The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1863-11-20
pENNsyLSANIA JUDGES AND
THE CONSUMPTION ACT.

sWuuOubf Duo VI tne NOIte ~ bOWIleg
whom the people, al the recent election,
on an oppea to them for leave to occupy
his seat during aLother term, repudiated
by large majority. Another is Wood
ward, whose aspirations to the Guberna-
torial chair have been stifed under
mountain of popular reprobOtion. AS
they had no jurisdiction of the csse--it
having arise under Federal and not
State law--theit written opinions, illing
many columns ofthe Philadelphia jour
mails, may be treated as the mere political
Of defeated demago-
gues, the harmless Kisses Ct condemned
Copperheads.
The lending opinion is by the retiring
Lowrie. lie seems to have done his best
to convince the few leading Republicans,
mostly lawyers, who bestowed their votes
upon him, that, in confding in him as n
patriotic jurist and loyal citizen, they
had mistaken their man. His opinion
rests mainly on the assertion that the aci
in question is an attempt to abolish the
militia system Of the States by employ
ing the powers vested in Congress to
"roise and support armies" in mode
not warranted by the Constitution. Itis
practically plea for that species of
State Rights" that plotted resistance
10 Federal authority in New England
during the War of lSl2-lb, that passed
the Nulilying Ordinance Of South Caro-
lima in 1882, and finally eliminated in
s .ccssion and Rebellion through all the
Slavchoding States in 1861.
The powers are clearly conferred by
the Constitution upon the General Gov
ernment; First to raise and support
armies /; Second, to provide for calling
forth, organizing, arning, disciplining
and governing the militia, ia order to exc
cute the laws Of the Union and suppress
ins1rrcc,ions. Running parallel with
these is the authority to make all laws
that may be necessary for carrying into
execution these two powers. Now
whoever has read the recent uct of Con-
gross will see that il is based upon both
these grants ofpower, drawing its vitOli-
ty partly from the authority to raise and
support armies, aud partly from the uu-
thority to organize, arm and govern The
militia-thc end aimed at being to exc.
cute the laws Of the Union and suppress
the pending insurrection.
But, if the Constitution had not in cx.
press terms, conferred this authority up.
on the General Government, il would
still inhere in the essential elements OF
lis existence. For, If the Federal I'm
ion, when assailed b. such Rebellion
as that which now strikes at its life, had
not the power, without express authority
in writing from its founders, to arm its
citizens to suppress it, then would il be
more ptiablc than the taverner who
dared not hand over to the police o
drunken lodger that made night hideous
with his howlngs.
twill DO noted that the decision o,
these three judges is not aim ed specially
at the details Of the act, but declares in
substance that any similar law for en-.
rolling and calling Gu. the national forces
for crushing the Rebellion, would be un.
constitutional From the foundation o.
the Government downward, laws have
always been found on the statutc-book
bnsod on precisely the same principle as
this so-called transcription Act."-
That is to say, laws for enrolling the ma.
tionul forces, and compelling men to per.
form military duty and go 10 the battle.
field when called, or suffer the conse.
quence in the shape of fine and mprison.
mcnt. And, during the last war with
Engla nd, james Monroe, the Secretary oI
War, acting under the sanction of Prcsi.
dent Madison, who, more than any one
man, was the author of the Constitution
framed aud presented to Congress for its
adoption an net having all the conscrip'
tion features of the present law in res.
pcct to the enrolment, the drawing Of
names, and the like. This act was sup.
ported by all the Democrats ofthnt day
its chief champion in the Senate being
Giles of yirgi; ia, and in the House, Cal
houn of South Carolina. Ituuderwent a
thorough discuss ion, passed each branch
of Congress by large majority, but fail
ed to be enacted because of differences
between the two Houses respecting
amendments, and more especially be.
cause the near approach of peace render.
ed it unnec essay to pass the bill io'con.
summation.
The opion of Judge Woodward is ever
a worse partisan harangue, and evinocs I
more settled hos tility to the filling up o
our armies, than that of Judge Lowrie.-
1t is the production of demagogue
whose cool head is among the mountain
Of Pennsylvania, but whose gangrene'
heart is below the Potomac and the Ten
nessce. In what plight does this place
Gen. Mcclellan, whose coniidant am
rriend in the recent gubernatorial canvas
was this same George w. Woodward
The Gensral, in his notorious letter
written in his support, said that he ha'
a full conversation with the Judge, an,
that their opinions entirely ugreed upol
all points relating to the War for III,
suppression of tho Rebellion, General
Mcclellan wrote during the canvass
Judge Woodward responded after tn