men, and almost naked children, were seen rushing frantically out of the burning dwellings, nearly suffocated with smoke and flame, and filling the air with cries and moans of despair, which were enough to break any heart except that of the demoralized and vandalized soldiers under Banks. A French journalist, a few months since said: "We judge from the manner in which the Federals make war that they are totally demoralized as a people." If it does not turn out that we are demonized, we shall, for one, thank God. And we have no higher ambition than to place our name on record as abhorring and denouncing the war, not only in its aims, but in the manner of its conduction We would as soon go down to posterity as one of a banditti We a supporter of such a war. have taught our soul to despise every man who approves of it. The language is strong; but it is weak to express the strength and depth of our abhorrence. Voltaire says that in his time an officer who should deliberately give up a place to pillage would be as much disgraced as a man who should, on his own account, commit theft and arson.

as

The laws of war are glosses on, and developments of, these simple principles-that every operation should have a definite object; that it should be the belligerent's aim to attain that object at a minimum cost to himself, and without inflicting wanton suffering on the people of the enemy; and that no object ought to be pursued at a cost which is out of all reasonable proportion to its value. Non-combatants and private property are to be spared as much as possible from the havoc,

necessarily frightful, and to be lamented by every enlightened being. Every just-minded man will do all in his power to check the gusts of popular passion, as well as to curb the license of armies in the field, in order that the true principles on which alone war can lawfully be carried on, should be diffused and understood. Instead of this enlightened conduct, the entire Republican press, and a portion of the so-called Democratic press, together with a majority of the pulpits, have endeavored to arouse and keep up a spirit of rapine, blood and revenge. They have encouraged our soldiers in a course of plunder, arson and crime, which has left monuments of our shame on every spot of southern soil reached by our armies. We have traveled over the spots of Europe that were, in other centuries, the most extensive battle-fields; but, for the most part, history has no legends of the vandalism which has marked every step of our progress in the South. In Eng land their intestine wars were a light scourge compared with the record of destruction we have made since Lincoln reached the city of Washington. Whitelocke, after the terrible and bloody conflict which established the Commonwealth in England, wrote to Christina of Sweden, that the storms which had convulsed the island had left hardly any visible mark of devastation behind. When will time wear out the marks of our vandalisms in the South? When will the legends of our abominations cease to frighten the imagination of the historian? When will it be forgotten that there was a time when every man's life here in the North was in danger who dared to

ence.

"THE encroachments of slavery;" "The aggressions of the slave power." These words have been the capital of the Republican party. Without them. the party would never have an existBut what these "aggressions" are we could never learn. They are a fiction. As we shall see, a base falsehood, without a single redeeming truth to save them from the harshest epi-. thet of "lie." Mendacious! We shall see from the record that all the "aggressions" in relation to slavery have been from the North. That the South have been long-suffering and forbearing to a degree that we had no reason to demand or expect.

The Jeffersonian has published comparative tables of the slaveholding and non-slaveholding States, which exhibit the territorial gains of each section in such clear contrast, that we present them here for the purpose of proving our position that the South has been neither aggressive nor insolent in its territorial demands:

"The Territory acquired with Independence from Great Britain, extended from New Brunswick and the Canadas on the North, to the northern boundary of Florida on the South, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the East, to the Mississippi River and Louisiana Territory on the West.

"The area of this domain is upwards 804,000 square miles, all east of the Mississippi River.

"The territory lying to the west of the Mississippi River was, at the time of the American Revolution, under the

dominion of France and Spain; it extends from the British possessions on the North to the Rio Grande on the South, and to the Pacific Ocean on the West, and including Oregon and California, contains an area of over 2,000,000 of square miles. The United States at this moment claim dominion of all this vast tract of country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, embracing an area (including Florida purchased in 1818) of about 2,900,000 square miles.

"At the date of the Declaration of Independence, all this immense territory was slave territory, and every signer of the Declaration of Independ ence the signer from Massachusetts equally with the signer from South Carolina-was either himself a slaveholder, or was the representative of slaveholders.

"During the period from the close of the Revolution to the year 1799, slavery was abolished in Pennsylva nia, and the States to the East and North of it. So at that latter date, seven of the original States had become free States, and six remained slave States.

"Previous to the year 1803, the United States held no territory west of the Mississippi River, and the territory east of that river, not organized into States, was the domain of several of the thirteen States, as follows: The territories of Vermont and Maine, which were the domain of New York and Massachusetts, respectfully, were admitted into the Union as free States, Vermont in 1791, and Maine as a ba

lance to Missouri, in 1820. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, forming what was known as the northwest territory, was the domain of Virginia, and was slave territory.

"Kentucky was likewise the property of Virginia; Tennessee of North Carolina; Mississippi and Alabama of Georgia and South Carolina.

"In 1783, Virginia, of her own free will, and without price, ceded the northwest territory to the United States.

"This immense domain, in area equal to 260,000 square miles, was divided into five free States, as stated above, viz: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota; about one-third part of this latter State is of that Virginia territory.

The aggregate area of all the free States East of the

Mississippi River is.... .466,663 sq. miles Of which Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and the New England States, together contain but..

.162,435 sq. miles.

And the other States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, all donated by Virginia, contain together an area of...... Aggregating to......

.260,227 sq. miles.

.466,663 sq. miles.

All of which was formerly slave territory, but now all free territory.

A very graphic proof, certainly, of the "aggressive" spirit of slavery.

It is thus seen how Virginia is entitled to the once endearing appellation of mother of States; it is also seen that Old Virginia has donated of her own territory, of her own free will, an area greater in extent (by nearly 100,000 square miles) than the total area of the States of New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, and the six New England States, and devoted it to freedom.

Does the donation of this immense domain, the consenting that it shall be a free territory, exhibit a spirit of aggression on the part of the slave power? Let men who desire to be just, and who are seeking after truth, read this array of facts and ponder well over them.

In 1803, the Louisiana territory was purchased from France-this embraced Texas and all the territory of the United States west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the California purchase, and contained about 1,500,000 square miles; all of which was slave territory.

At the time of the purchase of Florida from Spain, in 1819, and in order to quiet the jealousy of New England towards Southern acquisition, Texas was ceded to Spain, as part of the consideration for Florida. So that while we gained but 59,000 square miles with Florida, we gave away in Texas and New Mexico territory over 800,000 square miles.

In 1820 Missouri applied for admission into the Union as a State, but having a slavery Constitution, and though formed out of the Louisiana territory, which by the treaty of purchase with France was guaranteed as a slave territory, the New England faction raised a violent opposition to its admission, end the agitation was such that the safety of the Union was then greatly endangered. The question was, however, for a time settled, by the admission of Missouri as a slave State, but with a proviso called the Missouri Compromise, by which it was agreed that from that time slavery should be pro

Texas, as above stated, formed a part of the Louisiana purchase, and having been ceded to Spain, on the purchase of Florida, and being attached to Mexico, with the success of the Mexican Revolution became one of the Mexican States; afterwards, by her own revolution she became in turn, independent of Mexico, and was re-annexed to the United States.

Again, the North still true to its "aggressive spirit" upon the institutions of the South, made an excitement which threatened to dissolve the Union. The New England States, especially Massachusetts, in Legislature assembled, passed resolutions to dissolve the Union.

The Mexican war followed, and California was acquired and purchased from Mexico, and was admitted into the Union.

Now, what was the relative propor tion of free and slave territory of the United States at the date of Abraham Lincoln's election?

The proportion of slave to free territory (I include the entire area, whether States or territories) west of the Mississippi, was as follows:

The area of 1,335,251 square miles of free territory is divided into the following States and territories to be formed into States, viz: Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Dacotab, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Neveda, Oregon, Washington and California, twelve States, with at least twenty-four U. S Senators.

The area of 681,464 square miles of slave tetritory, is divided into Mis souri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas (Indian Territory), New Mexico and Arizona, six States, or to form six, with but twelve Senators. To sum up, we have a total area, thus: East of Mississippi River.. West

46

Total.....

....

804,000 sq. m. 2,000,000, sq. m.

2,804,000 sq. m.