The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1863-07-25

."uicn they are calculhteu " pfoouce nave
been greatly enhanced by your attempt 70
Justify them. because in that aitem pt you a.
sumo 10 yoursslf rightful authority posses-
sed BY no constitutional monarch on earth.
We accept the declsration that you pre- fer
to exercise this authority with moderation
mot hitherto exhibited. But, believing, ss
I'VE do, that your forbearance 10 not The ten
ure by which liberty is enjoyed in this coun-
I'ry. we propose 70 challenge the grounds o.
which your cIsim Of supreme power is bssed.
While yielding 10 you as constitute nal
ms gistfate the Difference TO which you are
entitled, we cansot accord to you the dee.
potic power you claim, however indugenl
aud gracious you may promiselo be in WELD.
ling IL.
We have carefully considered the groun de-
on which your preiensions 10 more than regal
authority are claimed TO rest; and il we do
not misinterpret the misty and clouded lorms
Of expression 10 which those preiensicns
are set forth, your meaning 10, that while
the rights Of The citizeDs are protected by
the Constitution in time Of peace, they are
suspended or !ost in time Of war, when Ia.
vasion or rebellion exist. You do not, like
many others ia whose minds reason and the
love OF regulated liberty seem TO be over.
thrown blythe excitements OF the hour, at.
tempt 10 base this conclusion upon a sup.
posed military necessity existing outside Of
and ,rsnscendiug The onstitu.ion, militia
~ necessity behind which the Constitution
itself disappears in total eclipse. We do
not find this gigantic and monstrous heresy
Pu, forth in your plea for sbsoIute power,
but We do find another equally subyersiys oi
liberty and law, and quite as certainly tend
ingto 'he establishment o. despotism. You
claim 70 have found, not outside but within
the Constitution, q principle or germ Of ar
bitrasy power, which in time Of ar expands
4, once into IN absolute sovereignty, WELD
ed BY one man, 80 that liberty perishes, or
is dependent on his viii, his discretion, OF
bic caprice. This extraordinary doctrine
you clsm 70 derive wholly from that clause
of the Constitution which, 10 case of Invasion
or febeIlon. permits the writ Of absas cor.
pus 70 be suspended. Upon this ground
your whole argument y based.
You must permit US 10 say 10 you with all
due respect. but with the csrDestness Dc.
manded BY The occasion. that The American
people will never acquiesce Ia this doctrine.
Ia their opinion, the gusrs nlecs Of The Con-
slitution which secure TO them lreedam OF
spec ch and cf the press, immunity from ar
rest for ofenses unknown 10 the laws Of the
land and the right Of trial by jury before
the tribunals provided BY those laws, instead
Of military commissions and drum head court
martial, are living and vital principles in
peace and war, a al times and under al
Circumstances. No sophistry Or argumen,
can shake this conviction, nor will the peo-
pie require i,s confirmation BY logical Sc
quences and DEDUCTIONS Il 10 a conviction
deeply interwoven with the instincts. the
habits and the education Of our countrymen.
The right 10 form opinions upon public
measures and men, and TO declare those
opinions BY speech or writing, with the ut-
most latitude Of expression, the right Of
personal liberty unless forfeited according
70 the ests lished laws. and for offenses
previously defined BY law, the right when
accused Of crimes TO be tried where law IL
administered, and punishment 10 spsoposnced
only when the crime is legally ssceriained.
all .hese are inslsu.ly perceived without srgu.
ment o. proof. No reioemen. Of logic can
unsellIe them 10 the minds Of freemen; no
power can annihilsse Them, and no force q,
the command Of any Chief Magistrate can
compel the il surrender. M
SO far as il is possible for us 10 understa nd
from your languages, the mental process
which has led you 10 the alarming conciu.
sions Indicated BY your communication, Il Il
this. The habeas corpus is . remedial writ.
issued BY courts and magistrates 70 inquire
into the cause Of any imprisonment OF re
stralnt Of liberty, on the return OF which.
and, upon due examination. the person i'm.
prisoned is discharged, IL the restraint 10
unlawful, or admitted 10 bail II he sppears
"a have baen law fully arfested. and a held