The Placer herald. [volume] (Auburn, Placer County, Calif.) 1855-1991, 1861-06-29
From the N. Y. Journal of Commerce.l
Can the Army and Navy be employed,
Constitutionally against State.

Can the Army and Navy be employed,
Constitutionally against State.
question well worth the attention Of a
free people, is brought up by the present
crisis. 1t is this-what are the legitimate
uses to which the Army an Navy may be
put! The Republicans insist that President
Buchanan, by strongly reinforcing the
Southern forts just after the Pres dental
election, might have prevented the whole
secession movement. How2 Would his
military forces have nterfered directly to
prevent the holding of elections or Conven.
tons of the people, Hardly. Would they
have dispersed the Conventions? We pre-
sumo no one would advocate such an appi
cation Of military force. Would they have
surrounded the Convention, and by threats,
either in words or in dumb show, have pre-
vented the members from voting for seces-
sion! If in none of these ways how then
would the military forces have prevented Sc
cession?
The essence of the secession movement
was the ordinance whereby, under the same
forms as those by which they accepted the
Constitution of the United states, the PEG
pie Of State claimed to have thrown off
that Constitution. Bv this ordinance what:
ever we may here think of ii, the State
government, in all its departments, Executive,
| Legislative and Judicial, felt itself bound.
! The secession ordinance had the same effect
! in the seeded States AS q new State Con-
stituion, ordained here by the people oil
New York, would have among US. Every
one and everything conform, in such case
| 10 Iva. e, Loo. lofi G
judicial decisions, the public action OF execi
utve officers, the private conduct OF indi'
viduals. Very different, this, ON an insur-
reclon, however extensive, of indiv iduals
not organized or recognized as government,
and who therefore have not with them but
against them, the overs OF government,
! the executive the laws and the courts
Here lies the difficulty of the case; that
our General Government acts upon individ
uas only, and has no lawful power to act
upon State Governments This, CHAT it acts
upon in!i,iduals) is the great distinction
between HE present government and the old
act only upon States and in no case directly
upon individual citizens. While then, be
fore secession, there WAS no lawful excuse
for using force against individual s-after
secession i, was impossible to get at individ-
ual citizens except by first putting down the
State government in all its departments, ex-
eruli e, legislative and judicial The ma
chipery whereby the General Government
could reach individuals was gone; its Judges,
Its Marshals all its legal machinery. The
only antagonist in presence Of the General
Government, was the State; State cannot
be taken bv writ, tried in Court for treas
on, nor put to death by Judicial warrant;
and there can be found no authority for the
General Government using the Army and
Navy in making war against State govern
ment.
The right to make war upon delinquent
State WAS claimed under The old Contedera
tion although never exercised. The Con
federation being II mere league of States,
the only means of enforcing compliance
with the terms Of that league, were the
same means us one nation always has of
enforcing compliance with treaty made
between it and another nation, to wit, war.
There was no way provided, by which the
Confederation could reach the individual
citizens of "a Safe through legal procc S.
By the present Constitution we gave up this
remedy OF war against a State, and substi
tu,ed for it the remedy of legal process
from the General Government direct to in
divlual citizens. If the new remedy fail in
any case, tina, gives us not the slightest right
to 90 ba k to the remedy we gave up.
llear Mr.. Webster, in his speech on the
Fore. Bill:
Thn ,l,i tn 10 fha Tor fol.
Grafton by regular government; because, under
the Confederation. Congress had power only to
make acquisitions on States and If States declin-
ed compliance, as they did, there was no remedy
but war against such delinquent States 1t would
seem, from Mr.. Jefferson's correspondence in 1856
and 1887, that he was Of opinion that even this
remedy ought to be tried He suggests that II
single frigate would soon levy, The commerce
of delinquent State. the deficiency of its cOntr-
button. But this would be war; and it was evident
that a Conledcracy could not long hold together,
which should be at war with it's members. The
Constitution was adopted to avoid this necessity.
1t was adopted. that there might be Government
which should act directly on Individuals
lie also quotes from Samuel Johnston, Of
Connecticut, (when urging the ratification OF
the Constitution by that State loprove that
this was the grea, distinctive feature of the
new Government, as follows:
1.-The Convention saw this mperfecton, that in
attempting TO legislate for States in their polit-
cal capacity, the coercion Of law can be exercised
by nothing but "a military force. The Constitu-
tion vests in the General Legislature a power to
make laws in matters of national concern; to APP
point judges to decide upon these laws; and to
appoint officers to carry them into execution
This excluded the idea Of armed force. The pow
or which is to enforce these laws is to be legal
power, vested in proper magistrates. The force
which is to be employed is the energy of lar; and
this force is to operate only upon individudls."
Mr.. Webster also quotes, to the same ef-
feet, Oliver Ellsworth:
1--WE see how necessary for the Union is a coer-
Give principle No man pretends the contrary