Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1861-07-10

sented. 1t was not believed that any
law was violated. The provision of the
Constitution being that the privilege Of
the haJeas corpus shall not be suspended
except in cases Of rebellion or invasion
the public safety does require it, it was
decided that we have case of rebellion,
qualified suspension of the privilege 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 rs to which OF who is TO usurp the
power, and as the provision was plainly
made for dangerous emergency, it cam
not be believed that the trainers OF the
instrument intended that in every case
the danger should run its course until
Congress should be called together, the
very assembling of which might be pre-
vented, as was intended in this case by
the rebellion. No more extended argu-
ment is now afforded, as an opinion at
some length will probably be presented
by the Attorney General. Whether
there shall be any legislation en- the sub
iect, and ifso, what, is submitted entirely
to the better judgement Of Congress.
The forbearance of this Government
has been so extraordinary and so long
continued as to lead some fore en- nations
to 81 ape their action as if they supposed
the early destruction of our National
Union was probable. While this, on
discovery, gave the Executive some con-
Germ he is now happy to say that the
sovereignty and rights Of the United
States are now practically respected by
foreign powers, and general sympathy
with the tie government is manifested
throughout the world.
The Reports Of the Secretaries of the
Treasury, War and Navy, will give the
information in detail deemed necessary
and convenient for your action, while
the Executive and Departments will stand
ready to supply omissions, or to cominu-
nicate new facts considered important
for you to know. 1t is now recommended
that You give the legal means for making
this contest short and decisive one; that
YOU place ut the control of the Govern
ment for the work at least 100000 men
and 100000, 900. That number of
men is about one-tenth of those ofproper
ages within the regions where appa
rently all are willing to engage, and the
sum is less than the twentv-third part Of
the meney value owned by the men who
seem ready to devote the whole. 49,.
A debt of six hundred million dollars now.
is a 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
bears even greater proportion. Surely, each
man has as strong motive now to preserve
our Liberties as each had then t. establish them.
A right result at this time Will be worth more
to the world than ten times the men and ten
times the money. The evidence reaching US
from the country, leaves no doubt that the ma
terial for the work is abundant, that it needs
only the hand of legislation 10 give it sane
ton and the hand OF the Executive to give it
practical shape and efficiency. One of the
greatest perplexties of the Government is to
avoid receiving troops faster than it can pro-
vide for them In word, the people will save
the Government if the Government will do it's
part only in difficulty well. ..-
1t might seem at first thought to be
of little difference whether the present
movement ut the South be called secess-
ion or rebellion. The movers, however,
well understand the difference. They
knew at the beginning they could never
raise their cause to any respectable mag
nitude by any name which implies viola
ton Of law. They knew their people
possessed as much devotion to law and
order, as mucl pride anil reverence for
their history and tie government Of their
country as any other civilized, patriotic
people They knew they could make no
advancement directly in the teeth Of these
strong and noble sentiments. They ac-
cordingIy commenced by an industrious
debauching of the public mind. They
invented an ingenious sophism, which,
conceded, was followed by perfectly log
ical steps through all the incidents Of tie
complete destruction of the Union. The
sophism itself is that any State of the I'm
ion may, consistently with the nations
Constitution, and therefore lawfully and
peacefully, withdrew from the Union
without the consent of the Union or of
any other State. A little disguise, that
the supposed right is to be exercised only
for Just cause, themselves to be sole judg-
es, of its justice, is too thin to merit any
notice. With rebellion thus sugar-coat-
ed, they have been drugging the minds
of their sections for more than thirty
years, until at length they have brought
many good men to a willingness to take
up arms against the Government, the day
after some assemblage of men have en-
acted the farce of taking their State out
of the Union, who could have been
brought to no such thing the day before.
This sophism derives much, perhaps the
whole, of its currency from the assump-
ton that there is some omnipotent and
sacred supremacy pertaining to each State
of our Federal Union. Our States have
neither more nor less power than that
reserved to them IN the Union by the
Colstitutio,, no one Of them ever having
been State out Of the Union.S The orr
ginal ones passed into the Union. even
before they cast off their British depend
e-,ce, and the new ones came with sthe
Union directly from condition Of de-
pendence, excepting Texas, and even