, 1862-04-02

and bear arms; nor the power to " "deprire''
any person " Of life, liberty or property with
out due process Of law" Il. e., written war
rant issued upon an oath, Indictment, trial by |
jury, &c; j nor to deprive citizen Of any !
State Of any Of "the privileges or imuunities |
Of the citizens Of the several States" On the t
contrary, it expressly prohibits the exercise |
of all these powers And yet during the ex- |
istence Of war, foreign or domestic, the Fed
eral Government can consEtutional1y exercise, |
as it is constitutionally exercising, all Of them;
for the prohibitions were intended for periods |
Of peace only.
This is evident from the fact that the Consti-
tuition gives the Federal Government full !
power to wage war against domestic, as well as I
against foreign enemies; against its own citi- |
zens when in rebellion, as fully as against the |
subjects Of the remotest nation Of the earth. |
It thus gives it the power so to wage wars
without any limitation or restriction; and Of
course, authorizes it to carry them on by the
exercise Of all the powers and means author
lied by the law Of nations.
It is an axiom Of jurisprudence that the
grant Of power to do thing, is q grant of
the power to employ all the means necessary
to do that thing. The right Of 6 constable to
take defendants body, Is u right to kill that
defendant if that be necessary to the tsking Of
his body. So, the right to carry on war is the
right to deprive the enemy Of Ills life as well
as Of his liberty and property; to do all those
acts which the law of war, as 4 part Of the law
Of nations, permits. Our Constitution con-
fers the Tar-making power with reference
and in subordination to the law Of nations, It
thus adopts that law and makes it part Of
itself
Is it not plain, then, that whatever power
the law Of nations gives to government at
War, our Constitution also gives to our Gov
ernment when engaged in war?
If these things we're not SO, how could our
Government carry On any war? The Consti-
tuition does not, expressly or in detail, confer
upon it any Of the ordinary war powers; not
even to capture or disarm an enemy, And
get, who denies that it has the constitutional
power during war to "abridge the freedom Of
speech and the press,'' as well as Of
the telegraph; to ..iniringe On the
1ghth 1S hod Of the psoPle. IS Teee1s "to keep I;f
liberty and property without due process Of
1aw," without the Intervention Of judicial
oath, warrant, Indictment Or jury trial, and by
mere military force; to deprive the citizens Of
each rebel State Of all "tfe privileges and
! State? Not even Jefferson Davis or Reverend
| General Polk; not even the most shameless
Of the deprared politicians and dapostate priests
| Of tic loyal States {scores Of the latter being
| chaplairs in regiments under the command Of
generals Of tile former class); not even any
| Of the vile creatures in or out Of the civil or
military service, who are pretending to qucs-
tion the constitutional right Of the Govern
| ment to deprive the red-handed rebels Of those
I possessions which their oTn laws make t'prop.
erty,.o which have enabled them to engage il,
| aud thus lar with some signal successes, to
| forf In dad rio 1E hA11
| ing which in all the States Us well as Terrific
ries, they inausurated their rebellion!
I But the 1aW of nations, and, therefore, the
constitution, gives full power to the Federal
| Government and its military commanders to
| deprive even loyal citizens not only Of their
| ofthe "persons held to service or labor' BY
| them, whether as minor Sons, apprentices OF
slases, by receiving them, too, into its military
service, and thus seyering the ties that held
them By virtue OF this power, Gen. Jackson
employed scores Of the slaves Of loyal masters
In his defense Of New Orleans, aud emazcipa
led them Us reward for their services, whiis
Congress pe1sistentlY refused to make ths
"oWners" any compensation; holding thai
the defense Of their homes and country was
sufficient Indemnity. But in 'tthe very con
seientious'' opinion Of the demagogues anG
divines who deny the right Of the Govern
ment to enancipate the slave Of the rebel, tht
right Of that rebel to his slave is more sacret
than Of the loyal citizen to his apprentice O
his minor son!
But why e1aboratethe argument9 We hay,
seen that the law Of nations makes it til
duty Of our Government to cause emancipa
tion to follow in the footsteps Of its conquest
| Of rebel territory. Is any elaborate argu
ment necessary to demonstrate that wha 1a7
makes it its duty to do, it gives it the righ
to do? How shameless, then, the pretence
whether set up by member Of Congress o
semi -traltorous editor, army commander Q
| army chaplain, that tic emancipation of til
Elaves Of rebels will involve ayiolation Of til
Constitution.
Again, as in the case Of people whom on
! enemy has unjustly oppressed, the law Of NJ
tions, not only bestoWs war powers, bat in
poses war duties also. Another Of these du
ties is the employment Of all those powers 10
winning success and thus compelling peace a
land who does not know that the enancip:
ton Of the slaves Of a1I rebels, even withou
arming them, would prove most potent mean
: to that end?
, laws ofnations, not only authorizes our Gov
ernment to exercise all the war powers ths
: law confefs, but requires Of it all the war d,
tics that Law enioins.
: Then is not the legal demonstration full an
, | unanswerablc that it is the constitutional dul
of our Government and military represent:
e fiycs to emancipate every slaye Of every reb,
: in all the land, and to make the emancipatio
! fully efectual as fast as conquest shall affoE
opportunity?
Each uationa1 public servant from tt
!. President and General in. Chief down throug
i | the Cabinet ministers and members of Col
:, gress, down even to the messengers in the D
y partment6, the sailors on the gunboats and Il
+ soldiers In the ranks, are bound By their SO
!, cmn oath to obey the Constitution and di
It charge their duties. Let them ali see to
that they Keep that oath in the case Of tt
j, | hrnnf,1R xRhrTe MR. hrc rT71ncf1x n
e pressed" SO long and SO cruelty. Thus +
), most Of them in high positions, and with 0
portunitlcs to *'break the chains,'' have II
lated that oath, not only in respecting and I
upon thousands Of the victims who had the1
u selves broken and cast them OFT
, # they shall continue to do SO, the who
- body of the American people, in the next &c
~ Grafton if not in this. and the whole people
t. the civilized and Christian world, hencefor
= their omission Of that duty, their violation
:" that oath, with ualedictions that shall Ri
5 down through the archway Of the ages!
re let them see to it in time, that By their nc
n lect Of their present opportunity to "1et t
oppressed go Free" such opportunity as t
e providence of God has never vouchsafed
men before, they do not also neglect an opp
tunity to embalm their names In the grate
4 1ecollections Of the good OF all coming tin
n that by their wilful neglect Of their sworn {
IL ty, not merely to the four millions Of the 81
jnst1y oppressed" but to their country q
to humanity everywhere, they do not dos
themselves to crnclfxiou in history as
greatest Of the whole worlds malefactors.
]. B. G
List Of Killed, Wounded and missi
Of the 3Sth Illinois Regiment at t
M.ttles .s,, OF HentonTilie and Ru
CoArAkr A-Egin-C.G G, o8,wonpded alisb
in thigh.