Columbus Daily Capital City Fact, March 22, 1861

Certainly we have; and a President, too, who intends using all the force and power at his command to have the laws of that Government enforced and its property possessed and protected! In cases of military and other necessities, however, it is not to be supposed that the President intends filling his Inaugural programme, which was hastily promulgated without the usual provisos and reservations usual in cases where novices undertake herculean tasks. The enforcement of the laws and the possession of the public property by Mr. LINCOLN, when his own good time warrants him in so doing, will constitute the .strongest evidences of his authority and disposition to use it. Beside, we have his own free and unsolicited promise to do these things. Without this authority, (and the exercise of its prerogatives,) there can be no Government. Where laws exist, and they are set at defiance, without either the ability or disposition to enforce them, of course there is no Government. But such is not now the case. We have "a second JACKSON" now in command—"a second WASHINGTON" in the White House—a "very SOLOMON" in wisdom—a trinity of strength, patriotism and irrepressible determination—who will see to it that his Administration of the Government shall not be considered a mere mockery—a name without the substance. The initiatory step towards the astonishment of the world and the Southern Confederacy by these energetic developments, will be the evacuation of Fort Sumter! This, to the uninitiated, may appear strange, at first, and somewhat inconsistent; but what commoner's business is it how honest Uncle ABE intends to "possess" himself of the Forts[?]

If we evince a lack of seriousness in the eyes of the reader, we assure him it is done more through an effort to smother a burning sentiment of contempt than a desire to make light of a serious matter. We have no Government, and never shall have one worthy any higher consideration than contempt, until we unite manfully, unanimously, in the enforcement of its laws. Treason is one among the highest crimes known to the law, and yet it has not only been suffered to go forth unpunished, but actually encouraged, until, growing bolder and bolder, it defies all restraint and threatens to sap the life blood out of our national existence. Disobedience to, or violation of law, in whatever form, merits not only retributive justice, but the indignant scorn of enlightened humanity. The President of the United States cannot be censured for obedience to the laws of the land, nor can condemnation fall upon him for enforcing them. Why, then, does he not fulfill the laws and the duty imposed upon him by his oath of office by reinforcing Major ANDERSON, instead of withdrawing his gallant guard from the post of honor? Shame upon the subterfuge, that would clothe cowardice in the unfitting garments of "military necessity!"

None more than we deprecate the necessity that leads to war; but for the honor of the American name the subterfuge that leads to the evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military necessity should be condemned. It may be that it was bad policy in the late Administration to delay reinforcement, but its having been delayed to this late hour is no reason why succor should not now be sent at all hazards. Too much importance is attached to the phantom prowess of the boasting traitors, and too little to our own resources. The most plausible reason advanced in behalf of the Administration for the surrender of Fort Sumter is, that we have no sufficient army with which to enforce it. Has the President no power to quell treason and silence rebellion? If not, why did the President, in his Inaugural, threaten—and it appears to have been only a threat—to enforce the laws and possess the forts and arsenals? Why was not this important discovery made before the Administration found it expedient to cringe to Southern dictation by the reception and recognition of treacherous Commissioners? The army and navy of the United States are stronger now than they were three weeks ago, and the rebel army is no better conditioned. Having declared a policy which sounded nobly to the patriotic ear, the Administration at Washington saddened the entire community by backing down, fair and square, from that gallant stand. This is what humiliates. The plea entered for withholding aid from Major ANDERSON, that it is a military necessity, is sheer nonsense, and discloses a want of nerve in the Administration. An "impromptu" force of fifty thousand men can be raised in the United States, at any time, on one week's notice, for any honorable service; and what more holy cause could men engage in than marshaling to the succor of a gallant band who are defending their country's honor and its flag in the midst of a hostile and traitorous foe!

If we have a Government, it is time the people were made aware of the fact. While the Government of the Confederate States, under DAVIS, is pursuing its course smoothly and systematically, that at Washington is blindly halting between two opinions, each involving humiliating compromise, at best, if not destined eventually to destroy the whole social compact and render us back from a happy and prosperous nation, proud in our might and exultant in our enterprise, into inextinctable chaos.