Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1847-06-23


induced to transfer them to columns in
FROM THE Sir. LOUIS DAILY New ERA.
AN elective despotism is not the Government
we fought for ,,-Jefersoa's Notes.
The press gives us detailed accounts of every bat
tie, and depicts in glowing coors every brilliant
poitof the war, and every deed Of reckless daring
performed by any of our troops. And thus are the
young and thoughtess too often brought to the opn
ion that nothing is glorious but war, and nothing pa
triotic but fighting. While the young spirit of the
country is mised by the constant exhibition of these
h-;il---.
real danger which threatens The public mind is
not put upon its guard against the ncroachments of
official power upon the principles of The contitution,
and the peaceful, law-abiding spirit of our nstitu
tons. War is the natural enemy and sure destroy
er of written constitutions and liberty, as established
and guardedby law. The very principle of war is
brute force and all its rights butthe rights of the
strongest. He who has the supreme command in
war is necessarily despot: he is not an adviser,
governor, president-he is commander, and as
the first duty and highest virtue of a soldier is obedi
ence, the commanders will becomes the emily law.
And hence always the flaws silent amid arms
Has not this evil practically and in fact come up
on us! To say nothing for the present about the
conduct of the President in bringing this war with
out consulting the Congress then in session, his con-
duct in prosecuting i. is dangerous and alarming In
the extreme. b. his single authority, as command.
er of the army he has assumed the power, and del
egated it to his subordnaies to incorporate with our
country conquered foreign states; and has, by mill
tary procamatton imposed code ofcivil laws, cree
te courts and appointed officers for the government
of the conquered people; has declared those peo-
pie citizens of the United States, and with thensul
ting forms of judicial JUSTICE has tried and executed
some of them for pretended treason aganssthis gov
eminent.
BY his single authority as commander of the ar
my, he has imposed tariff of impost duties in all
the ports of Mexico now under his power or hereaf-
ter to be conquered. Revenue thus to be derived,
is not to gonto tho treasury to be accounted for
to Congress tits the revenue of Commander Polk,
TO be collected by his military subordinaes, and to
be expended for military purposes, as he may think
fit to order. 1t is without any Limitation as to the
tine of its continuance, the amount to be raised
or the particular offsets to which it shall be appro-
priated.
BY his single authority, unsanciioned by any act
of congress, he has levied troops, and is even now
employing them in conquerng foreign people and
subjectng them to the civil jurisdiction of his own
military dependents. Gen. Kearney enlisted a bat
talon of m orlnons, who emgrants from This
country, and already their march to a foreign
country with the express stipulation that they sho'd
not dc treated realAnerican soldiers, but that.
the end of their service, they should be discharged
in California, with arms in their hands. Co' FIRE.
mont enlisted body of 400 men :. without any au-
thority Of Iaw,'' and with them, wa ging upon
his own footing, granted capitulation to the Gov
ernor of California and his army.
These troops certainly no part of the army of
hc United States of which, by the Constitution the
Presidents Commander in chief; for by the Con-
stitution Congress alone raise armies, and
gress had nothing to do with the raising of these
They are Commander Folks or Gen. Kearnys or
Col. Fremont's, for they raised them without law
ru authority, and using them they think best.
So the constitution, which gives to congress the J
sole power to raise and maintain armies limits the
power, even in Congress, to appropriations OF money
not exceed two years at time. But, however the |
President and Congress may be limited at home by
the constitution, the Commander n-ee not to be
banked by constitutional restrictions, in his high de-
signs to enlarge the era of Saxon liberty and negro
slavery. Having begun to raise troops of his OWE