Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1861-11-22

contract to be binding between the re-
naming parties, or attempted to enforce
its execution. The Constitution requires
positively that each State shall have at
least one representative in Congress, but
now twelve States have none; that each
State shall have two Senators. but now
twelve States have none that all duties,
imposts and excuses shall be uniform
throughout the United States, but now
in more than one-third of them none are
or can be collected. Commerce cannot
be regulated between the respective
States. Uniform rules of naturalization
and bankruptcy cannot be adopted. Post
Offices and post-roads, in nearly half the
States, have been given up, and a prefer
ence is given to the ports Of one State
over those of another. Even the cleo
ton Of a President has become impossi-
BILE. The Constitution is mandatory on
all the States to appoint electors, and re-
quires a majority of the latter to elect |;
but more than one-thrd of the States re-
fuse to appoint, and hence no election
can be made by the people. 1.-THE cleo
ton goes to the House Of Representatives
the Constitution requires that at least
two-thirds of the States shall be repre-
sented in that body. The Constitution
can no longer be amended for it re-
qnires three-fourths of the States to con-
cur, and more than one-third Of the
States have Withdrawn from the Confede-
racy. All the safeguards provided for
by the States in the instrument, still
farther to secure public and personal IL
berty, have been destroyed The three
departments of the Federal Government,
which were carefully separated and their
boundaries defined, have been merged
into one, and the President, sustained by
a great army, Yields unlimited power.
The exemption of persons from arrest
without JUDICIAL warrant, the right Of a
citizen to have his body brought before a
judge to determine the legality Of his
Imprisonment, the security provided
against searches and seizure without
warrant er law, the sanctity Of the home,
the trial b jury, the freedom Of speech
and of the ress--these and every other
precious right which our fathers sup
posed they hal locked up in the Consti-
tuition have been torn from it and buried
beneath the heel of military power. The
States made the Constitution, placed rieid
boundaries around that Government, aud
expressly reserved to themselves all
powers not delegated. They did not
delegate to the Federal Government the
power to destroy them-yet the creature
has set itself above the creator. The
atrocious doctrine is announced by the
President and acted upon that the States
derive their power from the Federal Co
yernment, and may be suppressed on any
pretence Of military necessity. The
gallant little State Of Maryland has been
utterly abolished. Missouri is engaged
in a heroic struggle to preserve her ex-
istence and to throw off the horrors Of
martial law proclaimed by subordinate
military commander. Everywhere the
civil has given way to the military power
The fortresses of the country are filed
with victims seized without warrant Of
law, and ignorant Of the cause of their
imprisonment.
The Legislators of States, and other
public officers, are seized while in the dis
charge Of their official duties, taken be-
You'd the limits Of their respective States
and imprisoned in the forts Of the Fcde-
raj Government. A subscrvient Con
gress ratiies the usurpations Of the Pre-
sident, and proceeds to complete the de-
struction of the Constitution. History
will declare that the annals of legislation
DO not contain laws so infamous as those
enacted at the last session. They sweep
away every vestige Of public and personal
liberty, while they confscate the proper
ty Of nation containing ten millions Of
people. In the House Of Representatives
it was declared that the South should be
reduced to abject submission, or their
institutions be overthrow. In the Sc.
nate it was said that. If necessary, the
South should be depopulatcd and re.
peopled from the North, and an eminent
Senator expressed desire that the Pre-
sident should be made dictator. This
was snperhuous, since they had already
clothed him with dictatorial powers. In
the midst Of these proceedings, no plea
for the Constitution is listened to in the
North here and there few heroic voices
are fcebly heard protesting against the
progress Of despotism, but, for the most
part, beyond the military lines, mobs and
anarchy rule the hour
The great mass Of the Northern people
seem anxious to sunder every safeguard
Of freedom; they eagerly offer to the 90
verDment what no European monarch
would dare to demand The President
and his Generals are unable to pick up
the liberties Of the people MS rapidly rs
they ore thrown at their feet. The
world will view with amazement this
sudden and total overthrow Of a Consti-
tuition which, if respected, might have
been the boast aud safeguard of the Unit
cd States for many generations When
the historian comes to Investigate the
cause Of this result, he will record the
fact that no department Of the Federal
Government has ever exhibited n case of
aggression by the Southern States upon
their Northern associs,cg, ard be viii