Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1862-11-01


conduct, he becomes q legislator. Those laws
may be made actually operative; obedience to
them may be enforced by military power; their
purpose and effect may be solely to recruit or
support his armies, or to weaken the power Of the
enemy with whom he is oontendlng. But he 10
legislator still; and whether his ediots are
clothed in the form Of proclamatlons, or OF mil
itary orders, by whatever name they may be
called, they are laws. II he has the legislative
power, conferred on him by the people, IL is we'll.
If not, he usurps Il.
He has no more lawful authority 10 hold all
the citizens of the entire country, outside OF
the sphere of his actual operations IN the field,
smenable 70 his military edicts, than he has
to hold all the property Of the country subject to
his military acquisitions. He is not the military
commander OF the citizens Of the States, but of
it's soldiers.
Apply these principles to the proclamatlons
and orders OF the President. They are not
designed 10 meet an existing emergency In
some particular military operation In the field;
they prescribe future rules Of action touching
the persons and property of cltizens. They are
to take effect, not merely within the scope OF
military operations In the field or In their neigh
borhood, but throughout the entire country, or
great portions thereof. Their subject matter is
not military offenses, or military relations, but
civil offanses, and domestic relations; the rela-
tion of master and servant; the ohPenees of
"dislOyelty or reasonable practices." Their
purpose is no. to meet some existing and instant
military emergency, but to provide for distant
events, which may or may not occur; and whose
connections If they should coincide with any
particular military operations, are indirect,
remote, casual, and possible merely.
II is manifest that in procaiming these
edicts the President Ia not acting under the
authority of military law; frat, because mill
tsry law extends only over the persons actually
enlisted in the military service; and second,
because these persons are governed by lsws
enacted by the legislative power. Ills equally
manifest that he is not acting under that i'm
piled authority which grows out OF particular
actual military operations; for these executive
decrees do not spring from the special emeFgen-
cies Of any particular military operations,
and are not limited to any field in which any
such operations are carried on.
Whence, then, do these edicis spring2 They
spring from the assumed power TO extend
martial laN over the whole territory OF the
United States; power for the exercise Of
which by the President there is no warrant
whatever 10 the Constitution, o power which
no free people could confer upon an executive
officer, aud remain free people. For 1t would
make him the absolute master of their lives,
their liberties, and their property, with power
to delegate his mastershipto such ratraps as he
migh. select, Or as might be imposed on hia
cfedulity, or his fears. Amidst the great
dangers which encompass ne, in our struggles
to encounter them, in our natural eagerness to
lay hold Of efficient means to accomplish our
vast labors, let US beware how We borrow
weapons from tho armory OF arbitrary power
They cannot be welded by the hands of q free
people. Their blows will finally fall upon
themselves.
Distracted councils, divided strength, are the
very earliest effects of an attempt to use them
What lies beyond, no patriot is now willing 20
attemp. to look upon.