The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1863-07-02

system, under circumstances which
show that while they constitute the
foundation of all free governments, they
are the elements of the enduring stabil-
ity Of the republic" No one denies
that they have SO stood the tesAnup to
the beginning of the present rebellion,
If we except certain occurrence at
New Orleans; nor does any one ques-
tion that they will stand the same test
much longer after the rebellion closes.
But these provisions of the Constitution
have no applications to the case we
have in hand, because the arrests COM
planned of were not made for treason
that is, not for the treason defined in
the Constitution, and upon the convio-
ton of which the punishment is death
|-nor yet were they made to hold per-
sons to answer for any capital or other
wise Infamous crimes; nor were the
proceedings following, in any oonstitu-
tional or legal sense, "oriminal proseou-
tions." The arrests were made on to-
tally different grounds, and the pro-
ceedings following accorded with the
grounds of the arrests. Let US consid-
er the real cause with which we are
dealing, and apply to it the parts of the
Constitution plainly made for such ca
ses.
Prior to my installation here, it had
been inculcated that any State had a
lawful right to secede from the National
Union, and that it would be expedient
to exercise the rights whenever the
devotees of the doctrine should fail to
elect President to their own liking. I
was elected contrary 10 their liking !;
and, accordingly, so far as it was le-
gally possible, they had taken seven
States out of the Union, had seized
many of the United States forts, and
had fired upon the United States flag,
all before was inaugurated, and, of
course, before had done any official
act whatever. The rebellion thus be-
gun soon ran into the civil war and, in
certain respects, it began on very un-
equal terms between the parties. The
insurgents had been preparing for it
more than thirty years, while the Gov.
ernment had taken no steps to resist
them. The former had carefully con-
sidered all the means which could be
turned to their account It undoubt-
edly was well-pondered reliance with
them that in their own unrestricted eff
forts to destroy Union, Constitution
and law all together, the Government
would, in great degree, be restrained
by the same Constitution and law from
arresting their progress. Their sympa-
thizers pervaded all departments of the
Government, and nearly all communi-
ties of the people. From this material,
under cover of ''liberty of ofspeeoh," "lib-
erty of the Press" and "ha6eas COR
pas" they hoped to keep on foot among
US a most efficient corps ofspies, inform
ers, supplies, and aiders and abettors
of their course in thousand ways.
They knew that in times such as they
were inaugurating, by the Constitution
itself, the "ha6eas corpus" might be
suspended; but they also knew they
had friends who would make question
as to who was to suspend it; mean
while their spies and others might re-
main at large to help on their cause.
Or if, as has happened the Executive
should suspend the writ, without ruin
Gus waste of time, Instances of arrest
ing innocent persons might occur, as
are always likely to occur in such cases;
and then clamor could be raised in
regard to this, which might be, at least,
Of some service to the insurgent cause.
1t needed No very keen perception to
discover this part of the enemy's pro-
gramme, so soon as by open hostilities
their machinery was fairly put in mo-
ton. Yet, thoroughly imbued with
reverence for the guaranteed rights of
individuals, l was slow to adopt the
strong measures which by degrees /
have been forced to regard as being
within the exceptions of the Constitu-
ton, and as Indispensable to the public
safety. Nothing is better known to
history than that courts of justice are
utterly incompetent to such eases. Civ
il courts are organized chiefly for trials
of individuals, or, at most, a few indi-
viduals acting in concert; and this in
quiet times, and on charges Of crimes
well defined in the law. Even in times
of peace, bands of horse.theives and
robbers frequently grow too numerous
and powerful for the ordinary courts of