Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-07-17

Response Of the President to the
Vallandisham Committee.
The reply of President Lincoln to the ap.
plication of the Ohio Committee for the re-
lease of Vallandigham is plain, pointed and
patriotic document. He assumes that, as the
Constitution does not declare who shall de.
eide when the public safety requires the writ
of habeas corpus to be suspended, the Com.
mander-in-C Chief of the army and navy is the
man who holds the power and bears the re-
sponsibility Of making the decision. "If Che
remarks) he uses the power justly, the peo.
pie will probably justify him; if he abuses it,
he is in their hands, to be dealt with by all
modes they have reserved to themselves in
the Constitution" A
We quote the next paragraph in the Presi.
dents reply:
"The earnestness with which you insist
that persons can only in times of rebellion be
lawfully dealt with, in accordance with the
rules for criminal trials and punishments in
times of peace, induces me to add word to
what said on that point in the Albany re-
sponse. You claim that men may, if they
choose, embarrass those whose duty it is to
combat a giant rebellion, and then be dealt
with only in turn as if there were no rebellion.
The Constitution itself rejects this view.
The military arrests and detentions which
have been made, including that of Mr.. Val
landigham, which is not different in princi-
pie from the other, have been for prevention,
and not for punishment-as injunctions to
stay injury-as proceedings to keep the
peace-and hence, like proceedings in such
cases and for like reasons, they have not
been accompanied with indictments, or trials
by juries, nor, in single case by any punish
ment whatever beyond what is purely Incl
dental to the prevention. The original SEN
tence of imprisonment in Mr.. Vallandigham'
case was to prevent injury to the military SER
vice only, and the modification of it was
made as less disagreeable mode to him of
securing the prevention.
To the claim of the Committee that Mr.
Vallandigham should be released because he
has done no harm to the military service, MIR.
Lincoln makes this scorching rejoiuder, refer
ring to the recent instances of organized re-
sstance to the conscription act:
"And now, under sense of responsibility
more weighty and enduring than any which
is merely official, l solemnly declare my be-
lief that this hindrance of the military, inclu-
ding manning and murder, is due to the
course in which Mr.. Valandigham has been
engaged, in greater degree than to any other
cause; and is due to him personally in a
greater degree than to any other one man.
These things have been notorious, known to
all, and of course known to Mr.. Vallandig-
ham, Perhaps would not be wrong to say
they originated with his especial friends and
adherents. With perfect knowledge of them,
he has frequently, if not constantly, made
speeches in Congress, and before popular as
semblies; and if it can be shown that, with
these things staring him in the face, he has
over uttered word of rebuke or counsel
against them, it will be fact greatly in his
favor with me, and one of which, as yet, am
totally ignorant. When it is known that the
whole burden of his speeches has been to stir
up men against the prosecution of the war, and
that in the midst of resistance to it he has
not been known in any instance to counsel
against such resistance, it is next to impossi-
BILE to repel the inference that he has coun-
seled directly in favor oft. So. e.
In conclusion the President submitted three
conditions to the committee, upon which he
will agree to release Vallandigham, They are
summed up in the requirement that they sup
port the Government in crushing the rebellion
The first is an acknowledgment that there il
q rebellion against the Federal authority, q
fact which Vallandigham has ignored in hi!
speeches), coupled with an acknowledgment
that an army and navy are constitutio IA
means for suppressing it, (another fact which
has never been admitted by the pet patriot
The second is that no member of the com
mittee will do anything to lessen the eff
ciency of army. The third and last is tina
each ono shall do everything he can in hi
sphere to aid the military power in its strug
gle with the rebellion. e- s'l
These conditions, though just what ever.
patriot in the land should be glad to perform
will, Of course. be rejected by the committe
on some hypocritical pretext, It is no par
Of their purpose to do anything to aid il
crushing the rebellion. That would be de
feating the entire object of their mission Il
Washington. 81" r.
Vicksburg was the first city, tina
echoed to the sound of hostile cannon in thi
rebellion. Three months before the attacl
on Sumter, and four days after the forma
secession of the State of Mississippi, on Jan
uary 9th, 1861, (the first to follow Sout
Carolina,) a frantic and crazy crew Of arti