The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1862-05-22

i HN""' tiV NVuH'ltutlOHi WueIc IL lHe law
I for it2
Sir, no jurist yet has had the folly
to attempt to limit the powers that
man may use in defense Of his pwn life
when assailed; and so no statesman will
attempt to limit the power that nation
may use when the life Of the nation Is
nssaiIod. There is no limit to it. You
have right to 90 forward in an indi.
vldual case in your might, and if your
life is sought, any force, any power,
any thing that you may do honestly in
defense of your own life, the law pro.
nounces a justiGabIe act. So when
the life Of the nation is assailed
by vile traitors embodied in military
array Tor its destruction, they are be-
yond all law, they have repudiated all
,sw' and the nation, in defense Of its
Constitution, its Union, and it's flag,
may resort to any means that God Al.
mighty has put into their hands hon.
estly to maintain its constitutional
rights. know very we'll that email
la"yers may get up on their great
questions of craftsmanship aud petit
logging, as a man would to screen fell
on before n justice of the peace, and
! pSce his arguments on those narrow
principles of constitutional law. He
may require all the presumptions ofin.
nocence that are so often resorted to TO
shield culprit from the punishment Of
his crime. 1t is done here. But, sir,
the man whose life is assailed does not
sommon jury, and the nation whose
life Is assailed by traitors need not sum-
mon jury. All you want is the power
honestly exercised, to put it down.
Let me say, in passing, that every
word and every syllable that the Sena.
tor invoked in favor of Gen. Stone
might have been just as we'll, and with
more propriety and more strength, urp.
ed in favor of JEFF. Davis to-day. He
had played very important part in
Mexico; he had held high Offices under
your Constitution; and all the argu-
ments that the gentleman resorted to to
| shield General Stone would be inf.
nitely stronger in the case of jeff Davis
to day. Lucifer was once bright an
gel in Heaven; but he fell, and he has
not been much honored in that quarter
since. Laughter.
Sir am tired Of hearing these argu.
ments in favor of traitors. The Constitu.
ton takes their lives, their propertv,
their all. Why shall we stop shortP Are
they not in quest of ours? IF there is
any stain on the present administration
it is that they have been weak enough
to deal too leniently with these traitors.
know it sprung from goodness of heart;
it sprung from the best of motives; but,
sir, as method of putting down rebell-
ion, mercy to traitors is cruelty TO loyal
men. Look into the seeded States,
and see thousands of floyal men there CO.
creed into their armies to run the haE-
ard OF their lives, and placed in the dam
nable position Of perjured traitors By
force of arms. IF there is man there
bold enough to maintain his integrity
in the face of these Internal powers,
do they scruple to take his life, his
property, his all? Sir, by your mer.
ciful course you have paid a premium to
treason, and made it almost impossible
that loyal man in the seeded States
can maintain himself at all. Those
States are overrun frequently by law.
less bands of rebels, who do not scru-
pie one moment to take their property
and their lives, and treat them with ev.
cry indignity and every cruelty that
perverse ingenuity can invent; but on
the other hand, when our armies como
along there, they deal quite as leniently
with the traitors as with the loyal men.
What teaches human nature2 A man
having solely regard to his self.inter-
est, living in one of those communities,
will undoubtedly reason thus: II must
profess to be a traitor; l must oo.ope.
rate with them, for if their lawless bands
overrun the country l inhabit, if show
any Union sentiment, any love to the
old constitution and the old fag l shalt
lose not only my own life, but all pos
sess; while, on the other hand, if the
Federal forces oyerrun the country, they
are so lenient that, even professed trait
or as | am, they will respect not only
my life, but my property, aud all 1 have"
Sir, the rule is as impolitic as it Is unjust.
You should carry the avenging sword
along with your armies, and smite trait
ors and smite treason, aud put it down.
and yield protection to honest, loyal
men. Until you adopt that course, you
will war in vain. Mr.. President, for
one, say let US go forward against trea.
son aud traitors; let US put down this re-.
belion at all hazards. If, in doing so,
your darling institution must 60 uuder,
| shall not regret it. If it must come to
this, that the Uuion and Slavery cannot
live together, let Slavery die the death,
for tho Constitution, the Union, and tho
time -honored old flag shall live forever.
Sir, have been in the Senate for
some considerable time, and | should
have been an exceedingly dull man ifI
had not learned the course of defense
that is constantly set up here for thosO
who have assailed the institutions Of our
country. There Is an unvaryiug course
of remark that they indulge in, so that
no man need be mistaken as to what
they intend. Those who assail the Ad.
ministration on account of what they
call tyranny to men sympathizing with
traitors, never to my knowledge open
their mouths on this floor In coedem.
nation ofthe men who have risen in
arms and are endeavoriug to murder
your Constitution aud your govern ment.
Toward them theySre as mild as suck
lug doves. You will fad one generai
ear.mark among them all, aud that is 10