Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1861-08-02


8 was made. I,theretore, deemed it nv duty
Q to rerew the proposal for exchange, 10 the
, constitutional COMMANDMENT Chief of the
e Army and Navy Of the United States, the
! only officer having control of the prisoners
10 this end, despatched an officer to him
c under flag of truce; and in mskinc the
J proposal, l Informed President Lincoln of
my re:oule purpose TO check all barbarities
on prisoners Of war, by such severity OF
retaliation on prisoners held by US, as should
secure the abandonment Of the practice
. This communication was received and read
by the officer in command of tho Army of
tho United States, and message was
, brought from him, by the bearer of nv
comm"ni alton, that a reply would be re-
. turned by President Lincoln as soon as
possible. ! earnestly hope this promised
reply, which has not yet been received, will
convey the assurance that prisoners of war
will be treated in this unhappy contest,
with that regard for; humanity Which has
made such conspicuous progress in the con-
duct Of modern warfare. AS measures Of
prccaution, however, and until the promised
reply is received still retain in custody
some officers captured from the enemy,
whom it had been my pleasure previously
to enlarge: on parole, and whose fate must
necessarily depend on that of prisoners
held ty the enemy.
lappend copy Of my communication
to the President and Colnmander.in. Chief
Of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and OF the report of the officer
charged to deliver it, marked document
A..
There are some other passages in the
remarkable paper to which have direc-
ted your attention, having reference to the
peculiar relations which exist between
THIS Government and the States usually
termed border slave States, which cannot
be properly withheld from notice.
The hearts of our people are animated
by sentiments towards the inhabitants Of
those States which found expression in
your enactment refusing to consider them
enemies or autllorising hostiltes against
them. That very large portion of the
people OF those States regard US as bretl,-
rem; that if unrestraiued by the actual
presence of large armies, the subversion
0: civil authority, and the declaration OF
martial law. some of them at least, would
Ijoyfully unite with US = that they are,
with almost entire unanlmlty opposed to
the prosecution cf the war waged against
us, arc facts OF which daily recurring
events fully warrant the assertion.
The President of the United States re-
fuses to recognize in these, our late sister
States, the right OF refraining from attack
on us; and justifes his refusal by the
assertion that the States have no other
power than that reserved to them, in the
Union, by the Constitution-no one of
them ever having teer State out of the
Union. .
This view Of the Constitutional Iela!
tions between the States and the General
Government: lis an intrpduction to another
assertion Of the message, thatth Execu-
F tive possesses the power Of s.,spending
the writ Of habeus corpus, and Of delega-
ting that power to military commanders at
his discretion and both Of these PROPOSE
tions cla;na respect equal to that which
! is felt for the aildironal statement of opin-
ion in the same Paper,sathat it is proper, in
order to execute the laws, that some single
law, made in such extreme tenderness of
, the tatzens' liberty, that practically it re .
lieses more 5of the guilty than tbs INNOCENT
should, to very limited extent be vio-
!. lated. Wemay we'll fejoice that wss have
fcrever severed our connection with q
5 Government that thus tramples on all prin::
8 ciples of constitutions! liberty, and with a
, people in whose presence such als
, could be hazarlel.
The q operations in, the field will be
I greatly extended, by reason of the policy
: which, heretofore secretly entertained, is
s now avowed and acted on by the United
States. The forces hitherto raised, proved
: ample for the defencs OF the seven States
3 which originally organized tlfs Confede
. racy. as is eyyinced'by the fact, that, with
e the exception OF three fortified island
c whose defence ia efficiently aided by 6
!, preponderaiing naval force; the enemy
:. has been completely driven ont of those
$ States and now,at the expiration of Eve
: months from the fofsnationapt the Gov;
o ernment, not single hostile foot presses
g their eoiL These forses, howerer, arfs
8 necessarily prove inadequate TO- repel IN
sion by the half fpillion men now proposed