Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-07-13
THE NORTHERN PRESS ON THE
MESSAGE

TuE vonTBERy PRESS ON TIER
N MESSAGE
TIE absurdities contained in the late mes
sage Of Mr. LINCOLN, and the moastrosities Of
the doctrines therein inculeated, have aroused
a portion Of the northern press to a proper
sense Of the dangers in,o which this Repubii-
can administration is leading them and the
country. They regard its doctrines as more
dangerous than old federalism itself; and not
withstanding the restraints universally put
upon free speech in the North, the few papers
from that section we occasionally see cannot
help speaking out on this question.
As an instance, the Cincinnati Engaircr, Of
the 10.h instant, has an article on the message,
from which we take tbe.foliowing extracts:
We do not think it necessary to irdorse Mr..
Iincoin's views Of the constitution lB order to
be a patriot, but, on the contrary, We consider
every patriot bound to d]enCUuce them. stand
ing BY YOUR country and supporting its nag IN
time Of war is enc thing ana supporting every
measure Of the administration and approving
its %nolilical sentiments is another and very
different thing. We are for the former with all
cur heart and all our soul, but Of the latter We
entertain the views we have expressed TOT
many years. Four-ffths Of the brave soldiers
now in Virginia fighting for tue Union and
constitution are Democrats who DO not approve
of Mt. LincOln's sentiments, wh.le, Ike MS,
they will obey his powers and Feco-n'ze ais
lust authority as president or tse country.
Fer sixty wears the school Of party politics
known as ola federalism has been a term OF
oDprobinm with the American neopie A
I cbs-ra of ever having favored or embraced It,
has baAn. If not dlsproved, a bar 70 all hope OF
n1r.Iar favor. The federalists were honest in
fbeir p~oliticaI sentiments; they were headed Icy
MANY excellent and patriotic men,, but their
i3aas Of government and Of the American
{ constitution made them ssmi-monarchists and
hapce the dislike Of true Americans for them
Tbev were soon turned ont Of the administra-
tion Of affairs with every marx OF public dis
/ approvaI. and have hardly been seen in power
since 1901, and then only by cheating and
1 deepivinE the people as to their intentions.
Now, however, we, have a president, Abra-
ham Lincoln, who is a far holder and more au-
/ dacious Disciple OF the old Federal school tDan
even John Adams or Alexander Hamilton. In
his message he eRUnciates sentiments that 60
far beyond them; and, If they are allowed to
/ control this government, we shall have an iron
and central despo.ism. There is not a man
who is attached to the political sentiments Of
Mr. JefsTson-wbo believes in bis theory of
State rights, strict construction Of the consti-
tuition and popular liberty, who has a bit Of
Democracy In p s compositiop-who can read
some parts OF Mr.. Lincoin's message, without
boiling with anger s1d Indignation, TO see the
time bonoFbd principles Of our government so
misrrpresented. We see The PRECEDENT claim
ing the power which no English king would
dare 70 exercise, viz the right tG suspend the
great writ Of personal liberty, called h1beaS
CORPUS, BY which men may he thr0wn and kept
in dungeons without any authority eXceptthat
OF arbitrary caprice. Hear him:
"Now it is insisted that congress, and not
the executive, is vested with this power. Bat
the Constitution Itself is silent as to which Of
who is to exercise the power"
Surely ie the president had ever read the
Constitution be would have noticed that The
privilege Of suspeuding The wris Ct habeas cor
pus is put in the section OF the Constitution
which defines the powers Of congress or which
limits them. The Constitution says:
"The principle Of the writ Of habeas corpus
shall To- be suspended unless when in cases Of
rebellion or invasion, the public safety may re-
quire ito
Following this comes another section:
." No bill Of attainder or er post factO law
shall be passed
Other references to laws Of congress imme-
diately follow, which show that The trainers Of
the Constitution clothed congress alone with
the power to suspend the writ Of kabsas CORPUS.
II las DEFl 10 I11itlhttF LtLlAcN " Tue lrEE
and the present Chief Justice Of the United
States. The case is too clear for argument:
We 90 further and insist that there was no
necessity for the suspension Of the babeas cor
pEs in those cases where Il was suspended.
The arrests could have been made in the
usual form and under the usual process Of
law.
The president has The sf5ontery to tell Us
that there l. no such thing as State sovereignty
on1 CAako wf-hEa CheI0u 81 TpHs~1~vF rF
Madisorl is not ttis enough to cause You to
turn in ysur collins? We have noticed for
sometime that this outrageous nduBjustiha5le
effort at secession upon TIE part Of some OF
the States was to be made the pretext for
destroying all State rights; bat still the bold
ness Of the president slarties rs. It is akin to
bis brilliant idea, in his indianapolis speech,
that States are nothing more than counties, so
far as sovereignty is concerned.
Nov. we yield TO no one in love or devotion
to The Union. T. has been the aim of our life
TO make it perpetual, and we shall ever stand
By it with unfaiiiBg fidelity. But with the
Union there are also State rights and State
sovereignty that have never been parted with,
and 10 them We owe an cur liberties. The
ignorance CT the president in reference to the
formation OF The government and Of its true
principles is amusing. It is evident that when
be confessed, in bis speech At Pittsburg, that
he did not understands the tariff question, but
should study it after be became president, be
should have given US 2 similr pledge in refer
euce to the constitution. HIS argument that
there is no State sovereignty, because a State
has rot all power, proves too much, The na-
tioBai government is restricted and confined in
its execution; therefore it is not sovereign by
the sans rule.
Toe New York Times, Republican, speaks
in the following terms Of the general merits Of
TIE message:
Iii common TO herald a presidents mes
sage to the world as an important document.
And often it is so. But never was q message
less important than the one transmitted yes
terday 10 congress By President Lincoln, Of
which q report will be found in the Tines to
day, although the occasion is the most extra
ordinary that ever occurred in our country for
The writing Of a message. The telegraph, OF
some strange fate that presided in the trans
mission ard reprint Of the document, has APP
pareutlY cojncided in this view Of its value,
for never before have We had a more painful
tumble from which 10 extract the pith and
meaning, the statement and sequence Of a State
paper.