Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-03-30

Ny DEAR Sir: 7 read with unusual interest
and satisfaction the debate which occurred in the
Senate on the 10th ult upon the resolution of
Mr.. Trumbull, and desire to express my thanks
for the sentiments and thoughts which the occa
sion elicited from YOU Ny convictions aHd
sympathies are with you thoroughly when you
saw "I do not believe that il Imprisonment up
on ieffres de eacarfl promotes the purposes os
those who desire 10 see this Union brought to-
gether again-an object. of all Others. to me the
most desirable. if it be possible
In nv estimation, the mover of this inquiry
deserves the gratitude of freemen everywhere,
and only utters truth with force when he declares
that " the power without charge, without exami-
nation, without opportunity Of reply, at the click
of the telegraph, to arrest a man in a peaceable
portion of the country and imprison him." is "of
the essence Of despotsm." And yet the public
mind would seem thus far, to have been scarcely
more aroused by current events of this character
than il was, wears ago. when we received accounts
of similar incarcerations ordered by the father of
the now deposed king of the two Sicilies How
incredible it viii appear hereafter, when history
shall be written up. that at this period of the
Republic, the constitutional safeguards of person.
! al liberty could have heen so easily and with so
| little apparent concern swept away.
The Secretary of State. on the Doth Ilt. four
| DAYS after the debate in which you participated,
addressed an official note to me, which seems to
illustrate in a striking manner the slight grounds,
/ or rather the groundless suspicious, upon which
in these times citizens are liable to suffer in repu-
tation, il not in loss Of liberty | replied with
out delay, and, far as | am personally affected.
nav, trust will, leave the matter in quietness
upon the files of the department 10 is my be-
lief. however, that no recent measures have been
! fraught with more mischief thin the issuing of
leffres de cGchsf, and consequent arrests and i'm
prisOnment. in violation of the provisions of the
Constitution; and the earlier the system is ef-
! fectuallv caecked the better il will be Tor the
Government and the country. IA well as for the
subjects of oppression. The evidence is abund
ant to show that the plel of necessity, except in
! the presence or immediate neighbOrhood of hos
tile armies. where the administration of law un-
der the usual forms may be inevitably suspended.
/ is not gra .iously accepted by the mass of the
people Union without security for personal lib
erty is not the Union which they have cherished
and to the restoration of which they look with
earnest desire and hope
Nothing. perhaps, could express more clearly
| their views this point than the language Of the
great modern historian, who died at compare
| tivelv recent period, leaving his work incomplete
In tracing the successive steps in the progress of
! British liberty. Mr.. Macaulay SAYS: 1--WE have
been taught. by long experience. th1t cannot
without danger suffer any breach of the Constitu
ton to pass unnoticei" - As we cannot without
! the risk of evils from which imagination recoils
employ physical force as a check on misgOvern-
ment. il j. evidently our wisdom to keep all con
! sttutional checks on misgovernment in the high
! est state of eifeency-to watch with jealousy
the first beginning of encroachment and never
TO suffer Irregularities. when harmless in
themselves TO pass unchaliengei. lest they &C
quire the force of precedents l." Who in our land
/ will affirm that any other doctrine is worthy o
those who hold their rights under solemn writ
ten charters It is cheering to know that inquiry
\ has been moved in the right quarter, and thai
able aud fearless men stirred by sense o
what il due to our felow-citizens who have beer
imprisoned without assignment OF cause and dis
charged without explanation; and vet more, such
as are still in confinement aud precluded by
guards and Prison bolts from the privilege of the
"great writ of liberts." and thus of confronting
before a competent judicial tribunal suggestion Of
crime, which the act of Imprisonment itself i'm
plies.
OF the latter class, | believe. from my knowl.
edge of the men. are not few worthy sons oi
MARYLAND, who love the Union as you do, and
who have strivcn not. To destroy. but to preserve
it Iffree from any taint ofcrime, AS take them
to be. thev will derive uHfailing capacity for en-
durance from the consciousness that they have
never nourished their manly strength TO strike
stout blows at the foundation which their fathers
laid--ihat they have never participated in lines
of action ia Startling utteranceS. calculated tC
encourage aggression upon the rights and inst
tutions of sovereign Siates-fo foster sectional
disirust and animosiiy, or to inau.nrate conflict
between different parts ofthe Confederation. and
thus to weaken unity of feeling. interest and pur
pose IT, on the other hand. they guilty. tht
law will infct adequate punishment. whatever
that may be. as il should do. But how long /.
such dnrance, without hearing. to be thei
allotmentr am. very truly. your friend,
FRASKLIS PIERCE.
Hon. james A Pearce. United States Senator
Washington, ID G.