The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-08-29


1t is sometimes great aid TO the best UNDER
standings to reduce things to their naked sienif-
cation in plain and common words. Geperaliies
and loose phrases are the masks behind which
designing men perpetually conceal their batteries
Of false doctrine. 1t occurs 10 us, therefore, as
eminently useful to put into precise and formal
language some Of the theories of free government
of late asserted and enforced by the Admnistra-
ton. They require only to be definitely under
stood, We are convinced in order TO sartle into
resistance tens Of thousands of our citizens every
where who are now Indifferent only because un
conscious. A great many persons have gone mad,
we admit but we still devOutiy believe that their
insanity, for the most part, is of The durable sort
and that the cure is already begun. A plain pre-
sentaion Of the truth, without physiological dis
guiSe, strikes us as the most likely mode of en-
ney restoring their present distorted perceptions.
Let ns suppose, for the purpose in hand, that,
instead oil having the pretensions of the Govern
ment thrust upon us, by force, without choice or
alternative, we were invited to vote upon them in
the shape Of constitutional interpretations or
amendments. They would take, substantially and
literally, about the following form, viz:
The relations Of the States of the Union to the
General Government shall be that of counties To
their respective States.
II.
No state, under any circumstances shall have
the night to resist any action of the General Gov
eminent, whether the same be constitutional or nm
CONSTITUTIONAL, right or wrong. Any such resist
"nce Sn"ii De regarded as rebellion, and all State
as
be held guilty of treason. The President shall
nave the exclusive right to determine when such
rebellion exists and his proclamation that II does
exist shall be he Id and taken to establish its av
lstehce, lncontrovertiby, matter of law no mat
Ter whether the fact be not. The President
may be liable to Impeachment, if he transgressns
ms powers IN the premises, but State or citizen
snail be permitted to act upon the theory ut h;s
having transgressed them notwithstsndinr tha
TACT be notorious that he has done So
whenever the President shall determine in hi .
discretion as aforesaid, that war, a rebellion, or
an insurrection exists he shall have the RIGHT to
increase the army and navy, forthwith and with
out the lnterposiOn OF Congress, to any extent he
pleases. lie shall further have the right to call
out as many volunteers as lie chooses and for anv
term Of service he may prefer. The army and
navy, 20 increased and called out he shall have The
rlght to employ as he pleases, and he may raise
borrow, spend and apply all moneys he NAV re-
quire or desire, for that purpose without any nra-
vlous appropriation by Congress.
".
Whenever the President, in his discretion. shall
eeh IL necessary, ne may cause any citizen or cit
lzens whom he dislikes or suspects or of whose
opinions he disapproves, to be arrested without
WARRANT, ana confined wherever and as long as he
peases The parties so arrested shall have no rjoht
70 SNOW OF what offences they accused, nor
snail they be allowed trial, or the proof Of viii
nesses In their exculpation. They may be sent to
any prison or fortress in the country at the Pres
t a pleasure, and he may deny them permission
to read any newspapers during their Confinement
or to see or correspond with their families excnnf
under such conditions and subject to such
or supervision as he may direct. In order to 90
cure 10 the President the uninterrupted exercise Of
tne powers hereby granted, he shall have the right
10 suspend the writ of hGbeGs corpus at nIeasnra
ana Is authorized to delegate the same right ia al
military officers under his command who NAV oc
cordlngy refuse to obey such writ at their discre
t!o., ana may resist, by force, any attempt of the
civil authorities to execute it.
v
No citizen shall have the right'to bear arms ev-
cept at the pleasure of the President who may
cause the houses of the people to be broken nron
and searched, by any body, at all hours pitbont
warrant or process of any kind, ana all arms fourd
on the premises to be seized and TRANSPORTED To th
nearest military station. All militia laws of The
states IN contraVention of the powers herein grant
ed may be treated null, By the President in bis
discretion, and all citizens found with arms unaar
such laws or otherwise, shall be liable to arrest ard
imprisonment, without warrant, at the Presidents
pleasure.
The President may, likewise, in his discretion
remove all civil or municipal officers of the several
states and appoint and pay Others or establish
mlntary government, in their stead ANY atte,npt
on the part of any State authoritiesor offioaro 90
superseded to discharge any duties or exercisa or
even assert any powers imposed or conferred on
them by their respective State laws shall be nm
lshabio by arrest and imprisonment at the p asi
dentS discretion, IN manner prescribed by the 4th
article aforegOing.
me rress shall! be entirely free, so long a. it
supports the Government. Any unfavorable eriti-
cism, however By any public innrnaI ~ II
President, any member of the Cab;nat 90 'ne
the policy of the Administration for The -
being, or the proceedings of Congress shall he
held and taken to be reasonable TO the country.
and the President is hereby clothed with fIIi
authority to suppress such journal, by force and
to arrest and imprison for an indefinite period 40
rebels and traitors, all persons engaged in the Dnb
Hcarioh there0f. The provisions of this section
SNAIL be held particularly to apply to all public
journals, the editors or proprietors whereof shall
De guilty OF advocating or suggesting neaca in
time OF war, and especially in time of civil war
VIII
The Postmaster-G ereral, with the anthoritr IF
the President, may at any time forbid the trans
mission, through the mail, by private hand or
any newspaper, periodical or pamphlet which he
may Judge, IN his discretion. to be within the PEN
aitles OF the last foregoing section He nav more
over, open or cause to be opened at pleasure any
ana all letters deposited in any pOstoltice to he
transmitted by mail. He may read and DESTROY.
or retain possession of all such letters at his dis
erection, and may cause the arrest and ;mn,;s(n
ment of all parties, who NAV be shown hy snnb
letters, to be guilty of entertaining or aexnreSsing
TO their friends or families, any opinions which bo
may Judge improper to be expressed or entertained
The provisions of this article shall be held to apply
to all kilograms likewise, and the same NAV be Mt
any time, seized accordingly.
TX
There shall be entire freedom of opinion and
speech, so long as the exercise thereof shall not
contraVene the provisions Of the 9TH and 9Th of
these articles. Any expression of opinion, however.
contravening, or judged by the President to exceed
Inc limits OF said provisions, shall be regarded ms
an overt act OF treason, and shall expose the party
20 arrest ana Imprisonment according to the terms
Of said articles. ''
ohoud any case whatsoever arise not provided
,pr IN these articles, wherein the President NAV
ALREADY mecessafy TO exercise any powers not
existaS granted, he shall be the sole udpe or the
and eTe .; such necessity and shall have passes
all mowers ,i IN virtue thereof in his dscretion
the right. at any ever. Especially he shall have
persons to take and suhscr;,l upon any and all
Which the Attorney General any 9atn or caths
penalty OF arrest and indefinite ueVise, under |
require. swear as he may |
we deliberately assert that there is not ono
gle prerogative conferred upon the Executive hr
Tue provisions thus put into shape, which Mr.
LINCOLN has not claimed and exercised, in fact
OF III principle. There is not one, the exercise of
WHICH we are not now called upon substantially
10 ra'liy under the title of preserving the Unon'
ana maintaining the Government We asI
our reauers 10 90 over the provisions in question
one oy one, ana detect, if they can. sino,e ono
winch Is either ialslned or exaggerated, or which
does not embody some pretension asserted or ~
in practice since the 4th of March. wonld an
man vote, directly, for constitution CONTAINING