VOL. XXXI. OFFICER!! OF COLUMBIA CO. President Judge—Hon. Wallin' Elwell. tun Derr, Associate Judges— l'etor 'llerbein. Proth'y and Cl' k of Courts—Jesse Coleman. Register and Recorder—John G. Freeze. Allen Mann Commissioners-- John F. Fowler, I Montgomery Cole. Sheriff—Samuel Snyder. Treasurer—John J. Stiles. ( Daniel Snyder, Auditors— L B Bova, (John P. Manner.. Commissioner's Clerk—Win. Krickbaum. Commissioner's Attorney—E. 11. Little. Mercantile Appraiser—Capt. Geo. W. Cm County Surveyor--Isms A. Dewitt. District Attorney—Milton M. 'Trough. Coroner—W Mimi; 3, County 'Superintendent—Chas. G. Barkley, Assessor Internal Revenue B. F. Clark. Thonia., Assistant Assessor— it Diemer, ' 1. (J. &Moods. Collector—Benjamin V. Ilart man. N EW STOVE AND TIN SHOP M rrn ex:T. r. ARIA' OrPOSITI: M I L LER'S STORE; uwomsoual. PA. TIM tindertioted hom pint fitted up, rand open. d, Li 4 1447Y4 ANS) TIN " 1 114/P, in thia pletee. where he is prepared In hinke nil !OW l ir %V AN , . 311 ktodo in hi. 1111 0 ,1111 , 1 do rePitit , 04 aOh neatness hml dt 4 p hprth the MOO red. oadtahie lerw.. Ito ts 1 , 0 kv11,4 , m 'Hind sTovE.4 ot vuttimo pattern. and t•tyle«, Hittch he Will sell ttvuh trriti4 tv Nhit otnehu.-r4. tht , “ • IA 3 rool Ukch3MC, am! IPPIViOg it . t. 0.14 iC rattuttitge, JACtin METZ. oomvbitre. Pew. 9, y LOT noTEL, Ep.py, Cu Imembia Co. Pa. The undersigned ha vitt: tiikerinin snlo timpriy4n, kinitso am, Enntreniently Incat.ni stand, testieettnlty intnrma iris friends. and the innoie in general, that be Ines put his ivinse In COmpf et ot otaer for the atentinnoa.lion °rho:lantern, and for the V.C , f , lion Mid 1,1110M110111 ,1 .1 of tray, i erii who way feel diripionnif to favor it with choir euntnm, expenss has heel: crated in prep:eine 110.11,1.0 for th ,, ent, r tr,inn w ni ni vie.t r g, and tunhti shill Ito wanting, on his ir rt. to miniiiitur In tinor tcrsauul eiiiiiroit The leeeali+ro, as w+il as tire building, I. It good one. and ah togridtei to nattily .twanged to ritra,ti AIUM4Y. raspy. April 11, Vl34.—tr. PLASTER FOR SALE The undersigned is about fitting up 4 t'l'9NArtt Nitta 9, a n d oft...t to Otte 1 9 9 , 1te oNk: 11CNIntED 'Joss itEsL• No via Scotia White Plaster•, prop it red witty fur lino in intintitieii to snit iiiirchrin tin, at any time aunt the tent of March 114'1 , J. ent4w 'set, 1i417 BOOT AND SHOE SHOP OSCAR GIRTON, ii— p ,tr u ily iurlrma tho polilie that he is now'pre pared to ovinetfactote koolo of SOOTS AND SHOES, I Sbo at the LOWEST Basilic [Wow at Atari notice and in the very brut and Into st stvl,l Mr. Girton. On ie will.known in thoonintritro,y ha had UMW/ ria4 of nary e ,, f0l exp, ri. ore with a rep. tontion for wont woik, iittranity and tionorahla deat• log nosurptinned. tar Par* • f bo.itotse oa Snoth c3,:t Corner or Mom and Iron Pbtreein. over J. K.Girtno'n Rorn. Woonisborg. 00. in, Imo; FORKS HOTEL, GEO. W. itlArGEit, Proprietor. The shove well known hotel has recently under vane radical changer in its internal torY alleenW;tte, end ifs proprietor POROlltites to his tomer rholotti and the travellint pindie that his rterohilthhhtielitr lot the comfort Of btu auelotg ;Olt .erettlit tb tUrtlf+ to the country. His table will always he Toned sap piled, not pni) WM) Ithh , sthritittl food, hot with al the delicacies of the son-on. Ills wine end liquor! ( cu ppr twit poputur {lever:inn known as ...Mr Mary', purebased dimet Tenn the tinhottiftp hothtes. ere en tirely pure, and free fri to till poironoile drugs. Ile is thankful for n liberal patronage in the pilot, and will coattaila to deserve it In the ( a ttire, GE ORG& W. MAUGER. June 13.18613,—tf. MACHINE ANP REPAIR SIIOP. THE end•t.ilfe4 "toad twit re•p•rifoity sok. linen,. In the pilaw setioratly, that he to prt•pered in t•trcmt. nil kinds of MACI(INEH V. et JuPIEPIR HHAIIPLES , FOR:NiDHY .in Irpout.burg, wh«re hr tin .two. be rowan ready to .In •il Mundt ..f r••petr- Ine. tntimloo: •Phreohloe Ma Wars. and to+Aort, all ►male al Farming I'l, net'.. ALSO. TL'IOHNI.; .4NU FIIING et , or CASI'INO AND HAi HINEHY. done on thou notice. In a smod workmanlike WWI Si.,. apou Ili• 5.0.5 nw•mghl. terms. 11.0 15..; ~ 1 1...riNme in lbe bnosa.o4 no foreman In the ohap of bowie 11. Mau. of thee pi.i•r, for over nine yearo, warronte how ht eI) the final lig rim WV.' 11 , 11111, oottsfacttua to all who Iti 4 ) th , or him w ith thou. t%orit G EGRG C 11 ASSERT Oloninsburi, Nov. 11, 136. INVENTORS' OFFICES.' D'EPINEUIL & EVANS, Civil Engineers end F tent Puli , itnrs No. 435 WALN U T riT II L. . POI a PATEwrei golitited•-r , inAtillattons nn Cligistrefinir Pfau/Wind and e11n.i..nr.N.141.11.•ir and at a!I kind. In An* and Att'ully attended In Otweint sitentiun [lent in It EJECTED l'AiitEei end I Vrgit• lERKNeEs. Anthentin Coptee of all Docuntaiiii from Patent I N 11.—Movu yourAiv..• and Mt , Glint esnonnen go there II heed Perm'n'l al iulervuw with ers. All titioineg. aitb Won tee men en tralPinctrid in writtns. For (1,111.1 infnr. tuition direct at shov e, with Clamp caducei) fur Ur. emir With f orr•ner., ,Aprd Id, VW—ly,—) W. FALLON HOUSE. Tua Win putchated the "ration You la LOCK 04 V EN, Pa • , properly or E. W. Risen,. Esq., would ray to the (media( the 'louse, his senuelotenrea, end 111.• pnh ISt generally, that he itili oils in ••keep • !NU,., with lbe wow !!!!! ia•son• and tnndoris Haulm, wad humbly solicits lerif patronage. J. of 741(111X. Woof the Mndi•nn Ilouso, Philadelphia. Lock Raven, tkc, to, td., i. ADMINISTRATORI; NOTICE. Estate of Leah l'ohe, late of Centre Town ship, deceased. toms,. of millitinlalTllll.ll On the 4.041* of lAeh 1410 Townohip. Collitohl• Lanni,. rii•• Eretio. , l by the Ileghder nf"mtd Karon Jopeph Pnhe. rertileine In the hoe orbit, county ithrnrabl. perron• bovine Hem,* mI 11(0 'M111140.11 In rri.e.ellt I heitioelVe. 6.1 pout, and thnee Itidelitell to the Mali wilt payment toothw ith tow, m.lllllOO alt`or. JtJiilirtl romg. Ado% ESE:I IN ISTRATOR'S NOTICE. P of Akritarr 11,0, decenfed. of Attmlnlytratinn nut the rotate of Mot late of Firlituatinek tnwnehtp.l l 4 ed, hate been granted by the antlAter or Y. In P Header mii , lre in FlebPy• raid rnonly. Alt per t . no hewing tiling. le “r the de. etlent a e Petine.ted o neatie In tke adinterstratur, and Ilate know• ea illdebtkti lu maim payment fur thwith. Z. P. ■MHDEM, Mut% ........., -BLOOMS *IP BILRG . : ..., .. • .. ~.„.......;...,, .... . ~,,......,,......„.„...5..,,,,,..,....... . ?Mu ' ~Illti!,,ldp, ' ~ ;.•,i; ;,,',,Jil* TILE POOMOIntr9 ptinetrat IS PIS ILISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY IN BLOOMSIWRO, PA., BY WILLIAMSON IL JACOBY. Trim P.-$1 On in advance. If not paid within SIX hogeTlitr, Art rent. additional will tin charred, 4,7- N. nailer diaroniinued until all arrearasna are paid (wept at the or tun of the editor. RATES OF ADVERTISINO. it to, I.lniffOlittiTOlß obtthaa, Itplaro MO` Of inter lo.orlioo. EVety *libOnquolpt interthm lee. than .... tweet. 1/4. UM. 314. 11M. alttnrP. 0.0 I 3 001 400 I 0.00 I 10'0 Two .90011111, 300 0.00 I Alo I 0,00 I 14.00 Three I 3,00 00 PA 1 ~s 0 I 'pot r won rf!tt, to 0 $OO 10;1) I 14,00 I 4000 111110.#000i0, I 10 00 112 On 1401 IP o'll 30 00 000 eOlO.OO. Id-06 110 00 2 , 100 I 30.00 30.00 ENorolor'f+ 000 A4101014111110e11 Nutiro. 3,00 = tailor ad ve rtiaontenta inverted according 10 ',portal contra 4. ihrniaera anticeo, without adverlisement. twentY. Cerro par I'm', pruoaint wrirerriontorniir parthle In Uth Wire 101 others due niter I hr. 140 *nowt mon. re" Of. PACE —lu Oluvu'a Murk. Cor.df Main and itun Ft rel.. Addruac W. ff. JArORY. Hummidus, C 0114041 County, Pa WOODLAND MARL With slue black eyes and jet black hair, With cheeks like roses, arms all bare, Teeth so white and dimpled chin, Her bosom fair and pure within ; A Mail straw hat so neatly tied, Her little basket by her side— All filled with berries red and blue, And Many buds of various hue ; She tripped as Myth as any Fairy t ! .:1 1 0 w a s, s he was my Woodland Mary. My little NVoodlaud Mary, &c. If you sweet maid win go with we, My little servant girl to be, A n d th o .. ! 1 .. 0 11 n o t e s you sweetly sung Repeat them to my nursling young, And leave, those Gills both bleak and wild, And nurse and tend my darling child And o'er her infant steps prove eary, elwri-h you my Woodland Mary. My little Wutkiland Mary, &c. Oh! Lady listen to my tale, And let these simple words prevail— My Mother's lame s she's blind and pour, Attd tree can totter tuna the door, An {I while she lives with her I'll stay And think of you while 'ar away Q.l ray- the grave s t the weary And then 11l be y( vid Mary, Your little Vt T. &e. • (4' ME Military Reconntruction The following is the nto aof the Presi dent of ow Udted States, ronaing to the Home of Itiliresontatives a bill entitled an net to provide for the more efficient govern ment of the Rebel States:" 7 do , Muse of lityff.iottotircs 1 have examined the bill provide for Ow more efficient government of the . rebel State'," with the care and anxiety winch its trameendent importance is calculated to awaken. I am unable to give my assent for reasons so grave that I hope a state ment of them may have some influence on the minds of the patriotic and enlightened men with whom the decision must ultimate ly rest. The bill places all the people of the ten States therein named under the absolute demi ; t mu t f si ilimry rulers, and the pre unemlo tin le r akes to pr VP the rca on 1110 l which the measure is based and time ground upon which it is ju.tifieml. it declares that there exi-ts in those States no legal govern ments, and no adequate protection for lif2 or property, and asserts the necessity threw forcing peace and good order within their limits. Is this true as a matter of fact? It is denied that the States in question have each or them an actual government, with all the powers—executive. judi c ial an d legi,lativs—which properly belong to a free State. They are organized like the other States of the Union, and, like them, they make, administer and execute the laws which concern their domestic affairs. An existing Ile /tido government, exercising such functions as these, is itself' a law of the State upon all matters within its jurisdic tion. To pronounce the supreme law-mak ing power of' an established State illegal is to say that law itself is unlawful. The provision which these governments have made for the preservation of order, the suppression of crime, and the redress of private injuries, are in substance and princi- Ne the same as those which prevail in the Northern States and in other civilized coun tries. They certainly have not succeeded in preventing the commission of all crime, nor has this been accomplished anywhere in the World. There, as well as elsewhere, offend ers sotnetimes escape for want of vigorous prosecution, and occasionally, perhaps, by the inefficiency of courts or the prejudice of jurors. It is undoubtedly true that these evils have been much increased and spin vated, North and South, by the demoraliz ing inUences of civil war, and by the ran corous passions which the contest has m eandered. But that these people are main taining local governments for themselves worch habitually defeat the object of all governments, and render their own lives and property insecure, is in itself utterly improbable, and the averni.nt of the bill to that effect is not supported by any evidence which has come to my knowledge. All the intbrinntion I have on the subject, convinces me that the masses of the Southern people and those who control their public acts, while they entertain diverse opinions on questions of Federal policy, are completely united in the effort to reorganize their so ciety on the basis of' peace, and to restore thou mutual prosperity as rapidly and as completely as their circumstances will per The bill, however, would seem to show upon ita film that the establishment of peace and good order is not its real object. The fifth section declares that the preceding sec tions shall cease to operate in any State where certain events shall have happened. Thew! events are : First. The selection of delegates to a State Convention, at which negroes shall be allowed to vote. Second. The formation of a State Consti tution by the convention so chosen. Third. The insertion into the State Con stitution of a provision which will secure the right of voting at all elections to ne groes, and to such white men as may not be disfranchised for rebellion or felony. Fourth. The submission of the Constitu tion for ratification to negroes and white men not disfranchibed, and its actual ratio cation by their votes. BLOO THE PRESIDENT'S VETO SBURG, COLUMBIA CO., PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 18V. Fifth. The submission of the State Con ,. stitution to. Congress tar examination and approval, and the actual appreval of it by that body. Sixth. The adoption of a certain amend ment to the' Pedaled Constitution by a vote of the Legislature elected under the new Constitution. Seventh. The adoption of said amend ment by a sufficient number of other States to make it a part of the Constitution cf the United State.. All these .auditions must be nailed 1 e litre the people of any et' those State. cue be to leved from the bond ige of military d unination ; but when they are fulfilled, then immediately the pain. and penalties of the hill are to cease. no matter whether there be peace end order or not. and frith out any reference to the security of life or property. The CUOMO given for the bill in the preamble is 11(11114W' by the bill itself not to be real. The military rule which it establishes is plainly to be used, not for any purpose of' order fir the prevention of crime, but solely as a means of corre44l the people into the adoption of principles and meas ures to which it is known that they arc op- posed, and upon which they have an unde niable right to exercise their own judgment. 1 submit to Congress whether this meas ure is not, in its whole character, tenpe and object, without precedent and without au thority, in palpable conflict with the plain est previsioes of the Censtitution, and ut terly destru c tive to these great principles of liberty and humanity ffir which our ances tors on both sides of the !Atlantic have sited SO much blood and expended se much trea sure. The ten States named in the bill are divi ded into five districts. For each district an officer of the army not below the rank of Brigadier I ieneral is to be appojnted to nib. over the people, and he is to be supported with an efficient military three to enable hint to portion' his duties and enforce his au thority. Those duties and that authority. as de fined by the third section of the bill, are *le protect all parsons in their rights of per mits and property, to suppress insurreetion, disorder and vnilenee, and to punish, or cause to be punilied, all disturbers of the public peace or criminals." The power the, given to the emmnanding offteer over Mt tiew people of each district. that of an absolute monarch. Iliti mere will is to take the place of all law. The law of the States is now the only rule applicable to the subjects placed under his control, and that is completely displaced by the c l a use which declares all intertioence of State au thority to he null and void, Ile alone is permitted to determine what are right' , of person or property. and he may protect. them m such a way as, in his disene tion, may seem proper. It places at his fr ee disposal all the lands and goods in his district, and he may distribute them whil e t let or hind auiec to whew he I lea.; Being hound by no State law, and there be ing no other law to regulate the subject, he may make a criminal code of his own, and he can make it as bloody as any recorded in history. or he can reserve the privilege of ailing upon the impulse of Ids private pas sion<in each ease that arise,. Ile is bound by no rules of e%i helve; there is indeed no provi ion by which he is authorized or re quirtel to take any evidence at ail. Every thing is a crime which he chooses to c a ll s o, and all persons are condemned whom he pronounces to be guilty. Ile is not bound to keep any record or make any report of his proceedings. Ile may arrest his vic tims wherever he finds them, without war rant, imensaition or proorof robable cause. It he gives them a trial before he indicts the punislimmt, he givensit, of his grace and mercy—not because he is commanded so to do. To tr casual reader of the bill it might scent that some kind of trial was secured by it to persons accused of crime, but such is not the ease. The officer "may allow local civil tribunals to 'IT offenders;" but of course, this does not require that he shall do so, If any State or Federal court pre sumes to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the trial of a neeefactor without his special permission, he can break it up and puni,li the judges and ,jurors as being es malefactors. lie can save his friads from justice, and despoil his enemies contrary to justice. It is also provided that "he shall have power to organize military ettininissions or Rut this power he is not commanded to exercise. It is merely permissive, and is to be used only when in his judgment it may be necessary fin the trial of offiinders. Even it' the sentence of a commission were made a prerequisite to the punishment of a party, it would be scarcely the slightest cheek upon the officer who has a,,:herity to organize it as he pleases,. preseOhe it, imole or proceed ing, appoint its nicumas from anion his own sithordinatt s, and revise all its eels ions. Instead r f mitigating the bars mess of his single Al, such a intoned would be used much more probably to divide the re sponsibility of making it still more cruel and unjust. Several provigons dictated by the hu manity of Congress, have been inserted in the bill, apparently to restrain the power of the commanding officer, but it seems to me that they are of no avail for that purpose. The fuurth section provides, Grid, that trials shall not be unneeissaii!sr delayed, L:t I think I have shown that the power is given to punish without trial, and, if bO, this pro vision is practically inoperative. Second. Cruel or unusual punishment is not to be inflicted ; but who is to decide what is ci uel and what is unusual? The words have acquired a legal meaning by long use in the Courts. Can it be expected that military officers will understand or fol low a rule expressed in language so purely technical, and not pertaining in the least degree, to their profession? It' not, then each Aker may define cruelty according to his own temper, and if it is not usual, he will make it usual. Corporeal punishment, imprisonment, the gag, the ball and chain, and the almost insupportable forms of tor ture invented for military punishment, lie within the range of choice. Third. The sentence of a commission is not to be executed without being approved by the commander, it it affects life or 'liber ty, and a sentence of death must be ap proved by the President. This applie . to eases in which there has been a trial and a sentence. I take it to be clear under this bill that the military commander may condemn to death without ev en the feral of a ilia! by a military commission. So that the life of the condemned may depend upon the will of two men instead of one. It is plain that the authority hem given to the military officer amounts to absolute des potism. But to make it still more unendu- rable, the bill provides that it may be date- gated to as many subordinates as he chooses to appoint, for it &elves that ho shall "punish ur cause to bepunished." Such a power has not been wielded by any mon areloin England for wore than five hundred years. In all that time, no people who speak the English language have borne such servitude. It reduces the whole population of the ten States—all perenns of eve,' sex, and condition, and every stranger wield') their limits, to the most abject and degrading slavery. No master over had u control so absolute over his slaves ns this bill gives to did/military officers over both white end eo!ored persons. It may be answered to this that the ofli eel's of the army arc too magnanimous, just and humane to oppress and trample upon subjugated people. 1 do not doubt that army officers are us well entitled to this kind of confidence as any other class of men. But the history of the world has been writ ten in vain if it does not teach us that unre strained authority can never be safely trusted in lemon halide It is almost sure to be more or less abused under any circumstances end it has always resulted in gross tyrant* , where the rulers who exercise: It are stran gers to their eulijetem, and come among them us the repreeewatives of a distant power, and more especially when the power that send; them it unfriendly. Governmeabl ehlMilreseteliling that here propoevil have been lisirly tried in (limitary and Poland, and the suffering Vntlurell by those peoples reused the sympathies of the entire world, It was tried in Ireland, and though temper ed at first principles of En g lish l a w, it gave birth to cruelties so atrocious that they are never recounted without just holiena thin, The French Coevention armed its deputies with this power. and sent them to the Southern departments of the Republic. The massacres, murders and other atrocities whi c h they committed show what the pas sloes of the ablest men in the most society will tempt them to do when wholly unrest:edited by law. The men of oar race in every nee have struggled to tie up the hands of their goy einent and keep them within the law, b e . saute their own experience of all mankind bluetit them that rulers multi not he relied On to eamede those rights which they were not legally I omit to respeet. The head of in great empire has eon/climes governed it with a mild awl paternal sway, but the knelt) of an irresponsitile deputy never yields what the law does net extort front him. Between !Quell a master aril the peo ple subjected to his dentinal ien there eau be nothing but enmity ; he ptinishe, the m if they resist his authority. and it' they submit to it he hates them for their servility. I cow now to a question which is, if pos sible, still more iiportent. nave we the power to establish and catty into execution measure like this? I newer, certainly not, it' ee derive our authority from the Constitution. and if we are bound by the imee..., This proposition is per(eetly clear, that no branch of the hedcral t ;0% o 11111etit, execu tive, legislative or judicial, can have any fast powers except those whit"' it derives through awl rectu.nizos under the organic law of the Union. Outside of the Consti tution we have no legal auzliority more theta private citizens. tool within it we have only much po‘tve W. that instrument Oyes This broad principle limits all our Functions and applies to all subject-. It protects not only the citizens of States which are within the Union. but it shields every human being who comes or is brought under our jurisdic tion. We 113 , 07 no right to do in one place more than another that which the Constitution says we :hall not do at all. it; therefore, the Southern States were, in, truth, out of the Union, we emild not treat their people in a way the fundamental law fiirlids.• Some persons assume that the success of our arms in crushing the opposition which was made in some of the States to the exe cution of the Federal law reduced those States, and all their people, the innocent as well us the guilty, to the condition of ca,— sala g e, and gave us a power over theta which the Constitution does not bestow, or define, or limit. No flillacycan be more transparent than this. Our victories subjected the insurgents to legal obedience, not to the yoke of an arbitrary despotism. When an absolute sovereign reduces his rebellious subjects, he may deal with them according to his pleas ure, because he had that power before. But when alimited monarch puts down an in surrection, he must still govern according to law. If an insurrection should take place in one of our States neninat tho sovereignty of the State Government4giftl• - end in the overthrow of those who Planted it, would that take away the rights of all the people of the counties where it was favored by a part or a murky of the population ? Could they for such a reason be wholly outlawed, and deprived of their representation in the Legislature? I have. alwi,ivs contended that the Government of the I. nited States was sovereign within its constitutional sphere, that it executed its laws, like the States themselves 2 by applying its coercive power directly to individuals, and that it could put down insurrection with the same effect as a State and no other. The opposite doctrine is the worst heresy of those who advocated secession, and cannot be agreed to without admitting that heresy to be right. Invasion, insurmetion, rebellion and domestic violence were anticipated when the Government was Ironed, and the means of repelling and suppressing them were wisely provided for in the Constitution ; but it mei noj thought necessary to declare that the States in which they might occur should be extulled from the Union, Rebellions, which were invariably sup pressed, occurred prior to that out of which ti.e e questions grow. But the States con tinued to exist and the Union remained un broken. In 31118!11(IIII!Cttv in Pennsylvania, in Rhode Island, and in New York, at din'. erent petiods in our history, violent and armed opposition to the United States was (tarried on. But the relations of those oites with the Federal Government were not supposed to be intermitted or changed thereby after the tehell:ous portions of their population wore defemed and put down. It is true that in these miler cases there was an formal expression of a determination to withdraw from the Union. But it is also true that in the Southern States the mdi• nanecs of secession were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nullities, and are now acknowledged to be so by the S tates themselves. It' we admit that they had any force or vulidity t or that they did, in fact, take the States to which they auto passed out of the Union, we weep from under our feet all the grounds upon wh:ch we stand in ju.tify'ng the use of Fedenti kw to main blin the int , : , rity of the Goverment. This a bid passed by Qongrem in time c4' peace. There is not, is an one of the States bro't ander its operation, either war or iikAarreco. don. The Imre of the States and of the Federal Government are MI in undisturbed and harmonious operation. The Courts, state and Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority. Over every State comprised in those five military distracts life, liberty and preperty are secur ed by State laws and Federal laws, and the National Constitution is everywhere ever •wherein force and everywhere obeyed. What, then, is the ground upon which the bill proceeds? The title of the bill announces that it is in tended for the more efficient government of those ten States. It iv recited by way ol' preamble, that no legal State Governments nor adequate protection for life or property exist in those States, and that pe ac e an d good order should be thus enforced. The first thing which arrests attention, upon these reei:4ls, which prepare the way for martial law, is this: That the only rump dation upon which martial law can exist, under our form of government, is not stat ed or so much as pretended ; actual war, foreign invasion, domestic insurreetinn— none of these appear, and none of them, in liwt, exist. It is not even melted that any sort of war or insurrection is threatened. loet us pause here to outsider, upon this question of constitutional Ittw and the power of Conress, a recent. decision of' the Su preme Court of the Ceittal States in ex parte 31illigan. I will first quote from th e opitooe r the majority of' the Court:— "Martial law cannot arise from a threatened invasion. The necessity must be actual and present, the invasion real, such aieffeetnally closes Llik! courts and deplises the civil ad ministration." We see that martial law comes in only whoa actual invasion c los es tee courts awl deposes the civil authority. Hut this hill, ie time or peace, makes mar tial law operate us though we were in actual war, toad become the cause histend of the consequence of the abrogation of civil au thority. One more quotation : 'lt follows from what has been said on this subject that there are occasions when martial law can he properly applied. It' in foreign imasion or civil war the courts are actually closed, and it is impossible t o ad minister criminal justice 114.mi:ding. to law, then, on the theatre of active military oper ation:, where war really prevails. there 1 4 necessity to furipi,li a substitute fiir the civil authority thus overt bran, to preserve the safety of the army and seriety ; and as no pOWVr i s left but the military, it is allowed to govern by martial nth, until the laws can Int‘ , c their tree i'4,1,11%.f.... I now quote from the opinion or the minority of f l oe Coart, delivered by Chief instiee Cha s e: ''W' by no means assert that Congress can establish and apply the laws of war where no war has been declared or exists. \V here peace ex ists the laws of peace innq prevail." This is sufficiently explicit. Peace exists in all the territories to which this bill applies. It asserts a power in Congress in time or peace to set a WO.' tiln laws of peace and substitute' the hors of war, The mitelri , v tatnent•riee with the majority declares Congress does nut 1 , 07 , 4• N, that power. Again, i 1 possible more emphatically, the Chief J astice with remarkuble clearness and eondensat!on MIMS up the whole matter 814 follows: "There are under the Constioririn three kinds of military jurisdiction : cite be exercised Loth in ileum and war, another 1 t o b e ezereise.in time of foreign war with out the boundaries of the United States. or in time of rebellion or civil war within States or districts occupied by rebels treated its belligerents; toe d e Lied to Le exercised in time of invasion r in within the limits of the U .1 Suites, or during a rebellion within N. its of the States m a int a i n in g adhesion t the National Government, when the üblie danger re quires its exercise. The first of these may be called jurisdiction under milinov law, and is found in acts of Congress presCrilAng rules mid articles of war, or otherwise pro viding for the government of the nationai threes. The second may be distinguished as military government, superseding, as far ' may be deemed expedient, the local law, and exercised by the military commander, under the direction of the President, with the ex pr?:-.. or implied sanction of Congress. While the third may be denominated martial law proper, and is called into action by Con gress, or, tenipmarily, when the action of Congress cannot be invited, and in the case of justifying or excusing peril, by the Presi dent ; in tittles of insurrection or invasion ; or of civil or foreign war within districts or localities where ordinary law no longer ade quately secures public safety and private rights." It will be observed that of the three kinds of military jurisdiction which can be exer cised, pr created under our Constitution, thei4tlet ut one that can prevail in time of pellet., and that is the code of laws enacted IT Congress for the government of the na tional forces. That body of military law has no application to the citizen, nor even the citizen soldier enrolled in the militia in time of peace. But this bill is not a part of that sort of m i litary law, for that applies only to the soldier, and not to the citizen, whilst contrariwise the military law provided by this bill applies only to the citizen and not to the soldier. . I need not say to the representatives of the American people that their Constitution fluid& the exercise of judicial power in any way but one—that is, by the ordained and established courts. It is equally well known that in all criminal eases a trial by jury is made indispensable by the express words of that instrument. I will not enlarge on the inestimable ve!"e of the right thus secured to every freert.tt, or speak of the danger to public liberty in all parts of the country which must ensue front a denial of it any. where or upon any pretence. A very recent decision of the Supreme Court has traced the history, vindicated the dignity. and made known the value of this great privilege so clearly that nothing more needed. ro what extent a violation of it might be excused, in time of war or public danger, may admit of discussion. But we are providing now Ihr a time of , refound peace, where there is tip an armed soldier within our borders, except those who are in the service of the Government. It is in such a condition of thintre that an act of Congress is propose , ' which, if' carried out. would deny a trial by the lawtld courts and lurks to nine millions of American citizens and to their posterity for an indefinite peri od. It seems to he seam* possible that any one should seriously believe this consis tent whit a Constitution which declares in simile, plain nisi nnamisiguoua language that all persons shall have that right, arid that no person Abell ever, in any ease, be depriv ed of it. The Conatitntion also forbids the arrest of the citizen without judicial war : runt founded on probable cause. This bin anthor:zes an arrest without warrant, at the pleasure of a military commander. The Constitution declares that "no person shin be held to answer for a capital or other- .o infamous :Thee, unless on a presentment of of a grund jurv." This bid holds every person not a soldier ensaerable for all crimes and all charges without anypresentment. The Constitu tion declares that "no person shall be de prived of life, liberty or property, without due proem of law.' This bill sets aside all process of law, and makes the citizen an swerable, in his person and property, to the will of °be man, and as to his life, to the will or two. Finally, the Con s tituti on de clares that "theprivilege of the writ of ha beas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in ease of rebellion or invasion, the Aublie safety may require it i" whereas this bill declares martial law, which of itself sus pends this great writ in time of peeve, and authorizes the military to make the west, and gives to the pritsmer only one privilege, and that is a trial without unnecessary de lay. Ile has no hope of release from cus tody, except the hope, such 114 it k Of re lease by acquittal before a military commis ,e,n. Tile United States are bound to guarantee to each State a republican limn of gu°.eruaucnt. Can it be pretended that this obligation is not pa'pably broken if we carry out meas lire ijk which wipes away every vestige of repu'ili , an government in ten States. and pets the lice,property, liberty and honor of the vome in eueb of them under the cloteinatten of a single person clothed with unlimited authority ? The Parliament or England, exercising the omnipotent power which it claimed, was accustomed to pass bibs of attainder ; that is to say, it would convict men Of treason and other crimes by legislative tesactment. The person accused hail a hearin,7, sometimes a patient and tidr one, but iftinerally party prejudice prevailed instead of justice. It often bevame items :slln' fur Parliament to acknowledge its error aml reverse its own action. The fathers of our country deterutitivil that no such thing should occur here. They withheld the power from Congress, and thus tinbade its exercise by that body, and they provided in the Con• stitution tnut nu State should pass any bill of attainder. It is, therefore, impossible for any person in this country to be constitutionally punish ed hir tiny crime by a legislative proceed ing of any sort; nevertheless, here is a bill of attainder against nine millions of people at once. It is based upon an accusation vague as to he sacredly intelligible, and !bum! to be true upon nocreditable evidence; not one of the nine millions was heard in his own defenve. The representatives of the doomed parties were excluded from all participation in the trial. The convic tion is to be followed by the most ignomin ious punishment ever intbeted on large mas ses of men. It disfranchised them by hun dreds of thousands, and degrades them all. even those who are admitted to be guiltle ss , from the lan: of freemen to the condition of slaves The purpose and object of the bill, the general intent which limeades it from be giuning to end, is to change the entire arm tut e mid character of the 6tate governments and to compel them by force to the adoption of organic laws nod regulations which they are unwilling to accept tell to theists:dyes. The neerous have not asked for the privilege of voting ; the va-t majority of them have no hike what it means. This bill not only thiusts it into their hands, but compels them, as well as the whites, to use it in * particular way. If they do not form a constitution with prescribed articles in it, and afterwards elect a Legislature which will act upon certain measures in a prescribed way, neither blacks nor whites can be relieved from the slavery which the bill imposes upon them. Without pausing to consider pa icy or impoliey of Afrwanizing the Southern lien of our territory, I would simply ask the attention of Congress to that manifest, well known and universe ly acknowledged ;•le of eon etitutional law which declares that the Veil oral Government has no jurisdiction, au thority or power to regulate such subjects fns any State. To flow the right of suf frage out of the hands of the white people, and into the handset* the negroes, is an or bitrary violation of this principle. This bill imposes martial law at once, and its opera tions will begin as soon as the General nod his troops can be put in place. The dread alteniative between its harsh rule and COUs plianee with the terms at' this measure is nut suspended, nor the people afforded any time fir free deliberations. The bill says to them ; Take martial law first, then delib erate. And when they have done all that this measure requires them to do, other eon d tions and contingencies over which they have no control vet remain to be fulfilled ; before they can be relieved from martial law another Congress tuust first approve the constitutions made in conformity with the will of this Congress, and must declare these States entitled toiresentation in both Houses. The wholeWestion thus re mains open and unsettled, and must again occupy the attention of Congress; and in the meantime the agitation which now pre vails will continue to disturb all portions of the people. The bill also denies the legnlitv of the governmentsof ten Ade St ates which participated in the ratification of the amend ment to the Federal Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the ju of the United States, and rustically excludes them front the Union. If this assumption of the bin be correct, their concurrence cannot be coniidered an having been legally given; and the important limit is made to appear that the consent of three-fiirths of the ;States, the requisite number, bus not been constitutionally obtained to tip ratification of that amendment, thus leaving the ques tion of slavery where it stood berm the amendment was officially declared to have become a ran of the Constitution. That the me a sure propo ed by this bill doessiolate the Constitution in the particulars mention ed, and in many other trays, which I Ibrbear to enumerate, IS too clear to admit of the least doubt. It only remains to consider whether the injunctions of that instrument ought to be obeyed or not. I think they ought to be aged, for reasons which I will proceed to gooses briefly as possible. In the first. place, it is the only system of free government which we can hope to have as a nation when it ceases to be the rule of our conduct; we may, perhaps, take gin chime between complete anarchy, a consoli dated despotism and a total dissolution of the Union. But national liberty, regulated by law, will have passed beyond our reach. It is the best frame of, governmest the world ever saw ; no other is, or can be, so well adapted to the genius , habits or wunta oft lw American people, combining the strength of a great empire with unspeakable blessings of load cult-government, having a central power to defend the general interests, and recognizing the authority of the States as the guardians of industrial rights. It is "the sheet anchor of our safety abroad and our peace at home." It was ordained "to form a more perfect Union, est , :lisp justice, insure domestic tranquility, promte the eineml welfare, provide fur the common defence, and inure the blesdnea .1. liberty to ourselves and to our posterity." Theo gent ends have been attained heretof o re, an d w ill b e :wa in by f a ithful obedience to it, but they are certain to is' lost if. we treat with dtaregard its sacred obligations. It wash) punish the gross crime of defying the Constitution, and to vindicate its supreme authority, that we carried on a bloody war of four yearn' duration. Shall we now as knowledge that we saerifleed n million of lives, and expended billions of treasure, to enforce a Constitution which is not worthy of respect and preseryatioo ? Those who advocated the right of seecs•ion alleged, in their own justification : that we bad no regard for law, and that their rights of property, life and liberty would not be safe under the Constitution as administered by us. If we now verify this assertion, we prove that they were in truth and in filet fighting for their liberty. And, instead of branding their 'cadent with the di-honoring name of traitors against a righteous and legal Gov ernment, we elevate them in history to the rank of' self-suerificing patriots; consecrate them to the admiration of the world, and place them by the side of Washington, Hampden and Sydney. No. Let us leave them to the inflater they deserve. Punish them as they should be punished, according to law, and take upon ourselves no share of the odium which they should bear alone. It is a part of our public history. which can never be forgotten that both Ihmses of Con gress, in July. Isitil, declared in the form of a solemn resolution. that the war was and should be carried our for no purpose of sub jugation. but solely to enforce the Constitu tion and laws, aid that when this was yielded by the parties in rebellion the con test should cease, with the constitutional rights of the States, and of individuals un impaired. This resolution was adopted andsentforth to the world, unanimously by the Senate, and with only two dissenting voices by the House. It was accepted by the friends of the union in the South as well as in the North, as expressing honestly and truly the object of the war. On the faith of it many thousands of persons in both sallow gave their live. , and their femme to the Cane". To repudiate it now, refu-ing to the States, and the individuals within rhea., the rights which the constitution and laws of the Union would secure to them is a breach of our plighted hormr, for which I can im agine no excuse, and to which I cannot vol. untarily. heemue a party'. I am thoroughly convinced that any vet dement or essmpromiee, or plan of action which is inconsistent with the principles of the Constitution will not only be unavailing butinbedauronethst will let multiply the present evils instead of removing them. The Constitution its its whole integrity and vigor throughout. the length ant breadth of the land is the bust of all compromises.— Besides, our duty does not in any judgment leave us a choice between that and anyutber. 1 believe that it eontnins the remedy that is so much needed, and that it' the co-ordinate branches of the Government would unite upon its provisions, they would be Nond broad enough and strong eneuth to sustain, in time of pPace, the nation which they bore soli* through the ordeal of a protracted civil war. Among the most sailed guaran tees of that instrument are there which de clare that "each State !hall have a least one tepresentatiye," and that "noState, without out its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.' Each House is made the .. .fudge of the Oceanus returns :end qualeicetions of its owe 'mutters, "and may, "with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." Thus, as heretofore urged, in the 'Omission of &motors and Reprwieniatives from any and all tic States, there can be to jest grounds ef apprehen sion that persona who are disloyal will b clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could not happen 'when the Constitu tion and the laws are enforced by a vigilaet and f a ithful Congress. When a Senator or Representative presents his (*stifle:do of election, lie may at once be admitted or re jected or should there be any question as to Ns eligibility. his credentials may be refer red air investigation to the apropos/teem ntittee. It' admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which lie thus becomes a member, that he pwesses the reqnisite constitutional endless! qualifications. If refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the Government, and returned to his constitu ents, they are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice in the legislative council of the nation, end political power and moral influence of Contest+ are thus effect ively exerted in the in—irests loyalty to the Government. and flielity to the Union; anti is it not far better than the work of restora tion should be accomplished by simple com pliance with the plain requirements of the Constitution than by a recourse to measures which in effect destroy the States and threaten the subversion of the General Gov ernment? All that is necessary to settle this simple but important qttestion, without further agitation or delay, is a willingness on the part of all to sustain the Constitution and carry its provisions into practical oper ation. If to-morrow, either branch of Con gress would declare that upon the presenta tion of their credentials, members entistitn tionally elected and loyal to the General Government would be admitted to Seats in Congress, while all others wouldbeexcluded and their places remain vacant until the se lection he the people of loyal, qualified per sons, and if at the emotion assurance were given that this policy would be continued until all the States were represented in Con gress, it would semi a thrill of joy throughout the entire land, as indicating the inaugura tion of a system which must speedily bring tranquility to the public mind. While we are legislating upon subjects which are of grunt importance to the whole people, and which must affect all parts of the country, not only during the lire of the pre , cnt veneration, but for ages to come, we should remember that all men are entitled ne bait ton hearing in the council: which aeeide upon the destiny of themselves anti their children. At present . (el Stases are denied representation, and when the F o rtieth Congress assembles on the fourth dayof the present month, steteen States will be with ,net a voice in the Howe of Representa tives, This grave fact. with the important questions before nit, should Nattering to p a use in a career of legislation which, looking solely to the attainment of political ends, fail, to consider the rights it tranegresees, the law which it violates, or the Colatitude* which it imperils. • • AMU'? JOHNSON. Wasbingtoe, "Niarch 2, 1867. , 4~~ NO. 4.
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