The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1863-07-02

| that armies cannot be maintained unless
desertion shall be punished by the severe
penalty of death. The case requires, and
the law and the Constitution sanction this
| punishment Must I shoot simple
minded soldier boy who deserts, while L
must not touch hair of willy agitator
who induces him to desert? This is none
| the less injurious when effected by getting
father, or brother, or friend, into pub
! lic meeting and there working upon his
feelings till he is persuaded to write to the
soldier boy that he is fighting in i bad
cause, for a wicked Administration Of
contemplate Government, too weak to
arrest and punish him if he shall desert
L think that In such case, to silence the
agitator and save the boy is not only con-
! stitutional, but withal great mercy.
If be wrong on this question of con-
stltutional power, my error lies in believ-
ing that certain proceedings are constitu-
| tional, when, IN cases of rebellion or
invasion, the public safety requires them,
which would be unconstitutional when, In
absence of rebellion or in vasion, the public
safety does not require them; in other
words, that the Constitution is not, in Its
application, in all respects the same in
eases of rebellion or invasion involving the
public safety, as it is in times of profound
peace ana public security. The Constitu-
tion itself makes the distinction and l
can 10 more be persuaded that the Gov
ernment can constitutionally take no strong
measures in time of rebellion, because it
can be shown that the same could not be
lawfully taken in time of peace, than can
ha cd lata L. i
good for sick man, because it can be
shown to not be good food for a well one
Nor am | able to appreciate the danger
apprehended by the meeting, that the
American people will, by means of militia
~ arrests during the rebellion, lose the
right of discussion, the liberty o: speech
and the press, the law Of evidence, trial by
jury, or ha5eas corpus, throughout the
indefinite peaceful future, which, trust,
lies before them, any more than [ am able
to believe that man could contract so
strong an appetite for emetics during tenn
porary illness as to persist in feeding upon
them during the remainder of his health
full life.
In giving the resolutions that earnest
consideration which you request of me,
cannot overlook the fact that the meeting
speak as democrats" Nor can [, with
full respect for your known intelligence,
and the fairly-presumed deliberation with
which they prepared their resolutions, be
permitted to suppose that this occurred
by accident, or in any way other than that
they preferred to designate themselves
"Democrats" rather than "American citi-
zens." In this time of national peril, [
would have preferred to meet you upon
level one step higher than any party plat
form because | am sure that from such
more elevated positions we could do better
battle for the country we all love, than we
possibly can from these lower ones where,
from the torce of habit, the prejudices of
the past, and selfish hopes Of the future,
we are sure to expend much of our ingenu-
ity and strength in finding fault with and
aiming blows at each other But, since
you have denied NE this. ] will yet be
thankful, for the count Xsake, tha: not
all Democrats have done So He, on
whose discretionary judgment Mr. Vallan-
digham was arrested and tried, is Dem
ocrat, having no old party affinity with
me; and the judge who rejected the con-
stitutional view expressed in these resou-
tions, By refusing to discharge Mr. Valan-
digham on habeas corpus, is a Democrat
of better days than these, having received
his judicial appointment at the hands of
President jackson. And still more, of all
those Democrats who are nobiy exposing
their lives and shedding their blood on the
battle field, [ have learned that many ap-
prove the course taken with Mr. Valan-
digham, while | have not heard Of single
one condemning it. [ cannot assert 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, General
Jackson still maintained military or mar
tai law. Now, that it should be said the
war was over, the clamor against martial
law, which had existed from the first. crew
more furious. Among other things. a
Mr.. Louailiier published a denunciatory
newspaper article. General jackson ar
rested him. a. lawyer by the. name Of
Morel procured the United States Jndge
Hall to order a writ Of heabeas corpus to
relieve Mr.. Louaillier General Jackson
arrested both the lawyer and the Judge.
A MIR. Hollander ventured TO say of some
part Of the matter that s.it was dirty
trick" General jackson arrested him.