The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1860-12-19
Attorney General Black on the
Crisis,

Judge Black, Attorney General OF the
United States, hiss written long letter to
the President, giving bis opinion upon the
right and expediency OF cOercing seeding
State. As the Judge occupies the position
of law expouuder for the position OF the
National Government, his opinion is a mat
Ter of much interest. The following ab'
strsct gives its tenor and leading points:
The Attorney General of the United
States has furnished the President with his
official opinion upon the questions OF law in
volved in the present State OF affairs in the
South, and the course of action TO be pursu
ed by the President in the event OF a coils
ion on the part of the Central Government
with the authorities OF South Carolina or
any other State. The opinion is elaborate.
The Attorney General does not think that
the will of State can absolVe its people
from allegiance to the just and constitutional
requirements of Central Government, nor
can any act of the Central Government dis.
place the jurisdiction OF State. Its laws
are supreme and binding only so far os they
ere passed in pursuance OF the Constitution.
The duty of the President is only to execute
the law to the letter as il is written. We
have no common law to fall back upon when
the written law is defective. In the collec-
tion of customs or revenues, he has partic.
ulur method pointed out for him to adopt,
and if the machinery furnished by Congress
for the collection OF duties should become
so deranged or broken up that il could not
be used, there would be no legal reason for
substituting different kind of machinery in
it's place. The Government is the owner of
the public lands end national property, and
the Attorney General thinks the President
will be justified in taking such measures as
he msy deem necessary Tor their protection.
II had the right of keeping exclusive pos.
session and repeling intrusion, and could
take its property rom any power by force,
as was the case at Harper's Ferry, in 1869,
when the United States forces took the ar.
senal from John Brown. By the net of 1907
the President is empowered to employ such
parts OF the land and naval force as he shall
judge necessary for the purpose Of causing
the laws to be duly executed. On the Pre-
sideDt alone devoIves the responsibility of
deciding whether the eXigencY demands the
use of military force, and in the exercise OF
this power he should be careful not to over.
tip his autho ity. A military force can
only be called into the field when other
means are found to be useless. Even then
its operation must be purely defensive, and
can only be used to repel an assault on the
public property, and aid the courts in The
performance OF their duty. In the event oil
the retirement of State from the Uaion,
the action Of the President must not depend
upon the rightfulness of the cause upon
which such declaration is based. He cannot
recognize her independence or ab:olve her
from her Federal Obligations. This is a
matter for Congress or a convention of the
States. He must see that the laws are duly
executed, acting generally upon the assump.
tion that the present constitutional relations
between the State and the Federal Govern.
mcnt still exist. W.r, therefore, is only
necessary to X,Cu;e the laws, suppress ia.
surrections. ogtinSt the States, and to repel
the Invasion of State by enemies. 1t was
never calculated "to form more perfect
uuicn, establish justice, Insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty 10 OURSELVES and our
poste!i;y." Military force would be PERM
cious as means Of holding the States to
gether. The right of the Government to
protect its property, does not warrant it in
furnishing the political misdeeds Of people.
The States ore colleagues, and to conquer or
subjugate one of them would be to destroy
the theory of our Union. The Attorney
General thinks that the Union must utterly
perish at the moment when Congress shall
arm one part of the people agninst no:her
for any purpose beyond that Of merely pro-
tectiDg the General Government in the tx.
ercise of its proper constitutional functions.