Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1863-06-24

tor sick man because II can be shown
) to be not good food for well one. Nor
am able to appreciate the danger appre-
hended by the meeting that the Ameri,
can people will, by means of military ar
. rests during the rebellion, lose the right
of public discussion. the liberty of the
: press, and freedom of speech, the law
? of evidence and trial by jury, and habeas
corpus, through the indefinite peaceful
future. which ! trust lies before them.
} any more than am able to believe that
J man could contract so strong an appe-
tite for emetics during temporary illness,
; as to persist In feeding upon them the
remainder of his healtful life.
In giving the resolutions that earnest
} consideration which you request of me,
rannot overlook the fact that the meet
,ag speak as ''democrats." Nor can |,
with full respect for their known intelli-
gence, and the fairly presumed delibera-
tion with which they prepared their res
olutions, be permitted to suppose that
this occurred by accident, or in any way
other than that they preferred to desig-
nate themselves democrats" rather than
american citizens" In this time of ma
tiOnal peril | would have preferred to
meet you upon a level one step higher
than any party platform because l am
sure that from such moie elevated po-
sition, we could do better battle for the
country we all love than we possibly could
from those lower ones where, from the force
ofhabit, the prejudices of the past, ,and sell
fish hopes of the future, we are sure to
expend much of our ingenuity and
strength in finding fault with, and aim
| D. hl.r,-, 81 d. -,
have denied me this, l will yet be thank
ful for the country's sake, that not all
democrats have done so. He on whose
discretionary judgment Mr.. Vallandig
han was arrested is democrat, having
no old party affinity with me and the
judge who rejected the constitutional
view expressed in these resolutions, by
refusing to discharge Mr.. Vallandigham
on habeas corpus is a democrat of bet
ter days than these, having received his
judicial mantle ut the hands of President
jackson. And still more, of all those
democrats who are nobly exposing their
lives and shedding their blood on the bat
tie field; have learned that many ap-
prove the course taken with Mr.. Vallan-
digham. while have not heard Of sin
gle one condemning it. / cannot assert
that there are none such. And the name
of President jackson recalls an instance
of pertinent history. After the battle of
New Orleans, and while the fact that the
treaty of peace had been concluded was
well known in the city, but before official
knowledge of it had arrived, General
jackson still maintained martial or mill
tary law. Now that it could be said the
war was over, the clamor against martial
law, which existed from the first, grew
furious. Among other things Mr.. Lou
aillier published a denunciatory newspa-
per article. General Jackson arrested
him. A lawyer by the name of Morel
procured the United States Judge Hall
to issue writ of habeas corpus to relieve
Mr.. Louaillier. General jackson arrest |
ed both lawyer and the Judge. A Mr. |
Hollander ventured to say of some part !
of the matter that sit was adirty trick"
General Jackson arrestedhim. When |
the officer undertook 10 serve the writ I
of habeas corpus, General jackson took /
it from him and sent him away with |
a copy. Holding the Judge in GUS
tody a few days, the general sent
him beyond the lines of his encampment !
and set him at liberty, with an order to
remain until the ratification of peace /
should beregularly announced or until the !
British should have left the Southern /
coast. A day or two more elapsed, the
ratification of the treaty was regularly |
announced, and the Judge and others
were fully liberated. A few days more
and the Judge called General jackson in
to court and fined him thousand dollars
for having arrested him and the others
named. The general paid the fine, and
there the matter rested for nearly thirty
years, when Congress refunded principal
and interest. The late Senator Douglas,
then in the house of Representatives, took
a leading part in the debates, in which
the constitutional question was much dis
cussed. l am not prepared to say whom
the journals would show to have voted
for the measure.
1t may be remarked; First that we had
the same Constitution then as now; ; sec
ondly, that we then had a case of inva-
sion, and now we have case of rebel
lion /; and, thirdly, that the permanent
right of the people to public discussion,
the liberty of speech and of the press,
the trial by jury, the law of evidence,
and the habeas suffered no detriment
whatever by that conduct of General
Jackson, or its subsequent approval by
the American Congress.
And yet, let me say, in my own discre- !
lion, | do not know whether | would ,
have ordered the arrest of Mr.. Vallan-
ligham. While l cannot shift the res
from myself, l hold that, as
! general rule, the commander in the
field is the better judge of the necessity {
\
practice general directory and revisory i
power in the matter.
One of the resolutions expresses the S
opinion of the meeting that arbitrary ar {
'ests will have the effect to divide and
listract those who should be united in i
the rebellion, and l am spe-
,ifcally called on to discharge Mr. Val ]
andigham. regard this, at least, fair I
appeal to me or the expediency of exer-
Using a constitutional power which v
hink exists. In response to such appeal
have to say it gave me pain when
heard that Vallandigham had been ar
is, wss panied that there =
hould have seemed to be necessity for !
.rresting him-and that it will afford me y
,reat pleasure to discharge him as soon
g l can, by any means, believe the pub I
ic safety will not suffer by it. l further |
ay, that as the war progresses, it appears q
o me, opinion and action, which were in 0
,reat confusion at first, take shape and r
all into regular channels, so that the ne Il
essity for strong dealing with them grad
ally decreases. | have every reason to .
esire that it should cease altogether, and D
ar from the least is my regard for the c
pinioas and wishes of those who, like G
he meeting at Albany, declare their pur- L
ose to sustain the government in every =
institutional and lawful measure to sup I
ress the rebellion. Still l must contin- I
e to do so much as may be required by IL
he public safety. A. LINCOLN. =.
What Must the South Become. f
Enfeebled by servile culture, in the Vi u
unity of thirty millions of freemen, who g
nclose her on both sides; in order to re-