artment of
Missouri.

"_Second_. That the system of enrolled militia in Missouri may be
broken up, and national forces be substituted for it; and,

"_Third_. That at elections persons may not be allowed to vote
who are not entitled by law to do so.

"Among the reasons given, enough of suffering and wrong to Union
men is certainly, and I suppose truly, stated. Yet the whole case
as presented fails to convince me that General Schofield, or the
enrolled militia, is responsible for that suffering and wrong.
The whole can be explained on a more charitable and, as I think,
a more rational hypothesis.

"We are in civil war. In such cases there always is a main question;
but in this case that question is a perplexing compound--Union and
slavery. It thus becomes a question not of two sides merely, but
of at least four sides, even among those who are for the Union,
saying nothing of those who are against it. Thus, those who are
for the Union _with_, but not _without_, slavery; those for it
_without_, but not _with_; those for it _with_ or _without_, but
prefer it _with_; and those for it _with_ or _without_, but prefer
it _without_. Among these again is a subdivision of those who are
for _gradual_, but not for _immediate_, and those who are for
_immediate_, but not for _gradual_, extinction of slavery.

"It is easy to conceive that all these shades of opinion, and even
more, may be sincerely entertained by honest and truthful men; yet
all being for the Union, by reason of these differences each will
prefer a different way of sustaining the Union. At once sincerity
is questioned and motives are assailed; actual war coming, blood
grows hot and blood is spilled. Thought is forced from old channels
into confusion; deception breeds and thrives; confidence dies, and
universal suspicion reigns. Each man feels an impulse to kill his
neighbor, lest he be first killed by him. Revenge and retaliation
follow, and all this, as before said, may be among honest men only.
But this is not all. Every foul bird comes abroad, and every dirty
reptile rises up. These add crime to confusion. Strong measures
deemed indispensable, but harsh at best, such men make worse by
maladministration. Murders for old grudges and murders for pelf
proceed under any cloak that will best cover for the occasion.

"These causes amply account for what has occurred in Missouri,
without ascribing it to the weakness or wickedness of any general.
The n