Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-10-06
Emancipation as viewed by Repub-
ffean

he General Government no power to alter the
domestic relations of the States, and holding that
IN effort on the part of civilized Government to
servile instruction is contrary to the
usages of warfare as recognized by Christian ma
tons, in a series of ably written editorials,
pleteIy refutes The subterfnges which the radicals
use as reasons whv Mr.. LINCOLN should ignore
the law of the lard and cut loose from the moor
ings of the Constitution The following is No.
3 OF the SERIES and, as it comes from "a man who
voted tor the present vaciating and weak
minded President. conceive it to be meet that
our political opponents should know what a con-
seryative Republican thinks of the emancipation
proclamation:
Our third objection to proclamation of eman-
cipation is that it would be contrary to the usages
of civilized warfare. 1t is plainly proposition
to ncite domestic instruction for the massacre of
millions oil people, portion of them supposed to
be loyal. aud one halt of them delenceless women
and children. We do notquote here the censures
heaped upon the Europeans who, in former days,
moved the Indians 10 atrocious deeds; but let US
turn to other cases. Said John Quincy Adams
in his correspondence relating to British Admiral
Cochrane's proclamation referring to slaves in che
war of 1912: 1T is not coplormable to the es
tablished usages of war among civilized nations:'
again. 1.-The principle is that The emancipation of
enemy's slaves is not among the acts of legiti-
mate war;" once more: "The right of putting TO
death all prisoners in cold bloou, and without
special cause, might as well be pretended to bea
law of war, or the right to use poisoned weapons,
or o assassnate-"
John Quincy Adams was right. Napoleon
refused to arm the Russian serls against their
masters, though they were of the same race and
color, even when they came in thOusaI DIS Offering
their services RevOlu;ionsts have resorted to
such warfare but il would not be tolerated by the
civilized nations of this age.
But suppose such proclamation would ac-
complish even so much; by what authority can it
be donef We are contending for the Constitu-
ton as it is, and under the Constitution. If not,
we must be in violation OF it, and without sane
ton of law, in which case jeff Davis's Govern
ment is just as legitimate as ours, and the rebel
States are the United States as much as the
Northern States.
In subduing rebellion-of which this is the
most Infamous the world ever saw-we can 90 as
far as the Constitution allows, aud there we must
stop. We know iT is becoming common in this
day for persons to say, I'VE will exercise certain
powers, Constitution Constitution, !" but that
that is the doctrine of revOlutionists-of the
R0bespierres and Murats, who in ninety days of
administration would plunge this people into all
the horrors OF the French revolution when
mans life would be safe and all property would
be worthless.
7.
Cabinet and the Congress derive their powers
from the Constitution, and TO that they must adj
here or ruin comes to all. By that instrument
Abraham Lincoln is President at Washing ton;
beyond and without it he is simply A. Lincoln, of
Illinois, and has no more rights or powers than
has Sam Jones of Seabrook. II that Constitu-
ION gives him the power to emancpate slaves
within the States, and against the will OF the
loyal people thereof-for the loyal people are the
State-then he can do it; if not, then the States
or the people have retained that right to them
selves, and he has more power TO deal with
the matter than have with the specie in the
vaults of the New York banks Before he pro
ceeds-uneSs he can see his authority, which we
fail to-let him ask the States or If the crisis is
so great not to admit of delay, let him at least
do as much as did Louis Napoleon, when he
would proIong his term of Office, appeal 10 the
people. Let him hear what the border States
will say--what the great Northwest will say
what every State OF the Hudson river will
say; aye. and what New England even will say.
But we have the right in the war power. they
tell us War powerl War power What is that?
Will somebody please define itr Does anybody
pretend to say that because the nation may be
engaged in war therefore the President is endow-
ed with absolute authOrty?-thnt he may say the
public good and the national welfare demand this
or that and 90 aud do it, of bis own Will Why,
the Autocrat of Russia has no more power, and
Nero i'm his bloodest days never dared exercise
50 mnch. Why, what does this power-this war
pOwer-enable the Government to do?-tO take
your property and mine. when we loyal citi
zens2 1t not then it not take the property
of any Southern who may be loyal citizen
Will it justify the instigation of the servants
about your house or mine to burn the house over
our heads and our infant children and Uefenseless
women in themf Then it will not admit of such
crimes in Virginia and Tennessee How strange
that people should ever be so carried away to
believe that We have endowed any one or any
number OF men, when we may be unarmed aud
peaceful, wishing well to country, to seize
our property, or papers, or persons, and to send
us TO the dungeon or the block, without any pro-
cess of law This is what is claimed by the ad
vocates of emancipation under the war power
But this is sheer nonsense; and 1t is nothing but
the madness of the hour that begets tOlerates
such an idea. We suppose that this power
would have existed just the same if Mr.. Brock
inrldge had been elected as 1t does under Mr.
Lincoln.
Let us see. Suppose John c. Breckenridge had
become President in 1861, and i'm the excited
state of feeling in Massachusetts there had been
riots and resistance of law. We will suppose
that public meetings were held, and the Const
tuition burned, and the Union denounced, and the
President threatened; and in the midst of the ex
element fugitive WAS seized in the city of BOS
ton, the court mouse put IN CHAINS, the people
came rushing in with arms from Lynn and WOr
cester. and blood was shed. Mir. Breckenridge
first sends troops to Boston; Wendell Phillips
aud Garrison are sent to Fort Warren; the Libe-
r0tOr suppressed, and other papers of anti slavery
sentiments refused the rights of the mail. 1t
goes ON actually to civil war, ami the State OF
Massachusetts is put under martial law 1t is
declared and believed that this trouble comes
from the Abolition sentiment Of the North, and
it is necessary to the peace of the country that
such sentiments should be crushed Out-'the alb
clifton of pOwer''-''the Puritan oligarchy" must
be exterminated. Suppose that Mr.. Breckenridge
came forward with "A proclamation affirming that
the Government could not exist half slave and
half free, that uniformity of sentiment and con-
sttutions were essential, and that consequently
anu by the power vested in him as Commander
in Chief slavery should be extended over all the
States and all negroes found in Massachusetts
after a certain date, without an owner or master,
should be sold at public auction. Does the per-
son live that would claim this to be right? And
why notl Is not the war power good on
side as on the other? Does the accident of
an election change the nature o. the casef Has
not the Government just much power to eStab
lish to abolish slavery ITO make Ohio uniform
with Kentucky as Kentucky with Ohio? Now
who does net see that the fact of this assumed
war power would be for each President, if the oc-
casiOn presented-and be could make the Occa-
sion if it did not come otherwise-to abolish OF
establish slavery at will; and the institutions of
the country would change with each change of
the Administration, civil war being the conse-
quence of such election How long would
should such n Government enduref