Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-03-22


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lenge, and Cor nothing else, every man with
half an eye in his head has long since compre-
hended.A Not knowing sufficient of the laws |
and regulations governing the action of the |
courts-martial we cannot venture an opinion az |
to the finding Of the court. The Secretary Of |
War, however, in such cases, is required to be |
governed by his own sense of justice and pro-
priety; and in this instance he has, indeed.
nobly INDICATED his devotion to both propriety |
and justice
THE SUMNER COURT MARITAL We have al
ready stated that Col. Sumner was ACC uitted by
the Cou Martial upon every specification of ev- !
cry charge preferred against him. II will he
seen by the Army Order, which we publish in
another column, that the War Department disap-
proves OF this finding Of the Court Martial and
assigns sundry reasons therefor. The Secretary
OF w ar quotes cases to show that the mere farm
OF the letter alleged to be a challenge is not ma.
terial and that, If any officer is allowed without
Teprimand, to send to his superior such letters as
those sent by Col. Sumner to General Harney
there would be an end to military discipline
view Of the case
The Court Martial seems to have been governed
10y strict tschnicaities aud decided the case ac-
cOrdlngly. The War Department is not fcttered
Ivy such restrictions, and acts upon the substan-
| tial merits of the case. Both are, undoubtedly,
right
twill be observed that, although the finding
OF this Court is disapproved new one is or
dered On the contrary, Colonel Sumner is dis
duty with the Utah Army. Personally there
fore, he is not the sufferer by this reversal of the
| finding of the Court Martial
The TRAITORS TO THE DEMOcRAcY-The
Northern papers are many of them discussing
the political future of the recent deserters from
the Democratic cause. We see nothing in the
complimentary comments Of the journals of the
Republican party leading US to believe that
their organization design displacing their own
leaders to make places for the absqu atuators
No hope is entertained by Democrats here that
they will consent to occupy hereafter the posi-
tons in the Democratic party that must inevi-
tably be theirs if they come back to their late
| political affiliations Their armed hands have
been for months past actively engaged against
the Democracy-fghtingm moro venOmously than
any members of the avowcd opposition. To
accede to their demands that they be permitted
to dictate an entire surrender by the Democracy
of the rights of the South under the Constitu-
ton, as tho condition on which they will cease
towar for the Republican party, is price that
cannot be paid to reclaim them nominally. In
| deed, it is certain that after their late course
| their reclamation must lie but nominal The
gulf between them and the Democracy is there
fore hourly widening, instead of closing They
have-as did the followers of Van Buren, in
lS4S-stakfd their every hope upon defeatiag
the Democracy in the approaching Presidential
election, and are now engaged in efforts to in
1 a ocs A.
bers of the House to conspire with them for the
elevation of abolitionism to power in the Gen
eral Government, under the specious pretence
that it is I" nationality"
A QUEER CHARGE.-It seems that, because
Mr.. Nichols, of Ohio, declined becoming a
party to the late very dirty, disreputable and
dcfamatory effort to detraet from the standing
OF his colleague, Mr.. Burns by which the pro-
ceedlngs of the House were dsgraced not long
since, sundry Republican party papers are as
severating that he is not faithful Republican
party man. Of course we cannot reasonably
object to the standard by which they thus as
sumo to measure what constitutes Republican
partyism-that q member of Congress, to be
true to the Republican party, must ignore
truth, justice, decency and common sense in
his personal conduct towards his political op-
ponents. Yet it certainly does strike US that
the Hon. Mr.. Nichols in all other Republican
party essentials, passes among his compeers
hereby and through the influence of his votes
and political (rather than personaD questions
as being about as staunch a Republican Con-
| gressional partisan as the House holds.
| Our opinion is that nine-tenths of the Re-
publicans in Congress repudate this new Ohio
newspaper test of Republican party;sm-this
dirty, disreputable test-as Indignantly as Mr..
Nichols did in the Burns case.
| AN IMPORTANT SPEEcH.-We have found
time to read the speech of Mr.. James Barbour.
delivered few days ago in the Virginia House
of Delegates, (at the existing called session, }
| upon tho Internal Improvement question, now
agitating the people of the good old Common
wealth. 1t covers well nigh two pages of the
| Richmond Enquirer, and as an act of STATES
manship it would have graced the repu tation of
the most famous Virginia statesman of any age:
for it is learned, clear conclusive and patriotic
and lives quite up to the requirement. of the
sound spirit Of the times 1t will make the best
possible handbook of the industrial condition of
Firgnia-of her resources, prospects and en-.
| tcrprises as they now exst-and will therefore
| probably be extensively republished out of the
limits of the State We are especially gratfed
with it, because it embraces an assurance that
the Barbours of these times, as public men, are
not whit behind the time-honored historical
fathers of the blood, in any element of public
usefulness.
COURT MARTIAL ORDERED.-The War De.
partment has just issued an order mo. AZ, az
| follows
" BY direction Of the President of the limited
states, general Court Martial will assemble At
Newport Barracks, Ky, at IL O'Clock, a. m. on
after as practicable, for the trial of Breyet Major
General Daniel E. Twiggs, U S. "A