Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-05-24

the expiration OF shirty days dlteF lne SVtf-
ueneemeut Of the then next session OF Con-
gressD Act o. 1875, sec. The proeis-
nation ie therefore without any color whst-
ever o. right, and is as nlaln and bald a sub
version Of the letter and spirit OF The CoHstitu-
ton and the laws as ever waE attempted BY
the military power in any government ostensi'
blv free. The pretense Of "sKisting exigen-
eies,' & but the shape in which nilitary Tevo-
iutions have always bsgun, since the prestige
Of free institutions has rendered t necessary,
even for usurpsr', to nake'a show Of apology
forovsrthrowng them
If ever triumphant illustration could be
given Of the wisicn Of our fathers IN provid-
iug by the Constitution thar tue government
should operate upon iis individual citizsns
through the laws and not upon States by mil
itary coercion, It is 70 be found in the fael
that the first administration daring to depart
from this fundamental and consecrsted pTin-
cipIs, has rushed, 10 the short space OF sixty
DAYS, into the assertion Of absolute ccntrol
over the whole military resources Of the eoun-
fry. IN open ard reckless defsnce Of every
legal and constitutional restraint. The con-
mittee hazard nothing 10 saying that there is
not citizen Of Maryland, whatever be his
political opinions, who must not shudder a.
the palpable and ominous presence Of this
usurpation, and who Goes not recognize, for
the first line, in his own experience or the
history OF Maryland, thai he is living and
moving snd holding bis civil and poltlcal
rights at the pleasure OF an unrestricted mill
tsry power, and subject TO the arbitrary and
l snti-republcsR csprics Of what is entitled
/ "militaTy necessity"
I For any man to be able to persuade himself,
upder such circumstances, that the policy Of
/ the Administration ever meant peace and not
wsr-tbs "enforeement Of the lawsp-ths ode
/ ferss OF The capitsl-snd not sabiugstion--re-
ouirss s psculisritY Of mental construction
with which reason Is At a loss how TO deal.
T To suppose that a blockade of the whole coast
from TIE capss Of the Chesapeake to The ex-
treme borders Of Texas, with q lsnd army sX-
traor1inary o. one hundred snd fif.y thousand
men, and a naval increase Of eightesa thou.
ssnd, can Be INTENDED only in aid Of "the ordi-
nsrv course Of judicial proceedings, or ths
powers vested 10 the msUshsls,D and 10 there
fore within the scope Of the Presidents civil
functions, and Dot of the war making power,
which only Cougres5 csn exercise, implies a
facility Of conviction, to which nothing canbe
regarded as impossible.
Toe Committee are Of course not uRacquain-
tod with tie familiar doctrine laid down bT
the Supreme Court Of the United States, in ths
case Of Martin, vs.. Mott, (12 Whestor, Is, }
and 20 often cited ~ those who maintained
the absolute authotjty Of TIE Prssiasnt over
The whole question II calling out the militia
The Comnittse might readily dispose of Il Il
thew are willingto stand upon tie same grounds
with The Administration. By appiJing 70 It the
doctrine Of The inaugural Of Nj. Liscoln, snd
might ins'st upon con6dlng the ruling Of the
Court 10 the particular cas- and the individual
parties concerned, rspudiating It's controlling
au.horitv, upon the one side or the osber on q
question az administrative government. Be-
lieving. however, that The true and only sloy-
slty'' Of a free people consists in their reEe-
renee for the laws and Constitution, and their
obedience to the tribunals bY which these are
expounded, the Committee assume that the
people Of Maryland will cbssFfully bow TO
whatever the Supreme Court bad determined,
unon the question under discussion or any
other. The case Of Msrtin e. Nett was
controversy between private OF militia and
one of the United States marshals, who bad
seized bis goods In enforcement Of fine i'm
posed BY court martial, for failure to enter the
service upon Tcquisition, according to law,
during the war OF 1872. The jurisdiction OF
the court martial, and ths 8uthority % the
President 70 issue the proclamation under
which the militia were called out to repai in
vasion, were both considered In the case: the
question in chief, however, OF course bslng
the right Of tne individual citizen 20 judge, for
himself. whether the legal occasion eIiate3,
upon which the President might Tlghtfully
summon the citizens % arms. This latter vas
the real and only pointin In controversy, and The
court decided, that under the act OF 1795, it
was for the President. exclusively, 10 deter
mine whether the eXigency contemplated By
the law had arisin, and that no soldier or Off
Ger had 7ny choice bu to obey. The principle
of military subordinston upon which this sd-
Indication is distinctly placed by tss court, is
too obvious to becorfounded with tbe recogDi-
ton Of arbitrary and irresponsible power,
20 which the decision De sought to Be perverted,
bv ihe supporters of the existing order Of
things 10 determine hat the President is
the exclusive JUICE Of whether an eIiEency
has arisen. in a case % which bis discretion 10
lawfully apple bic, is one thing; 70 give to
hin ibe exclusive and iTevarsible authority
70 determine, not c1ly tAe cXisttnce OF
toe ezigeucv, but The existence Of the
case IN which it may lawfully arise,
is quite another thing. The first is what
ths Supreme ccurt has done, the second ls
what no respectable court. it is confidently as
sumsd, can hs persuaded OF forced to DO, ex-
cept under the pressure Of military necessi-
ty." Toe one gives to the President the eEer-
ciss Of a discretion. in certain named and as
certsinsd cases. The other gives bin abso-
lufe power In an cases. The ona endows him
with a necessary executive, function The
other makes him supreme over all Law, by
granting him the excluyive conf rol Of its sp-
plication. II the President cannot only invoke
the military power 81 his discretion, in cases
Of invasion, insurreciion and resistance to the
laws, but can create invasion, insurrsctIon and
resistance, by merely proclsiming that they
exist, whether, in fact, they do go or not.
there is not moment Of his term At which
be cannot constitutionsllyc compass the absolute
subiHzauon ef tbe people, through the mare
official assertion OF a fslsehood. Assume for
: r-t0r-unf Cor fhn Ia .H fha .rer,r,anF ~
the attitude Of the United States, is not, In fact
or law, case authorizing the President to call
out the militis, under the act Of 1875, is it 70
Be pretended that be makes It such ease by
simply calling IL such in proclamation? Is Il to
be grsvelY argued, under a constitutional gov
srnmsnt, that the nation is houad to scquisscs
In il as fact, against the public knowledge to
the contrary. and must accept tbs war, indorse
ths bloodshed, pour out the treasure, and sub
nit 10 The usurpa'ion, with no other remedy
than articles OF impeachment, OF the chances
Of the next Presidential election.
TIE commonest intelligencs-the most
superficial acquaintance with the scheme and
spirit Of republican institutiors-revots at con-
clusions 80 mnnstrous. And yet precisely
such must be the conclusions to which any
man must Yield who supposss the Supreme
Cour' to have decided, as has been pretended.
That high tribunal never meant to decide, and
never did decide, principle 60 wholly ira
tional and despotic. Il is a disrespect to
/ its character to put such a question even In
dispute. The way in which the States and the
{ people may and ought to deal with such a
usurpstion s 4 matter apart, but that it dost
/ not cease TO be usurpstion, because Of inssr-
/ ton of form OF words in proclamation, IL
a matter which the committee will rot dispar-
/ age the msnliness and sense Of the house By
F discussing further. Irdeed, in his letter Of
May 4th, 1851, to the United States Minister
At Paris, which has appeared during the pre-
( psration Of this report, the Secretary Of State
/ does not hesitate to throw aside all the masks
I and prsteBces Of the proclamation, and to sd-
nit that it is no longer a simulated question Of
] 50 enforcing the laWsn and "dsfendng the
] Capitai,o but a downright case OF civil
] war"-of "opep, hagrsnt, deadly WARP
which the United Ssa-es have accepted -
Sueh eonfession-nsy, such a bold and def
I ant slnuncistion-thst the President has as
suUed upon himself the power Of peace and
war, in glaring and indisputabls subvsrsion Of
even the { constitution, leaves to tbs people Of
Maryland nothing further to consider, in this
connection, but the fact, they are face to face
with military despotism, whose only law ID
Z its will.
u The committee are justified, BY what has
bern said, in their view Of the constitutional
position OF the Federal Government and esse-
eislly IL the admissions now msde by Il, with
out Disguise, show but the consummAtion oi
en- original and persistent Illegal scheme on
the part Of The Administration, it follows, az
a matter Of necessity, that the troops called
out BY the President were a.d ere an unau-
thoTlzed body Of men, passing across our ter
ritory for Illegal and unconstitutional purposes
and carving with them none OF ne constitu-
tionsl safeguards which would undoubtedly &C.
company any Force OF The DATED States eXsr-
cising ibe right Of transit for lawfil and insti-
hsble ends. They were, IN fact, not United
States soldiers, but "northern tr0ops," - they
were probsriY designated 5y the governor in
his correspondence, and 'snorthtrn iroops p
too, whose presence 10 Maryland, without ths
consent Of Der constituted suth critics, was in
du5itably ~ aggression upon her dignity, hel
safety nksganouility. Your committee, oi
cnurse, sdmjt. witheat question, that only tn
authorities Of TIE State we're competent e
deal with sgchs case, ard that it would onl5
have been desltwiih properly, even by them
N distinct reception Of TIE fact that Mary
land ia still State Of the Union, with all tht
obligations which that relation imposes upoE
Der.
But they cannot shat thsiF eyes to the othei
part, equally indisputsble, tnat Il was prima
Fiy the fault Of those wto marched the Mas
sschuseds so!aiery through Baltimore, upon
an unconstitutional and Illegal erraBd, If ih'
popular passions were unfortunately stimula.
ted BY their presence into JsWless outbreak
IL. l.. T.,