East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1863-06-16


arl itary powor withou, any justification
" hatvv,r.
There is one feature in the law Of
France TO which ! wish to aliude: Some.
times 1t Happens, when martial law is
declared in France, that within the lin.
! it, of tho martial law citizen, not con.
ncctcl with the army, is brought before
military tribunal, in those gases, 10y
the law of France, the judgment of the
military tribunal Is not final There
stanGs power between the citizen and
the military. The citizen may always
appeal from the military court to the
civil tribunal Of the country. Under
that law, the case which has recently
happened in this country, of Vallandig
ham, might have been appealed from
the military tribunal to the superior
civil court, so jealousy do they guard
the righr of citizens there Here, if the
practice Of burnside is To become law,
the editor of paper may be tried, in
his absence, without even the security
which the martial law affords, by being
tried 10y a party of respectable officers,
and execution visited upon him even
/ before he hears of his oflense and trial.
/ The entry of file of soldiers into bis
/ printing Office may be the FIRST notice
of judgment against him, from which
he canhot appeal, and against which he
has no redress. | think do rot speak
strongly when / say that if this is to be
the state Of our country-if these things
continue to be doae and become fire.
qucnt--thc apprehension of the people
of these Northern States will render it
difficult for them to yield that respect
and obedience To the government which
should be due to it. There will DO dan
ger cf resistance to such officers. Tu.
mults will arise in consequence of such
acts, and in the end there will be dan.
ger that civil war will be brought within
the range of our own homes, and close
to our own fresidcs. Acts like these
have always had a tendency TO create
alarm and stir up resistance.
have commented upon the safe
guards which the laws of other coun.
tries have thrown aronnl the citizen in
those emergencies when mlitry law be
comes requisite. | might have given
other instances from countries which We
deem despotic, where we are accus
toned to think that the liberty of the
individual is held to be of but little ac.
count, but have not deemed it necessa-
~. In them all, the rights OF the PEG.
pie against military authority are guard
ed with Il thousand times more care than
in this country, if such acts as these are
to be deemed lawful If these things
may be done lawfully, all individual,
rights, all the protection Of law all the
safeguards of the constitution, in the re.
hottest part of tho country, 90 down
before q military order, ard wherever
a military man secs fit to strike, and all
loyal men arc expected to applaud
all others are TO be branded as the enc.
mics Of their country. For myself |
cannot fail, here or clswhere, and ever,
in the same circumstances, to make my
earnest protest against the exercise of
a power like this
Before closing | cannot forbear to
remark upon the justification attempted
| by Gen. Burnside for these acts under
! order No. 90. He there states that
freedom of discussion and criticism,
which is proper in the politician and
the journalist IN time Of peace, becomes
rank treason; 1t tends TO weaken the
confidence of tho soldier in his officers
and government | had thought that
it belonged to tho law to define treason,
and it is difficult for man to believe
that any officer Of the army can have
been so affected by any criticism upon
/ his own conduct as to class that free
dom of discussion and criticism proper
to journalists in time ofpeace, and which
is the right of all, as among the crimes
to DO punished like trcason-what
would he say and how would he treat
the members of the Senate who have set
themselves up as censors Of the conduct
of military officers? What would he DO
with those men in that body who as
sailed and criticised so fiercely Gen
Nj 'Clellan while at the head of the army
in active campaign? Would he do as
Charles the first did when he sent his
file of soldiers into the House eff Parlia.
mcnt to arrest the five members for ;hier
outspoken comments on his govern.
ment? He perhaps should be reminded
that, that act Of tho sovereign contribu-
ted to the revolution in tho government
which resulted in tho loss of his crown
and his head. And yet tho principle
upon which Gen Burnside acts would
carry him that length. If he may lay
his hand upon the editor ofthe Chicago
Times, he may equally do SO, and for
tue same reason, upon Senators guilty
oftreason according to his definition.
His order only shows how easily, some
times, man intrustcd with large pow.
er, to which perhaps he may have proved
inadequate, may be driven to exercise
that power unwiscly, oven by fair and
just criticism upon his conduct, for fair
and just criticism in such "A case may
weaken the confidence of his soldiers ia
him. The only safeguard against mill
tary authority therefore is, in their ODE
dlence to and regard for law as is proper
in the cases of all others. A disregard