The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-07-03

FREE RIGHT OF PETIr1oN.-we published on Mon
day last account of the seizure of petition, in
the hands of Mr.. Guion by the police of New York.
This infamous attack upon the dearest rights of
freemen, in the principal city of the free States,
is arousing the people of New York to sense of
the degradation which is in store for them, and of
the fatal consequences of the military despotism
which has now supplanted the Constitutional Gov
eminent of the United States.
The Journal Of Commerce, of July /, in leader,
says:
An extraordinary proceeding was chronicled in
the city news department of the New York papers
on Saturday morning, in which copies OF petition
numerously signed by citizens Of New York, and
addressed to the President of the United States,
were SEIZED taken from the possession of those to
whom they had been conided and conveyed to the
headquarters of ths police, where they are detain-
ed for public exhibition. 1t is not shown that any
proceedings have been had to authorize the police
to interfere with the sacred right OF petition, a
right as dear to every American citizen at the
present day as 1t was to the people of the Colonies
when they complained that the British Govern
ment spurned their prayers for relief, aed denied
the right which the humblest citizen has, to APP
proach the ruling powers with requests, touching
the administration of the government 1t is diff
cult, as one after another of the dearest rights of
freemen are violated and article after article of
the Constitution trampled under foot, by those who
have soemniy sworn to support it, to realize that
lay claim to any privileges which are not liable
power.
We doubt whether any considerable number of
signers will be frightened into withdrawing their
names, but think it likely that it will receive
large accessions from the independent men of the
city, who dare exercise their constitutional rights
under threatened intimidation. There is no power
short of absolute tyranny which can interfere with
the right OF petition, especially when that right is
exercised in mode void ofoffensive or treasona-
bic language as in the present instance.
The New York Erening Express, which thinks
that superintendent Kennedy is stretching his pre-
negatives very far, quotes the following from the
Post
As many as twenty persons have erased their
names from the Compromise Petition since it has
been in the bands of the Police Superintendent
one or two persons have called at Headquarters to
erase their names, and after diligent search on
the two lists have failed to find their own names
s; u some others which were on the paper thew
msr, There is, therefore, at least one more pu-
peacefn2y signed petition for compromise, sfor a
failed tn ASPIRATION" which the detectives have
ues his dan. os Superintendent Kennedy contin-
ana " not p16'ssh the st at PRESENT. '0' 70 erase
"This, says the Express. al,
us mere dragooning 1fsuch thing, are n... 49,.
"ry-and they may be--as everything .as,.. ssss'a'
"sary 10 civil war-gire US at once az n' heoea'
"ment of Brigadier-General Hail. The m,r noSetn-
"pass, or begin to pass from the civil law-.,he |
military is the best of all. soldier is almos, NJ
"ways responsibility. When we deal with
"epaulettes, all understand, ,ohat IS tohat."