Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year. one thousand eight hundred and sixiy-four,

By S. D. CARPENTER,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the State of Wisconsin.

A PREFACE to a book is often synonymous such as to be as personally offensive as possiblé to with excuses, and I will render mine as briefly all conservatives, by the use approbious epias possible. I have compiled this work, not thets, such as "Traitor"-"Copperhead,” &c. with a view to win literary fame, though per- With this work in his possession, no Democrat haps few, who have acquired the knowledge by need fear these epithets, for if he will compel experience, will deny me at least a modest his assailant to endure the infliction to read or claim to considerable research and laborious listen to a few choice paragraphs herein, the application; for, in truth I could have pro-insult will hardly be repeated; for, the follow

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duced a volume of more than double the proportions of this, with less labor and painstaking, had I reduced it to a commentary on the subjects which it embraces. But, for the purposes intended, it was necessary to present the language employed by those who are herein represented. This I have done as tersely as possible, without perverting the sentiments uttered. The task has been an herculean one. The difficulty has not been what to insert, but what to leave out, lest I should compile a volume of too ponderous proportions, for it would have been much easier to have compiled 2,000 pages, without diminishing the interest. My whole aim has been to present to the conservatives of the country a useful and convenient digest of the sayings and doings of the Northern Disunionists for the last sixty-five years, together with a synopsis of the slavery agitation and results of emancipation, from the halcyon days of Rome down to the present time-years of research to hunt up and codify these embracing a statistical, didactic and editorial extracts from original sources, at an expense compendium of that restless spirit of meddling wholly inadequate to any probable remuneraagitation that has ruined the fairest govern- tion. Possessing these extraordinary faciliments on earth. I have presented the evidence ties, I have compiled this work both from the of Northern disunion and treason, in a conve- dictates of duty and hope of reward. I do not nient and tangible form, that the same may be warrant it free from errors; for, in addition to demonstrated to the people who now suffer in my other duties of publishing a Daily and consequence of these causes:Weekly Newspaper, &c., I have without assistance, copied, codified and arranged the work each evening, as needed for the printers the next day, nor have I been able to re-examine a single sheet of "copy," previous to its

All the libraries in the "Union as it was," might be searched in vain for the contents of this book. The same might be found mostly in the newspaper files of the last seventy years, but it would require a practiced antiquarian

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1st. By Editors through the press. 2d. By public speakers from the rostrum. 3d. By citizens, among the masses in the school house and other gatherings, and in private discussions. The conduct of this war, from the highest official to the lowest parasite of power, has been

ing pages constitute a bomb-proof battery-an "iron clad" torpedo-that will be dangerous to trifle with.

For fifteen years I have been selecting and preserving in scrap book form, the within evidences of republican guilt, until I had created quite a "library" of scrap books. I was aware years ago that these scraps would one day become valuable. I was offered, during the political canvass of 1863, a large sum for my first volume of Scraps, and it occurred to me that if one of my many volumes was prized so highly, there were few that would not esteem it a privilege to pay $1.50 for the cream of them all.

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While I have endeavored to link together the various extracts in argumentative arrangement, I have, with but few exceptional cases, employed no more of my own language and sentiments than were necessary to a proper application and introduction of the sentiment or fact quoted.

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Another reason for presenting this work, is, that during the canvass of 1863, I printed the first edition of 10,000 copies in pamphlet form, which were soon disposed of in all parts of the North, with no effort on my part, save a notice that a work of that character was for sale, and even after the last copy was sent as per order, I continued to receive orders from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, New York and other States, until calls for more than 6,000 accumulated on my table, beyond my power to fill. I commenced this edition in November last, to meet this demand, and already, before the first copy is bound, I have orders for more than two-thirds of my entire edition. I am making arrangements for issuing a 3d edition to supply the general demand, which I am in hopes to issue some time in June or July next.

use at the case. Still, I am quite sure I have found in this volume, which will have the good done no injustice to the authors of the extracts, effect to rid the truly loyal possessor of the insults of that reptile tribe of arrogant, selfexcept, perhaps, in some unimportant typographical errors, that readily suggest them-righteous bores, who breed in the sunshine of selves. power-fatten on the sweat of honest toil, and parrot-like chatter virtues they never possessed. To those who have known me for years, it is unnecessary to offer assurances that I am, as I have been from the start, in favor of the most "vigorous" prosecution of the war to crush the rebellion. I believe this can be done under the Constitution, and in the mean time preserve personal and civil liberty. I am, as I ever have been, opposed to secession, disunion, and treason-especially Abolitionism, believing that the latter combines the trinity of the former. I have no apology to offer for the rebellion, and am in favor of punishing all traitors-am opposed to any peace purchased at the expense of the honor and inalienable rights of loyal people, and am in favor of any peace-the sooner it comes the better that shall secure the Union of our fathers, and be honorable in its terms, and believe that any sensible, conservative man would be an improvement on Mr. LINCOLN for President.

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To the conservatives of the country this work is especially dedicated, as the aggregation of guilt and treason of seventy years accumulation-to be by them exhibited as a living panorama of "disloyal practices" by the opponents of Democracy-lest the treason of these marplots may be overlooked, amid the din of their pharisaical protestations of "weare-holier-than-thou" loyalty. These martinets of power must not be permitted to deceive the people with their "stop thief" cry of "we With the foregoing "explanations," I offer are loyal”—“you are disloyal" when the the work to all those who would study the great evidences of their own guilt are so overwhelm-cause of all the evils that now afflict this sorely oppressed people. S. D. CARPENTER. ing. A sure antidote to their poison is to be MADISON, WIS., February, 1864.

The "Shakesperean Irrepressible Conflict," which follows the general order of this work, I offer gratis-not as a specimen of literary genius, but in accordance with a promise made at the repeated requests of many of my friends. I attach no particular importance to it, for it was all prepared during the three last evenings of 1862, as a "message" for the carriers of my paper. It was only intended as a humorous salmagundi, to represent the "rise, progress and decline of the one idea." I may, without arrogance, however, claim for it this merit-a truthful, even though crude, reflex of transpiring facts.

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CONTENTS.