Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1862-03-14
NO. so.

bursting IN storm OF universal fre upon the
land, blasting every fields consuming every
house, destroying every temple-the miserable
Inhabitants as they fly from their btrning
homes. enveloped in whirIwinds of ptirsuine
cavalry, slaughtering without regard to age
sex; or condition, until all the horrors of war
ever Known before should become mercy COM
pared to that new havoc! Had he done this
it would have been the war Required Jy the
doctrines which l resist, which would mol give
to the revolt the status )fa belligerent, nor put
the States 'Out Of the jurisdiction Of the Union
But, sir, such war leo,dd have impeached the
President-as Hastings was impeuched before
the Lords Of England in the nanfe Of the Con
stitution which he had trhmpcd upon, in the
name Of the people whose character he had d.s-
hOnore,l, in the name of the eternal law Of jus
tire which he had vi0latcd, and in the name OF
human nature itsef which he had outraged.
From What ] have SAID il results that in a
wnr against rebellion this Government Il en-
dOwrd with all the powers over persons and
property which are the incidents OF citiIizpd
war; and with the additional power of all gov
ernments over treason. This comes from the
traitor having two distinct characters which
are both alike known TO the law, to-witi enc
my and traitor | understood the gentleman
from Indiana Mr.. Voorhees, to deny that this
Government, in this war against rebellion,
holds wuf powers over the persons and prop
erty Of rebels, by which their prnperty can be
forfeited as an act of war Why, MIR. Chair
man. this denial, this doctrine; Of that gentle
man is SO sclfpvidently fallacious that it is the
precise principle seized upon, iii the case of
Luther rs. Borden, by the Supreme Court Of
the United States, as the superlative degree of
all the absufdilies to be ioud in the universal
chIrne-hotse of legal abuminations Justice
Taney-ay, sir, Fancy-@lssumes that it is self
evidently monslrOus 10 bold that any court
could interfere with the militia possession of
persons whom the President had arrested in a
war against insnrreetiOnj and he not only holds
that property is subjected to the Lowers of
war over it, but he declares that any other
doctrine wOuld turn the Constitution into "a
guarantee Of anarchy" But will the gentle
man inform this country hat the laws of war
suspend, and for the time, when the public
safety demands it, override the civil powers OF
This government, so that persons can lie de-
priFed Of liberty, and can be held free from the
interference of courts; in military arrest, and
yet tlat war cannot, for the public safety. de-
prive them of property? You can try a reb-
el spy at the drum-head, and, on Conviction.
shoot him; but to save the Republic you can
not forfeit his negro! Buckners hands are
to-day red and reekiDg with the hot hearts
blood Of our gallant lead-hands from which
all Neptune's ocean will not wash clean the
4 L
charge him and his fourteen thousand fellow
traitors on itabeaS corpus? No, answers ChieI
Justice fancy, the supreme oracle of the law;
! no, you can not only bold him, but, if his case
be such that the laws Of war admit, You NAV
shoot him. But you may not free his slave
! though the Republic perish. The slave has
knowledge Of which you can possess yourself
by granting him liberty, which knowledge viii
save our army and the Republic; but both
must PERISH for You cannot emancipate slave
to save them both! So says the gentleman
from Indiana. Ue must say so. because he de-
nies the power of war to free slave If he
admits that we may free one for the public
safety, then be yields the legal principle und
admits as war may liberatg ore il may liber-
ate all whom the public safety requires to bc
freed. s..
Why, sir, of what kind of celestial stuff i;
this band made up which tics the slave TO lii
lord and master, that the spear of Ithuriel non
! the sword Of war can neither pierce nor sever
ii? Does not the gentleman know that democrat
ic administrations and commanders, in aJ6it
every war in which this Government has evel
been involved since its origin, have exercised
| the right to emancipate slaves by act Of wdi!
and that not against truitors either? Sir, the
science OF Government, like the science o
mathematics, has its aNiOms-trutIIs wliicl
are, like the attributes Of God, et- rnal, immn.
table, and self-evident. Que Of these truths
which stands inscribed ia characters OF mex
Iinguishable light over the portals Of the tenn
! pies Of law, and which enwr@lbcs The VERY
brow Of the statues of Justice in every lane
where liberty has home which is the from
tai gem in the constcllai ION of legal lights col
lccted 10y Bacon aud BrOoln--is the prccis,
ruth which the gentleman from lndiana hal
denounced as the tiamuing EeF sy of treas III e
the Constitution; and which he tells us lhu
m mbcr from Kentucky has ovcrihrown for
ever. That truth ".SIiiuS popmi suprema Ter
it is which, when required for the public good
commands this Government 10 consume tht
, field. the house, the city, and the lives Of Tho
most loyal aid valued ciliz'ns. But sir, the
lights Of Lord Bacon and Broom "pale theil
Intellectual fires" before the new torch which
my able friend brings to us from Indiana, will
lights borrowed from a X ,ntucky sun. BY
the light of that new fambeau we see thai
the sages, saints and martyrs Of Constitution
al liberty aud law luve for ages msreud thu
foundation maxim Of human government; ant
instead of its reading "SIius popuH supreme
Ter" it reads "Srtus POmpy suprcma ier."-
Which being interpreted signifeth: "I'hc safe
ty of negro slavery is the supreme law Of til,
land"
Sir, somebody said that the Declaration o
Independence is a self evident lie! The Su
preme Court of the United S;atc-and, worsl
of all, by the lips of Justice laney-has sa;C
that the gentenians law is selEevident lalla
cy.
If misunderstood the position Of the gen
tleman from Indiana, and it he admits the WA
power "capture" and ''conhseltion," when re
quired to save the Government, and only dc
MICS the power of Congress to abolish shaver.
by permanent and general municipal acts o
emancipation, then agree with him, as th,
sequel of my remarks will show.
Two propositions l now state which linn
and qualify every remark shall make as Il
the right and duiy of this Government to con
6scate or foreit property in and by war.
l. The right and power Of the Government
to resort to such tOrfetures is derived solel,
from the same source from which its power Il
make captures" in war is derived, which is tb
inherent right of national defence and sell
preservation; and all laws Of confscation, cap
tme and forfeiture should be framed aud exc
cated with reference and subservient TO thi