The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1862-11-12
Executive Power.

DeHyaWlh II. CurtiS, OF DOStcn, Mass,
late Judge Of the Supreme Court Of the
United States, has published review OF
the Presidents proclamation of proposed
emancipation, the Presidents proclamation
Of martial law and suspension of the writ
Of Habcas Corpus, and the orders Of the
Secretary Of War for carrying the same
into effect.
Omit,ing the prepatory or Introductory
paragraphs Of this review, we give the re-
inainder Of the argument ard invite the
readers attention to it.
These are subjects in which the people
have vast concern. 1t is their right, it is
their duty to themselves and to their pos.
terity, to examine and to consider and to
decide upon them; and no citizen is faith.
fll tolhis great trust If he fail to do so, nc.
cor1ling to the best light he has, or can OBJ
tain. And If, finally, such examination
and consideration shall end in diversity Of
opinion, it must be accepted as justly at
tributable to the questions themselves, or
to the men who have made them.
1t has been attempted by some partisan
journals to raise the cry Of 'disloyalty"
against any one who should question these
executive acts.
But the people Of the United States
know that loyalty is not subserviency 10 a
man, or to party, or to the opinions Of
newspapers; but that it is an honest and
wise devotion to the safety and welfare Of
our country, and to the great principles
which our constitution Of government EN-
bodies, by which alone that safety and well
fare can be secured And, when those
principles arc put in jeopardy, every true
loyal man must interpose, according to his
ability, or be an unfaithful citizen.
This is not government Of men, It is
government Of laws. And the laws are
required by the people to b. in conformity
with their will, declared by the Constitu
ton. Our loyalty is due to that will
Our obedience is due to those laws and
he who would induce submission to other
laws, springing from sources Of power not
originating in the people, but in casual
events, and in the mere will Of the occu
pants Of places Of power, does not exhort
US to loyalty, but to descrtion Of our
trust.
That they whose principles he questions
have the conduct of public affairs; that the
times are most critical; that public una
nimi,y is highly necessary; while these
facts afford sufficient reasons to restrain all
opposition upon any personal or party
grounds, they can afford no good reason
hardly plausible apology failure to
oppose usurpation Of power, which, if &C.
| auiesccd in and established, must be fatal
to a free government
The war in which We arc engaged is .
Just and necessary war. 1t must bc prose-
cuted with the whole force of this Govern
ment till the military power of the South
is broken, and they subn it themselves to
their duty to obey, and our right to have
nbcycd, the Constitution Of the United
States as 81 Q supreme law Of the land"
| But with what sense OF right can We sub
d Ie them BY arms to obey the Constitution
a; the supreme law OF thesr part OF the
md, if We have ceased to obey it, or failed
to p, eServc it, as the supreme law Of our
part Of the land?
am member Of no political party
Duties, inconsistent, in my opinion, with
the preservation Of any attachments to pO
h,ical party, caused me to withdraw from
all such connections, many years ago, and
they have never been resumed. have no
occasion to listen to the cxhortations, now
so frequent, to divcst myself Of party ties,
| and disregard party objects, and act for my
country. have nothing but my country
tor which to act, in any public affair; and
solely because have that yet remaining,
aad know not but it may be possible, from
my studies and reflections, to say some
thing to my countrymcn which may aid
them to form right conclusions in these
dark and dangerous times, now, reluc
tantly, address them.
do not propose to discuss the question
whether the first Of these proclamatit Of
the President, if dcfinitively adopted, can
nave any practical effect on the unhappy
race Of persons to whom it refers; nor what
its practical consequences would be. upon
them and upon the white population Of the
United States, if it should take effect nor
through what scenes of bloodshed and
worse than bloodShed, it may be, we should
advance to those final conditions; nor even
the lawfulncss, in any Christian or civilized
sense, of the use of such means to attain
any end.
If the entire social condition of nine
millions Of people has, in the providence of
God, been allowed to depend upon the ex.
ccutive decree of one man, it will be the
most stuprndous fact which the history of
the race has exhibited. But, for myself, |
do not yet perceive that this vast RESPONSE
blity is placed upon the President of the
U. S. do not yet see that it depends up.
on his executive decree, whether a seryile
war shall be invoked to help 10000, 900 of
the white race to assert the rightfu author
ity Of the Constitution and laws Of their
country, over those who refuse to obey
them. Bot / do see that this proclamation
asserts the po,esr Of the Executive to make
such de,fce
do not ye, perceive how it is that my
neighbors and myself, residing remote from
armies and their operations, and where all
the laws Of the land may he enforced by
constitutional means, should be subjected
to the possibility OF military arrest and i'm.
priSoDment, and trial before military com.
mission, and punishment at its discretion
for olfenses unknown to the law posi-.
bility to be converted into fact at the
mere will Of the President, or Of some sub.
ordinate officer, clothed by him with this
power. But do perceive that this Exec.
utivc power is asserted.
am qui'e aware. that in times Of great
public danger, unexpected pcrilS, which
the Legislative power have failed to provide
against, may imperativ,ly demand instant
and vigorous executive action, passing be,
yond the limits of the laws ; aud that when
the Executive has assumed the high re-
sponsibiity Of such necessary exercise of
mere power, he may justly look for indem.
nifty to that department Of the government
which alone has the rishtful auth ority to
giant it; an indemnity which should be
always sought and accorded upon the
clearsst admission Of legat prong, fading
its excuse in the exceptional case which
made that wrong absolutely necessary for
the nublic safety