The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-06-24

peace, than can be persuaded that a partic-
ular drug is not good medicine for a sick mar
because it can be shown not to be good iooe
I for a well one Nor am able to appreciate
! the danger apRrehsnded by the meeting thai
the Anerican people will, by means of milit-
airy arrests during he Rebellion, lose the right
of Public Discussion, the, Liberty of Speech
and the Press, The Law of Evidence Trial by
jury, and Habeas Corpus, throughout the in
definite peaceful future, which trust lies be-
fore them, any more than am able to be-
lieve that man could contract SO strong an
appetite for enletics during temporary illness,
as TO persist in feeding upon them during the
remainder of his heathful 1ife
In giving the resolutions thst earnest con-
sderation which you request of me, cannot
! overlook he fact that the meeting speak as
"Democrats'' Nor can /, with full respect
/ for their, known intelligence aud the fairly
presumed deliberatiod with which they pre-
pared their resolutions, be permitted to sup
pose that this occurred BY. accident, or in any
other way than that they preferred to desig-
nate themselves Democrats rather than
American citizens" In this time of ma
tional peril, I would have preferred to meet
you uFon level one step higher than any
! party platform; because am sure that, from
such more elevated position, we could do
| better battle for the country we all love than
we possibly can from those lower ones where,
from the force Of habit, the prejudces of the
past, and selfish hopes of the future, We are
sure to expend much of our ingenuity and
strength in finding fault with, and aiming
blows at each other. But, since you have
denied me this, viii yet be thankful, for the
country's sake, that not all Democrats have
done SO. He on whose discretionary judg-
ment Mr.. Yallandigham was arrested and
| tried is a Democrat having no old party af-.
] tlnity with me; and the judge who rejected
/ the constitutional view expressed in these
resolutions, by refusing to discharge Mr. VAL
| landigham on habeas corpus, is Democrat of
better days than these, having received his
judicial mantle at TIE, hands. of President
Jackson. And stillmore, of allthose Demo-
| Gratis who are nobly exposing their lives and
shedding their blood On the battlefield, 1 have
learned that many approved the course taken
with MI, Yallngham, while have not heard
/ of a single one condemning il. / cannot as
sert that there are none such. And the name
+ of President Jackson recalls an instance of
| pertinent, history: After the battle of New
/ Orleans, and while the fact that the treaty of
peace had been concluded was well known in
the -city, but before official knowledge of it
had arrived, Gen. Jackson still maintairssd
martial or military law. Now, tha s. it could
be said the war was over, the clamorg against
martial law, which had dexisted fron1l the first
grew; more furious. Among other things. a
Mr.. Louialier published a denunciajtery news
paper article. Gen jackson arrested him. A
lawyer by the name of Morel procured the
United States Judge TO issue writ of habeas
corpus to relieve Mr. LouiallieF. Gen. Jack
son arrested both the lawyer and the Judge.
A MIR. ollander ventured to, say of some
part of tine matter that /" it was dirty trick
Gen. Jackson arrested him. When the OIL
Ger undertook ito serve the writ of habeas
corpus, Gen.. jackson took it from him, and
sent him away with a copy. Holding the
judge in custody few days, the Generel sent
him beyond the limits of his encampunent.
and set him at liberty, with an order to re-
main till the ratification of peace should be
Regularly announced, or until the British
should have left the Southern coast A day
or. two more elapsed, the ratification of a
treaty of peace was regularly announced, and
the judge and others were fully liberated. A
few days more, and the judge called General
Jackson into court and fined him $1,000 for
having arrested him and the Others nam ed
! The General paid the fine, and there the
matter rested for nearly thirty years, when
Congress refunded principal and interest,"
The late Senator Douglas, then in the House
of Representatives, took a leading part in the
debates, in which the constitutional question
was much discussed. 4 am not prepared to
say whom the journals would show voted for
the measure. sg-.-s1 l-rz .zeas H-ss aa
1t may be remarked First, that we had
the same Constitution then as now; secondly.
that We then had a ease. of invasion, and now
we have case of rebellion; and, thirdly, that
the permanent right of the People to Public
- OttSStAS''OtH, hhO 1iOS1Hs Vi NIJScCA anu Vi Tue
Press, the Trial by Jury, the Law of Evil
denee, and the Habeas Corpus, suffered no
detriment whatever by=that conduct of Gen.
jackson, or its subsequent approval by the
American Congress-.
And yet, let me say that, in my own dis
cretien, do not know whether would have
ordered she arrestaof Mr.. Vallandigham-
While cannot shift the, responsibility from
myself hold that, as a general rule, the
commander in the field is the better judgeof
the necessity in any particular case OF course,
l must practice general directory and revis-
ory power in the matter. gze q
One of the resolutions expresses the opin-
ion of the meeting that arbitrary. arrests will
have the effect to divide and distract those
who should be united in suppressing the Re-
bellion, and am specifically called on to
discharge Mr.. Yallandigham, regard this
as, at least, fair appeal to me on the expe-
dlency of exercising Constitutional power
which | think exists. In nfresponse to such
appeal, | have to say it gave me pain when
L learned that Mr.. Yallandgham had been
arrested-that is, ! was panied that there
should have seemed to be necessity for ar
resting him-and that it will afford me great
pleasure to discharge him SO soon as can, by
any means, believe the public safety will not
suffer BY it. further say that, as the war