The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-08-26

: favor OF the Union and against slavery I
: might mention other good results but this oI
/: 'tseli Is sufficient to remove serious objections
J. WHY SHOULD THE WAR be STOPPED q
j sJOur Democratic friends tell us we must stoyn
! the war, and that we must stop talking about
: slavery. Il wish / had Pugh's King Bornba
letter and Vallandighanl's last message from
: Canada that L might quote their exact lam
guage on these points. They tell as that we
must stop all this. stop everything, anddecirie
the great question of the age Mr. Pugh tells
you that if you will turn your backs upon
that great fuestiony you are slaves. and only fit
to be slaves. What is that question Ills
4 whether Clement L. Vallandigharn has been
4 Illegally arrested, tried and convicted as a
traitor to his country. This is the question
/ he wants us to stop and consider, We must
stop the war, withdraw the armies from the
territory already recovered, give up the forts
We have recaptured, bring back our brave men
in humiliation when on the road tosvictory.
| IN order to decide. the momentous question
whether Yallandigham was legally arrested.
and tried.
Now, my friends, it does seem to me that
/ there is something as important as Vallandie-
ham. Our country is in danger, and suffering
| as much as poor Val; there are half million
of brave and patriotic soldiers watching night,
and day, marching and counter-marching,
fighting and falling by the way and the fate
OF these true men, or the hum blest Lone of
them, is more important, in my estimation.
than the fate of Vallandiglam and all his as
sociates. Great applause .-.,.-.. ~.
lam willing to stop and consider the ques-
ton short time, but how ridiculous it seems.
His friends have no sympathy for anybody
else arrested. One of the candidates on the
Union ticket was arrested and confined, and
his wife exposed to great hardships. If you
want to vote for man who has been Illegal
ly arrested, why not vote for one who has suf
fered in the cause of the Union, rather than
as traitor Do we ever, hear s;Vallandig-
hammers complaining about the illegal arrest
and cruel abuse of Parson Brownlow and the
other Tennessee Unionists Never; it is only
Vallandigham for whom they have any SYM
pathy. Vallandigham was arrested by mill
tary officers for an offense committed against
military law, and was tried before a military
tribunal. Stripped of all phraseology, the.
charge against him was, aiding the public en-
emy in time of war 1t was made by Gene
raj Burnside, good, and honest, and patriotic
man, and of his own political party, at a time
wnen the enemy was committing raid in our
sister State of Kentucky and when there was
organized resistance against the United States
near Mount Vernon, in our own State Now,
what is there about this to complain of? The
first point made by Mr.. Pugh is this, that it is
not case for a military tribunal, but should
have been tried by civil court, before Jury
OF twelve men, instead of the eight who did
try him. To sustain his position he quotes
various clauses of the Constitution, such as,
that every man shall have the right of trial
by jury, &c. But he ignores the fact that
this is an offense against military order in
time of war. When a spy comes among us
from the enemy, and is arrested, we do not
try him by a jury of twelve men, in an ordi-
nary Court Would Mr.. Pugh have Val's
friend, John Morgan, now in the penitentiary,
tried by the civil courts He was illegally.
arrested, according to Pugh, and don't you !
Democrats feel indignant at it? Why was
he arrested? Because he was here among US.
doing all he could to subvert our govern.
ment, and the law on the subject is that any
obstruction whatever to the military authori-
ties, in time of war, is an offense to be tried
by court martial, and punished in the usual
way. The civil tribunals have nothing to do
with it Vallandigham was found obstruct-
ing the military authorities, was arrested,
taken to the Burnet House, a Military Court
was organized, composed almost entirely of
his political friends. When 1 made this state
ment yesterday, 1 was stopped by man in
the crowd, who said it was not so, that they
had been his political friends, but were so no
longer. Why? For no other earthly reason
than that they in the service of the Gen.
eal Government, laboring zealously and, pat
rioticaliy to preserve the Union. The mo-
ment good Democrat arrays himself against
the public enemy. he is regarded by these VAL
landighammers as their enemy.
But to the eight members of that Court
Mr. Vallandigham took 10 exception. His
witnesses were called and heard, and among
Them was his special friend Sunset Cox. He
had, also, his counsel for consultation. The
Court upon their oaths, pronounced him /
guilty ); according to military law he might
have been hung; but what did our Govern
nent do with him? 1t was. decided that he /
should be confined in military fort till the
md of the war. The matter. was submitted /
o General Burnside. He is a good and true
nan, and if you Democrats think he is any
he better on that account, he has always
Toted the Democratic ticket, until he found
hat to vote it would be to aid the public en-
,my. What motive could he have to sem
ence Vallandigham Improperly? But he
ndOrsed the verdict, and sent it to the Presi-
lent. You say he is an imbeclle and tyrant;
nut tell You what know--that he is a good,
rue, honest and patriotic man; and when any
ody calls him tyrant he lies. Why, sir,
ct any of these women or children go 70 old
lbe Lincoln and tell him sorrowful story, Z
nd he will sympathize with them even to
ears. The great fault of his character is his
1tense humanity. History furnishes no such
nomally as tyrant being made out of such 4
man. 4 The case was submitted to him, and i
you read his letter to the Albany Commit c
,e, you know how he felt about it. The +
uestion was presented to his mind whether