The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1863-11-18


tional war, and what might be expec-
ted from local militia, and hence they
gave, contrary to the wishes and opin>
ions Of many, and in the face of much
dissent, the power of Congress to raise
and support a standing army. They
felt thatlocally and temporarily, to pro
tect the civil officer in the execution
of the laws, to put down transient pop>
Il ar demonstrations, and to hold the
land against an invader until the reg
ular army could be brought to the
place of action, it might be useful; but
there is every reason to believe that
they fully intended the broad line cf
distinction which they drew between
the national forces and the citizen sol
diCry; intended that national exigen-
cics should be met by national armies,
raised ard supported under national
provisions.
The object of the CONSUMPTION Law
of Congress is first to resolve the local
militia into its constituent elements:
and second, to transfer the obligation
which the militia-man owes to his
State to the National Administration.
In other words it is to absorb, on the
part of the, General, the authority be-
longing TO the State Governments,
over the citizen soldicry, and to en-
ploy the militia machinery to supply
recruits for TIE national army. The
Administration well knows thatit does
not want militia-men; it wants regular
soldiers. The difficulty is, that it is
willing to resort to illcgitjmate means
to procure thtm--invoking, to swell
the national forces, the draft, which
was. originally, but a means to render
the local militia available for the pur>
poses indicated in the Constitution.
| The bad effect Of this attempt is,
FIRST, that it deprivcs the States Of
powers, and their people Of rights,
which legitimately belong to them; and
SECOND, that it does not create a ccm~
pact end strictly national army. The
army becomes compromise between
a militia and a regular soldiery, and in
that compromise is an clement CT in
efficiency. The ofense against the
Constitutions punishedin its military
consequences, of which there have
been complaints enough made in loyal
and official quartersTo render a more
particular detail unnecessary. What
we contend, and what we have always
conterdcd is, that the Government has
no right to override Constitution ard
laws under a prctcnce Ct necessity;
and this is substantially what the Sp-
prcme Court of Pennsylvania, in the
case to which we alludc, has decided.
A militia conscripticn will only lee
gally produce militia mon, subject to
the local conditions which apply to mi
litia forces. To take militia men and
incorporate them into the standing ar
my is to commit wrong!a gainst them,
as well as to 60 an act which the army
itself will he likely to suffer. To con-
tinue them as militia men, subject to
local conditions in respect to command
-,-the election Of their cwn officers or
the appointment Of officers by the
State GoycI1ment--and confne them
to the purposes designated for them
by the Constitution, would be torcndcr
them inefficient, if not totally useless.
There is no local demand for milita>
ry force to aid in the execution Of the
laws. There is no invasien for it to
rcpel. It is time, if the Government
or the United States hopes to carry tc
a successful tcrmipation the enormous
enterprise which it has undertaken, to
face the facts of its condition. tire
mains to be shown that the Govern
ment can not DO all Il at it las legit-
innate right to do without violation
Of the organic or statute law Of the
| land. 1t remains to be shown that any
such violation has as yet been prcduc-
tive of single good effect. If we are
a great nation, and are to prosecute a
great national enterprise, it is best to
accept the te,ms that belong to such a
condition and prosecute our enterprise
in q national manner.
-=zD >-<e--~ c.
3. Gratz Brown and John B.
Henderson were elected U. s. Sena-
tors from Missouri on the 18th inst
Henderson for the long and Brown
for the short term. Brown was for