Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1862-09-03

fled until they had more effectually secured
the blessings of liberty to themselves and
their posterity by amendments guarantee
| ing III the broadest and most explicit man
ner the right of personal liberty and the
freedom of the press.
1t Is no wonder, then, that the arrests
which have been made in the loyal States,
where the courts are open and the course
of justice is unobstructed, of persons sus-
pected of disatfection TO the Government,
their deportation and confinement in mill
tary tortresses, without the privilege of
hGbeds corpus, should have filled the minds
of the friends of constitutional liberty with
anxiety and alarm, and that anxiety and
alarm are in no degree relieved by the re-
cent order of the Secretary of War, for
the arrest of citizens charged with disloyal
practices, and their report to Major Tur-
ner, with a view to their trial by a mill
tary commission.
The right of the President to suspend
the privilege of the writ of hd6ecLS corpus
has Its advocates but | am persuaded
that their views on this subject are con-
trary TO the whole current of opinion from
the formation of the Constitution to the
present troubles, and have an abiding
confidence that the people will never be
satisfied that the President possesses this
power until they are otherwise instructed
by the Supreme Court.
As to the right to try citizens not be-
longing to the Army or Navy, or the
Militia in actual service by military
commission, l suppose nobody is bold
enough to support it as a Constitutional
right. The subordination of the military
to the civil power is a sacred and fun
damental principle of American institu-
tions- One of the grievances which our
fathers declared in yOnder hall as justify
ing their separation from the Mother
Country was that the King had affected to
render the military independent of and
superior to the civil power. We are in a
state of war, and we must shrink from
none Of the duties which belong to that
condition.
But it does not follow that we shall sur
render our civil rights under the Constitu-
ton When the bulwarks which the
Constitution has erected around civil
liberty are III danger, ii Is the duty of pa
triOtfc citizens to rally round the Consti-
tuition and to protest against its violation.
When Disunionists camor for different
Constitution and another Union. it Is the
duty of patriotic citizens to stand up as
we do this night for the Constitution as 1t
is and the Union as it was.
The Hon. VIM. III. Wittc being called
for, came forward, amid great applause,
and spoke aS follows:
SPEECH OF MIR. WHITE
-Hr. President aud Gc1sticgHea No man
who is Democrat, and who loves his
party, who knows its history. and who
knows and feels how completely the his
tory, of our party is interviewer with cur
Government in all its achievements and
its developments, and who has suffered
some during the last eighteen months-a
suffering and sacrifice which only IA rigid
adherence to principle could sustain-that
does not find III this outporing enough.
not alone to compensate for what he NAV
have suffered, and make his heart glad,
but to give him hope-bright. bright hope
for a glorious future that is dawning.
Great applause.)
Notwithstanding, Mr.. President. that
the Democratic party of this Common
wealth, and of this Northern country, has
assaulted during at least period of year,
its fealty to the Federal Government inn
peached, its history vilified and mistated,
Its purpose misrepresented as intended to
be prostituted to the base designs of break
ing down our Government and destroying
our nation-notwithstand what has
been done even here upon this very soil
the birthplace not alone of human liberty
in an organized form, but of Its founda-
tion-free speech and free press-iap-
plause {: Notwithstanding that here within
the sound of my voice, upon this sacred
soil. menaces have come up TO the Demo-
cracy and to the patriots of this Common
wealth threats have been made that we
dare not meet here to-night-we have as
sembled as freemen. Groans for the
Abolitionists, and voice, ''Give it to
them strong, BILLY.D
l repeat, Mr.. President and Gentlemen,
that exercising this privilege, an old time
privilege, and until very recent period
never doubted and never denied, we are
here, in the sight of Gods Heaven, to
speak our opinion boldly. prolonged
appIause) In order to speak our opin-
ions boldly as TO what we conceive to be
our duty now in this, the hour of our
country's peril, we must speak, first, of
the history of our party and its achieve
ments, and then, as TO the duty which de
wolves upon the Democratic party at this
period When we speak Of the history of