The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1863-06-19

Svent mutiny in the armyg equally consh-
Ftutonal at all places where they Will cor
duce TO To- the public safety as against the
dangers of rebellion or invasion.
Take the particular case mentioned by
the meeting. 1t is asserted, in substance,
that Mr.. Vaflahdigham was, byR military
commander, seized and tried s'for No 9TH
er reason than words addressed to pub
lie meeting, in criticism of the course of
the Administration, and in, condemnation
81 the military orders of the general.''-|
Now. if there be no mistake about this, if
the assertion is the truth and the whole
truth; if there be no osher reason for the
arrest, then l concede that the arrest was
wrong. But the arrest, as I understand,
was nm ade for a very different. ireason.e-
Mr. v allandigham aSoWs his hostility to
the war ON the part of the Union, and his
arrest was made because he was nlaboring,
with some effect, to prevent theiraising Of
troops, to encourage desertions from the
army, and to leave rebellion without
an adequate military force to suppress it.
He was not arrested because he was dam
aging othe political prospects of the adj
ministration, or the personal interests of
the com mauding, general, but because he
was. DANA ging the arlnsae upon the exist
ence and vigor of which the '1ife of the
nation depends He was warning upon
the military, and this gave the military
constitutional jurisdiction to lay hands
upon himsj IF Mr.. Vallandigham was not
damaging military power of the coun-
try, then his arrest was made on mistake
Of fact, which / would be glad to correct
on reasonably satisfactory evidence. r 40
L understand the meeting, whose reso!
lutiops i am considering, to be in favor
of isuppressing the rebellion by military
force,-by armies. d Long experience has
shown that armies cannot be maintained
unless desertions shall be punished by the
severe penalty of death. The case re-
quires, andJthe law and the constitution
sanction, this punishment Must 1 shoot
supplemented soldier boy'who deserts,
while / must not touch hair of willy
agitator who induces him to desert p
Thisiis none the less injurious when eff.
fected by getting u father, or brother, or
friend, into public meeting, and there
working upon his feelings till heIis per-
suaded to write the soldier boy that he is
fighting ina bad cause, for o wicked ad-
niinistration of contemplate govern
ment, tootweak ITO arrest and punish him
| ifthe shall desert. II think that in such q
case, to silence the agitator and save the
boy is not only constitutional, but withal
d great mercy. nuj i7'.'H;'n! ~. u .f,'
i'll be wrong on this question: of con-
stitutional power, my error lies in believ-
ing that certain proceedings are consititu-
tional. when, in cases Of rebellion orinva-
sion, the public safety does not require
them /; in other words, nthat the constitu-
ton is not, in its application, in all re-
.spects the same, in cases of rebellion or
invasion involving the public safety, as it
is in times of profound peace and public
security The constitution itself makes
the distinction; and I can no more be
persuaded that the government can con-
stituti0nally take no strong measures in
time of rebellion, because DIT can be shown
that the same could not be1lawfully taken
J in time ofrpeace, than I can be persuaded
that particular drug isnot good Jmedi-
cine fora sick man, because it can be
shown not to be good food for a we'll one.'
Nor am | able to appreciate the danger
apprehended by the meeting that the
American people will, by means Of militia
ry arrests during the rebellion, lose the
right ofopublic discussion, the liberty of
speech and of the, press, the law of EVIL
2dence, trial by jury, and shabeas corpus.
throughoutgthe indefinite peaceful future,
whiehI trust lies before them, any more
than Lam able to- believe that a man could
Contract SO strong aniappetite for enietics
during Temporary illness,las to persist in
feeding upon them during the remainder
of his healthfnlnlife. aiTt* 9d* 70 u*jrm
And Yet, let me say, that1iinn my own sri
discretion / do not know whether / would.
Phave ordered the arrest Of Nj. Vallandig-
ham, While I cannon shift the response
Fbility, from myself, | hold that, as gene.
raj rule, the Commander ip the field is the
better judge of the necessity in : any par
ticular case. Ofeourse / must practice
Egeneral directory e tory l5 and d reyisor power in
'ne ina'teT13 gisai tag i.sqsg1iydi ~ js9h
7 One Of the resolutions expresses the
opinion Of the meeting that arbitrary ar al!
rests viii have the effect 10 divide and dis
tract those who shpufd H. united IN SIM ~ I.