The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-05-22

WQ6LuCE LuS1 dChuOMIbuRbu bu6 confederate
or Federal Government, and towards whom
lenity might be shown. Still that case is
not opposite, because Cromwell's Govern
ment was established at home and acknowl-
edged abroad.
1t is not my intention to enter into an
examination of all the details of a confisca-
ton law. 1t may suffice, at the present
time, il. aYoW that, in the execution of
that law, should much prefer the requisite
proceedings should be taken before some
judicial tribunal, and that there should be
invested in the President of the United
States general power of granting amnesty.
Such provision will, think, do away
with all honest objection to the passage of
the measure.
Now, sir, have no patience for long
disquisitious upon the power of Congress to
pass an act of confscation. 1t is not de-
MED that we have the power 10 declare war
and suppress rebellion. Having the power
TO declare war and to suppress rebellion,
| have we not also the power for the yigor-
Gus and successful prosecution of these OBJ
jects? The greater power certainly in
cludes the lesser one. By depriviug the
rebels of their means for continuing this
rebellion, we go great way towards secur-
| ing its extinction. But away with these
bubbles about the constitutionality of this
proposition or that proposition. Instead of
| granting powers, and also afording all the
necessary means for their execution, it
would seem to be the belief of those who
so frequently advance the objection of un-
constitutionality, that the Constitution has
conferred powers never intending they
should be exercised; that it is so fettered as
to be incapable of making a struggle for
the preservation of the integrity of the
Government to which it gave birth. may
say, sir, outside of all questions of cOnsti
tutionality in times of great peril to our
free institutions, when recreant and disloy
al citizens in a large portion of the country
rise in rebellion, spurn the Constitution,
| defy the laws, and resist the authority Of
the Government, there is one duty supreme
end absorbing, a duty to which all others
are subordinat the duty Of self preservation,
| the safety Of the Union from disrup ton, and
Of the Constitution from annihiLatioB. Every
thing opposed to the existence of the Gov
eminent must be made to yield, or swept
off with an iron hand. That the State nsoy
Hve, all minor considerations must be neg
lected, all inferior interests must perish
| wish to refer, for a moment, to the
character of the war in which we are now
engaged, in order that the mind may not be
led sstray by citations from and references
to authorities which have and can have no
application TO this subject. There are two
kinds of war; the one | may denominate a
perfect war and the other a mixed war. A
perfect war is where one nation declares
war against another nation and il has
laws which are as well understood, and
which must be adhered to as strictly, as
any other laws. A mixed war, on the con-
trary, is rebellion or insurrectiou of a
s1fs III Nv,To g
the Government. II is against law, in de-
fiance of authority, aud meets with no en-
enlargement from the laws of nations. In
a Perfect war, the citizens, or subjects oil
one country ere each and all the enemies oil
the citizens or subjects with which it is
carrying on hostilities. They are so recog-
nized and so treated in the laws of war.
There is no exception. All those owing
allegiance to the one nation are the foes o.
the other. 1t is far different in o mixed
war. In that case, the loyal citizens are
the enemies of the dIsloyal citizens.
When we declare war against the rebel.
lion in the South we do not declare war
against the States, nor against independent
Municipalities. Our hostilties only d.
rected against those who have taken uI
arms against the Government and those
who re nder them assistance and the end
which we seek is the suppression of the in
surrection and the restoration of order
We do not declare that the citizens of all
the secession States shall be considered a:
alien enemies that the innocent shall be-
involved in ruin with the guilty that there
shall be no discrimination between those
who are loyal and those who are disloyal
but we ask, aud in no measure more plainly
than the one before US, that there shall be {
discrimination, that there shall be a method
of determining between the true men and
the false, and where we shall infiict severe
punishment aud where extend the protect
ing help or the clemency of this Govern
ment.
A war, strictly speaking, is between in
dependent powers. It's laws are branch Of
that code known as International law. No
single member of the family of nations can
establish, alter or amend them but sug-
gestion made by one Power becomes when
approved by others, part of the CODE
Our present contest may on the contrary,
as / have said. be called mixed war-one
of the parties standing to the other in the
double relation of enemies and citizens. In
other words, it is a mere multiplication of
crimes committed by individual citizens uu-
til the attempt of the Government to put
them down has grown to the dimensions
aad assumed the name of a war; which
ccimes may be dealt with in detail under
the names of murder, theft, arson, as the
case may be, or compreheuded under the
i name of treason, which expresses the ami
mus of the whole The moment we come
to regard it ia an aggregate or organized
character we are in danger of giving it a
! recognition which we should take care to
avoid. The coufict of armies one of which
is made up of these felonies, should be
viewed as neither more nor less than the
result ola attempt to arrest them for these
crimes. -@E
! The Senator from Vermont, Mr. CoIlam
er, who has made some of the happiest
determinations between this rebellion and
proper war, has not, in my opinion, quite
escaped the error which he combats. He
seems to regard the rebels as Power, and
not as felons, separately guilty of all the
crimes committed by them and half ap-
proves of highlands recognition of them
, as beigerent Power. He says that the
: war should be conducted in accordance