Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-11-10

a Bold and indignant Protest Against
the Prrsidcnt,s Prociamn n7ion-Piea
for Free speech, Free Press and the
Habeas Corpus-Elegant Letter from
charles O'ConnOr oF New York.
The following is from the New York Express
OF the lst inst:
LETTER IRON non. CHARLES o'coNSoR INDoRsISG
JAMES BROOKS.
NEW YORK, October %. 1862
My DEAR SR-I regret that it is not in my
power to attend the meeting announced for to
morrow in order to respond 10 the nomination of
Mr.. James Brooks Representative of the 9Th
Congressional District.
Three unconstitutional and despotc acts have
been before the American people for about thirty
days receiving judgment One threatens to sub
vert existing social relations in the. South; the
other two by their purport, aud immedi-
ately conslgn to bondage at the io0tstool Of an
arbitrary and irresponsible military power all the
inhabitants OF the North. Our whole community
men, women and children--are whemcd in one
common DOOM The calm speech aud measured
pace OF age, the gay converse and light step of
jocund youth must alike fall into accord with the
Provost Marshal's notion OF loyalty, or he may
apply the tyrant &.semedy dy--incarceratio in
dungeon.
The sarcasm, "catch your hare, may be APP
plicabe tn the first; perhaps lis intended victims
not yet within reach OF the power which me
naces Besides, it is only threat-a thing which
none but the weak aud tmid ever deal in But
the people of the Northern States are not merely
threatened. They are already caught and con
sequenty the decree which consigns them TO
bondage is immediate, absolute and unconditional
Nothing is lett to the cit zen OF a Northern State
but that poor privilege enjoyed by the humblest
slave in the most desp0tic countries. he is told:
elf you continue TO approve yourself lOya! TO
the entire satisfaction OF the Governments spy
and iai!or, YOU will not be locked up
OF the liberties won in '76 by three million he
roic colonists, of George Washington's Constitu
tiUn, of the freedom OF speech, OF the press, and
OF the person, secured by that palladium through
itsconsecra ted writ OF habeas corpus its trial by
jury, and immunity from military aTrests-of all
that ever constituted the peoples pride aud safety
or the nations strength-but this remains: Every
citizen of the North may keep out OF Jail just as
long rs lie can satisfy the town Marshal of his
loyalty
1 speak not OF disordvred trade, of ruined
finances, of enormous aud increasing debt, of
intolerable taxation, of the thousands who have
fallen, of amputated limbs and shattered health,
OF tears at so many iiresides, or OF gaunt desti
tuition sitting so many hearths, without a sin
gle promised result having been attained or even
approached 10y any or all Of those sacrifices. Let
tneSe cOnSluerauOnS pass. some lnlnk tnat tnese
things necessary and will ultimately work
out benign results. / con6ne myself to the civil
and political consequences resulting from eighteen
months of Abolition rule, 70 our once happy and
prosperous Northern people. Neither will
dwell uIOn the fact that our great and glorious
Republic, which two years ago commanded the
worlds respect, would have deied the power Of
all earth's mOnarchies, and in vindication of its
own act, fright or wrong" would have done so,
taa rtat n ifs nrf
Warren captives at the command OF n single for
eign State Let Us, too, pass 10y its humatjng
accOmpaniments. The same gates which sub
missiyey opened at the demand of foe never
previously trucked to- and gave liberty to ayow-
cd ''rebels and traitors, swing back upon their
hinges to hold in unlawful bondage free citizens
of the North. merely suspected of dsloyalty-
men against whom their iaier could not prove
the slightest ofense, and whom, therefore, he
dared not produce hdbeas corpus before any
Judge in the Land Alas they were nothing but
citizens OF the United States: in them no foreign
prince was interested they had no friend or
guardian but the Constitution, and that had been
set aside useless or incouvenient.
Let Us fUrget all these things for the moment
and confne our attention 20 the matter before us
The revolutionary measures OF September have
been tor thirty days reeeiving judgment The
people, whose safety depends upon their reversal
are Judging them Pennsylvania Ohio Indiana
aud Connecticut have condemned them. viii
New York approve themg That is the question
now before us. IL has been put to US in the most
pointed form.
AT the precise moment when martial law
proclaimed throughout the North, and. as a nee
essary accompaniment, the habeas corpus was
suspended, and jury trial dispensed with, tho
Black Republican party Of this State was com
manded to nominate, or felt itself bound to nom
mate. for election to its chief magistracy, Gen
James S. Wadsworth, the Military Commandant
OF Washington.
This certainly was fair and frank presenta.
ton OF the bitter pill; there was no deceitful
sugar coating. The man lives not who could
more fairly represent the Abolition policy. Sud
den emancipation Of four million negroes, and
still more sudden extinction of all available
guarantees for the civil rights of twenty million
Of white men, tho whole TO be effected by mill
tary force under the guidance Of no rule but
martial law, that is TO say, the will of the com
manding General.
Will New York unite with her sister States in
turning back the tide which has so long run in
this rncious direction2 or will she
"Give liberty the last, the fatal shock,
Slip the slaves collar on, and snap the lockr'
That is the question:
The decree establishing martial las through
out the North. though pronounced, has not been
carried into execution. The October elections
have produced dismay and hestancy among the
conspirators who procured It, In this great State
they fear to put it in force, unless they do SC