Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1861-07-12
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND FRIDAY MORNING, JULY H. 1861

in such extreme tenderness Of the citi-
zens liberty that practically it relieves
more of the guilty than Of the innocent,
should to very limited extent be viola
ted !? To state the question more directly,
are all the laws but one to 60 unexccu-
ted, and the government itself go to
pieces less that one be violated?
Even in such case would not the
official oath be broken if the government
should be overthrown, when it was be-
lieved that disregarding the single law
would tend to preserve it? But it was
not believed that this question was pre-
sonted. 1t was not believed that any
law was violated
The provision of the constitution that
the privilege of the writ of habeas cor
pus shall not be suspended unless when,
in cases Of rebellion or invasion the public
safety may require, is equivalent to a
provision-is a provision thatsuch priv
ilege may be suspended when, in cases
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
does require it.
1t was decided that we have case of
rebellion, and that the public safety does
require the qualified suspension of the
writ which was authorized to be made.
Now it is insisted that Congress and not
the Executive is vested with this power
But the constitution itself is silent as
to which or who is to exercise the power f;
and as the provision was plainly made
for dangerous emergency, it cannot be
believed the trainers Of the instrument
!; intended that in every case the danger
should runits course until Congress could
be called together, the very assembling
of which might be prevented, as was in
} tended in this place, by the rebellion. -
No more extended argument is now Offer
ed, as an opinion of some length will
| probably be presented by the Attorney
General. Whether there shall be any
, legislation upon the subject, and if any,
what, is submitted entirely to the better
! judgment of Congress.
The forbearauce of this government
had been so extraordinary and so long
continued as to lead some foreign nations
to shape their action as If they supposed
J the carly destruction Of our national
Union was probable
While this, on discovery, gave the
Executive some concern, he is now hap
Ply to say that the sovereignty and rights
) of the United States are now every where
) practically respected by foreign powers,
and general sympathy with tie country
is manifested throughout the world
Ill., e Al. e Al.
, Treasury, War and Navy, will give the
information in detail deemed necessary
, and convenient for your deliberation and
, action; while the Executive and all the
r departments will stand ready to supply
omissions, or to communicate new facts
considered important for you to know.
, 1t is now recommended tbat you give
, the legal means for making this contest
] a short and decisive one that you place
at the control of goyernmentfor the work
: at least 400, 600 men and $500, 600, GOO.
! That number Of men is about one-tenth
! of those of proper ages within the re-
/ gions where apparently all are willing to
! engage and the sum is less than the 23d
part of the money value owned by the
men who seem ready to devote the whole
t A debt Of six hundred millions of dol
lars now is less sum per head than was
! the debt Of our revolution when we came
out of that struggle; and the money
: value in the country now bears even a
greater proportion to what it was then
/ than does the population. Surely each
man has as strong motive now to pre-
serve our liberties as each had then to
establish them.
A right result at this time will be
worth more to tho world than ten times
the men and ten times the money. The
evidence reaching us from the country
leaves no doubt that the material for the
work is abundant, and that it needs only
the hand of Legislation to give it legal
sanction, and the hand of the Executive
to give it practical shape and efficiency
One Of tho greatest perplexities Of the
government is to avoid receiving troops
faster than it can provide for them. In
a word, the people viii save their gov
ernment if tho government itself will
do its part only indifIerently well.
\ II might seem at first thought TO be
of little difference whether the present
movement at the South be called seees-
sion or rebellion. The movers, however,
well understood the difference At the
beginning they knew they could never
raise their treason to any respectable
magnitude by any name which implies
gtoiafion of law. They knew their pco-
pie possessed as much Of moral sense,
and as much of devotion to law and or
der, and as much pride in and reverence
for the history and government Of their
common country, as any other civilized
and patriotic people. They knew they
could make no advancement directly IN
the teeth Of these stronga and noble senti-
ments, accordingly they commenced BY \
an insidious debauching Of the public
mind. They invented an injurious So
phism, which, IL conceded, was followed
bYSerfcetly logical steps through oil the
incidents to the complete destruction of
tho Union. The sophism itself is that
any State Of the Union may consistently
with tho national constitution, and there
fore lawfully and peacefully, withdraw
I from the Union without the consent 0i
the Union or Of any other State
The little disguise that the supposed
right is to be exercised only for just
cause, themselves to be the sole judge Of
4 its justice, is too thin to merit any notice.
With rebellion thus sugar-coatcd; they
J have been druggug the public mind Of