North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1863-08-19


our political system, that the State Govern
ments will, in all possible contingencies, af-
ford complete security against invasions Of
public liberty by the national authority."-
Who can be blind to the consequences that
have followed the departure from the true
principles of our Government? "Abolition"
vieS with 4" secession, in sapping the very
foundations of the structure reared by our
forefathers. In Pennsylvania the party on
whose acts you will pass at the ballot box
has trampled upon the great rights of per-
soaal liberty and the freedom of the press,
which every man who can read may find as
serted in the e Constitution of the State and
the Constitution Of the United States. The
dignity of our Commonwealth has been in
suited in the ou;rages pepetrated upon her
citizens. At Philadelphia and at Hlrris.
burg, proprletors of newspapers have been
seized at midnight and hurried off to militia =
ry prisons beyond the limits of the State.
Against acts like these, perpetrated before
the eyes of the municipal and State authori-
ties, there is neither protection nor redress
The seizure of journal at West Chester
was afterwards the subject of suit for dam
ages in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
1t came to trial before Chief Justice Lowrie.
RehearSing the ancient principles of English
and American justice, he condemned the acts
of the federal officers as violations of the law
lhtt binds alike the private citizen AMI the
public flnctiontry. H. said: GAN public
flnctionaries in this lanl are under the law,
and n ,na, fro the hi chest to the lowest, are
above it," impatient from any restraint
from law, partisan minority in Congress SIS
hastened to pass an act to take from the
| State 1->1rts to the United States courts, all
suits or prosecutions "fJr tresspasSes or
wrongs done or cImmlttel by virtue or ul
der color of any authority derived from or
exercised uadcr the President of the United
States ;" AMI such authority was declared to
be full defence for the wrongdoer in any
action, civil or criminal. The American
Executive is, as The world imports the e.rec-
uior of the duly enacted laws. Yet the pre-
tension is N ,de that his will Gu take the
place of the laws. The liberty, the charac
ter of every citizen is put at the mercy of
new functionaries called provost marShals." ;"
Secret accusation before these officials takes
the place Of open hearing before a lawful
magistrate, and no writ of hGbeaS corpus
may inquire the cause Of the arrest. To iIle-
gal arrests have been added the mockery Of
trial of private citizen for his political
opinions before court-maatial, ending in
in the intiicton af new an outrageous pen
atty, invented by the President of the United
States. We need not comment upon acts
| like these. The President Of the United
States has no authority, in peace or war to
Try, even an enlisted soldier by court t-martial,
save by virtue and in strict conformity with
the military law laid down in the act of Con-
greSs establishing rules and articles for the
government of the armies Of the United
States" Yet by his proclamation of Sep
tember 9th, 1862, he has assumed to make
all citizens amonablc to military courts. He
has violated the great principle of free gov
ernment. on which Washington conducted
the war of the Revolution, and Manson the
war of l8l2-the principle of the subordina-
ton of the military to the civil power. He
has assumed to put martial law" which is
the rule of force at spot where all laws are
silenced, in the place of civil justice through
out the land, an has thus assailed, in some
of the States, even the freedom of the bal
lot box These are not occasional acts, done
in haste, or heat, or ignorance but new
system Of government put in the place of
that ordained and established by sthe people.
That the Queen could not do what he could,
was Mr.. Seward's boast to the British Min
ister The " military arrests" Of Mr.. Stan
ton received the hearty commentator" of
the Convention that renoininated Governor
Curtin: and it pledged him and his party to
hearty cooperation" in such acts Of the
Administration in future. Such is the de-
grading platform on which a candidate for
Chief Magistrate of Pennsylvania stands be-
fore her people. Those pretensions to ar
bitrary power give ominous significance to
late change in our military establishments
The time honored American system of call
ing on the States for drafts from their mill
tia, has been replaced by Federal conscrip,
ton, on the model of European despotsms.
We would not minister to the excitement
which it has caused among men of all par
ties. Its constitutionality will be tested be-
fore the courts. If Ifadjudged to be within
the power of Congress, the people will de-
eide on the propriety of a stretch of power
on which the British Parliament-styled
omnipotent-has never ventured. On this
YOU will pass at the polls, and the next Con-
gress will not be deaf to the voice of the peo-
ple For all political evils, constitutional
remedy yet remains, in the ballot-box. We
will not entertain fear that it is not safe IN
the guardianship Of a free people. If men in