Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1863-07-09
THE EVENING STAR.
The yalIandisham Case.

The tallandig ham Case.
The President, in his reply to the Ohio Dem
ecratic Committee relative to the release of
Vallan digham, refers them to his letter to the
Albany meeting covering most of the points
which the committee make. The President ad-
heres to his opinion "that the Constitution is
different in its application in cases Of rebellion
or invasion, INVOLVING the public safety, from
what it is in times of profound peace and pub
lie security; simply because by the Constiru.
ton itself, things may be done in the one case
which may not be done in the other"
He denies that he ever in his speeches before
the people opposed the policy Of the Mexican
war.
The President refers also to his ALBANY let.
Der tor an answer 10 the clause in the letter Of
the committee which says -" Expunge from
the Constitution this limitation upon the power
OF Congress TO suspend the writ of hdbeos corr
pas, and yet the other guarantees Of personal
liberty would remain unchanged" and then
adds that 1t seems to him that "the benefit of
the writ OF hGbeGs corpus Is the great means
through which the guarantees OF personal lib
srty are conserved and made available in the
last resort; and corroborative of this view is
the fact that Mr.. Vallandigham, in the very
ease In question, under the advice of able law
Jers, saw not where else to go but to the habeas
sorPas. But by the Constitution the benefit of
the writ Of habeas corpus itself may be suspend
cd when IN cases Of rebellion or invasion the
putlic safety may require it.
"1od ask IN substance whetherI really claim
that may override all the guaranteed rights
OF individuals, on the plea of conserving the
public safety-when may choose to say the
public safety requires it. This question, dfvest-
ed Of the phraseology calculated to represent
me as struggling for an arbitrary personal pre-
1osatiye, Is either simply question ,rho shall
decide, or an affirmation that nobody shall de.
eide, what the public safety does require in ca
ses OF rebellion OF invasion. The Constitution
Sontemp1ates the question as likely to occur for
decisions but it does not expressly declare who
Is to decidelt. BY nece ssary implication, when
Qtot 80
be made from time to time; and think the man
whom, for the time, the people have under the
Constitution, made the Commander in Chief Of
their army and navy, is the man who holds the
power and bears the responsibility of making
It. II he uses the power Justly the same people
will probably Justify him; ii he abuses it, he is
il their hands, TO be dealt with by all the modes
they hay e reserved to themselves in the Consti-
tuition.
"The earnestness with which you insist that
persons can only in times OF rebellion be law
fully dealt with. in accordance with the rules
Tor crlml nal trials and punishmehts in times OF
peace, induces me TO add = word to what ! said
on that point in the Albany response. You
claim that men may, if they choose, embarrass
those whose duty il is to combat giant rebel
lion, and then be dealt with only in return
if there were no rebellion. The Constitution
itself REJECTS this view. The military arrests
and definitions which have been made, inclu-
ding those of Mr.. Valiandigham, which are
not different in principle from the other, have
been for prerention, and not or punishmsnt-as
injunctions to stay injury as proceedings to
keep the peace-and hence, ike proceedings in
such cases, and for like rea ons, they have not
been accompanied with in ictments, or trials
by juries, nor in single cSse. by any punish
ment whatever beyond " at is purely incl
dental to the prevention. The original SEN
tence OF imprisonment in M. FailandighaTn's
ease was 10 prevent injury TO the military SER
vice only and the modification of it was made
rs q less disagreeable mode to him Of securing
the same prevention"
The President cannet conceive how the ar
rest OF Mr. talfandigham can be an insult TO
The State OF Ohio, as claimed by the Committee.
Relative TO the argument or the Committee
Mat according to the Presidents own position
in the Albany response "Mr. Vallandigham
should be released: and this because he mas
not damaged the military service by discour-
aging enllstments, encouraging assertions, or
otherwise and that if he had, he should have
been turned over to the civil authorities, under
recent acts Of Congress, Mr.. Lincoln pro-
eeeds TO show that the speeches OF Mr.. V. have
ever tended to stir up men against the prose-
sunon of the war.
The President closes his letter by submitting
TO the Committee the following proposition,
which, II endorsed by each member of the
Committee, he will order at once the revocation
Of the order relative to Mr.. Vallandigham, viz:
i. "That there is now arebellon in the United
States, the object and tendency of which is to
destroy the National Union and that, in your
opinion an army and navy are constitutional
means for snpprassing that rebellion
2. That no one Of you will do anything which,
in his own Judgment, will tend TO hinder the
increase, or favor the decrease, lessen the
efficiency of the army or navy, while engaged
In the effort TO suppress that rebellion and,
s. That each OF you will, in his sphere, do all
he can to have the officers, soldiers, and sea-
men of the army and navy, while engaged in
the effort to suppress the rebellion, paid, fed,
clad, and otherwise well-proyided and sup
ported
The Committee have published q reioinder
TO the above letter, but il contains no new
points.