Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1863-11-21

new and unprovlded one. Or rather 1t |
takes that very State force. strips it of its
officers, despoils it Of its organization, and |
reconstructs its elements under different |
authority, though under somewhat similar
forms. II this act is law, it is supreme |
law, and the States can have no militia |
out of the class usually called TO militia
duty for the whole class is appropriated |
as a national force under this law; and no
State can make any law that is inconsis
tent with it. The State militia is wiped
out if this act is valid, except so Ear as it
may be permitted by the Federal Govern
ment. If Congress may thus, under its
power to raise armies, constitute all the
State militia men into "national forces
as part of the regular army, and make
them "liable to perform duty in the ser.
vice Of the United States when called out
by the President cannot see that it may
not require from them all constant mill
itary training under Federal officers as a
preparation for the. greatest efficient when
they shall be SO called out, and then all
the State militia and civil officers may be
put into the ranks and subjected to the
command Of such officers as the President
may appoint and every one would then see
that the constitutional State militia be-
comes mere name. The Constitution
makes it and the men in it national force
in given contingency and in prescrib.
ed form but this act makes so irrespective
of the constitutional form and contiugen-
cy. This is The substantial fact, aad /
am MOI able 10 refine lt 0aCoY.
And it seems to me that this act is un-
constitutional, because it plainly violates
the State systems in this, that it incorpor-
ates into this new national force every State
civil officer, except the Governor, and this
exception might have been omitted, and ev-
cry officer Of all our social institutions,
clergymen, professors, teachers, superin-
tendents Of hospitals, &C., into common
soldiers, and thus subjects all the social,
civil and military of the States to the Fed
eral power to raise armies, potentially
wipes them out altogether, and leaves the
States as defenceless as an ancient city
with its walls broken down. Nothing is
left that has any cOnSitionai right to stand
before the will of the Federal Government.
If this be SO, the party i'll power at any
time holds all State rights in its hands
1t is subject to no restraints except that Of
the common morality of the time and of
the party, and every one knows how weak
and changeable this is in times of popular
excitement, when the party in power, con-
vinced of the rightness and greatness OF
its own ends, thinks lightly of the modes
and forms that in any way obstruct or
retard their attainment. There are no
conStitufsonal restraints Of this power, if it
exists, and therefore, if the unsteady NOR.
ality of party excitements will bear it, the
party in power may require all the troops
to the drafted from the opposite party or
from States and sections where it prevails
Our fathers saw these dangers, and in.
tended the Constitution 10 stand as a re-
straint upon party power They knew
that party in power naturally encroaches
upon every institution that obstructs its
will, aud is inclined, when its power tot
} tors, to adopt extreme, unusual and un-
constitutional measures to maintain it
and they intended to guard against this. -
They knew how Episcopalians, indepen-
dents and Pre>byterians, cavalier and
roundhead, court and country, whig and
: tory parties, had each in turn, when il
power, tyrannized over their opponents and
sacrificed or endangered public liberty
They had felt how great was this evil il
all the partisan struggles that preceded
our Revolution, and they desired posterity
to profit by their experience. The very
restrictions upon appropriation for thu
support OF the army exceeding two years
, is copied from our English ancestors, and
, was deemed by them q constitutional lin
, itation of the party in power. None o
! our constitutions, State or Federal, hav
any purpose or function more importan
than that of restraining and regulating tn
; party that may chance to be in power, an(
} that is one oil the most important purpose
of the separation governmental function
I into different departments.
r Let any one read few of the instances
in English history alone, without refer
: enco to our own or Roman or Grecian his
l tory, wherein liberty has been sacrifice
&. to the interests of party in power, an
. he will see how important are our consti
: tutional restrictions, and how little proba
j Bile it is that so great power as th
It should have been left by our fathers will
i out restriction-courts Of high commissio
d ecclesiastical commission and star chambe
IS and high courts of justice, and speci'
commission of oyer and terminer, unde
= such Judges as Scroggs and Jeffries, Gre
G ated for the purpose of trying and eonden
= ing acts which no law forbade--liberty {
7, speech and Of the press most cruelty pur
IS ished by such courts when it ventured o
i too free dissent from the policy of tt
y dominant party-informations by the A
If torney General substituted in such cast
is for Indictment by the grand jury-men
!. bers of Parliament expelled because the
ii opposition was offensive or dangerous
II the ruling power-military officers di
e missed because of their political opinion
N as were Lord Shelbourne, General Coz
way and Colonel Barre, under the Graz
IL - r Al = -. r.