The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-06-17
PRICE TWO CENTS.
sTrER FROM EX-GOVERNOR c. S. MORE


. LEI TER FROM S, EX-GOVERNOR c. S. MORE
~ , HEAD, OF KENTUCKY
10 me Ed'fors Of the Louisville Journal:
, Uentlemen:-ln your paper of the 23J instant
YOU copy the extract of letter from the Frank
, lo't 1e'"'' IN winch is contained the following
paragraph: 81 saw Governor Morebaad to a., - ,
returned from the South He is tba r,o,' It Iuo'
Southern Rights man have seen" And van I'D
"GOvernor MOrehead, believe ia nov ot -
h@me in this vicinity and can speak for himself y
Although the statement in the above paraprorb
may be considered by a charge sufficiently
grave to require an answer, sm constrained to
admit that | am, and have all my life been, a
Southern Rights man. | have labOred honestly
and faithfully to secure the enjoyment of those
rights against the fanatical aggressiOns of those
who have madly brought the country to its present
depl0rabe condition.
H ad the wise and moderate and just propositions
of venerable and distinguished Senator, Mr..
Crittenden, been promptly accepted by the North,
there are but few who can doubt that we would
now have been a united and happy people. They
were however, almost unanimously repudiated BY
the Black Republican party. Still the lovers Of
the Union did not despair. Seven slaveholding
States withdrew from the URion and formed gov
ernment of their Kentucky, ever loyal and
devoted to the stars and stripes, with unparalleled
unanimity of sentiment, declared herself Upposed
to coercion. My own opinions and feelinps we're
thoroughly in accordance with hers and so pub-
liSy expressed In the most emphatic terms in
auufcSS 10 tne members OF the I4egSla ture
Alter this, was unanimously elected as n deIa-
gate to the Peace Conference, where I exerted
whatever power or Influence | could bring to bear
tor the settlement OF the distractinp ouastions
which were c0nvulsing and dividing the country
My course In that convention was the occasion of
another address before the members of the Lapis-
lature, the substance Of which was published and
aid before the people of Kentucky The resolu-
tons of the Peace Conference, distssteful AS some
OF them were to many Southern men, were more
so to the Black Republicans in power These reso-
lutons, though the very best that we could obtain
but not by any means what we desired them tn h.
fell stil-born Congress would not even take them
up Tor consideration. Still we were assured tn :
there was deep and constantly increasing feeling
OF conservatism in the North, which would over
| ride all the Black Republican influence and olive
us every guaranty necessary to our security and
safety. We took an appeal from the politicians Mt
washington 20 the people OF the North, and trusted
to the conservative element to do US Justice
South Carolina was at that time bringing all her
batteries to bear on Fort Sumter and makinr the
most vigorous prepara atons for an assault This
was perfectly well understood in Congress A bill
was introduced in the House to give the President
the power to call out tie militia and volunteers
without limitation in number,t to suppress the insur
rectlon and execute the laws. 1t was well under
stood that the passage of this bill would have been
the signal Tor the breaking up of the Peace Confer
ence without action 1t was accordingly indef
nteiy postponed. Mr.. Lincoln came into mower
immediately alter this refusal of Congress to pass
any law Tor coercion, or for the collection of the
| that he was in favor of Withdrawing the troops
from Fort Sumter, to preserve the peace of the
| country. He knew well that any attempt IN suc
cor that fort would inevitably lead to collision
ana result IN ruinous and devastating civil war
am informed, and believe, that a cabinet order
was made to evacuate the fort but that letters from
| the radical wing of the party poured in from thn
North, and the cabinet again assembled and the
| order was changed or modified. He then imua
| diately commenced his warlike preparations Ua
believed that the order TO withdraw the troops
| would disarm his party in the North and on the
other hand that collision at Sumter would unite
the entire North. To prevent the conservatives in
| the North from triumphng over his divided party
! he and his cabinet were willing to iuaugurate a
| tratrlcldal war, bringing desolation and ruin on
ooth sections. am not now defending South
Carolina or her action. Having Withdrawn from the
| Union either by secession revolution and mean
ing to maintain her action at all hazards she of
course would not allow Sumter to remain in the
| hands of her enemies. Her great fault and what
we have complained of, the original act of
secession. Her ulterior action seemed to be ne
cessary consequence of that. But whether that
Interior action was right or wrong. agree wi h
| you, Messrs. Editors, most cordially in the com
demnation and reprobation of the proclamation of
| the 18th of April last, to which it gave rise
i =
| But this proclamation had something like the
semblance of law to authorize it. The act of Con-
gress of the 28th of February, 1885, authorizes him
to call out the militia Of the States when the eye
| cution of the laws is obstructed by combinations
| too powerful to be suppressed by the ordipar,
course OF Judicial proceedings. The use of the mil
itia is, however, limited to three months and can
not extend beyond thirty days after the commence
ment of the next session of Congress If NOTHING
else, this shows that the law has placed this whole
subject in the hands of Congress- and that tho po,
ident can only act where it is not or has n1,t ha
in the power of Congress to act 1t is known thai
these compinatlons existed during nearly the hole
period the last Congress was in session. vet not one
step was taken looking to a cOercve policy How
far he has the power to attempt to suppress combi
nations which were in existence when Conpress was
| in session. and which have still continued II is nm
necessary now TO discuss Another proclamation
was issued on the 18th of April, in which after ra
citing that letters of maruue were Threatened
by the seeding States, he deems it advisable to set
on foot blockade of the ports in the States afore
said, in pursuance OF the laws of the United States
and the dtUs Of nations in such case provided and
concludes by declaring such privateers pirates
| II there be the semolance of authority for this
movement by the most attudnarian construction
OF the powers OF a constitutional President | have
been unable to perceive il. 1t is a gross and nal
| pabe violation of the Constitution and wanton
usurpation of power. Ia the time Of South Caro-
lima nuifcation it said by the friends of Prasi
dent jackson and the papers in his interests tba+
| he would put IL down by blockadng the mort of
| Charleston, and Mr.. Webster, in aludinr to those
reports in his speech at Worcester, Mass, said
| 'The President has no authority to blockads
Charleston; the President has no authority to e,o
| ploy military force, till he shall be duly REQUIRED
so to do by law and by the civil authorities .
The fame OF Mr.. Webster has in no small degree
| been enhanced by his unanswerable sroumant
against notification, yet as a constitutional LAWYER
he proclaimed that the President had no authority
to blockade Charleston, and he aided in passing the
force bill, limited to two years, to enable him to
do it. The law Of 1885 cOniers upon the President
| his only power to act in case like the present
and that law scrutinized and criticized by the
fathers of the Republic, and framed with such eau.
Ous wisdom as to prevent its being greatly abused
| even in the hands of wicked President.
Under this uSurpatiOn of guthnritv ha is nou
| interfering with the commerce of ioyal States.
| while stating in his proclamation of AnriI I5Ib
hat ms hrSt oplect VIII be to rePossess the property
| and places belonging to the United States he i
daily preventing supplies of food to the hepless
women and children and slaves of the Snrth in
order that under the desperation of starvation the
| slaves may be excited to servile insurrection The
deusion that they be thus starved is wonderful
but the criminaiy of the motive is not the less ON
| that account, the act itself less despotic Hay
ing thus violated the Constitution he seems to have
lost sight of every restriction upon his power and
afterwards acted in utter defiance of its most sacred
provisions. The Constitution gives to Congress
alone the power "t0 raise and support armies" ="
| Our fathers justly Jealous of placing in
any manner whatever, power like this in
| the hands of man. The friends of the
Constitution, in urging its adoption, pointed to
this clause as conclusive evidence of safe
| division of power. Colonel George Nicholas
| who member of the Virginia Convention
which adopted the Constitution of the United
States, and who afterwards removed to Kentucky,
declared that "the most etfectual guard which has
vet been discovered against the abuse of power is
the division of it," "But," said be, emo constitu.
iOn affords any real security to liberty unless it is
considered as sacred and preserved inviolate; be-
cause that security can only arise from an actual
and not from nominal limitation and division of
| power" In the great contest between the elder
| Adams and Jefferson, the same distinguished gen
| teman publ he'd letter to a friend in Virginia
which extensively circulated in which he sr-
ragned the policy of Mr.. Adams, and of the Con
gress under him, for the passage of the military
bill by which the power was transferred to the Pre-
sdent, in the event of declaration of war, of
invasion by f0rign power, to raise 00G0 regu-
lar troops and indefinite number of volun-
teers. He considered the law unconstitutional be
cause the President made the sole Judge of the
| necessity of raising this army.
Yet Mr. Lincoln, in third proclamation dated
May Sd, auding to the immediate exigencies by
which he surrounded calls into the service of
the United States AZ ,334 volunteers to serve for
period of three years, unless sooner discharged,
and also directs that the regular army of the United
States be increased by the addition of eight regi-
ments of infantry of cavalry and one of artil-
lery, making altogether a maximum aggregate in
crease of %, ia officers and enlisted men. He fur
ther directs the enlistment for not less than one or
more than three years of Is 900 seamen in addition
to the present forces for the naval service of the
United States. Thls power belongs alone and alb
soutely to Congress, and there is no law in exist
attempting to transfer it to the President 1t
is an open and shameless disregard of one of the
palnest and most sacred and vital provisions of the
Constitution. Where is the use of swearing Presi-
dent to support that Instrument fit can be thus
trampled under foot, and rank usurpation, which
is despotsm reared in its place? The only extenua-
tion have seen offered, is the plea of necessity
Can it be necessary break down the barriers of
the Constitution in order to preserve it inviolate?
Mr. Madison, who has been justly called the Faith |
or of the Constitution has furnished the best an.
Al. Ia far In nd