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UL'O. II. UOObl.AKPKn,
Editor end Proprietor.
yrofrssional & business (tarda.
S. A. FULTON,
ATTORN EY AT LAW,
t'urwea srllle, Pa.
CSee In MeBridVi Building, en Main Street.
Prompt attention gieea to the securing
sand collection or uiaiusi, ua to an legal ouei
tness. auels-hnvpd
WALTER BARRETT,
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
"Oflee ofl Second SU, Clearfield, Pa. no2l,t
f, A. Wellaee. . 1). Bigler.
O. Blake Walters. Frank Fielding.
WALLACE, BIGLER & FIELDING,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW,
Clearfield, Pa.
Legal business of all kinds prompt); and
accurately attended to. tieylhy
jTHOS. J. McCULLOUGH,
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
kIos adjoining the Bank, formerly occupied by
J. B. Hcanelly, second at Lleurfleld.
tar-Will attend promptly to collections, sal
tof lands, ie. deol7,J
JOHN L. CUTTLE,
ATTORN EY AT LAW
Und Real Estate Agent, Clearfield, Pa.
Office oa Market street, opposite the jail.
SeT-Bstpeetfutly offers bis senrioes In selling
and buiine lands In Clear Held and adjoining
counties ; and with an experience of orer twenty
years as a eurreyor, Ostlers bitoscll uat ae caa
rtnder satisfaction. icHS.'Ss tf
WM. M. McCULLOUGH,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Clearfield, Pa.
f OBee oa Market street ene door east of tba Cleur
i gold County Bank. mays,'!
L'obn if. Orrii. C. T. Alexander.
ORVIS fc ALEXANDER,
ATTORNEYS AT LA If,
nellefoiite. Pa. seplS.'tS-y
DR. J. P. BURCHFIELD,
Late Surgeon of the SJd Reg meat, Pennsylvania
Volunteer, baring returned I rum the Amy,
offers bis professional aerrieea to tba eitisens
or Clearfield eeunly.
acT-Prufersional calls promptly attenJed to.
Office oa Second street, formerly occupied by
lir. Woods. (sprVM-tl
DENTISTRY.
J. r. COR SETT, DiwrrsT,
offers bis professional sereieea to
tba eitisens of lurwensrillo and
rietnity. Offloe ia lrug Store, oornsr Main and
Thompson streets. mey 1 1 ,Ml- ly:pd
J. BLAKE WALTERS,
SCRIVENER AND CONVEYANCER.
Agent for tba Puichase and 6le of Lands.
Clearfield, Pa.
-Prompt attention girea lo all business
eonneeted with the eounty offices. Office with
Hon. Ha. A. Wallace. jaal,'-U
SURVEYOR.
TBE andsrsigaod offers bis aerriees as a Sw
eeter, and nay ha found at bis residence, is
Lawrenee township. Letters will reach him
directed to Clearfield, IV
ar7-oi:pd JAMES MITCHELL.
JAMES MILES,
LICENSED AUCTIONEER,
Latberaburg. Peuu'a.
JHf Will promptly altsnd to calling aalee, at
reasonable rates. ijen.n m
A. H.FRANCISCUS&Co.
(13 Market SU Philadelphia, Pa.
KanortrTcaans AorsTe roa rna Sili or
CORiKtOE.
Kote. Tbs regular allowances made lo Dealers
la MANILA KOl'K. Ijan3l-om
Thomas II. Foreee. A. A. Graham.
FORCEE 4. GRAHAM,
iittm in
General Merchandise and Lumber,
jnn.'J Urahantou, Peun'a.
JOSEPH H. BRETH,
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
And Licensed Conrejaocer,
Hew Washington, Clearfield ee , Pa.
JAS. C. BARRETT,
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Aad Licensed Cojroyaneer.
I uthersburg, Clearfield to. Pa.
eej-Collecllcni and rrmltiancca promptly
Made, and all kinds of legal inurements eioruted
on short aotioo. may,' tf
C. KRATZER &. SON,
MERCHANTS,
pBAiias in
Dry Goods, Clothine, Hardware,
Cutlery, Qnooaswaro, Oroeerisa, Provisions aad
bbingloe,
Clearfield, Pena'a.
XIFkl tba old stand oa Front street, aboro
he Aeademy. IdrclJ. SS if
CHEAP FURNITURE.
JOIIX GULICII
DESIRES to inform bis old friende and cus
tomers, ibat baring enlarged bis ebon aad
creased bis facilities fur manutar taring, be is
ow prepared lo make to order sack Furniture as
ay be desired, la good atyls aad at cheap rates
ft. ah li. He generally has oa oaaJ, at his
ornlture rooms, a rariod assortmeat of ready
ade faraiture, asaong wkich are
Bl'REAUS AND SIDE-BOARDS.
ardrobee and Book-Came; Centre. Knra, Parlor,
skfart and Dining Klleasioa Tables; Coos
on, Freaok-poet.Cotlage,Jenny-Lind and other
dfteads i Bcfae of all kino's, Work-stands,
1-reeke, Warb-slands; Rocking and A rm
tairs l epritig-ioat, eana bottom, par'or, com
.on and other Chairs t Looking-U lassos of erors
ecTiptioa oa band ; and new glasses for old
ames, which will be put In oa esry roasonabls
rais on shortest notice. He alee keeps oa band
famishes to order, Corn-husk, lintr aad vot-
-lop Mat trasses.
CorriNs op Evicrt Kind
da to order, and funenls attended with
wrso whenever desired. Also, Unnae Painting
e to order. The sul.senber also manulae-
s. and has ennstanUy oa hand, Clement's
'" weaning Machine. Ibe best sis ia use
ss osing thia machias aerer aced be with,
i eleaa clothes! Ho also baa Flyer's Patent
ira, a superior article. A family aslng this
urn aerer a red ho withoal batter I
Ml the abore and many other articles are fur.
see to customers cheap lor Caen or elchanerd
spprored country prod.c. cherry. Meple,
" et.er Lumber suitable for
aet work, taken ia .ichange for faraita-e.
Renjambe, tb. ,B0, b n Mk-
ireeut, Pa, aad nearly opporlto tbe-Old Jew
CLEARFIELD jjjfc REPUBLICAN,
GEO. B. G00DLANDEE, Proprietor. - PRINCIPLE S-NOT MEN. TEEMS-$2 per annum, in Advance.
VOL 38-WII0LE NO. 2009. CLEAltFIELD, PA., THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1867. NEW SEIIIES-VOI, 7, NO. 3:3.
VETO OF THE M1UTAET DES
POTISM BILL.
Washington, March 2. Tho follow-
ing is tlio mcssao ot'tlio President of
the United Sttilcn, returning to the
House of IioprcBentatives a bill enti
tled "n uet to provido for the more ef
ficient govern merit ol the rebel states :
To the House of livprescntaticvs :
I have examined tho bill "to pro
vide for the more efficient government
of the rebel Stutes," with tho care and
anxiety which its trnnscendent im
portance ia calculated to awaken. I
bwn ttnablo to give it my assont, for
reasons so grave that 1 hope a state
ment of thorn mil-have some influence
on the minds of tho patriotic and en
lightened men with whom the decis
ion must ultimately rest.
I he bill places ull the people ol tho
ten States therein named under the
absolute domination of military rulers,
and the preamble undertakes to give
the reason upon w hicli tne measure is
based, and the ground upon which it
is justified. It declares that there ex
ists in those States no legal govern
ments, and no adequato protection fur
life or property, and asserts the neces
sity of enforcing peace and good order
within their limits. Is this true as
matter of fact f
It is not denied that tho States in
question have each of them an actuul
government, with all the power, exe
cutive, judicial, and legislative, which
properly belong to a free State. They
arc organized like the other States of
the Union, and like them, they nutko,
administcr.and execute the laws which
concern their domestic affairs. An
existing dc facto government, exer
cising such functions as theso, is itself
the law ol the btate upnn all matters
within its jurisdiction. To pronounce
the supreme law-making power of an
established State illegal is to say that
law itself is unlawful.
The provisions which these govern
ments have made for the preservation
of order, tho suppression of crime, and
the redress of privato injuries, aro in
substance and principle tho same as
thoso which prevail in tho Northern
Stntes and in other civilized countries.
They certainly have not succeeded in
preventing the commission of all crime,
nor has this been accomplished any
where in tho world. There, as well
as elsewhere, oflondcrs sometimes es
cape f.jr want of vigorous prosecution,
and occasionally, pcrhnpn, by tho in
efficiency of cf.urls, or the prejudice of
jurors. It is undoubtedly true uiai
these evils have been mut n increased
and aggravated, North and South, by
the demoralizing influences of civil
war, and by the rancorous passions
which tho contest has engendered.
But that these people arc maintaining
local governments for themselves,
which habitually defeat tho object of
all government, and render their own
lives and property insecuro.inin itself
utterly improbable, and the averment
of the bill to that effect is not support
ed by any evidence which has come
to my knowledge. All tho informa
tion I have on tho subject convinces
me that the masses of the Sou'.hern
peoplo and thoso who control their
public act, whilo they entertain di
vervo opinions on questions of Federal
policy, aro completely united in the
effort to rcorganizo their socioly on
the basis of peace, and to restore their
mutual prosperity as rapidly and as
completely as their circumstances will
permit.
The bill, however, would seem to
show upon its fuco that tho establish
ment of peaco and good order is not
its real object. The fifth section de
clares that (he preceding sections shall
cense to opcrato in any Stato where
certain events shall have happened.
Tlicso events are :
Fint. Tho selection of delegates to
a State Convention by an election, at
which negroes shall be allowed to vote.
Second. Tho formation of it State
Constitution by the convention so cho
sen. Third. The insertion into the Slsto
Constitution of a provision which will
sccuro tho right cf voting at nil elec
tions to negroes, and to such white
men as may not be disfranchised for
rebellion or felony.
Fourth. The submission of the Con
stitution for ratification to negroes
and "rhite men not disfranchised, and
its actual ratification by their votes.
Fifth. The submission of tho Slate
Constitution to Congress for cxamina-,
lion and approval, and the actual ap
proval of it by that body.
Sixth. Tho adoption' of a certain
amendment to tho Federal Constitu
tion by a vote of the Ixgisloturc elect
ed under the new Constitution.
Seventh. The adoption of said amend
ment by a sufficient number of other
States to make it a part of tho Consti
tution of tho United States. ,
All these conditions must lie fulfilled
before the people of anv of Ihesc Slates
can be relieved from the bondago of
military domination ; but when they
are fulfilled, then immediately the
pains and penalties of tho bill are to
cease, no matter whether there be
peace and order or not, and w ithout
any reforcnen to the security of lil'o or
proncrtv. J hccxcuso iriven for the
bill in the preamblo is admitted by the
bill itself not to be real. The military
rule which it establishes is plainly to
be uod. not for any pnrposo of order,
or for tho prevention of crime, but
solely as a means of coercing the peo
ple into the adoption of principles and
' . I. . . I. ! . I . 1. .
measures to vincii it is suiuwii uiai
they aro opposed, and upon which
they have an undeniable right to ex
ercise their own judgement.
I submit to Congress whether this
mcasuro is not in ils whole character,
scone, and object, without precedent
and without authority, in palpable
conflict with the nlaincst provisions of
Ihfi Constitution, and utt-rly destru'-t-(
ive to thoso great principles of liberty
ar.d humanity for which our ancestors
on both sides of the Atlantic havo shed
so much blood and expended so much
treasure.
The ten States named in tho bill arc
divided into fivo districts. For each
district an officer of the army not be
low tho rank of llrigadier (jonerul is
to be appointed to rule over tho peoplo,
and he is to bo supported with an effi
cient military force to enable him to
perform his duties and enforco his au
thority. Thost, duties mid that authority, as
defined by the third ocetio.i of'tho bill,
are "to protect ull persons in their
rights of person and property, to sup
press insurrection, disorder, and vio
lence, and to punish, or cause to bo
punished, all disturbers of the public
peace or criminuls."
The power thus given to the com
muuding officer over all the people of
each district is that of an ubsolute
monarch. His mere will is to take
the place of all law. The luw of the
Staler is now tho only rttlo applicable
to the subjects placed undor his con
trol, and that is completely displaced
by tho clause which declares all inter
ference of State authority to be null
and void.
Ho alone is permitted to determine
what aro rights of person or property,
and ho may protect them in such way
as, in his discretion, may seem proper.
It places at his free disposul all the
lands and goods in his district, and ho
may distribute them without let or
hindrance to whom bo pleases. Being
bound by no State law, and there be
ing no.oihor law to regulute the sub
ject, be may mako a criminal code of
his own, and be can make it as bloody
as any recorded in history, or ho can
reserve the privilege of acting upon
tho impulse, of his privato passions in
each case that arises. Jle is bound by
no rules of evidence ; there is indeed
no provision by which ho is authorized
or required to tako any evidenco at
all. Everything is a crimo which he
chooses to call so, and all persons are
condemned whom he pronounces to
bo guilty. He is not bound to keep
any .record or mako any report of his
proceedings, llo may arrest bis vic
tims wherever ho funis them, without
warrant, accusation or proof of proba
ble cause. If he gives them a trial
beforo he inflicts tho punishment, ho
gives it of his gruco and mercy not
because he is commanded so to do.
To a casual reader of tho bill, it
might seem that somo kind of trial
was secured by it to persons accused
of crime, but such is not tho case Tho
officer "may allow local civil tribunals
to try offenders;" but, ol course, this
does not require that ho shall do so.
If any State or Federal court presumes
to exercise its legal jurisdiction uy tlio
trial of a malefactor without his spo
cial permission, bo can break it up
and punish the judges and jurors as
being themselves malefactors, lie
can save his friends from justice, and
despoil his enemies contrary to justice.
It is also provided that "ho shall
have power to organize military com
mission or tribunals."
Hut this power he is notcommandud
to exercise It is merely permissive
and is to bo used only when in his
judgment it may bo necessary for tho
trial ol offenders, hven it tho sent
ence of a commission wcro made, a
prerequisite to tho punishment of a
party, it would be scarcely the slight
est check upon tho officer who has
authority to organizo it as he pleases, j
prescribe its mode of proceeding, ap
point its mcmbcts from among his own
subordinates, and rcviso all ils decis
ions. Instead of mitigating the harsh-1
ncss of his singlo will, such a tribunal
would be used much more probably to
divide the responsibility of making it
more cruel and unjust.
Several provisions, dictated by the
humanity of Congress, have been in
serted in tho bill, apparently to re
strain tho power of tho commanding
officer, but it seems to mo that they
are of no avail for that purpose The
fourth section provides, first, that tri
als shnll not be unnecessarily delayed,
but I think I havo shown that the
power is given to punish without
trial, anil, if so, this provision is prac
tically inoperative.
Second. Cruel or unusual punish
ment is not to le inflicted ; but who is
to decide what is cruel and what is
unusual f Tho words have acquired
a legal meaning by long nso in the
courts. Can it be expected that mili
tary officers will understand or follow
a rule expressed in languogo so purely
technical, and not pertaining, in the
lenst degree, to their profession T If
not, then, each officer may define cru
elty according to bis own temper, and
if it is not usual, ho will mnke it usual.
Corporal punishment, imprisonment,
tho gag. the ball and chain, and the
almost insupportable forms of lorture
invented fur military punishment, lio
within the range of choice.
Third. Tho senteiiee of a commis
sion is not to bo executed without be
spproved by the commander, if it af
fects life or "liberty, and a sentence of
death must be approved bv tho Presi
dent. This applies to cases in which
there lias been a trial and a scntorce.
1 take it to be clear under this bill
that tho military commander may
condemn to death without even the
form of a trial by military cotnmis
sion. ro that the lite ol tiiecnnuemn
ed way depend tion the will ol two
men instead of one.
It is plsin that the authority here
given to tho military officer amounts
to absolute despotism. Put to make
it still unend amble, the bill provides
that it may be delegated to ns many
subordinates as he chooses to appoint,
for it declares that he shall "punish or
cause to be punished. rucb a power
i has not been wielded bv any monarch
h Jlnglan I lor mor? Cfn five hun
dred yearn. In all that tinio, no peo
ple who speak tho English luugiiagc
havo borne such servitude. It reduces
tho whole population of tho ten States
nil persons of every color, sex nnd
condition, and every stranger within
their limits to tho most alijuct und do
graded sluvcry. No master ever had
a control so absolute over his slaves
as this bill gives to the military officers
ovor both white and colored person.
It may bo answered to this that the
officers of tho army aro too mugnnni
mous, just, and humane to oppress
and trumplo upon a subjugated peo
ple. I do not doubt that army offi
cers aro as well entitled to this kind
of confidence us any other class of
men. liut tho history of -Ilia world
has been written in vaia If it does not
teach us that unrestrained authority
can never be safely trusted in human
hands. It is ulmust sure to bo more
or less abuse J under any circumstances,
and it has ulways resulted in gross
tyranny where the ruler who exercise
it are strangers to their subjects, and
como among them as tho representa
tives of a distant tower, and more
especially when tho power that sends
them is unfriendly. Governments
closely resembling that here proposed
have been fairly tried in Hungary and
Poland, and the suffering endured by
thoso pooplo roused the sympathies of
the entire world. It was tried in Ire
land, and though tempered at first, by
principles of English law, it gave birth
to cruelties so atrocious, that they are
never recounted without just indigna
tion. The French Convention armed
its deputies with this power, and sent
them to the southern departments of
the republic. 1 he massacres, murders
and other atrocities which they com
mitted show what tho passions of the
ablest ;nen in the most civilized socie
ty will tempt them to do w hen wholly
unrestrained by law.
The men of our race in every age,
have struggled to tio up tho hands of
their Governments and keep them
within the law, bocauso their own ex
perience of all mankind taught them
that rulers could not bo relied on to
concede those rights which they were
not legally bound to respect. The
head of a great empire has sometimes
governed it with a mild und paternal
sway, but tho kindness of an irrespon
sible deputy never yields what the
law does not extort from him. Be
tween such a master and tho people,
subjected to bis domination, thcrocun
bo nothing but cmi.ily; he punishes
them if they resist his authority, and
if they submit to it ho hales them for
their servility. -
I come iiiiw'to a question which is,
if possible, still more important. Have
we the power to establish and carry
into execution a measure like this!
I answer, certainly not, if we derive
our authority from the Constitution,
and if w e are bound by the limitations
which it imposes.
This proposition is perfectly clear,
that no brunch of the Federal Govern
ment, executivo, legislative, or judi
cial, can havo any just powers oxcept
those which it derives through and ex
ercises under tho organic law of the
Union. Outsido of tho Constitution
wo have no legal authority more than
private citizens, and within it we have
only so much asthat instrument gives
us. This broad principle, limits all our
lunctions, and applies to all subjects, i
It protects not only tho citizens of
Slates which aro within tho Union,
but it shields every human being who
comes or is brought under our juris
diction. W'o havo no right to do in one place
moro than in another that which the
Constitution says wo shall not do at
all. If, therefore, the Southern Slates
were, in truth, out of the Union, wo
could not treut their peoplo in a way
which the fundamental luw forbids.
Somo persons assume that tho suc
cess of our arms in crushing the oppo
sition, which was mado in some of
the States to tho execution of the Fed
eral law, reduced thoso States, and all
thoir people, tho innocent at well as
tho guilty, to the condition of vassal
age, and gave as a power over them
which the Constitution docs not bo
stow, or define or limit.
No fallacy can bo more transparent
than this. Our victories subjected the
insurgents to legal obedience, not tho
yoke of an arbitrary despotism. When
an absolute sovereign roduees his re
bellious subjects, he may deu! with
them according to his pleasure, bo
causo he bad that power before, llul
when a limited monarch puts down an
insurrection, bo must still govern ac
cording to law. If an insurrection
should tako place in onoof our States,
against the authority of iho Stato gov
ernment, and end in tho ovorthrow of
those w ho planted it, would that UUc
awav the rights of all the people of the
comities where it was ftvored by a part
or a majority of the population t Could
they for such a reason bo wholly out
lawed, and deprived of their seprescn
talion in tho legislature? I have al
ways contended that the Government
of the United States was sovereign
within ils Constitutional sphere, that
it executed its laws like the Slates
themselves by applying lis coercive
power direct I v to individuals, and that
iteou'd put tfown insurrection with
the aaino effect as a State, and no oth
er. Tho opposito doctrine is the
worst heresy of those who ajvocated
scccsiion, and cannot bo agreed to
without admitting that heresy to be
right. Invasion, insurrection, rebel
lion, and domestic violence wero anti
cipated when tho government was
framed, nnd the means of repelling
and suppressing them were wisely pro
vided for in tho Constitution ; lint it
was not thought necessary to declare
that the States in which they might
occnr should be expelled from the
Union.
Rebellions, which Tcre invariably
suppressed, occurred prior to that out
of w hich thoso questions grow. But
tho States continued to exist, nnd the
Union remained unbroken. In Mas
sachusetts, in Pennsylvania, in Uliode
Island, and in New York, at different
periods in our history, violent nnd
armed opposition to tho United States
was caried on. But tho relations of
thoso States with tho Federal Govern
ment were not supposed to bo inter
rupted or changed thereby, after tho
rebellious portions of iheir population
wero defeated and put down. It is
truo that in theso earlier cases there
was no formal expressions of a deter
mination to withdraw from tho Union.
But it is also truo that in tho Southern
States the ordinances of secession were
treated by ull the friends of tho Union
as mere nullities, nnd uro now ac
knowledged to be so by the Sttttcs
themselves. If we admit that they
had any force or vulidity, or that they
did, en fuct, take the Suites in which
they wero passed out of tho Union,
we sweop from under our feet ull tho
grounds upon which wo stand in just
ifying the use of Federal force to main
tain the integrity of the Government.
This is a bill passed by Congress in a
time of peaeo. There is not, in any
one of the Stales brought under its
operation, cither war or insurrection.
1 he laws of the States, and of tho Fed
eral Government, are all in undisturb
ed and harmonious operation. The
courts, State and Federal, aro open
and in the full exercise of their proper
authority. Over every Stato com
prised in these five military districts,
life, liberty, and property and secured
by State laws and Federal laws, and
tho National Constitution is every
where in foice and everywhere obey
ed. What, then, is tho ground upon
which this bill proceeds? Tho title of
the lull announces that it is intended
for the moro efficient government of
these ten States. It is recited, by way
of preamble, that no legal Stute gov
ernments, noradequate protection for
life or property exist in thoso Stutes,
and that peace and good order should
bo thus enforced.
The first thing that arrests atten
tion, ujion these recitals, which pre
pare tho way for martial luw, is tdis :
That tho only foundation upon which
martial law can exist, under our form
of government, is not stated or so
much as pretended ; actual war, for
eign invasion, domestic insurrection
none of these appear, and nono of
theso, in fact, exist. It is not even
recited that any sort of war or insur
rection is threatened. Let us pttuso
here to consider, upon this question
of constitutional law and the power
of Congress, a recent decision of the
Supremo Court of tho United Stutes
in ex parte Milligan. I will first quote
from tho opinion of tho majority of
tho court :
"Martial law cannot ari, from a lWalneJ in
vaiiion. Thenceej.ilyrnui't he actual and present,
the invasion rval, su h as effootuslly cli'ws the
courts and disposes the eiril administration."
Wo see that martial law comes in
only when actual war closes the courts
and disposes tho civil authority. Bui
this bill, in time of peace, makes mar
tial law operate as though wo were in
actuul war, and become the cause in
stead of tho consequence of tho abro
gation of civil uuthority. Ono more
j quotutiun :
Mlt follows from what has been said on this sol--Ject
that thrrr are oouasions when martial law cau
toe proMTly applied. 11 in forrifra invasion or rir
li uar the courts are actually closed, and it is iut
pos.ihlu to adunuistor criminal Justice according
lo law, then, on the theatre ol active military op
erations, where war really prcrsils, there is a uc
ccitity to furni.h a substitute tor tne civil author
ity thus overthrown, to prewrve the salrty of the
anny and eocicly ; and as no power is Ivlt hut the
military, it is ailowrd to (orern by martial rule
uutil tne laws can have their free cvuirt."
I now quote from tho opinion of the
minority of the courl, delivered by
Chief Justice Chose :
"We by no nicans aer-rl that Congress caa cs
Ulili.h and apply the laws of war acre no war
has Iwn doclairil or exntl. Where peace exists
the laws ol pence must prevail."
This is sufficiently explicit. Peaco
exists in tho territory to which this
bill applies. It asserts a power in
Congress in timo of pcuco to sot aside
tho laws, of peace and lo substitute tho
laws of war. Tho minority concur
ring with tho majority declares that
Congress does not possess thut power.
Again, and if possiblo moro emphati
cally, thoChiel Justico with moro re
markable clearness and condensation
sums up iho whole matter as follows :
Thvre are under the Onn.lilntinn three kind,
of militsrv iuriMlirlion, onv to be eterrieed both
in earc and war, another to heoxercised in time of
foreign war witnoui ine nounuarlrs nt me i mlcl
States, or in time ol rehellion and ciiil war within
States or distrirts occupied by relmls. treated as
hrlliircrrnte, and a thiid to fir excretst-d in time of
invasion or lusurrerlinn within the limits of tlie
I'liltcd Slates, or during reMlina within the lim
its of the States maintaining adhesion to the Na
tional Oorerntncnt, whm tho politic danger re
quires its exercise. The nri-t ol these roar be Pall
en jurisdiction under military law.aud is f.mnd in
aeta of Congress prescribing rules and artiele, of i
war. or otherwise providing for the government i
! of the national force. I be second uiftv he oi.tin
i guished as military government, superceding, as
lar as mar be dremeo eiprdtonr, the local law, and
exercised by the military commander, nmlcr the
direction ol the President, with the evpress or im
plied sanction of Congress. hile the third mar
h denominated martial law protier, and is called
into nclion br Conrress. nr. temiraritr, when the
IwotTmiM.'nnd ," th'1 1
nelinn ol I ongresr
case of ius'ifving or excusing peril, br the I'resi
dent: In times of in.urreetion or inve.ion: or of
foreign war within di.lricts or localities where or
dinary law no Inng-r adequately ee.-uros public safe
ty and private righp."
It will be observed that of the three
kinds of military jurisdiction, which
can bo exercised or created under our
Constitution, there is but ono lhatcan
prevail in timo of ponce, ami that is
Ibe code of laws enacted by Congress j with prescribed articles in it, and af
fur I Im irnveriimeiit of the national i lorwards elect a legislature which will
'forces That body of military law
' has no application to tho citizen, nor
. . . ... ,1
even 10 tho citizen soiaior onroneu in
militia in timo of poaco. But this bill
is not a part ot thut sort of military
law, for that applies only to tho sol
dier, and not to the citizen, whilst con
trnriwiso tho military law provided
by this bill applies only to the citizen
and not to the soldier.
I need not say to tho rcpesentatives
Of tho American people that their
Constitution forbids tho excrciso of
judicial power in any way but oi.o ;
thai is, by tho ordained and establish
ed courts. It is equally well known
thnt in nil criminal cases a trial by
jury is inudu indispensable by the ex
press words of that instrument. I
will not enlargo on ,tho inestimable
vuluo of the right thus secured to ev
ery free man, or speak of tho dar.gcr
to public liberty in ull parts of tho
country, which must ousuo from a de
niul of it anywhere or upon any pro
tence. A very recent decision of tho
Supremo Court has traced the history,
vindicated the dignity, and made
known tho vufuo ol' this greut privi
lege, so clearly that nothing moro is
needed. To what extent a violation
of it might bo excused, in timeof war
or public danger, may admit of dis
cussion. But we are providing now
lor a timo of profound peace, where
there ia not an armed soldier within
our borders, except those who are in
tho service of the government. It is
in such a condition of things that an
act of Congress is proposed which, if
carried out, would deny a trial by the
lawful courts nnd juries to nine mil
lions of American citizens ar.d to their
posterity for an indefinite period. It
seems to be scarcely possible that any
one should seriously bclievo this con
sistent with a Constitution which de
clares in simple, plain nnd unambigu
ous language, that all persons shall
havo that right, and thai no person
shall ever, in any case, bo deprived of
it. The Constitution also forbids tho
arrest of tho citizen, without judicial
warrant founded on probable cause.
This bill authorizes an airest without
warranl, at the pleasure, of a military
commander. The Constitution de
clares that "no person shall be held to
answer for a capital orotherwiso infa
mous crimo, unless on presentment by
a grand jury." This bill holds every
person not a soldier answerable for ull
crimes and all charges without nny
presentment. The Constitution de
clares that "no person shall be depriv
ed of life, liberty, or property, with
out due process of law." This bill sets
asido all process of law, and makes
tho citizen answerable, in his person
and property, to tho will of ono man,
and as to bis life, to the will of two.
Finally, the Constitution declares that
"tho privilego of iho writ of habeas
corpus shall not bo suspended unless
when, in case of rebellion or invasion,
tho public safety may require it;"
whereas this bill declares martial law,
which of itself suspends this .grent
writ in timo of peace, and authorizes
tho military to make tho arrest, and
gi vo to the prisoner only one privilege,
and that is n trial without unnecessa
ry delay, lie has no bono of release
from custody, except tho hope, such ns
it is, of reloaso by acquittal beforo a
military commission. Tho United
States ure bound to guarantee to each
State a republican form of government.
Can it bo pretended that this obli
gation is not palpably broken if we
carry out a mcasuro like this, which
wipes away every vestago of republi
can government in ten Stales, and puts
the life, property, liberty and honor
of all the people in each of them under
tho denomination of a singlo person
clothed with unlimited authority?
JUo Parliament of England, exercis
ing the omnipotent power which it
claimed, was accustomed to pass bills
of attainder; that is to say, it would
convict men of treason und other
crimes by legislative enactment. The
person accused hud a hearing, somo
times a patient and fair one, but gen
erally party prejudice prevailed in
stead of justice. It often became no
ccssary for Parliament lo acknowledge
ils error, and reverse its own action.
Tho fathers of our country determined
that no such thing bhould occur hero.
They withheld tho power from Con
gress, and thus forbade its exercise by
that body, and they provided in the
Constitution that no State should pass
any bill of attainder. It is, therefore,
impossible tor any person in this coun
try to Ue constitutionally punished for
ony crimo by a legislative proceeding
of any sort ; nevertheless here is a bill
of attainder against nice millions of
people at onco. It is based upon an
accusation so vuguo ns to be scarcely
intelligible, and lotintl to be true upon
no crcdiblo evidence ; not ono of the
nine millions wus heard in his own de
fence. Tho representatives of tho
doomed parlies were excluded from all
participation in the trial. The con
viction is to bo followed by tho most
ignominious punishment ever inflicted
on Inrgo masses of men. It disfran
chises them by htidreds of thousands,
and degrades ihetii all, even those u ho
ore admitted to bo guiltless, frotu the
K of (rot,mcn to the Condition of
slaves. The purpose and object of the
bill, tho general inlei.t which prevades
it lrom beginning to end, is to change
the entire structure and character of
the Slalo governments, and to compel
them bv force to tho adoption of or-'
ganic lit s, and regulations w hich they
aro unwillingloacccpl.il loll to them-1
selves. Tho negroes havo not asked
for tho iiriviletro of voting; tho vnst
majority of them havo no idea whf'
it means. This bill not only thrust
it into their band, but compels them,
as well ns tho whiles, to uso it in a
particular wny.
If they do not form a Constitution
I act upon certain measures in a pro-
i scribed wa)-, neither blacks nor whites 1 lal is in constant peril, public securi-
I le 1! I.i., ft . . - 1 ..... ttanWia
can ue reuevea irotn mc slavery which
the bill imposes tijion them. V about
pausing to consiticr tne policy or im -
policy of Africanizing tho Southern
part of our territory, I would simply
ask the attention of Congress to that
manifest, well-known and universally
ar-ltnowlsilgcl rule of cwtitntioiml
law, which declares that lbs Federal
Government has no jurisdiction, su.
Ihority, or power to regulate suck
subjects for any State. To force tho
rigiit of suffrage out of the hands of
tho white people, and into the bands
cf the negroes, is nn arbitrary viola
tion of this princijtio. This bill im
poses martial law at once, and its op
erations will begin so soon as tho gen
eral and bis troops enn bo put in place.
The dread alternative between it
harsh rule and compliance wUh tho
terms of this measure is not suspend
ed, nor tho peoplo offorded any timo
for freo deliberations. Tho bill says
to them : Take martial law first, then
deliberate. And when they havodono
all that this measure requires them to
do, other conditions and contingencies)
over which they litre no control yet
remain to bo fulfilled ; before they can
bo relioved from martial law another
Congress must first approve the con
stitutions mado in conformity with
tho will of this Congress and must
declare theso StatCB entitled to repre
sentation in both Houses. The whole
question thus remains open and unset
tled, and must again occupy the at
tention of Congress ; ond in tho mean
time the agitation which now prevails
will continuo to disturb all portions of
the people. Tho bill also denies tho
legality of tho governments often of
the Stutes which participated in the
ratification of the amendment to the)
Federal Constitution abolishing sla
very forever within tho jurisdiction of
the United Suites, and practicallr
excludes them from the Union. If
this assumption of tho bill be correct,
their concurrence cannot be consider
ed as having been legally given and
the important fuct is maJo to appear
that the consent of three-fourths of
the States, the requisite number, has
not been constitutionally obtained to
tho ratification of that amendment,
thus leaving tho question of slavery
w here it stood before the amendment
was officially to hove become a part of
the Constitution: That tho measure
proposed by this bill does violate tho
Constitution in the particulars men
tioned, ond in muny other ways, which
I forbear to enumerate, js too clear to
admit of the least doubt. It only re
mains to consider whether tho injunc
tions of that instrument ought to bo
obeyed or not. I think Ihoy ought to
bo obe3-ed, for reasons which I will
froeecd to givo as briefly as possible,
n the first place, it is the only system
ol freo government which wc can hopo
to havo as a nation w hen it ceases to
be the rule of our conduct ; wo may,
perhaps, take ourchoice between com
plete anarchy, a consolidated despot
ism, and total dissolution in the Union,
but naiiotal liberty, regulated by
law, will have passed beyond our reach.
It is tho best frame of government
the world ever saw ; no other is, or
can lie, so well adapted to the genius,
habits, or wants of the American poo
plo, combining the strength of a great
empire, with un-peakable blessings of
local sclf governiiient, having a cen
tral power to defend the general in
terests, and recognizing the authority
of tho States as tho guardians of in
dustrial rights. It is "tho sheet an
chor tf our sufoly abroad, ond our
peace at homo " It was ordained "to
lorm a more perfect Union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility,
promote tho general welfare, provide
for the common defence, and secure
tho blessings of liberty to ourselves
and to our prospcritj-." Theso great
ends havo been nttained heretrflbre,
and will bo again by faithful obedi
enco to it, bat they are certain to bo
lost if wo treat with disregard its sa
cred obligations. It was to punish
tho gross crimo of defying the Consti
tution, and to vindicate its supremo
authority, that wo carried on a bloody
wnr of four years' duration. Shall
wo now aeknowlcdgo that wc sacri
ficed a million of lives, and expense 1 .
billions of treasure, to enf irco a Con
stitution which is not worthy j;f respect
and preservation. Thoso who advo
cated tho right of secession, alleged in
their own justification, that we bad
no regard for law, nnd that, their
rights of property, life, ond liberty
would not bo safo under tho Constitu
tion, ns administered by us. If wo
now verily this assertion, we prove
that they were in truth nnJ in fact
fightingfortheirliberty. And instead
of branding Iheir leaders with the dis
honoring namo of traitors ngainBt a
righteous nnd legal government, wo
elevate them in history to tho rank or
self sacrificing patriots ; consecrato
them to the admiration of the world,
and place them by the sido of Wash
ington, Hampden, and Sydney. No.
Let us leave them to the infamy they
deserve. Punish them as they should
bo punished, according lo law, and
tnko upnn ourselves no share of the
odium which they should bear alone.
It is a part of our public history, which
can never bo forgotten, that bolh
houses of Congress, in July, 1 SGI, de
clared in the form of a solemn resolu
tion, that the war was, and should be
carried on, for no purpose of nnbjujja
lion, but solely to enforco the Consti
tution and laws, and that when this
was yielded by the pnrtiesin rebellion
tho contest should cease, with the
constitutional rights of tho States, of
individuals, unimpaired.
This resolution was adopted, and
sent forth o the world, unanimously,
. by tho Senate, and with only two dis-
SCIltillS Voices bv lllO UoUSC. It WHS
! accepted by tho friends of tho Union
J in the South ns well as in tho North,
as expressing honestly and truly the
object of iho war. On tho faith of it
many thousands of persons in bolh
sections cave iheir lives nnd their for-
luties lo the cause. To repudiate it
now, by reiusmg lo i lie Mates, ami to
j the individuals w ithin them, the rights
! which tho Constitution anil laws of
' tlio Union would secure to them is a
.breach of our plighted honor, for
which I can imnrine no excuse, and
to which I cannot voluntarily become
a party.
The' evils which fpring from the
unsettled stato of our Govormnont,
w ill be acknowledged by nil. Coin-
metcial intercourse is impeded, capi
: ties nu'-uiuic. in ,iuvj, . nr
not secure, nnd 1'ie sense ol moral ana
j political onty is unpairt-u. au
ibeso calamities from our connlry.it
I is imperatively required that wc should
j immediately fiecioo upon some course
of administration w bitib cau be stead-
f.tstly adb.tf'! trt