. . . : • - ..._----IT''=•,- , ' --' • . ' : 11;\1 I . ,' ''. 4-, ?1 1 : / . •• . -.;'-:."- ' ' .- 0-73ir---77 ' \ NA \ I ll : hg . • „. . .. . . \ , ii,i.„- , ---7,7,---1,-..--,...--:,.:;;-,--1...,.. ~..,_ ..,4„..„..„,..,:..,,.,„:„,,,,, ./.,:'4121-1::..V--7- ..:7- - -- •,mbis, d ,- +;-• 11111L.:.' . '.. • • ; . . ' ---- ",7 3 ,-... z 4• . -,.., ~, ...- - 4, 1 1, 1 t. 4 1 . , 1 • .....-,..-_-:•• ~-;rgiTtss -' . . . . , .L.:y.. ---,- p.,,,Q . :•,...', , ,. - "7..% ; „ . .....- .;.--.., ....,•\ . 1 „-.. ~,Atti .. .- • . ~!.., ~,,.. , - ',., 776. . . '-‘',?......,...... ~.'''-.'._ .. -- -,' i- "-- .., -..',. , 7 .1,%. , #' . ” 1,., -' : ..'..; ' ..- - ~;,,,.5..-7-iiT.,...:t. '--.. i.q‘:'.:....;''..----,404. , - , , • &, T H C _. "Pc .',.,„.: , .1.-0,4,N ;.•'N, •.•,,,--. 1:.',1M....7r:-%, - it,..- i' , , 1c.1 . -.. ,3-Ak '''''' : I 't. -.---- • • ' . . --.5..--'04,-;--c''''''',,),--,,r,..% -• ' % '‘!, 'lt'''''%.S.:l.-14;1•Zv'V.;'''').•:.,,i7 ':-...- ;r.Vi' ..--VIP .... ' ' 2' 'CC ACCO i ..;- vg.9 . 1 1 1, :t_ -,°ePt:4!r" ......._ _.„...,.--7 _! - _L..7._ ..,.,....::„...... . -,,.....t, -‘---"---Z9 ----- -t-,.....„7..ti;2:„.. :,,,:,,.......: „,..........5, _._ , 7 ,„... . . . VOL. 51. AMERICAN fOILISUED EVERY THURSDAY 'HORNING DT JOHN B- BRATTON. Terms gpficiui’rAN.—Two Dollars if paid •within tho H, a r; and Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, if not paid ilihin tho year. These terms will bo rigidly ad ored to in overy instance. No subscription dis jontinued until all arrearages are paid unless at Iho option of the Editor. f Advertisements —Accompanied by tho cAsnrJiihd lot exceeding one square, will bo inserted three limes for $1.50, and twenty-five cents for each Additional insertion. Those of a greater length Id .proportion. . Joa-PkiSWJJfc-Such &s Hand-bills, Posting-bills Pamphlets, Dianas, Labels, Ac. Ac., executed with and r at the shortest notice. i political. JONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS. 'Vou have not, as good Patriots should do studied ibe public good, but your particular ond« , factious among yourselves, preferring anch ft offices and honors, as ne’er read fit dement* <>J saving policy-; Her UKBPIiY skill’d in all the principles [bat usher to destruction 1" —tTiinoUon lo the Citizen* of Syracuse, AN ADDRESS o (he People of the United Stales and Par ticularly to the People of the Stales whioh adhere to Ike Federal Government. As members of the Thirty-Eighth Con- 'gross, politically opposed to tho present Fedor ,nladministration and representing thnOpposl ■iiuii union sentiment of the country, we address (liirsolv’cs to the people of the United States; end our object will bo to show (as far as may dono within the limits of an address) that ‘,!i?ro is Rood reason for changing tlio Ad c/mistration and X’oliqy of this General Gov ernment through the instrumentality of suf- {rage iu the elections ot the present year. U is our settled conviction that, men now [a public station, who control the policy of tbe Ciovernment, cannot or will not perform tuoae duties which are necessary to save the country and perpetuate its liberties. Many of them are engrossed by political and perso nal objects which do not comport with the Suiblic welfare, and will not subserve it; others have false or perverted views of our Bjstcm of free government, or are inspired by passions which conti anally mislead them; and the opposition in Congress aro.powerleaa techeck tlio majority, and are unable even to Mcure such investigation of the Executive bcpiirtments and of the conduct of Govern- Wnt officials, as will prevent abuse and se euro honesty,, economy, and efficiency iu the iculdic service. Profoundly, painfully impressed by pass ng events, wo turn from the President of f the United States and from the nvijor in Congress, upon whom all remon irance against misgovernment would bo rasted, to address ourselves to our fellow- wntrymen at largo; and we appeal to them ) interpose in public affairs, and by a prop r exertion ot their sovereign electoral power, o decree that these United States shall bo cstly governed, reunited, and aved 1 Endorsement oj Power Wlmt wo propose to notice in tho first bee, as introductory to our examination of idilic affairs, is, the consolidation of all otferin the Governmentof the United States bllic bauds of a single political interest.— he party of tho Administration has not been lod to any officlon't check upon ac >m an opposing interest or .party, since inniont of power in 1861. Carrying Northern, Western, and Pacific States, single exception, at the Presidential i of 1860, and being relieved from all •n opposition in Congress by. the witb of the States'of ’that section, it was ) do its will and pleasure without )r hindrance in the Government of the States. All Public patronage was ized to its uses ; all Govornmentoutlaws hoy were enormous in amount) were sod by its- officials; all public power ielded by its arm ; and this condition igs has continued to the present time, revelled in power, and of inevitable ity, from its very nature and from the tunities presented it, it has abused its s; it has forgotten or despised and led under foot the duties imposed upon the people, and the objects announced ia the outset have been supplanted by which now inspire its action and oc its hopes. truth is more certain, none better es lied by history, than this, that political ■ is aggressive ; that it will always seek largo itself and to increase its nomina md that no free government is possible e hy the very constitution of the Gov ern itself, power is not made a check to r. Freedom is secured by the action caution upon each other of political for -0 organized and so limited that no one hsolutelv dominate over or control the And hence, the necessity of constitu which shall so divide and arrange the rs of government, that no single inter ns, or individual, shall become supremo Egress the whole mass of political pow the capital mischief (or rather ;c of mischief and evil) in the Govern |°f the United States during the past • years and at this moment, is, that a interest or party, of evil con has obtained and exercised the e mass of Government pow(ya, free from or limitation whatsoever. The fa- are obvious. It has been false to ttomiaeamado as the condition. upon l it attained power ; it has broken the 'itutuiQ shamefully and often it bas 8 the public treasure; it has suspended fleicnt writ of liberty, the “ habeas cor tendering it impossible for the citizen a >Q redress against the grossest outrage; changed the war into a humanitarian ® outside of any constitutional or Inw j J®ot; it has grossly mismanaged -the , the conduct of military operations ; it . Kr.adcd the currency of the country by trV* BUOB P a P°r money, and contisca -s*“ Property by a legal tender enact iQn? d ’ ! 0 rotain its power, that it may plunder and be subjected to no check r ° 8 l r ai n b from public opinion, it « mirf kon to oon frol State elections by of * » orce or by fraudulent solec floffU' 8 / rom array. These are is no . r °Sj^ s 'Aready aohiovod, and “ the e, sDlft? /• impartial observer can ill ppft V”° . ure without apprehensions di V j . ater ev ‘ls» °r can doubt that some bn hand power or its lodgment J icceiw h I’ 18 neccesBar y not merely to fQtnnnf D - fcllo vorv o*istenoo of free oat ui tho United States* The Democratic Party, Tho evil of uncontrolled party domination in government will bo greater dr leas accord ing to tho character and objects of the party in power. Tho Democratic party, which or dinarily has administered tho Government of the United States, oven in tho utmost plenti tude of its power, did not fall into gross abuse or threaten tho liberties of tho country. Although it required to bo checked upon oc casion, and that its policy and conduct should bo subjected to rigid scrutiny by an active opposition, there was great security against its abuse of its powers in the principles and doctrines to which it held ; for its creed was established for it by men of the most sterling virtue and profound wisdom, who justly com prehend tho nature of free governments and -the dangers to which they arc exposed.— Strict -construction .of. the Constitution, a sparing use'of the powers of Government, moderate expenditures and equal laws, be came tho articles of a political creed which preserved tho Government 'from abuse and degeneracy, kept tho States in harmony, and secured tho growth and dovelopemenfc of a material prosperity unexampled in the histo ry of nations, Its great merit was that it was a constitutional party, (in the true sense 'Of that term,) subjecting itself cheerfully, thoroughly and constantly, to all tho rules •and limitations of the fundamental law. Its principles themselves, checked it and kept it within bounds. As its contests for power wore upon the very ground that there should be no over-action of government but only a duo exertion of its authorized powers, there was the less necessity to confront it with a powerful opposition. Yotsuoh opposition al ways existed, and was no doubt necessary to the safe and successful action of the Govern* incut under its management. The Parly of the Administration. But with -the party now in power the case is widely different. Its’ main strength dies in Status which voted against Air. Jefferson iu 18UU, against Air. Madison in 1812, agai'nst Andrew Jackson in 1828, and against Air. Folk m 1814; and it embraces that school of opinion .iu this country which has always held to extreme action by the General Gov ernment, favoritism to particular interests, usurpation of State powers, largo public ex penditures, and, generally, to 'Constructions of the Constitution which favor Federal au thority and extend its pretentions. Besides, it is essentially sectional and aggressive— the very embodiment of that disunion party ism forHOcn and denounced by Washington and Jackson in those Farewell Addresses which they left on record fur the instruction of their countrymen, and by Henry Clay in a memorable address to. the Legislature of Kentucky. That it could not safely bo in trusted with the powers of the Federal Gov ernment is a conclnsion whiph* inevitably re sults from this statement M its composition and character. But th«/question is no lun ger ouc of mere opinion or-conjccturo. Hav ing been tried by the actual possession of Government p>wers and bebn permitted to exhibit fully its true nature, it lias complete ly justified the theory which condemns It; as will plainly appear Irom considering partic ular measures of policy pursued by it. From among chose we shall select several for par ticular examination, in order that our gener al statement of Republican unlitnoss for the possession of Government powers may be il lustrated, established, and made good against any possible contradiction. Military Interference With Elections This has taken place in two ways : First* By tho selection of soldiers of tho ar my to bo sent homo temporarily to partici pate in State elections. This practice, in connection with sending home on such occasions largo numbers of Government officers and employees in tho civil service, has changed tho result of many State elections and given to the party in power nn unjust advantage. With the large powers possessed by tho Administration lor the purpose of the war; with tho large in crease of appointments to civil office and the employment of vast numbers of persons in all parts of the country in tho business of Government, tho Administration and its par ty have been enabled to influence elections to an alarming extent. Tlie powers confer red by tho whole people upon the Govern ment, and the revenues, derived by taxation from tho whole people or derived from loans which become charged upon tho whole mass ; of individual property, have been used in an infinite number of ways for party purposes and to secure to tho Kepublican interest, in the Federal and State Governments, the con tinued possossnn of power. The injustice and corruptive tendency of this system can not be denied, and alono should bo hold, suf ficient to condemn tho party of the Adminis tration. It is notorious that time after time, on tho ovo of doubtful elections, thousands of voters have been sent homo from the army to turn the scale between parties and to secure au Administration triumph. And this has been done, not upon the principle of sending home citizen soldiers indiscriminately and without reference to their 'political opinions and attachments, (which would have been just,) but upon the principle of selecting re publican soldiers, or of granting furloughs' upon the condition of a promise from tho per sons favored that they would support Ad ministration candidates. Wo mention elec tions in Now Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, as instances of such most base and uqjuat proceeding, by which unscrupu lous power has defeated the true expression of popular opinion, and obtained political ad vantages which were shameful to it and deeply injurious to tho country. Will a free people consent to havp their system of elec tions time perverted and corrupted, and ex pect to enjoy in spite thereof, the. peaceable Iruits of good government and honest rule? Second, A still more grave offense against tho purity and independence of elections has been committed by tho Administration in tho States of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware. The particular circumstances of Government interference were somewhat dif ferent in each of these States, but tho sub stantial facts in all, wore these ; 1 That the military power of the General Gov ernment was /directly applied to control tho elections, and that officers and soldiers of the army of the United States were openly used for tho purpose. 2. That the States in question were at the time in a state of profound peace and quiet, and that with the exception of a single con gressional district in Kentucky, no Rebel raid or invasion into them was then in prog ress or expected. 3. That in each of them there existed an adhering State government, exercising com plete and unnquostioned jurisdiction under Governors and other State officials whose de votion and fidelity to the Government of the United States were unquestionable. 4. that there was no official call upon tho Federal Government by the Executive or Leg islature of any one of those States for protection agaluot domestic violence* (under tho partio- "OUR COUNTRY—MAY IT ALWAYS BE RIGHT—BUT RIGHT OR WRONG OUR COUNTRY." ul ft r provision of tho Constitution of the Uni ted States, authorizing such call,) but that the intoference, in most cases, was against the desire, an'd notably in the case of Maryland against tho protest of tho State authorities, 5. that thousands of qualified persona wore prevented from voting at those elections, and in most of those States tho result of the elec tion was changed from what it would have been without military interference. Tho aged and timid were deterred from attending the elections’; many who.attonded were kept from approaching tho polls;, and, in many cases, actual outrage prevented tho legal voctr from exorcising his-right. The lull proof of all this appears'in a number of contested-elec tion cases in Congress, in official papers from the Governors of several of tho States in ques tion, in reports'ofcommittcesofthc’S'tate Leg islatures, and from other reliable sources; and WO rccomond tho whole subject, as one of fear ful importance, to the examination and judg ment of our countrymen. Creation 'of Boons States. The steps taken towards .establishing a system of false and unjust representation in tlio 'Government of the United Slates, should also be carefully considered. In the first place, let us consider wlant has taken place in regard to the State of Virginia, •In 1800, Virginia had a population, {inclu ding slaves,) of 1,590.318 ; Pennsylvania a population of 2,900,215; Now "Xork a popu lation of 3,880,735. AVhilo the two States, last named adhered faithfully to the Govern* ment of the United States, and have since borne on its behalf, their proper share of the burdens of the war, Virginia revolted, and two thirds of her population was thrown into the scale of the enemy. What result follow ed as to the representation of that State in the Qongress of the Union ? The compara tively small part of the State which adhered to the Union was recognized as constituting, •for political purposes, the State of Virginia ; an improvised Legislature of this adhering fragment of the State, elected two Senators, who wore admitted into the Senate of the United States, and Representatives from the same territory were admitted into the Feder al House of Representatives. The liberal principles of construction upon which tills was done, may stand justified by the peculiar circumstances of the case. But there was a further proceeding for which no warrant of power or pretence of necessity -can bo shown. A part of the adhering from Virginia territory was permitted to form itself into a new State, was admitted into the Union under the name of West Virginia, {al though the Constitution of the United States declares that no State shall be divided for the formation of a now one without the express ' assent of the Legislature thereof,) and Sena tors therefrom were admitted into tlio United Statca-Senato. A very small part of the old State not included within tlio boundaries of the new one, remained within our military lines, to be, as well as the new State, repre sented by two members in the Senate. Thus under Republican manipulation, one third of tlio ancient State of Virginia has four votes in the Senate of the United States, and may neutralize • the votes of both Now York and Pennsylvania in that body. The *■ Ancient Dominion, ” with a population a little excee ding one half that of Pennsylvania, sented by four Senators in the Congfess of the United States, an by two in the Confed erate Congress at Richmond-! Pennsylvania with her three millions of people, remains true to the Union, and retains her former vote in the Senate; Virginia turns traitor, sends two thirds of her population under the Con federate flag, and forthwith has her represen tation doubled in the Senate of tlio United States, and that, too, in dolianco of a const!-, tutional provision forbidding it, and avoided only upon a strained construction or implica tion totally at variance with the plain fact. Against the plain truth of the case, and with out necessity, it was assumed that tlio Legis lature of afragmentof the State represented tho whole for the purpose of assenting toils division and tho erection therefrom of a new member of the the Federal Union. Wo pass from the case to speak of matter more recent. A State govermnet has been set up in Louisiana, under the supervision of a major general of the United States Army, which, although it holds tho allegiance ot but part of tho population, wO suppose it to have the former representation ot that State in Congress ; and in Tennessee and Arkansas there have been proceedings of a similar de scription. The indications are clear and full that in these cases and in others of similar, character which may follow them, tho Preair dent ofthe United States* through his officers of. tho army in command in tho States to be' .represented, dictates and will-dictate and con trol tho whole proceeding for renewed repre sentation, and upon principles most unequal unjust and odious. A recent attempt to set up one of these bo gus States in Florida, under h presidential agent, must bo fresh in tho recollection ofthe country, as must also be themUitary disaster by which that attempt was rendered abortive. But why refer to particular oases ? Why reason upon events that have happened, or upon probabilities which present themselves before us? Tho President of the United States has, himself, in his message at theopen ing of tho present session of Congress, and in his proclumationappendod thereto, announ ced his programme for tho reconstruction and consequent representation of the States which may bo rescued in whole or in part from the Confederates during the existing war. The Proclamation extends a pardon to all persons in the rebellious States, (except cer tain Confederate officers, &c.,) upon condition that they shall take, subscribe, and keep a prescribed oath, one provision of which is, that they will abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of tho President mnde du ring tho existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of tho Supreme Court. And it further proclaims, that when ever in any one of the Confederate States, 4i a number of persons not less than one tenth in number of tho votes oast in suhlj, State at the Presidential election of 1800, having ta ken and kept the aforesaid oath, &c., shall re-establish a State Government which shall be republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, each State shall bo recognized as the true government of tho State/ 1 This presidential paper must be regarded as the most remarkable one ever issued by nn American Executive* The one tenth part of a population are to exercise the powers of the whole, and, if Congress concur, are to bo repre* seated in the Government of tho U. S. and in our electoral colleges for the choice of Presi dent, as if they were the whole I And this, one tenth is to be made up of men who will solemnly swear that they will obey and keep all tho President’s proclamations upon a par ticular subject, issuedduring tho presnt war; not proclamations which be may have issued already, but future ones also. A more abject oath was never framed in the history of tho whole earth. Was a religious obligation oy er before required of citizen or oubjoct, in 8 CARL SLE, PA., THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1864. any ago or country, to obey and keep the fu ture and unknown ediets of tho Executive will? and if usurped authority can accom plish its object, a handful of men in a State degraded by such an oath, are to wield repre sentative votes in tho Government of tho Uni ted States, and enter electoral colleges to ex tend tho power of the master to whom their fealty is sworn. The lawless and dangerous character of the Administration must most evidently'ap pear from 'the foregoing review of its policy and'cond-oct regarding popular elections and ! thc organization of States. Cut its ‘incapacity (if not profligacy) will as clearly appear from an examination of its measures in tho prosecution of the war, and to some of’those measures wo will new direct •attention. In April, ISGlatthooutbrcak oflioWtilitfes, the army of tho United States was small and wholly inadequate to meet the exigency of war which had arisen. Tho President call ed for soventy’Jivo thousand troops from the States to servo for a period of three months, and subsequently made other calls. Final ly, in. tho latter part of 18G2, drafts were or dered in several States to till up their quotas and tho proceeding-for that pttrpuso was un der tho State authorities, pursuant to State laws and some general regulations of the War Department trained for the occasion. Thus tho case stood as to tho raising of troops at tho commencement of 18G3,'und tho troops in service at that date consisted of tho Uog ulnT Army of the United States as it stood at the outbreak of hostilities, with subsequent enlistments added, and of volunteers and drafted militia of the States, organized and officered as cum pa lies and regiments by State authority. Volunteering had at one time been chocked by the Administration, up on a statement by it that all the troop? need ed were already in service. Soon, however, the demand for men was renewed, and at the beginning of 1803 the number called for and raised had become enormous. But for the after purposes of the Administration it vrm perfectly feasible for it to call for additional troops in tho manner theretofore practiced, which involved State assistance and co-oper ation and secured to the troops raised their regular organization as State militia under the laws of their respective States.— 'iho Federal army bore, mainly, tho char acter of a public force contributed by tho States underthc fifteenth and sixteenth claus es of the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, which authorize Congress “ toprovido for calling forth the militia to ex ecute the laws of the Union, suppress insur rections, ftnd repel invasions,” And “to pro vide for organizing, arming and disciplining tho "militia, and lor governing such part of them as may lie employed in tho service ot the United States, reserving to tiio States re spectively tho appointment of the officers,” &c. The powr of the Federal Government to call for troops, and the power of the States to supply them, organizing them into companies and regiments and appointing their officers, were unquestionable, as was also the power of tho States to select those troops which they were to contribute, by draft or let. But early in 1803 a new system (or raising of troops was established by act of Congress. This was a system of conscription, (the word and the idea being borrowed from the French) and was Without example in the history of the United States. Passing by the State author ities and by the clauses of the Constitution above mentioned, it put the General Govern ment in direct communication with the whole arms-bearing population of the country, and assumed for the General Government exclu sive and absolute Cvuitrol over the whole pro ceeding of raising troops. The validity of this enactment has been questioned, and it is one of the debatable pain's which belong to the history of the war. For it has been ar gued with inuiih of force and reason that the power of Congress to raise armies although a general power is not unlimited, and that laws of conscription by it are not *• necessary ami proper 0 when the forces required can be rais ed with perfect certainty and convenience from the militia of the States Under the pro visions of the Constitution above cited. But, passing , this point* the inquiry arises, why -was the former system involving State co-op eration abandoned, and a new and question able one sustituted? Nuclear and adequate reason for the measures appears in the de bates of the Congress which passed it, unless the suggestion made by one of its leading supporters in the llou.se of Representatives that it was in hostility to “ the accursed doc trine of State rights” be accepted as such reason. Wo must, therefore, conclude that it was the policy of the authors of the law to deprive the States of the nppomment of the oiticora of the troops raised, and to absorb that power into the hands of the Federal Admin istration; that the act was the measure of a party to increase its influence and power, and to prevent the possibility of any partic ipation therein by the Governments of the States. Wo beliiiVe it to be certain that this meas ure has entailed great expense upon the Treasury of the United States; that it has created unnecessarily a large number of deral officers, distributed throughout the country ; and that, while it has been no more efficient than the system which required' State co-operation, it has been much loss sa tisfactory. If a necessity for raising troops by con ecription bo asserted, then it would fed ow that the revolutionary policy of the Adminis tration has alarmed and disgusted the people, and chilled that enthusiasm which in the earlier days of the contest filled our patriot army with brave and willing volunteers. What is further to bo mentioned in this connection is the payment of bounties by the United States, by the State governments, and by cities, counties, and other municipalities. In their payment there has bean great want of uniformity and system* Tho policy ot the General Government lias not been the same at all times, and in tho States there has been infinite diversity. Upon the whole, tho sys tem of bounties has been costly and unequal 5 the amount of indebtedness created by it is enormous, and uncqvial sums have been paid to soldiers of the same grade of merit. Un der anv ey B torn of local bounties lo avoid con scription, tho wealthy parts of the country enjoy an advantage over others, especi ally whore manufacturing and other interests find it to their pvodt in providing the sup plies of tho war to retain their laborers at home, substituting payments of money .in their stead, unless each State shall bo firmly required to furnish the substitutes to fill up Its quota from its own citizens. But the, Ge neral Government has permitted the agents of such interests in a State to go into other States and into the southern country and ob tain enlistments for bounties, both of white and tdaok troops, to fa credited upon the liaising of Troops. •Owiscrijilion, Bounties, quota of the State of tho agent. If it shall happen hereafter that local payments of bounties, whether by States.or by municipa lities within them, bo assumed by the Gov eminent of the United States, tho inequali ties of tho system and its extravagance in ma ny cases will become a matter of concern to the whole people. And it is just matter of complaint against those who have held au thority in tho Federal Government, that by their policy and want of policy on this sub ject the burden of the war has been vastly increased, and been distributed irregularly and unfairly. Tho pecuniary outlay and indebtedness caused by payment of local bounties, being mostly incurred by powerful and influential communities, it is quite possible that they may be recognized hereafter by Congress as a legitimate object of national -assumption.; and if this happen-, those ‘communities that have retained their laborers at home, and thereby secured ibeir prosperity during, the war, will cast a part of the burden of their exemption upon other sections., Gbv-iously what has been wanting has been wisdom and foresight in those who have con trolled tho public measures of tho war, and who have resorted to One expedieut'after an other without a fixed policy ; who have acted Whore tlucy ought not, and have failed to net where action and regulation wore demanded. Negro Troops. But a subject which requires particular notice is, tho employment of negro troops in ■tho war. An act of Congress, passed the 17th day of July, 1802, authorized tho. Pres ident “ to receive into the service of the Uni ted States fur the purpose of constructing in trcuchmonts, or performing camp service, or any other labor, or'any military or naval ser vice for which they might be found compe tent, persons ol African descent; and such persons should be enrolled and organized un der such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, us the President might .prescribe and further, that they '• should receive ten dollars per month and ouo ration, three dollars of which monthly pay mghtbo in clothing-.” Without any other law on the subject pri or in date to the present session of Congress, (except an imperfect provision in an act. of 1802,) tho President in bis message of De cember 8, 18G3,'announced, that ‘'of those who were slaves at tho beginning of tho re bellion, fully one hundred thousand are now in the United States military service, about oiie-half of-which number actually boar arms in the ranks.” At the .present,session, on the 24th of Feb ruary, an act amendatory of the conscription law of 18G3 was approved, tho twenty-fourth .section of which provides tor.tho enrollment of colored persons between twenty and forty live years of age ; the slaves of loyal masters enrolled, drawn and mustered into the public service, shall be free, and one hundred dol lars for each shall bo paid to tho master ; and that in the slave States represented in Congress, the loyal master of a slave who vo lunteers into tho p'ublic service shall bo paid a sum ,uot exceeding three hundred dollars, out of the military commutation fund. By the army appropriation bill, approved June 15, 1804, it was lurther provided, “ that all persons of color who have been or may bo mustered into the military service of tho Uni ted States shall receive the same uniform, clothing, arms, equipments, camp equipage, rations, medical and hospital attendance, pay and emoluments, other than bounty, as other soldiers ul the regular or volunteer forces of tho United States of like arm of thp service, from and alter the first day of January, 1864; and that every person of color who shall hcrcalier be mustered into the service, shall receive such sums in bounty as the President shall order in the different States and parts of the United States, not exceeding one hun dred dollars {eaehj.” This-enactment is similar in tonus tea bill which passed the Senate in March last, upon the consideration of which it was announced, that at least 2 hundred thousand negro troops would be raised. Adding to this number* tho number stated by the President to bo In ser vice in December last, would make one quar ter of a million of troops of this description. The measures above mentioned would es tablish the following points in the policy of the Government, The employment of black troops generally, both slave and Iree. Second, The equality of.black troops with whitens to compensation and supplies; and Third, The payment to the loyal master of a slave of a bounty of one hundred dollars when the slave is drafted into the service, or of a bounty not exceeding three hundred dol lars. when he volunteers. The practical results of this policy arc* to obtain an inferior quality of troops at the highest rate of expense ; to impose upon the Treasury the support of an enormous nmpber of undisciplined and ' ignorant negroes; to recognize the principle of buying negroes from their masters, whether tiio public in terests require it or not, and to incur the risk of breaking down in the war because of the inefficiency of the forces employed in its prosecution. Besides, it is notorious that i pursuing this policy, the negro women and children must, to a great extent, bo thrown upon the Government fur support or bo loft to perish. There has never been extensive objection to the employment of negroes under the act of 1802, in those war employments for which they flio fitted as laborers and teamsters* and for camp service. In the warm parts of the country, especially, they could bo thus use fully employed, and a reasonable number doubtless might also bo employed for some sorts of service in the navy. But to employ an unwieldy number of them at such prodi gious expense, is most evident folly and wrong, and it will bo well if signal disaster does not result from it. Wc know no reason for this extravagant, costly, and dangerous nolicy, except a desire of the majority ,in Congress to establish (if indeed their enact ments could accomplish such object) the equality of the black and white races with each other. But doubtless, the employment of blacks in the war is to be made the pretext for extending to them the right of suffrage and also social position, and to bo followed, probably, by the organization of a considera ble body of them into a>standlng army. Increase of Soldiers' Fay. Tho immediate result of this policy of ne groism in tho war has been to postpone, and at last to limit the increase of compensation to our citizen soldiers, Bills providing such 'increase were permitted to lio unacted upon in Congress for more than fivo months of the present session, and the bill finally adopted for that purpose was inadequate and made to take effect only from tho first May, 1804. It increased the pay of private's from thirteen to sixteen dollars per month, (without dis tinction of color,) and the pay of officers in somewhat similar But tho small ness of this increase, as veil as - tho delay in enacting it, was occasioned by the extrava gant measures above moationod. The Trca- sury, strained by tho payment of enormous sums to negroes b} f reason of their employ ment in increased numbers and at increased rates of expense, could illy respond to the just demands made upon it in behalf of our citizen soldiers. Besides it is instructive to observe that in this legislation by Congress, while increased pay to white troops begins on the first of May, an increase to colored troops dates from the first of January. And a provision con tained in'tho act of 15th of Juno authorizes the Attorney General of the United States to inquire whether increased pay under former law'S cannot bo allowed to negroes emploj’cd in the public service before the beginning of the present year, who were free on the 19th of April, 1801, and if he determine in favor of such allowance his decision shall be carried into effect by orders.of the War Department, '■fhe majority in 'Congress, in pursuing the phantom cf negro equality, areas improvident as they are impassioned. The decision of the War Department (In accordance with the opinion ofhs solicitor) ns to the compensa tion of negroes under former laws, is to be opened and subjected to review by the Attor ney General, m the hof% that some addition al,meaning may be wrCing out of the old sta tus justifying additional expenditure upon =£ favorite object. it ought to be manifest' to every reasonable man that negroes in service should bo paid less than white troops, and that the increase of their pay from ten to sixteen dollars per month was unnecessary and profligate-. The market value of their labor is known to be Jess than that of citizens, and it is equally (dear that their services are much less Valua ble in the army. We have but to add under this head that additional pay to bur citizen soldiers in ser vice is but just and reasonable, and ought long si nee-to have been provided. The great depreciation in the value of the currency in which they are paid, and the increased rates of price in the country affecting all their pur chases and outlays, havedemanded the notice and consideration of (ho Government. It is upon their exertions that reliance must bo placed for success in the war, and even for the preservation of the Treasury from embar rassment and the country from pecuniary convulsion ; and whatever differences of opin ion may exist as to’measures of Government policy-, their merits and sacrifices demand recognition and gratitude from the whole mass of their countrymen. This gigantic scheme for the employment of negro troops at fpll. rates of expense is therefore, unwise as regards the prosecution of tho war. and operates unjustly as to our citizen soldiery in service. In other words, i,t is-dangerous, profligate, and unjust. But limited space requires us to forego further examination of particular points of AdministrationjDolicy, (however instructive and useful such examination might bo,) and to confine ourselves to some general consid erations which may be mo*e briefly present ed. And these will relate to the dangers which will threaten us (as results of Admin istration policy) during the war and after wards. Dangers in Connection with the War. Under this head may be mentioned tbo state of our finances and Currency. The unnecessary waste of the public re sources in the war \ the enormous sums ex pended upon foolish and fruitless military expeditions, (sometimes badly planned and sometimes badly executed and supported,) and the other enormous sums corruptly or unwisely expended in obtaining supplies and materials of war, would, of themselves, have been sufficient to deeply injure the public credit, and to create fears of our future abili ty to bear the pecuniary burdens created by the war. And whutought to sting ; the minds of reflecting men, is the ■consideration that the general political policy of the Adminis tration has been such that it has prolonged the war by depriving us of allies and sympa thy in the enemy's country, and frittered away the public energy upon other objects beside military success. In addition to which stands forth- the fact that this occasion of war has been seized up on to establish a system of Government pa per money, which has public ex penditures and the public bo one half greater than they 1 would otherwise’ have been, and’ introduced numerous and most serious evils and dangers into all the -chan nels of commercial and business lift*. The crush of this system, and : the failure of all the delusive hopes and arrangements based upon it, is not merely a possible but a prob able eyent in the future. The ruin and suf fering which such an event would entail can not be overstated, and to avert it, or to miti gate its force, is one of the main objects which should be had in view in setting our future policy. Upon questions of currency and finance, wo must revert to the ideas of former times in which alone can safety bo found. lu speaking of financial prospects and fu ture pecuniary conditions, wo do not overlook the fact that opinions very different from ours are expressed by the friends of power. Hue the appearances of prosperity to which they refer us, are delusive. Production in the country is now decreased for great numbers of laborers are employed in the war, and abstracted from industrial pursuits. ! Increased rates of value pro.-fl hardly upon persons of fixed incomes, and upon all who are disabled or engaged in unprofitable em ployments. ' The-war docs not create Wealth but con sumes it, and .consumes also the laborers by which it is produced. It devours the prod ucts of past and present industry, and chocks the growth of population upon which future prosperity depends. And the inevitable evils of a state of war— the injury and destruction of material inter ests, the waste, spoliation and improvidence that characterize it—are aggravated by pro fuse issuesofGovernmeut paper money which incite to reckless expeudilm e, public and pri vate, and disguise for the time the fearful con sumption of wealth and the sure approach of a day of suffering and retribution. This expenditure and accumulation of debts public and private, cannot go on indefinatcly or for any considerable time. The day of pay ment, which will be also the day ot trouble, will surely come. Great suffering will fall upon the people. Those who suppose them selves independent of the frowns of fortune, will realize the retribution which always fol lows upon excess, and even those wholly in nocent of any complicity with financial mis management or other cyil feature ot public policy, will bo smitten equally with tho guilty. The vast debt, created in great part by prof ligacy aad mismanagement, is a gourde of pro founo anxiety to tho people, who must pay it, and to the capitalists who hold it. Its obli gation rests upon tho security of tho national ability and honor. But to prevent its growth beyond the point whore bankruptcy threatens it with destruction, tho folly and corruption which now waste and devout' the wealth of the people must moot with speedy and con dign overthrow. Foreign Intervention, Another danger to bo apprehended under our present rulers ; one winch has been spe culated upon often since the war began, and which is possible hereafter, is the interven tion of some foreign nation in tho pending struggle. There is an example of such in tervention in our history, which deserves contemplation by those who would justly judge pur present situation, and make provi sion against future dangers. Our fathers re volted and wore sorely chastised therefor by their monarch. The sword smote them in afl their coasts ; their wealth was dried up, thoif cities occupied by their foes, their laud rav* nged. They were pushed to tho extremity of endurance; they became spent and ex hausted by the conflict. But in their hour of extremest peril, Frajice, at the instance of a Pennsylvania diplomatist, extended them her powerful assistance, and* they emerged from, the struggle triumphant and independent.—- Is this war to bo mismanaged and perverted and protracted, until a foreign poWfcr may be induced to assist our antagonist, as France assisted tho revolted colonies of the third George ? Unquestionably the feeble, change ful, arbitrary and unwise policy of the Ad ministration, begets this danger of interven tion, and wiM produce it if it ever take place> Nor has its diplomacy abroad been calculat ed to ytvett- the evil consequences of its action at home. That diplomacy has not been wise, judicious and manly, but feeble, pretentious, and offensive. It should therefore bo one of the leading objects in selecting an Adminis tration for tho next four years, to avoid this danger of intervention by the selection of ru lers who will not provoke it, and whose poli cy will comma nd respect at home and abroad-. Qangcrs Beyond ike War . But other dangers menace us under .Re publican rule, even if success in the war bo secured. And as those, in a still greater de gree than those already mentioned, deservo careful and eanrest attention, wo proceed to state them distinctly. Oppressive Government, If already wc have experienced the arid* trary disposition and unlawful practices of our rulers, what may we nut experience after some time has elapsed, and when military success has rendered them still more inso lent? If their assaults upon law and upon' right he so numerous and flagrant while they are subjected to opposition*and struggling to maintain their positron against an open foe, what may wo nut expect when all constraint upon them is removed ? lu considering wliat they have already done ia opposition to liberty and lawful rule, we may exclaim, “If these things be done in the green tree, what shall be dune in tho dry ?” Let no one bo deceived by tho assertion, that tho arbitrary and evil nets of tho Administration indicate but a temporary policy, and are founded on necessities which cannot long exist. K>'tunly is tho excuse that tins policy of tho istnition is necessary in view of the public interests, false in point of fact, it is equally untrue that if unopposed, if not put down* it • will bo of short duration and expire with the war. If it bo necessary now to do unlawful things and trample upon individual rights in adhering communities, tiro same pretended necessity will exist hereafter. Will it not be as necessary to uphold arbitrary gorornmer * in order to prevent renewed revolt, as it is to support arbitrary government in order to subdue existing rebellion ? When did a ru* Ihr who had deprived his country of its liber ties ever voluntarily restore them ? That people who will accept excuses for tyranny* will always be abundantly supplied with them by their rulers, and especially will they be furnished with this argument of n-ecosaity which will expand itself to the utmost re quirement of despotic power under all cir cumstances. Our ancestors who settled this country and established the Government of the United States, fortunately did not admit this doc trine of necessity, but proceeded, under the guidance of a most wise and just policy, to tie up the hands of official power by constitu tional limitations, by cheeks and balances established in the very framework of Go\eminent, and by inculcating among tbo mass of tbo people, in whom was to bo lodged the ultimate or sovereign power, a profound respect for all private rights and for the laws by which they arc onuos of corruption, and when the Government is administered upon principles of coercion, it must necessarily subsidize large numbers of persons in order to maintain its authority. It is, ever thus that strong gov ernments, as they are called, must be corrupt ones, and tho interests of the great mass of tho people be sacrificed to the interests of classes or individuals. A truly free govern ment, where the authority of the rulers is supported by the free and uucuorced action of the people ; where the laws are kept in perfect good faith and individual rights per lectly respected, ia tho only one which cun bo pure* N&ti NO. 9 .