Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-09-27
lFrom Harper's Weekly of the current Week. ]
The Beginning of the End.

found guilty, will be shot. The prop
1 erty, real and personal, Of all persons
in the State of Missouri who shall take
up arms against the United States, and
who shall be directly proven to have
taken active part with their enemies in
the field, is declared to be coniscated
to the public use; and their slapes, If any
they hare, are hereby declared free.
1t has been stated by some of the pa
pers that in thus pronouncing the eman-
cipation of the slaves Of Rebels, Gene
raj Fremont was only carrying out the
! Act known as the Confscating Act
/ passed by Congress at the extra session.
An examination of that act WILL how
ever, show that its provisions do not
warrant the step taken by the General.
The only section in which any refer
ence is made to slaves is the following:
SEC. 4 4nd be 1t further enacted, That
whenever hereafter, during the present
insurrection against the Government of
the United States, any person claimed
to be held to labor or service under the
law of any State shall be required or
permitted by the person to whom such
labor or service is claimed to be due, or
by the lawful agent of such person, to
take up arms against the United States;
or shall be required or permitted by
the person to whom such labor or servi-
ces is claimed to be due, or his lawful
agent, to work or to be employed in or
upon any fort, navy yard, dock, armory,
ship, intrenchment, or in any military
or naval service whatsoever, against the
Government and lawful authority Of the
United States, then, aud in every such
case, the person to when such labor Or
service is claimed to be due shall for
felt his claim to such labor, any law of
the State, or of the United States to the
contrary Notwithstanding. And when
ever thereafter the person claiming such
labor or service shall seek to enforce
his claim, it shall be full and suffi
cient answer to such claim that the per-
son whose service or labor is clai ned
had been employed in hostile service
against the Government Of the United
States, contrary to the provisions Of
this act.
q 1t thus appears that the only slaves
who can be forfeited under this Act are
those who have been "employed in hos
tile service against the United States
Government whereas Maj. Gen. Ere
ment's proclamation grants freedom tc
the slaves Of every Rebel, whether they
have been employed in the military ser,
vice or not The General, therefore
has evidently based his action, not upon
the law of Congress, but upon some
thing else.
That something else is TIE WAT
+ POWER, which is inherent in the Gov
ernmcnt, and is exercised by its dele
gated officers commanding the forces O
the United States. What the nature O
this war power is, and what it may dC
with slavery, may be gathered from tht
following extract from speech deliy
cred by ex- President John Q. Adams
in the house of Representatives, OF
April II, 1872:
"When your country is actually il
war, whether it be a war of invasion O.
a war of insurrectiou, Congress ha
power to carry on the war, and mus
carry it OF according to the laws Of war
and by the laws of war an invaded coun
, try has all its laws and municipal insti
tutions swept by the board, and martha
law takes the place of them. Thi
. power in Congress has perhaps neve
been called into exercise under the pres
ent Constitution of the United States
But when the laws of war are in force
, what, | ask, is one Of those laws? 1t is this
! that when a country is invaded, and tw'
hostile armies are set in martial array
the commanders of both armies hay,
! , power to emancipate all the slaves il
the invaded territory. Nor is this
; mere theoretic statement The histor,
, of South America shows that the doc
trine has been carried into execution
within the last thirty years. SLAYER,
was abolished in Columbia, first by tn
!, Spanish General Morillo, and secondl
n by the American General Bolivar |
4 was abolished by virtue Of militar
command given at the head of the Amy
= and its abolition continues to be law t
this day. 1t was abolished by the law
e of war, and not by municipal enact
e ments.
Il might furnish a thousand proof
to show that the pretensions of gentle
! men to the sanctity of their nunicipa
d institutions, under state Of actual in
n vasion and of actual war, whether sci
d vile, civil, or foreign, are wholly I'LL
founded, and that the laws Of war dt
e in all such cases, take the precedence
[ lay this down as the law of nations
d 1 say that the military authority takes
! for the time, the place of all municip;
e institutions, slavery among the rest
Under that state of things SO far frol
= its being true that the States whel
- slavery exists have the exclusive mar
agement of the subject, not only I'll
President Of the United States, but tt
commander of the army, has power
order the universal emancipation of tE
slaves"
John Quincy Adams thus held tha
whenever a war grew out of SLAYER,
a martial law might be proclaimed in an
part of the Union, and that such pro-
lamation swept by the board "all muni
ipal and local laws establishing or II
cognizing slavery. 1t may seem supe
= . fuous to quote authorities in support
~ the assertions of SO sound a jurist ;
Mr.. Adams. We may mention, hoy
,e ,e ever, that he merely repeats, in tt
- speech above quoted, the views of tt
T. y recognized expounders of the comme
- - law. Sir Matthew Hale Hist, c. L.
:. y. p, says that martial law is built upc
= ! no settled principles, but is entirely a
~ :, bitrary in its decisions; it is in tru
- and reality no law, but something rath
INDUCED than allowed as a law
Blackstone quotes this passage (Comn
LII 112l and amnhaticallv annrnues