The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-07-10

ers; not even the power to capture or
dIsarm an enemy. But who denies
that it has that power?
And who denies that it has the con-
stitutional power, whenever engaged
in war, to "abridge the freedom Of
speech and the press; - to 'sinfringe
the right of the people" Gf rebels) "to
keep and bear arms" by forcibly dis
arming them; to "deprive of life, lib
erto and property" by mere executive
power and without the Intervention Of
judicial oath, warrant, indictment or
jury trial? Not even JEFF. Davis, Polk,
the parson, or Floyd, the thief. Not
even the most shameless of the de-
PRAYED politicians and apostate priests
of the loyal States, (scores of the latter
class being chaplains in the Federal
armies.) Not even the vile creatures
in and out of the civil and military ser.
vice of the Union, who are pretending
to question the constitutional right of
the Federal Government to deprive
the rebels of those possessions" which
their own laws make "property !"
which more than all else, have enabled
them to engage in, and thus tar with
some signal successes, to carry on their
rebellion, and for the privilege of hold
ing which in all the States as we'll as
territories, they inaugurated it.
But the Law of Nations, land, there
fore, our Constitution,) gives the Gov
eminent full power to deprive even
loyal citizens of their liberty by draft
ing them into its armies; and of the
persons held by them to Service or
labor" whether as minor sons, appren-
tees or slaves, by drafting them, too,
into its military service, and thereby
releasing them from their condition of
servitude to individuals.
BY virtue of this power, Gen. Jack
son employed scores of the slaves of
loyal masters in his defence of New
Orleans in 1915, and enaancipated them
as reward for their services, whilst
Congress persistently refused to make
their owners any compensation hold.
ing that the defence of their homes
and country was sufficient indemnity.
But in the very conscientious theory
of the demagogues and divines who
deny the right of the Government to
emancipate the slave of rebel, the
right Of that rebel to his slave, is more
sacred than the right of the loyal citi-
zen to his apprentice or his minor
son
But why elaborate the argument !?
We have seen that the Law of Nations,
and, therefore, our Constitution, makes
it the duty of our Government and its
military agents to cause emancipation,
sooner or later as circumstances may
favor, to follow in the footsteps of our
conquests of rebel territory. Is elabor-
ate argument necessary to demonstrate
that what that Law and Constitution
make it their duty to do, they give
them the right to do
How shameless then the pretence
whether set up by member of Congress,
ajor General or semi-traitorous edi-
tor, that the emancipation of the slaves
of rebels, will involve violation of the
Constitution!
Again, as we have seen in the case
of ga people whom our enemy has un-
justly oppressed" the Law of Nations
not only grants war powers, but i'm
poses war duties also. Another of
these duties is the employment of all
those same powers for winning success
and thereby compelling peace as soon
as possible. Is there a school girl in
the land who does not know that the
emancipation of the slaves of all rebels,
even without receiving them into our
military service, would prove a most
potent means to to that end Z?
So our Constitution in it's adoption of
the Law of Nations, not only authorizes
our Government and military comman.
ders to exercise all the powers which
that Law confers, but requires them to
discharge all the duties it enjoins.
Is it not legally demonstrated, then,
that our Government and its military
representatives have not only full Con
stitutional power to emancipate every
slave of every rebel in the land, but
that is their duty in due time to ecer-
else that power?
Each Federal public servant from the
President down through the Cabinet
ministers and members of Congress,
down even to the sailor on the gun.
deck and the soldier in the ranks, is
bound by his oath to obey the Consti-
tuition and discharge the duties it i'm
poses. May grace be given them to
keep that oath in the case of the "peo.
pie whom our enemy has unjustly op-
pressed" and "spoiled of their liberty"
for so many weary years.
Thus far, some of those agents of
ours, having favoring opportunity,
have done worse than fail to keep it.
They have not only neglected and re-
fused "to break the chains" but have
re-riveted them upon hundreds who
had themselves broken and cast them
off! If they shall continue to do so,
the whole American people in the next
generation if not in this, and the whole
people of the civilized and christian
world, will hold them to a stern &C.
count; will hold them guilty of an
enormous moral felony, and will de-
nounce them with maledictions that will
ring and reverberate down the arch.
way of the ages! Let them see to it
in time, that by their neglect to i'm.
prove their opportunity to ''let the
oppressed go Free" such opportunity
as the Providence of God never vouch-
of,,I 10 ,,,o,, kof,,ro fbou do NIT o1co