The primitive Republican. (Columbus, Miss.) 18??-1852, 1852-09-09

QOGlce, nor 0OLlceQ WITHOUT exposing Ilclf
If the exposition has Civ
en- offence, you can blame only yourself for
complaints SO entirely unbound
ed.
The browning outrage, as you regard it,
is the simple fact that you, and ''the three
arrested officers" fare all to be placed to-
gether before the same court-the innocent
and the guilty-the accuser and the accus-
ed; the judge and his prisoners are dealt
with alike" "Most impartial Justice p
you exclaim. And why is it not impartial
justice? On what ground of right can you
claim to have your case Disseminated from
theirs 1t is true, you have assumed to be
their judge, and have pronounced them gull
ty; and complain and repine that the laws of |
the country do not allow you, their accuser,
to institute a court to register your decree |
But you are not their rightful Judge, although
they acre your prisoners. Before that court
you all stand on the same level, and all have
equal rights. Though you may have the
self-satisfying conviction that you are inno-
cent and they are guilty, the government
could act upon no such presumption. By
becoming an accuser, you did not place your
self beyond the reach of being accused and
unless you are clothed with the immunity
of despotic power, and can claim the bene-
fit of the maxim chat the King can do no
wrong" I know not why your conduct, when
made the subject of charges, may not be in
vcstigated by court of inquiry; nor can
perceive what other or better right you
have to complain of and arraign the govern
ment, than the other officers whom you have
accused, and whose cases, with yours, were
referred to the same court. If yours is a
hard case, theirs is not less so. If you can
rightfully complain of persecution by the
government, so can they, with equal justice
and an equal claim to public sympathy.
The charges against you did not emanate
from the government, nor did they relate to
matter in which it could feel any peculiar
interest Not believing it impossible for
you to do wrong, or that you were exempt
from all responsibility for whatever you
might have done, the government deemed it
proper, when charges were preferred against
you, coming from a source entitled to re-
spect, to cause them to be investigated. As
the usual and mildest mode of proceeding,
they were referred to court of inquiry
Until you can show that you enjoy the trans.
cendental privilege to have your official con-
duct exempt from all examination in any
form whatever, you have no cause to com
plain of the course taken in regard to char.
ges against you.
If your extraordinary prctensions are to
derive any support from your distinguished
services in the field, you ought to be mind
full that the three accused officers put under
arrest by you have like claims for distin
guished services. On the pages of impair
tial history their names and their gallant
deeds must appear with yours; and no mo
nopolizing claims, seeking malignant ex
illusions" at the expense of the truth of his
tory" will be permitted to rob them of theil
fair share of the glory won by our gallant
army while under your command.
With your assault upon the character o.
your "erratic brother" l shall not informed
die; but I must repel your charge that he
has been favored for being political deser
ter to "the true .faith'-for "signalizing his
apostacy by acceptable denunciations of one
to whom he had formerly professed (and
not without cause) the highest obligations. .
The reasons for not sending your charges
; against Brevet Major General Worth to the
court of inquiry, are set forth in my letter
of the 18th of January. regret that they
are so entirely unsatisfactory to you, but an
consoled with the assurance that they are il
: other quarters more favorably received
The errors of your commentary on M ieIte
have arisen from your Misrepresentation o
the text. The principle there laid down i
: of vital Importance to subordinate officers
0 and in no respect impairs the rights or til,
! authority of those in command. AS tn
!, principles which you arraign are the crea
T tiOns of your own fancy, and have no cOun
: tenance OF support from my letter, am il
: no way implicated by "the fatal consequen
9 ces you deduce from them. Whether legit
t innate or fanciful they do not disturb the pc
d sitions laid down in my letter,
i cannot, however, but regard your solici
tude for the support of discipline to be NOR
/ ostentatious than profound. When gen
:; eral at the head of an army of freemen, VIII
do not loose their rights as citizens by be
coming soldiers, sets up pretensions to die
> tatorial power-when he contemns the au
L thority of his government, and is muc
more ready to censure than to execute its OF
/ ders and instructions-when he delounce
o as an outrage and punishment the attemp
r to submit his acts, charged to be an ofene
e against subordinate officer, to an investiga
n ton in the mildest form-when he admins
y tiers an indignant repFoof to bis superior, 70
= unfolding tho sacred right to appeal, upo
d which depend the security and protection {
all under his command, such general sci
/ an example Of insubordinate conduct, (
IS wide and whitening influence upon SCUM
g military discipline.
It By extending my comments upon you
! letter, might multiply proofs to show tina
Q your accusations against the head OF tn
L War Department are unjust-that you
IT complaints are unfounded-that the design
o imputed by you to the government, to EN-
Is barrass your operations, impair your rlghttu
O. authority as commander, and to offer outrag
J. and insult to your feelings, are all the mer
st creations of a distempered fancy but to d
ic more than / have done, would, in my juds
l. ment, be a work of supererogation. In cor
lel clusion, I may be permitted to say, that, q
le one Of the Presidents advisers, had
e. fill share in the responsibility of the az
1t which assigned you to the command Of on
y armies in Mxieo. / felt interested, eve
1t more than naturally appertained to my of
@ cial position, that success and glory shoul
is lsignalize your operations. It was my dut
D. to bring to your aid the efficient -operatio
D. of the War Department.. I never had
r feeling that did not harmonic with the fu
le and fair diseharga Of this duty. kNOl1