Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1863-06-04

Great War Meeting at AlbanyATre-
mendous Speech by Dan. s. Dick
inson--Liberty of Speech not Lii
cense of Speech. = 'lra .nF
. f. lFrom the Albany Journsil
'.t ExTRACT.
Liberty Of speech is one thing. Liberty
of treason is another The liberty Of speech
is sacred; but this does not include the right
to act as spy, and dconvey intelligence to he
enemy which may destroy thousands of the
lives OF our soldiers, endangcr our army,
and leopard the existence of Government.
Applause. Swords and knives are free !;
but this gives no one the right to commit
murder, Fire.a arms are free, and exempt
from seizure on execution; and yet no one
has right to .dischaigc them ut his neigh
Dor. Fire is free; but the one who should
employ it to destroy the dwelling Of his
neighbor would be the subject Of an 'arbi
should he found therein the presence OF
his wife and children" if ho had them. :
And these arbitrary arrests" in criminal
law, are of daily occurrence, aud in martial
law of not unlrequent occurrence, in all
wars, especially such war of rebellion as
this, with spies and traitors Matching trea
son, and aiding rebellion all along the Dor
der. Any lawyer who cannot discriminate
between civil law and martial law, should
be treated for simplicity on the brain. -
[Shouts of applause and laughter The
functions of martial law, and the authority
upon which it rests, were freely stated by
me last Fall. in speech made at the Cooper
Institute. 1t is dangerous power, but its
absence would be more dangerous. 1t is
liable to abuse, but no war can be conducted d
| without it-especally such war as this
Whether it was judiciously exercised in this
case, and whether the paltry fellow was
worth arresting, do not know, and do not,
for all present purposes, care. All we can
inquire of is, does the power exist and il it
does, was it exercised in good faith? II it
was, even though Gen. Burnside was mis-
taken, he is to be encouraged for his watch
fulness and commended for his vigilance. :
| [Applause Two great. and hasty, and
noisy meetings have been held, ole in New
York, at which Capt. Rynders and Others
spoke, and even the late Thomas II. Sey
mour preached, laughter, and one at this
Capitol, where his iExcellency, Governor
Seymour, administered upon the wrongs Of
Vallandigham by letter The Governor
SAYS this arrest is full of danger to our homes
Whoisin danger in his home, pray tell?-
No oae, unless he has done something to put
himself in danger. The pious thief and
burglar, Gordon, of Brooklyn, who attend
ed conferences and prayer meetings with
} the young ladies, discovered where they
kent their jewelry, and then entered theii
houses and robbed them by night, was O
long time in danger in his home, lroars OF
laughter, and by and by the cruel police
went in largo numbers, and with their mur
derous clubs, and in the night time, too
, and arbitrarily arrested him, and pu,
, him in prison, and the Court sent him tc
, the State prison for twenty years. All loi
stealing few trinkets. Yet Governor Ssy
i, mour says nothing. Had ho connived with
rebellion for the overthrow Of the only grea
, free Government on earth, and had he beer
detected and arrested, it would have beer
5 '"nrbitrary." But it interfered with tho
Freedom Of speech How? Who ha.
Q objected to the largest possible discussion
, Freedom Of speech does not confer the righ
to 20 before an enemy and stimulate mutiDy
Y and disobedience and recommend desertion
4 1t does not justify anything which, in tint
v of war, is calculated and intended to weaker
, the military arm of the Government, aTh'
Q Governor complains that the, Governors o
IS some of the Western States. have sunk int
h insienificance. 1t is certainly time to be OF
the the look out. | hope, whatever may be
n come con % Of those States, New York may no
:. find herself in the same pitiful category. =
/. TIaurhter. 1t is certainly humilatin,
Q position for the first State Of the Union
r when the scales of our being as anation ar
|, vibrating-whes our children are dying b.
!. thousands in defense Of the Union--to Sc
q the Chief Magistrate turn from contcmpla
A t;np the nict,,rh With anxious solicitude 4