The Placer herald., 1863-06-27
Mob and Martial Law the Rule of Action.

AAoO ouu Ao1 Ildl Law tuo huAo VI ACLlOu.
Mob law is no law at all. 1t is the exac.
ton Of brute force made upon weakness. 1t
is the impulse of passion, directed by COW.
ard:ce, expending itself upon inanimste and
animate things. Akin to this is martial law
but it is not exercised at the will Of .he
manv-it is the brute force commanded by
one, the emanaion of the passion or will, of
a dictator. That will, may be based upon
deep craft and reason, or the revengefnl
whim OF moment. There is no security
for life, or property. under the rule of either
irresponsible, variable as passion, i. exalts
to day but to destroy tomorrow.
Robespierre was the offspring and victim
of the mob of Paris-the idol aud marty,
of it. Whilst the tool of the mob he could
live, but when he aspired to dictate he was
sent to the gulotine The mob was strong,
er than the mamie had not learned the
trick of military necessity"
Mix mob and martial law together. sanrl'
fy the former by calling it 1.-The irrepressibIe
patriotic Indignation Of the people," and the
latter by naming it "a military necessity
and we have the rules of government Of the
P'SSo"e A>otou0i [h'i'Iiu!stldtIp1. w lltU
the Peace Congress asked for the South con-
stitutiona amendments. as additional pledges
of security from the sectional party of the
North, there was nothing in good sense or
patriotism to induce the denial Of them
But the mob had been taught to cry out
against the "slave power" and to regard any
measure Of Cancellation with the people of
the Southern States, as "knucklng to the
Southern oigarchy $50 they were denied
When our half disci pIined army lay before
the frowning batteries of Bull Run, the mob
became camorous for action. and raised the
cry of "onward to Richmond" The Presi,
dent, cabinet, and commanding generals
stopped to obey the brainIess monster, and
the bloody disgrace of July, 1861, followed
as a consequence. The best Generals we
have had in the army have been decapitated
at the clamor of the mob. When Mason
and Slidel were captured. in violation of la 4
and treaty stipulatons the mob was loud in
its plaudts but when the British govern
ment demanded their release, this same mob
spirit became silent with fear. 1t is 80 with
the fiercest of brute creation-it uuails be,
fore the searching glance of real courage.
and mob may find its way into Congress
as well as into the filthy lanes of city
During the wild days of the French RevoIu-
ton the Legislative body of that nation aboh
ished worship in the churches, set up rour
texan as the Goddess of Reason, and decreed
her worship.
The great newspaper representatives Of
the mob declared in the fall Of 1860, "Iet
the South 90 if they wish to, it ia their
r;rkf - Ms ip.nIp
and told the people that after fighting ever
so much, they must come back to the ques
tions of peace. But the mob demanded that
"the rebellion be crushed even if to do so
required the determination of the white peo
pie of the South,' and the President and all
the contractors went in for more war-and
that's what the matter is."
The war became a palpable failure, some
thing must be done to give it an impulse
Slavery was the cause of the rebellion, said
these manpulators of the mob, let us remove
the cause----let use abolish slavery. The
mob took up the cry, and although Lincoln
in his Inaugural had distinctly declared, ~
have no purpose directly or indirectly, to in
terfere with the institution of slavery in the
States where it exists I believe I hare nc
lauful right to do So and have no inclina
ton to do so;' vet At the behest of this tur
bulent master he issues his mandates: ~
order and declare that all persons held as
slaues, IN the said designated States and parts
of States are and hereafter shall be free"
Clanorng for free speech in the South,
where these rude gosspers did not live, and
had no right to interfere, they came 20 the
administration Of the government, but now
that free speech exposes their wickedness,
they turn with mad inconsistency to sup.
press all criticism of their conduct.
Having no respect for constitutional rights
how could this mob spirit be expected to re-
gard the sacredness of the ballot,box, so it
gave the people leave TO vote between lines
of bayonets, but issued its orders against the
public discussion Of those matters which they
were to decide at the polls. Degraded in
itself, it degrades those it uses for its purpo'
to the language of the grogshop, as for eY
ample:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJrTANT GENERALS OFFICE,
WASHINGTON. March Is, 1868.
Special orders, No. ll9. [Extract.]
"a. BY direction of the President, the follow
Ing officers are hereby dismissed from the service
of the United States.
Lieut. A. J. Edgerly, Fourth New Hampshire
Volunteers, for circulating Copperhead tickets,
anc doing all in his power to promote the success
of the rebel cause in his State.
BY order OF the Secretary Of War.
L. THOMAS, Adjut'nt General.
To the Governor of New Hampshire.
At what point in excesses this mob spirit
will stop no one is able to say. There is not
rule of common sense it has not set at de-.
6ance,--no law, or personal right, it has not
violated. We had hoped it would wear it.
self out and sink to rest, but the madness be,
comes chronic Idiots are born into the
world naturally, but madness is disease
We have not determined yet whether this
mob spirit comes from the idiot or mailman.
II is dangerous monster reveling in its