Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1863-06-25
The Yallandigham Case.

The President in reply to Erastus
Corning and others, has written a long
and lucid argument on the case of Mr..
ValiaEdigham. 1t will enlightcn the
minds of many, and cannot fail to do
good. We extract paragraph or two.
Ours is a case Of rebcllion-so called
by the resolutions before me-in fact,
clear fragrant, and gigantic case of re-
bcllion; and the provision of the Consti-
tuition that the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
unless When, in cases of rebellion or in
vasion, the public safety may require it,
is tie provision which specially applies
TO our present ease. This provision
plainly attests the understanding ofthose
II no made the Constitution. that ordina-
ry courts of justice are inadequate to
eases of rebellion -attests their urpose
that, in such cases, men may be held in
custody whom the courts. acting on or
binary rules, would discharge Habeas
corpus 90 not discharge men who are
proved to be guilty of defined crime !;
and its suspension is allowed by the
Constitution on purpose that men may
be arrested and held who cannot be
proved to be guilty Of 6efned crime,
when, i'll eases of rebellion or invasion,
the public safety may require it. This
/ is precise Y our present case-a case of
rebellion, wherein the public safety does
! require the suspension. Indeed, arrests
| by process of courts, and arrests in eases
of rebellion, do not proceed altogether
! upon the same basis. The former is d.
rected at the small per cent ge of ordi-
nary and continuous preparation of
! crime: while the latter is directed at
snddeu aud extensive nprisinGs against
! the government. which, AZ most. will
/ succeed or fail in 10 great I-ngth Of time
ln the latter case arrests me made, not
SO much Ior what has been done, as for
what probably would b, done The lat
ter is more for the preventive and less
for the vindictive than the former. In
such eases the purposes of men are
much more easily understood than in
cases of ordinary crime The man who
stands by and says nothing when the
/ peril of his government is discussed can
not be misunderstood. If not hindered,
he is sure to help the enemy; much more
if he talks ambiguousy talks for his
country with butts and ifs and 'ands.
OF how little value the constitutional
provisions have quoted will be rendered
if arrests shall never be made until de-
HnpI ch,l1 hora hnap Il
may be illustrated by few notable ex-
amples General John G. Breckenridge
General r. e Lee, General Joseph r
Johnston. General J. B Magruder,
Ge eral w. b Preston. General Simon
Is. Buckner. and Commodore Franklin
Buchanan, now occupying the very
highest places in the rebel war service,
were all within the power of the govern
ment since the rebellion began and were
nearly as well known to be traitors then
as now UDquestionably if we had sci
zed and held them the lnsurgent cause
would be much weaker. But no one of
them had then commit ed any crime de-
fined in the law. Every one of them if
arrested woulu have been discharged on
hpbeas corpus were the writ allowed to
operate. In view of these and similar,
cases, think the time not unlikely to
come when l shall be blamed for having
made too few arrests rather than too
many. --
understand the meeting. whose res
olutions am considering, to be in favor
of suppressing the rebellion by military
by armies. Long experience has
shown that armies cannot be maintained