The dollar weekly bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1862-1864, 1863-06-11
From the National Intelligence, May 18th.
Rearect for Laws

of all persons who "give aid and comfort" to
the enemy, in the way charged by General
Burnside against Mr.. Vallandigharn. We
have also published the law, approved by
thu President on the Sd day of March last.
making it the duty of the Secretary of War
to furnish to the Judges Of the. Circuit. and
District Courts of the United States "list of
all persons, citizens of States in which the
aiministration- of the laws has contipue ed I'M
impaired in the said Fed eral1 courts, who
are now or-who may hereafter be held as
prisoners Of the United State Ia any forts,
arsenal" We have shown that the pro-
ceedings instituted by Gen. Burnside against
Mr.. Vailaudighafn are, in palpabie violation
OF both these statu ties, enacted by tho last
Congress and approved by the President to
meet precisely such a case as that raisedfby
the alleged language and conduct Of the
AItois atthis stage of these extraordinary
proceedings thatwe are n,et by the fact that
the President, instead of quashing the en-
tire Indictment under which Mr.. Vsllandig-
ham was arraigned by Gen. Burnside in ig-
norance of the law, has simply eommuted
the punishm ent illegally imposed by the
court-martial by substituting Punishment to
the South for prisonmeutin Fort w arren.
Any such decision on the part Of the Presi-
dent must of course give the sanction of the
Executive to the military Jurisdiction as
serted by Gen. Burnside. in disregard ofthe
law specially made and provided for such
cases. The President cannot commute the
punishment inflicted by a court martial
without assuming or implying that that
court martial was legally seized by the
criminal and crime upon which it assumed
to pronounce sentence. l.-
1fthe President has come to any such de-
cision, and from ia tslligence elsewhere given
1t would seem that he b as, we are sure that
he has forgotten the law signed by him less
than three months ago, for we cannot be-
lieve that he would willingly disregard that
law in a case which comes so obviously
within its scope that if it be disregarded in
the person of Mr.. Vallandigham the inten-
ton of the National Legislature and the ex-
press terms of the statutes must be practi-
cally Rullifed. - .-.-.....
We all remember that when Gen. FIRE.
mont issued his proclaim alton of the Both of
August, 1851, confscatiug the property and
Hberating the slaves of rebels, Mr.. Lincoln
Immediately advised that officer that "the
particular clause in relation to the confsca-
ton 6fproperty and the liberation of slaves
appeared to him to be Objectionable in its
nol-eonf orn1ity to the act of Congress passed
tie 9Th of last august upon the same subjects"
and hence he ordered that the said clause |
of said proclaim alton be so modified, held, |
and construed as to conform to and not to /
transcend the provisions on the same sub
ject contained in the act of Congress emit
tied AN act to con6scste property used for
insurrgctionary purposes approved August
6, 1861, and that said act be published, at
length with this order"
Such was then the respect the President
exacted from his subordiLates for the laws
of Congress; and the frankuess and prompt |
tnde with which he interposed his authority |
to rectify the error of high military COM
mander impressed the public at the time /
with fresh confidence in Mr. Lncoln's capac-
ity, frmnessy and patriotism. If he then
asserted Gas he still asserts) in behalf of the
slayeholdeIs in Missouri all the rights to
which they were entitled by the existing
legislation of Congress, he ought surely to
be equally tenacious of the rights secured
by the law to the citizens of the Free States.
The error of Gen. Burnside in asserting
military Jurisdiction over citizen Of Ohio
for words of intemperste criticism spoken in
public discussion is even more grave and .
vitalthan that com united by Gen. Fremont, |
for it is an error com mitted not only In VIC
lation of, special statutes, but of constitu- |
tional guarantees az old as the rudiments of |
civil liberty. The last Congress SD opposed |
that it had provided for jus. such cases |
as that of Mr.. Yallandighnm when it enact !
ed the laws of July 18th, 1862, and Of March !
Sd, 1868, and to have provided for them in |
such a way as would preserve freedom Of |
political discussion and action from degeBer-
atsEg into disloyal practices or agitatons set /
on foot with the design Of giving aid and /
comfort to the enemy. 1t was thus that the /
National Legislature, full in view of the
erOaUpv that is IN m oouOhf 10 inf in
the constitutional rights of the citiZenin the
Loyal States, and at the same time to pro-
tectthe rights and interests of the National |
Government from all insidious attacks 1t
was expressly ordained that 'citizens Of
States In which the administration of the
laws has continued unimpaired in the eder-
al courts should be put on trial for alleged /
political offences before the said courts. and |
no longer held by military authority. Such |
is now the latO Of the land, and if the Presi-
dent is bound to execute all the existing |
laws he has himself approved, when the |
very exigency arises for which they were /
created.
If such be the true theory of his duty, as
all VIII admit, 1t is quite as certain that
contrary course is fraught with practical diff |
fcultiss and disadvantages the most serious. |
The denial of right guaranteed by the
Constitution and the illegal trial of party
alleged to have prostituted this right to the
purpose of giving aid and comfort to the
enemy SO far from operating as a terror to
eVildeers, only causes the popular mind to
sink the alleged offence in its sense of the
wrong done to the accused and to the Con-
stitution and laws by his illegal trial and
punishment. Instead of one Vallandigbam
we shall have thousand uttering the same
maledictions and pushing to its EXTREMIST
verge the license of debate, and this only
the more vehemenIy because of the repres-
sion sought to be enforced By arbitrary pow
or. Such is human nature all the world