being large,) to hear their remarks; have examined and threatened the servants if they did not tell. The prisoners cannot get a pitcher of water without a guard being sent with their servants: their mail is taken possession of, and their privacy intruded upon in every way. Now, as there is a God in Heaven, have I stated exactly what this 19th century has allowed. Isolated from all their friends, thus are they left to the vengeance of this Government.

The charge of treasonable correspondence cannot be sustained. No letter has ever been written to any Confederate leader; nor can proof be found to sustain this arrest. They are entirely ignorant into whose hands they have fallen, and are as much guarded as if they were the veriest convicts on record.

They cannot consistently ask any favors of this Government, neither do they wish to.--Their bones would rather rot in prison — forgive this strong expression — but my blood boils with an indignant strength. No one knows of my having written this letter, I do so on my own responsibility.

How long these persecutions are to be continued, we cannot imagine; but the public shall know what Lincoln has inaugurated.


Peace meeting in Harford county.

Pursuant to a published call for the assembling of the people in primary meetings in the several election districts of Harford county, Md., to elect ten delegates from each district to meet in Bel-Air in county convention, to elect delegates to represent the county in a State Convention to be held in Baltimore, to make State nominations, early in the afternoon the voters of the second election district came out in mass; men who for years had been bitter political enemies met in perfect unity, having but one purpose and one object.

Immediately upon the organization of the meeting, and its object being read by the Secretary, John M. Cooley was called for, who addressed the meeting in an able and eloquent speech of about twenty minutes. He condemned the policy of the Administration; spoke of the many constitutional violations and usurpations of the President; did not look upon our Government as a consolidated one, but as a Government of limited powers, deriving its powers from the people. He thought the Union or the Constitution did not impair our State rights, his views being the same as those of Madison, Jay and Hamilton. His speech was well received throughout, and he took his seat amid great applause.

Dr. J. T. Hays was then called for, who made a brilliant speech of fifteen minutes--portrayed the policy of the Black Republican party, the past as well as the present; could see no difference between John Brown and Lincoln, except that one represented and led on a small force, the other a very large one; wished for a speedy termination of our national difficulties. The Doctor's speech met with a warm reception and much applause.

On motion the meeting proceeded to ballot for delegates, when the following gentlemen were declared to be elected:

Delegates.--W. A. Patterson, Major W. B. Stephenson, Samuel Sutton, George Stephenson, R. H. Smith, Dr. J. T. Hays, Daniel Martin, John M. Cooley, Dr. J. A. Preston, B. F. Heath.

Alternates.--W. B. Michael, James Chesney, Dr. J. K. Sappington, John P. Dallam, Bennett Tilbert, R. Henly, A. Osborn, Thomas Jeffry, James Stephenson.

W. Ewing, Jr., was then called for, and responded in a speech of twenty minutes. Spoke of the different branches of the General Government; regarded the Supreme Court as a co-ordinate and not a subordinate branch of the General Government, and, as such, the Supreme Court had as much right and power to set aside the functions of the President, as the President had a right or power to set aside the functions of the Supreme Court. Looked upon the Constitution as the law of limitation upon the one side and of obedience upon the other.

Mr. Ewing also spoke of our country, her boundless resources and mighty improvements; looked forward to the amicable settlement of our national difficulties, and hoped for the future prosperity of our nation. Mr. Ewing left the floor amid much applause.


Primary meeting at Centreville.

A large and enthusiastic meeting was held at Centreville, Queen Anne's county, Md., on the 3d instant, at which several spirited addresses were made, and twenty-five delegates appointed to the Peace Convention to be held in Baltimore on the 10th of the present month. The resolutions adopted charge upon the Federal Government the most gross and palpable violations of the Constitution; insist that our fellow-citizens illegally imprisoned shall be either set at liberty or surrendered for trial to the civil authorities; declare uncompromising opposition to the war, and claim that the true issues before the people of Maryland are, not ‘"Union or Disunion, but, on the one hand, peace, with returning prosperity, and the restoration of the Constitution and laws; and on the other civil war, endless and oppressive taxation, and the total loss of constitutional liberty."’


Great peace meeting at Ithaca.

On Saturday last one of the largest meetings was held at Ithaca, New York, that has ever assembled in that town. The Town Hall was, crowded to excess, and so large was the number of persons pressing for admission that, on motion of Mr. Chauncy Grant, they adjourned to the Park. Here they were addressed by Messrs. McDow and Halsey, who advocated peace in the strongest terms. The meeting was composed of the most respectable citizens and farmers from the neighborhood, all of whom were evidently of a very different class from those Northerners who now congregate at Washington.


The muddle of the New York press.

In an article severely denouncing Lincoln and the course which has characterized his Administration, the Cincinnati Gazette thus concludes:

What Administration could have been in sympathy with the three New York Republican dailies of greatest circulation — the Tribune, Times and World — since the war began, without going into raving insanity? There are other papers that might be included, but these are the most noted. The Times, with unincapacity for comprehending current events, imagines that it has a mission for planning campaigns, and it distinguished itself after the campaign at Bull Run by charging the blame on everybody but the one who had the sole direction of the affair, and by Insisting that all should now bow down to him.

The Tribune, after its long course of demands for adequate force and an active campaign, suddenly stutified itself, condemned the Administration for making a forward movement, and demanded that all should resign and set up Gen. Log as supreme, because he was opposed to forward movements. The World exalted masterly inactivity as the

greatest evidence of military genius. Then it glorified the advance as having been delayed till just the time when all the circumstances were most propitious, and eulogized the General-in-Chief for having waited the culmination of his plans, in spite of clamor. Then it declared the forward movement and battle to have been forced upon the General-in-Chief, and it, too, demanded that he should be made supreme.

Soon they all became convinced that the General-in-Chief had been supreme all the time. Then for a time they were like dumb dogs. What exploded blunder has not been seized upon by the New York press as the very policy for the occasion? Is it strange that the Administration, viewing public opinion through the medium of these journals, should regard it all as a muddle?


Loyal Postmasters.

The Baltimore Exchange has received the following from a subscriber. That paper says he is but one of the many who are made the victims of this petty tyranny:

To the Editors of the Baltimore Exchange: --Gentlemen — Please do not forward any more of my papers, at this time, as I am not permitted to take them from the office.

"Order truly reigns in Warsaw.

Yours respectfully,

Sept. 1, 1861.


The New York day Book.

The proprietors of the New York Day Book have addressed a letter to the Courier des Etats Unis, denying that they have abandoned the position they have hitherto maintained. ‘"The Day Book,"’ they say ‘"has neither interrupted its publication, nor by word or deed taken a position different from what it has preserved up to this moment. As Americans and freemen, its editors are determined to sustain the dignity of the press or perish in its defence."’


"our situation."

Under the above caption the New York National Zeitung (German) thus writes:

‘ While the South is from day to day succeeding in throwing off the yoke of military despotism, we at the North have to suffer more from day to day by the iron grasp of the Dictator. --Terrorism against all who do not bear allegiance to the usurper, becomes more rampant every day. Systematic suppression is waged against opposition papers, meetings of citizens belonging to the opposition party, are hounded down by hired mobs, arrests and imprisonments of suspected persons are carried on in all portions of the country almost hourly, and they become so numerous that it is next impossible to keep account of them. To this is now added the decision of the Dictator, not to have published any more news of political arrests, since, by doing so, the objects which Government has in view might be foiled. To render complete the system of Asiatic despotism, nothing is wanting now but secret executions.

But, go on? You may hide by the veil of darkness the abominations perpetrated under sanction of laws trampled under your feet — dawning day will reveal them the more terribly. You may heap oppression upon oppression; you may stop the valve of free speech — the more surely will an explosion take place.

The day of relief will come, and the greater our torment has been the brighter will be our day of jubilee.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Places (automatically extracted)
hide People (automatically extracted)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
September 1st, 1861 AD (1)
3rd (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: