The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-06-18

O1cteO, tr1ed ana puntSneu. hHH
But, may be asked, what shall be done
where, as in the Border States, the civil law
is paralyzed, when sympathy with the reb-
els is active, jealous and dangerousP an
swer, for such sections Of the country, as in
Missouri, Tennessee, and portions Of other
States, you must have martial law. Are
Chicago and Illinois in that condition? If
so, then am for martial law. That, my
fellow-citizens, is the remedy. If traitors
are conspiring in our midst to overthrow the
Government, and preparing to inaugurate
civil war in our midst, and the danger is
imminent, let the writ of ha5eas corpus be
suspended, and martial law proclaimed.
If insurrection, rebellion and civil war
are being concoced and prepared in Illinois,
and if the public safety requires il, the Pres
ident has the power, and he ought to exer.
else it, Of suspending the writ Of hobeas COR
pus, and proclaiming martial law. This he
has the clear constitutional right to do. ,
These, then, are the powers, ample and
| full, to punish treason and sedition, and all
who aid and abet it, without overturning
the great principles of liberty which make
our Government worth all the blood being
shed to preserve it.
It is then wise to resort to doubtful means
Of Furnishing traitors, when we can reach
them by legal and constitutional means ?
The greatest danger which now threatens
the success of the Union cause is serious
division in the loyal States.
With the loyal States substan-
tally united, our success IN restoring tie
Union is only question Of time. Illinois
although the fourth State in the Union. is,
think, first in the physical power it has
brought to aid the President in crushing
the rebellion. A serious division here be-.
tween the people and Legislature Of our
State, and the Federal Government, and
great cause would be greatly jeopardized.-
Is it prudent for the administration to bring
on an ISSUE involving the liberty of the
Press, with the Judge Of the Supreme and
Districts Courts of the United States, and
both the confidential friends of the Presi-
dent, and our only Republican Senator,
against the administration on the issue p
Again. if you suppress the Times by mill
tary force, you must suppress the express
sion OF the same sentiments, by whomsoev-
er and wheresoever uttered. That which is
sedition in Chicago, is sedition in New York
city. Fernando Wood speaks as rank trea-
son as the Chicago Times publishes. He
uttered it to $4,000 people last week in
New York. Ifyou suppress the Times you
must suppress Wood Shall the President
60 out ofhis way to raise an issue with the
Governor of New York a~
No my fellow citizens, in critical times,
the government must combine prudence and
discretion with energy and boldness. Wood
and Storey both are dangerous men ard
should be punished Let them be punish.
ished by legal and Constitutional means
Punish them according to law and all
loyal men of all parties will sustain ou.-
Attempt to punish them by illegal and un-
constitutional means, and you give them an
immense advantage. With the law on our
side, we will crush these men to atoms.-
With the law on their side, we provoke civ.
il tumult and commotion, and if you sue
ceed in striking them down, you strike down
the constitution with thcm.,
My judgment, and my advice is, suffer
these pests and nuisances to exist until they
come clearly within the provisions of some
civil or military law, and then punish them
with inerorable Jfrmness and decision.
Let me remind my Republican friends of
another point. You remember when the
liberty of the press and freedom of speech
were crushed in the slave, and now rebel
lious States. This cursed rebellion could
never have occurred bnt for the destruction
cfthese safeguards of freedom.
The Democrats, now sensitive on these
points, when their rebel friends trampIed
these great principles under foot, had no re.
buke for them. We, the Republicans, were
the champions of liberty then, let us stand
by it now. For myself, did what I could
for the freedom of the press then, and 'tim-
Id, as the Times charges me to be, shall
have the courage to stand by it now. even
though the Times should damn me with its
praise, and my own friends denounce and
condemn me. -
Let me admonish my friends that the
prelcdents we make may return to plague
the inventors. ai
Next year we elect President. sug.
gest that it is among the remote possibili-
bilities, if we give our opponents the advan-
tage Of making the people believe that the
liberty Of the press, freedom of speech and
the trial by jury is involved, and that our
party has trampled these great principles
under foot. il is just possible that they may
succeed. desire to aid in the establish
ment Of no precedent which win limit my
freedom Of speech. nor prevent my declaring
what I believe, that the cursed spirit of hu-
man slavery is the cause Of all our troubles,
and that we shall never have permanent
peace and Uaion until it is destroyed.
believe this civil war, whichis the sui
eide of slavery, will be the regeneration Of
the nation. desire to see no precedent es-
tablished, which will prevent me from ex.
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