Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1863-07-29

NNSb W puDllS hhdltb slHCe your auNtUL lt
power In violation of the second Of them
Hundreds, and we believe thousands OF
men have been seized and immured in
prisons and bastiles, not only without
; wIrrant upon probable cause but without
any warrant, and for no other cause than
the constitutional exercise of the. freedom
OF speech. In violation of all these guar
antees distinguished citizen of II peaceN
ful and loyal State has been torn from his
home at midnight by band of soldiers,
acting under the order Of one of your gem
erals, tried before military commission,
without Judge or jury, convicted and sen.
fenced without even the suggestion of any
offence known to the Constitution or laws
0! this country. For all these acts, you
ayow yourself ultimately responsible. In
the special case of Mr.. Vallandigham, the
injustice commenced by your subordinate
was consummated by a sentence of exile
from his home, pronounced by you. That
great wrong, more than any other which
preceded it, asserts the principles of a su.
preme despotism.
! These repeated and continued invasions
OF constitutional liberty and private right
have occasoned profound anxiety IN the
public mind. The apprehension and al.
arm which they are calculated to produce
have been greatly enhanced by your at.
tempt to justify them, because n that ats
tempt you assume to yourself a rightful
authority possessed by no constitutional
monarch on earth. We accept the decla
ration that you prefer to exercise this au>
thority with moderation not hitherto
exhibited. But, believing as we do, that
your forbearance is not the tenue by which
liberty is enjoyed in this country. we pro.
pose TO challenge the grounds on which
| your claim Of supreme power is based
! While yielding to you as a constitutional
magistrate the Difference to which you are
entitled we cannot accord TO you the des
poiic power you claim, however indulgent
and gracious you may promise TO be in
welding it.
| We have carefully considered the ground
on which your pretenslcns 10 more than
regal authority are claimed to rest and
! IL we do not misinterpret the misty and
clouded forms of expression iD which
those pretensions ale set forth, your mean
ing is, that While the tights of the citizen
are protected 10y the Constitution in time
OF peace they are suspended or lost in
time of war, when invasion or rebellion eX-
ists, You do not, like many othes in
whose minds reason and the love Of regu.
lated liberty seem to be overthrow by the
excitements Of the hour attempt to base
ibis conclusion upor a supposed military
necessary eZistiting outside Of and trans
cending the Constitution, military ne
ccssity behind which the Constitution it.
self disappears in total eclipse. We do
At E,,I 81 10 nd mn a hn
esy nut forth in your plea for absolute
power, but we do find another equally
subVefsive of liberty and law, and quite as
certainly tending to the establishment Of
despotism. You claim to have found, not
outside, but within the Constitution, a
principle or germ of arbitrary power, which
in tune of war expands into au absolute
sovei eighty, Welded by one man, so that
liberty perishes, or is dependant on his
will, his discretion, er his caprice This
extraordinary document you claim to de-
live wholly from that clause of the Con-
stitution which, in case of rebellion or inv
yasion, permits the writ Of hI6cds corpus to
be suspended.
You must permit US 10 say TO you, with
all due respect, but with the earnestness
demanded by the occasion, that the Amer
lcan people will never acquiesce in this
doctrine. In their opinion the guarantees
Ct the Constitution which secure to them
freedom of speech and OF the press, ina
munty from arrest for ohenses unknown
to the laws of the land, and the right Of
trial by jury before the tribunals provided
by those laws, instead of military eommi'
sions aud drumhead courts martial, are
living and vital principles IN PEACE AND IN
WAR. at all times and under all circum
stances. No Sophistry or argument can
shake this conviction, nor will the people
require its confirmation by l)gical sequen>
ces a1d deductions. IL is q conviction
deeply interviewer with the instinct, the
habits and the education of our country
men. The right to form opinions upon
public measures and means, and TO declare
those opinions by speech or writing, with
the utmost latitude OF expression-th
right OF personal liberty, unless forfeited
according TO established laws, and for OF,
fenses previously defined by law-the right
when accused fcrime, TO te tried where
law is administered, and punishment is
pronounced only when the crime is legally
sscertained all these are rights instantly
perceived, without argument or proof -
No refinement of logic can unsettle them
in tho minds Of freemeI; no power can
auuihilate them ard no force at the
command ofany chief magistrate can com>
pei their surrender.
So Ear as it is possible for us 10 under
stand from your language the men tai pro-
cess which has led you to the alarming
conclusiors indicated 10y your communi-
cation, it is this The ba6cds corpus is a
remedial writ, issued by courts and MAJ
gistrates to inquire into the cause of any
Imprisonment or restraint of liberty, on
the return Of which and upon due exam,
lnation the person imprisoned is dischar.
ged, II the restraint is unlawful, or admit
ted to bail if he appears to have been law
fully arrested, End is held TO ansg era Grim.
inal accusation. lnasmuch as this process
may be suspended in time OF war. Won
seem 10 think that every remedy .or false
and unlawful Imprisonment is abrogated
ard from this postulate YOU reach. at
sin gle bound, the conclusion that there il
NJ Eh.riv upHar iha C0na t,t,,t;a.