The national Republican., 1861-12-23
SENATOR CowAN UPON NEaItOEs.

Cowan, of Pennsylvania, said:
Now, sir, I apprehend, so far as my humble |
j Judgment goes, that there need be no possible
dfncu'y whatever upon this question IN any OF
its aspectS. | do not see that II Is necessary
that we should offend anybody, or that we
should take ground that will necessarily alarm
anybody in either quarter Of the union. we
send general TO suppress this insurrecuon
What Ia his duty? If he meets a negro upon
his errand, and that negro is an enemy, ne
treats him as an enemy; II the negro Is friend,
he treats him as a friend, and uses him as such.
Nothing, to my mind, can be simpler. How is
he to determine the title to that negro! Sup
pose, Mr.. President, you were to go into his
camp, and say: Sir, here is my negro; wan,
him. The obvious answer of the general is:
My dear sir, that may be all true; | have no
desire to raise any issues of fact with you; II
may be that this is your negro; but l cannot
determine that question; cannot try the title
to him; am not a cour'; ! am not jury
great many of them. indeed, are not even
lawyers.
negro Is a slave or not? They cannot determ.
inc it they have no right to determine 1t. II
the master, being loyal man, Inf that camp in
sists, and says: This is my negro do not
know what other men might do, but IL we're
the general would say to him: Ifthis is your
negro, your boy" as you call him-ths man
that you are educating to civilization and Chris.
tianity-if he will go with you; If he is willing
take him, in Gods name, and be away with him.
Suppose the claimant says: He viii not 90 |;
and want to force him. What then! | would
that presumes that decide the very question
which am incompetent to decide. l cannot
allow you to use force hero, because l am the
constable Of the nation, and ! am the reposi
tory of its force in this behalf, and you cannot
use it, That is the objection to all that. take
It the President of the Confederate States OF
America, If there be such an institution upon
the earth, himself could not object 10 that on
the part Of our generals. Nobody can object
10 it."
This Is certainly very plain and direct
statement Of what the duty Of our generals Is
in the premises. We think OF only one better
statement of 1t, and that is in the paragraph Of
the report Of the Secretary Of War, dictated
by the President of the United States, which
declares it to be 4" too plain a proposition to be
argued, that we should not give up negroes
fleeing from the enemy. But If the thing is to
be argued at all, it would bs difficult to do il
better than it ia done in the short extract W,
have made from Mr.. CowAS's speech.
Mr.. CovAN, however, did not fnish what b,
had to say, without making the very great mis-
take of as ,uming that what was 50 very clear
10 himself must necessarily be 30 to others, ant
that to insure the proper conduct of army off
cers 1t was only requisite to point out what II
is. Finding nothing himself in the negro
question but what WAS Of the easiest possible
solution, he could See no occasion for bringing
it into Congress and he accordingly wound uI
by saying:
:" think we have nothing in the world to d,
with all these questions. | think their discus
Al here bninY mDDtpl iu
bles, Is mischievous, and only calculated 4
keep up an angry irritation which may hav,
exceedingly bad results in the final consumma
ton of the struggle IN which we are now en-
gaged.'
That Congress is troubled with these ques
tons" arises from the fact that 50 many Of ou
generals have, in their treatment of negroes
violated the principles which Mr.. CowAN lay
Gown as being plain aud iudisputable. Thei
being plain in themselves, does not do ava
with the necessity Of enforcing th.m agains
those who are blind or wilful. If army officer
do, in fact assume the judicial powers whic
Mr.. CowAN says they do not rightfuliy possess
1t is bis duty as legislator, to repress sue
usurpation by proper p ,ualtIes. As one of tn
constitutional advisers Of he President, it
bis duty to refuse his assent 10 the appointmeI
Of military Officers guilty of such usurpatio
Mr.. CowAN has performed only a part Of VIII
his position requires Of him, when he has ppin
ed out the path or law aud justice in whit
military ofic RS should travel. If he finds the
deviatiOg from it, he should devise measures
keep them within ii.
The N. Y. INDEPENDENT. - Henry Wa,