The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-10-18

The New York World, the organ OF the
conservative Republicans" thus fear
lessIy, earnestly and Indignantly rebukes
the Administration for its despOtic course
in arresting men for daring to question its
honesty or ability to administer the Gov
eminent creditably: ut is with dismay
and unspeakable shame that we, who have
supported the Administration from the
beginning, observe its abuse Of its power
Of arrest There isno such thing rs either
justifying or extenuating its conduct in
this particular. Every principle Of Amer
ican liberty, every regard for the loyal
cause, every sentiment Of justice, every
impulse OF manhood, cries out against it.
The man who thinks at all is absolutely
staggered that these things can be- They
seem like some hideous dream. One can
almost fancy that Mephistophiles himself
has got access to the councils ostAe gov
eminent, and by some device, fresh from
the pit, had diverted its energies from the
repression of rebellion to the suppression
Of liberty.
Last week Charles IngersOll, of PhiIa-
delphia, was arrested for using the follow
ing language in a public speech: "That
more corrupt government than that
which now governs Ws Sa&SSs ~~uo IN Inc
limited g. -..1 be- ha~~ ~.-I9c--: :.:--=
in any part Of the European world. 1t is
necessary to go to the older regions Of
Asia TO find as much corruption as exists
in this Cover .Iment" Whether this Ian.
guage was true or not, whether it was
called for or not, may admit of dispute
but it is indisputable that it is within the
limits Of legitimate and loyal speech. No
language is traitorous which is not direct.
cd against the Union and the Constitution.
To assail the government is one thing, to
aSsail the administration Of the govern.
ment is entirely another. The first is
sedilion, and is no mans privilege; the
second is not Sedtion, and is every free
mans right. Mr.. Ingersoll's criticisms
and denunciations we're aimed solely at
the management Of President Lincoln and
the officials for whose acts he is response
BILE. The speech was made at n party
meeting, and was probably inspired in
some degree by party spirit; but it con-
tanned nothing inconsistent with thorough
allegiance to the supreme law Of the land,
which is the Federal Constitution. We
can, in truth, conceive Of such language
being dictated by the very intensity Of
devotion to the sovereign authority. We
have no sympathy with the party with
which Mr.. Ingersoll acts. We have no
sympathy with any party in this crisis Of
the nation. All such organizations should
be in allegiance. But however inexpedi'
ent party action may be, there is world
wide difference between it and treason
The administration, in its capacity MS
such, is as truly liable to criticism, wheth'
er favorable or -unfavorable, as any ad'
ministration that has ever preceded it. II
any citizen deems it corrupt or oppressive
he has right so to declare. The state o.
war confers no exemption from this free
criticism, but in truth makes its exercise
all the more necessary. The greater the
interests at stake, the more important the
free canvassing of the best means to guard
them. The broader the powers intruSted
to the administration, the more rigidly
should it be held to its responsibilities. 1t
is humiliating to know that the rebel con-
frdcracy itself allows latitude Of animal.
versi II such as here is scarcely tolerated
The public journals Of Richmond constant
ly use language concerning the rebel ad-
ministration such az it would not be safe
to use in Washington against the federal
administration. While we are writing, an
extract from late issue of the Atlanta
Confederacy falls under our eye, which
declares of certain procedures Of the rebel
rule that "morc perfect despotis'n than
this is not practiced by any government,
nor submitted to by any people on earth,
however irresponsible and grinding the
one or ahject and servie the other" This
language is identical in sentiment with
that used by Mr.. Ingcrsoll, and even more
severe in form. And yet the one, under
what we consider the tyrannical sccptre
of JEFF. Davis, passes with impunity,
while the other, under the constitutional
@gis of Washington and Jefferson, calls
down summary arrest and imprisonment
Brigadier- General Stone has been relcas
ed from Fort Lafayette without the trin
that was promised him, or even disclo
sure of the cause of his arrest, and is or
dered to report in Washington for duty
lie has suffered eight months imprison
mcnt, has had no opportunity to excul'
pate himself, if he was innocent, and re-
turns to his duties with blasted name
Of two things, one either General Stone
was guilty of threachery at Balls Bluff
~ he INS not. Is M YES, the gaysvpgH,aAI
commits crime in restoring him to trusts
which he may again betray. If he was
not, the government was outrageously un'
just in keeping him eight months in du'
rance vile, without giving him a chance
to prove his innocence. In either case,
there has been fragrant wrong. From
the fact of the final restoration to official
position, we suppose that the wrong lay
in the original arrest That arrest, even
though mistaken, might have been excu'
sable, if followed soon by military adiudi-