Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1863-01-28

SASSt anu CliccI lilt, !ttte MOI OeeH uOte 10
teoTn u,hGt diose charges are! have in
vain demanded of the Government the
nature of the charges, and claim the Con-
stltutlonal privilege of being informed of
tue nature and cause of this accusation,
and to be confronted with the witnesses
against me. But up to this hour. the
grave could not have been more silent
Great Heavens is it possible that such
things can he under Constitution whose
boast 1t has been that it was for the pro-
lection of the inatianabie rightso of men
against all oppression? II this boast has
been III vain, then ii has but d name to
to llve-ssn outer seeming. to bcguile and
to deceivc-a SoIom apple, hectic
flush, painting tie check upon which ii
preys'
The liberty / claim under that Con
stitution, Is not the liberty of licemtious-
ness-it is the liberty united with law,
liberty sustained by law, liberty regulated
by law ard that kind OF liberty Is guar
anteed to every man, rich or poor, high
or low, proud or humble. under all exi-
gencies, whether in peace or war, and
whether that war is foreign, or the State
be in the fearful throes Of civil strife If
the obligations we enter into TO part with
a portion of our absolute rights when we
assume the bonds of civil society. be not
complied with, The State must enforce her
remedies against the citizen can be de
prived of his life, his liberty or his proper
ty without due process of law He may
be made to part with all three by the
power of the State, but that power must
see to If, that in Its exercise 1t does not
overstep the limits in which it Is appoint
ed to move. If it does, il becomes des-
pOtic; and then. among men who know
their rights, resistance follows as na:u-
rally as light succeeds TO darkness. ii.
by simple mandate OF any Cabinet Off
Ger, lii n State loyal 10 the Union as this
has been. and when the couras III iaw are
open, You or | may be torn from our
homes, without cause shown. and con-
signed to the gloomy walls Of a Govern
ment fortress, the same man late, only
altered in Its phrascology, may consign us
Immediately into the hands of the cxecu-
toner or deprive US of cur properties,
coniiscating them 10 the State. The right
10 have orr lives secure against in:cr!;-
renee without due process OF law Is
equally guaranteed III the same clause
that protects our liberty and our property
Do you know, my friends, how old these
privileges are They can trace their
lineage back 10 the days OF the mail-clad
BarCns. and these feet have stood rever-
cntiaiiy upon the grassy lawns of Runne-
mede, where those great privileges were
born more than SIX hundred years ago.
They were extorted by the rebellious Bar
ons, then and there from the tyrant John,
and uttered in Glowing language that has
come down 70 us through the long vista
of ages, and l. still sounding III our ears
as the sweetest note that ever came from
the clarion Of freedom Listen 10 its mu-
sic. strong and sweet as il sounded I'm the
solemn midnight, centuries ago: No
freeman shall be saizeI or imprisoned, or
disseized or ouliawcd, or in apy way de
stroyed, nor will we 90 uUon him or send
upon him. except by the Judgment of
his peers or by the laws of the land
Keep in remembrance that there is no
saying of the Kings perogatiye in Magma
Charta. As Sir Edward Cook TO King
Charles /; Magma CnGrta Is such Il
teiIo,C that ks ,riH hUre no s9rtTeigIa.'
Therefore all this nonsense about the
necessities of the hour .jusiifying these
high-handed outrages upon the liberty of
the subject, may as well cease, or those
who resort to sIch justification are either
knaves or fools. The freeman who Sc
cured their Petition of Right from
Charles in 1923, comprehended this fully,
and they never ceased their opportunities
until they made the King confess: My
maxim Is, that the peoples liberties
strengthen the Kings perogative, and the
Kings perogative is to defend the people
/ liberties;'' and so it is with States Peroga-
/ tive--it can only be used To defend and
/ strengthen our liberties, not to destroy.
/ The instant you make the admission that
/ the perogative of the State Is more pO-
tent than the liberties of the people; that
moment the very vitality of your govern
ment is destroyed, and you become the
/ slaves of vile despotism. Constraint is
the natural parent of resistance, and this
doctrine is by no means novel. 1t is as
old as the davs of Lucian. The pleasant
story in that fable of his has its moral in
our time Jupiter and a countryman
were conversing with each other with
familiarity upon the subject of Heaven
and Earth. The countryman listened
with great attention, and aquiesced in
Jupiters sentiments as long rs Jupiter