Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1863-03-07

tensions, to be put down with strong public
disaprobalion at the earliest possible mo.
ment Washingtons views of military
jurisdiction and conduct in time of ihsur-
rection, were given to the army sent by
him to que.l the revolt in Western Penn.
sylvania in 1894, when he admonished
.hem, 'that every officer and soldier will
constantly bear in mind that he comes TO
support the laws, and that il would be
peculiarly unbecomng in him TO be in
any way the iniractor of them that the
essential principles of free government
contne the province of the military when
called forth on such occasions, to these two
objects .f,S, to combat and subdue oil
who may be found in arms in opposition
to the national will aud authority; sec
ond2y, to aid and support the civil mags.
trates in bringing offenders to Justice. The
dispensation Of this jestce belongs to the
civil magistrates, and let it ever be our
pride and our glory TO leave the sacred
deposit there lnviolate."
In the spirit of this admonition, and of
the Constitutional doctrine that the mill
tary shall, in all cases, and at all times, be
in strict subordination to the civil power"
we must stand opposed to the abuse of
the military power in applying it to other
purposes than those appointed and regu-
latad by law. as the seizure of private
property Of non combatants not legally
liable to confscation the seizure OF bordes
ofnegroes, and their support, instruction,
transportation, drill and payment, as allies;
tho seizure and imprisonment of Northern
freemen, without law and against it 4; the
suppression of newspapers, or the closing
of the mails against them, and the en-
croachnent upon the State jurisdiction
by the appointment Of sundry police Off
cals to exercise powers underlined by and
unknown to the laws. What is asked is
that the military power shall be applied
aud confined to its appropriate use that
there shall be no invasion upon liberty by
it, in short, that it shall be subjected to
the domination of established laws. Aud
we are perfectly persuaded that Govern
ment will be all the stronger, all the more
successful by following this policy and
slernly refusing to yield to the tempta-
tons whicn assail those entrusted with
authority in revolutionary times. Let our
rulers carefully initiate the example of
Washington, who exercised military pow
ers in the Revolution with constant re-
spect for the laws and the authority of the
Continental Congress, unsettled as the
times were. and fruitful of pretexts for
departure from any legitimate action.
In addition to the signal advantages
, which will be secured 10 our cause by re-
vecsing the policy of the Administration
by establishing other and truer doctrines
than those just examined-the Democracy
can take into account as one of the agen.
cies for restoring the Union, the power
fnl and invaluable aid of allies in the Bor-
, der and Confederate Statesmen who
have gone into revolt reluctantly, or whl
!, now stand with divided inclin ations, un-
|. certain OF the position they shall assume.
he issue of the war has always depended
, as much upon the determination and union
, of the Confederate States as upon the
magsitude of the efforts put forth by us
, against them. Manifestly, therefore, our
) true line oil policy has been 10 divide them
r to conciate part of their population, and
adUIpt1 luC uIOOl vi luU ICtOluIiOUdIy
spirit by subjecting it to conservative
opposition in the very communities where
: it arose. The subjugation Of the South by
, the mere exertion OF physical force against
it, assuming it to be really united and in
earnest, is work Of extreme difficulty
and requires an amount of wisdom and
vigor which our Administration has failed
10 ovb b;hit n nf
=, the south, most tormlda able natural OBJ
stacles are to ba encountered, and alst
y the powers of the enemy, and our strength
must be, or be made to be, adequate tC
, overcome bo,h. In short, in this case
albtes 5n tie enemies country were neces
sary to certain or prompt success, and e
secure them all the arts ofpolicy and al
the means of conciliation without ou
. power, should have been exerted.
But what is the policy of our rulers p
} Is it not written in the history of the Crit
e tenden Compromise and of the Peace Con
n ference Resolvesl III Congressional enact
f ments and in Presidential Procamations
# No concession, no cancellation, bat on!,
/ sheer force to compel complete submission
ulo pOllCJJ dJ OhOO dut
o impassioned, was persisted in until repeat
ed disasters came TO exhibit It's folly anC
f impotency, Yes the necessity of allies
utterly secuted in the outset, became de
n monslrated on the plains of Manassas ant
!. in the swamps of the Chickahominy. Th
q course of events taught us that assistance
: would be useful, if not Indispensable, t.
. the great work of subduing rebellion ant
G restoring the integrity of the Union.
e Recognizing this truth, the men in pow
S or have turned their attention to the ne
! groes = the subject race of the South-an,
: propose to arm and employ them as allie
= in the war. This experiment is likely t
e be carried out, to be freely tested, and t,
. produce results which, to say the least
q will be instructive in future times.
10 marked contrast to this desperate ex