St. Mary's beacon., 1862-10-30

United States has been empowered III Til
Constitution 10 extend martial lar oveI
the whole country. and to subject thereby
to his military power every right III ever,
.eitizrn: lie has no such authority n
Ag Isl I've adds: f
Nhai. :iien. is his authority over sls<.
P~iSons aud property of ciiiz ms 2 IL an.
rwes. that. over MI persons enlisted in his,
'forces he has military power aud com.
mani fiat oyer all persons and prnperfy
'eithia b,c sphere ef us aesHal of,ersfioaa
/" the .fS4d he may iawsully exercise such
restraint aud control as tho successful PROS.
ecllii"n NJ this particular military en:er-
prise, may in bis honest judgmesif, abso-.
soluirly require; aud upon such persons as'
have committed offences against any par
ticular article of war. he may, through
appropriate military tribunals. inllict the
punishment prescribed By law Aad
.ttere las tamtm authority eals
The military power over citizens and
their property is pawcr to act and not d
power to prescribe rules For jasspg action.
1t springs from present PRESSING energeu-
cics, as.d is iipiied by them 1t cannot
assume ilse functions of sh,. statesman or
legislator, aud make provision for future
or distant arrangements by which persons
or property may be s.ade subservient to
military uses. Ii is the physical force of
an army in he e ID, and may control
whatever is SO near as TO be actually reach
ed by that force. iaeordcr to remove OBJ
structions to its exercise. #
''But when the military commander
controis the persons or property CT citi.
zens, who are beyond the sphere of his ac-
tual operations in The feld--when he
makes laws to govern their conduct, he
becomes 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 re-
cruit er support his armies. or to weaken
the power Of bis enemy with whom he is
c'htending. Bal he is a Legislator sill;
and whether hi- ciicts are clothed in the
form OF prociamations, or of military or
ders, by Whatever name they may be
called, they are laws. Ell he have the
legislative power. Conferred on him by
the people, it is well. If not, he usurps
it.
Heb has mo moro lawful authority to
hold all the citizens Of the entire country,
outside Of the sphere of his actual operations
il the & Ii, alhsnable TO his military edicts,
than he has to hold all the properly Of the
country subject to his military acquisitions
He is not the military commander OF the
citizens OF he United States, but of its
soldiers."
As to the duties Of the people of the
North III il.is solemn crisis of their h;sto-
ry, Judge G. says:
The us Of rover, even in d spot;c
uacnarchics. are more or less controlled by
usogcs al.l customs, or in other words.
by public opinion. In coed 6anls, and
ill favoral.' times, d spotie power Is not
commonly flowed to be :elt to he opprcs-
siye; and, always, the furns of free
Government, which has once existed, so
far rs is pg >ticable, are carefully aud spe-
ciou>ly preserved. But wise people
does mol lust its condition and rights to
the happy accident of favorable times or
good hands. 1t is iealons of power. L,
Knows that OF all earthly things, it il that
thing most likely to be abused; and when
it effects a nation. most destructive NV its
abuse. Thy will rouse themselves to
consider what is the power claimed; what
is its erigi.; what is its extent; what uses
may be ale Of it in dangerous times,
and by meh likely to be produced in such
timcs;-and while they will trust their
public servants, and will pour out their
dearest blood like water to siistain them in
their honest measures for their country's
salvation. they will demand. of those SER
wants obedience to their viii, as ex pressed
in the fundamental laws Of the Govern
ment. to the end that there shall not be
added to all the sufferngs and losses they
have uncomplainingly borne, that most
of all earthly losses--the ruin
of the principles of their free Government.
"What then is TO Be done? Are we 10
cease our utmost efforts to save cur coun-
try. because its chief magistrate seems to.
have fallen, for the time being, Into what
we believe would be fatal errors If persist
ed in by him and .equiesced III BY our
selves! Certainly not. Lot the people
but be right, and no President can long
be wrong; nor can he effect any fatal mis-
chief if he should be.
THE sober second thought of the poo
pie has yet controlling power. Let this
gigantic shadow, which has been evoked
out of the powers of the con,nander-in-
chief, once be placed before the people,
SO that they can see clearly its proportions
and Its micn. and it will dissolve and dis
appear like the morning cloud before
the rising sun.
The people yet can and will take care,
oy legitimate means, without disturbing
any principle of the Constitution. oh vio-
laring any law, or relaxing any of their
u'nost efforts for their cou,ary's salvation,
that their will, embodied in the Constitu-
ton, shall be obeyed. IF it needs amend
ment, they will amend it themselves.
They will suffer nothing to be added to it,
or taken from it. b. any other power than
their own. II they should, neither the
government itself, nor anpright under it,
will any longer be theirs
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