Delaware journal., 1828-03-14

letter Of January II, relieved him from the ne.
ces5ity OF referring thereafter to the department
on such subject. II did, and could do, no more.
1t alludes in no wise to the term Of service.
The Committee conclude because there is nothing
in the act Of 18th April, 1914, lpassed three months
and seven days after the Secretary ORDER granting
Gel tain restricted discretionary power to Cover
nor Bount,) preventing the President from express
sing his opinion 'thro' general instructions, to a
governor of state,' that governor Blount had,
by the vague order of the 4 lth January, 1914,
been clothed with the same power as the president,
in the choice of the time Of service. Giving thus
to the law Of April 10, 1914 retroactive eilcien-
cy they make it much like post acto one, as
any we remember to have heard Of
Such is the sophistica character of this report,
alike dscreditabe to those who drafted 1t and to the
body permitting its publication.
The order of Gen. jackson calling out the de-
tatchment of which the six m,Iltamen "A part,
is dated on the gath of May, 1914, and purports to
be issued in obedience TO an order from Gov Blount
1t specifies six months as the time OF service Gov.
Bounl's order does not appear among the documents
and so far rs we know, has never been officially
made public but il is said to bear date the Goth Of
the same month. The act of.april, 1912, prescr
bing six months as the utmost time of service, ex
plred on the 10th of April, 1914, by its own lmita-
tion. By what authority then could Governor
Blount, or enera Jackson acting in obedience to
him, issue the order in question? By an authority
conferred upon him by the department Of War, in
the letter of the / lth January, 1914? No; first
because, as ne haue already argued the department
intended to confer such authority; and next, be-
cause 1t could not confer 1t, the act Of 1912, from
which only it derived its power to authorize levie
for six months tour of duty, expired before the
issue of Gen. Jacksoms order. Any authority, there
fore, conferred in that letter, must have expired
with the act of Congress.
We have arlready observed that the act of 1914
could have no retroactive character and are rress
tiby led to the concusion that the order was Who'll
y unauthorized, Illegal. and invalid.
| We have, we think, sufficiently proved that tn
six mitiamen were not legally called out for NOR
than three months-the- term prescribed by the law
of Tennessee, as we'll as by the act of 1895 whic
continued in operation after the expiry Of that q
1872. 1t follows that they committed no crlmt
and became not deserters or mutlneers, IN leavln
the Camp when they did so.
| We shall not dwell upon this part of the su6jec
because we deem it Of little Importance whethe
they were subject to six or three months tour du
! ty. In either case, the cruelty of their punishmen
was the same. The destruction of human lif
should never be resorted to but in cases of extrem
necessity. That necessity, we maintain. did nc
exist nor did the safety or interests of the countr
require that the lives of six fellow beings should b.
taken away. When Gen. Jackson signed the o'
der for their execution, peace had been made
days before, and on the 9th of January. 1915
three days anterior TO his signature Of that bloody ~
script, he aorote TO The Secretary Of Far. that
enemys last erertions had been made an that q1a
:, fer. With such belief resting Oh his mind, wher
could he tiud reason for spiling the blood of h
/, countrymen-those whose fault if any fault the
had, was one of opinion solely. Magnify it as muc
as you please, dstort it as you will it amounted
nothing more than a deusion They believed; an
t we think rightly believed, there was no law to d.
tain them longer than three months: several of the
e officers believed SO too ; the Secretary OF War coil
fl cided in that opinion, (see his letter OF the Sd
january. Acting under this confident belief, ar
!. anxious once more to embrace those whom they hs
: left at home, they undertook to do that for theI
: selves, which they conceived their commanding of
= Ger was bound to do for them. This was the hes
and front of their offending In all this. there ce
It tany lay not sufficient offence to justify The intli
e ton of the punishment of DEATH especially as it W
= not called for on the score of example.