"The time for compromising is past," said brave Ben Wade in Congress, and no doubt he voiced the conviction of every liberty-loving citizen of this great country. The Republican press, through its most prominent organs, also declared most emphatically that the principles which were sanctioned by the people on November 6, 1860 should be upheld. Let us hope that the leaders of the Republican Party will not surrender a victory upon which the greatest and fondest hopes of the nation are based. May they who have the power to perform acts which are decisive in the history of the country remember the responsibility which was placed upon them through the sovereign act of the people in the last presidential election. The responsibility of refusing to sacrifice (through "concessions" and the like) one inch of the ground which was gained after many years of resistance to Southern aggression. We derive special satisfaction from an authentic report of the New York Tribune which states that it has reliable information that Lincoln will make no concessions whatever to the slave powers, 2regardless of the pretext under which the concessions are requested. Like the great majority of independent and free men, be they Republicans, Democrats, or Bellites, he regards it as his foremost duty to ascertain whether or not we have a Government--whether the Union is merely a bubble which will burst at the first contact with the enemy, or whether it is a great, vital force, qualified and able to defend itself against foes within and from without.

So no compromises will be made! No vain, useless concessions! No surrender of principles! No subversion of the great decision rendered by the people on November 6! The great issue must be settled now, once and for all. We want to know if the power of slavery is stronger than the Union. It must be determined whether or not the Mexican system of rebellion has gained sufficient footing among us to achieve a victory by force for a party which was legally defeated at the polls. When this question has been decided, there will be ample time to investigate sectional complaints.

And the issue should be settled soon, or rather at once, for there is great danger ahead, as we can readily see when we consider the location, the strength, 3and the [strategic] value of the facts in Louisiana which were taken by the Insurgents. Forts St. Philipp and Jackson lie nearly opposite one another on the Mississippi, a few miles above its mouth. The former has one hundred and twenty-four cannon, the latter one hundred and fifty, and six hundred men are required to garrison each. Our Government paid $1,096,342 to have them erected. Fort Pike and Fort Macomb are located on Lake Ponchartrain. Each has forty-nine cannon and is manned by a garrison of three hundred, and their combined cost was about one million dollars. Says the Tribune: "Such is the present situation in Louisiana and on nearly all of the Southern coast. How long will we have to wait before the Government takes the steps necessary to maintain its dignity, its character, and its reputation? Will we have to wait until the Capitol itself is in possession of the Insurgents, and until they have acquired sufficient power to hang as traitors all those who resist the rebellion? We need no longer wonder at the boldness of the rebels, for the Government seems to have lost its mental equilibrium. Must the country lapse into a military despotism founded on slavery, without one manly effort being made in behalf of liberty?"

This question should be answered by voting down every dishonorable concession and suppressing the rebellion.