, 1863-06-17

stances which snoT that, while they Constitute the
elements Of tho enduring stability OF the republic
Eesg{ted, That the President. .yicc-Presidents,
and Secretary Of this meeting he requested to
iency tie Presitent Of tho untod States, With tho
assurance Of this meeting OF their hearty and ear
Ecst Gtsire to support the Government in cvcry
Constitutional and iawf1l measure to suppress tho
existing rebellion.
ME-. L1NcoLS's REr.Y.
r EXECUTIVE MANSION.
WARRINGTON, June II, 1863.
Hon. Erastus Corning, and others:
GESTLRMES: Your letter Of May 10, en-
closing the resolutions Of q public meeting
held at Albany, New York, on the 10th of tle
eanle month, was received several days ago.
The resolutions, as understand them, are
rcsolyable into two propositions-frst, the
expression Of purpose to sustain the cause
Of the Union, to secure peace through VIC
every constitutional and lawful measure to
suppress the rebellion; and secondly, de-
cla1ation Of censnre upon the Administration
for supposed unconstitutional action, such as
the making Of military arrests. And, FROM
the two propositions, Il third is deduced,
which is that the gentlemen composing the
meeting nrc resolved on doing their part to
try, despite the folly or wickedness, US they
may conceive, Of any Administration. This po-
sition Is cmincntly patriotic, and as such,
thank the meeting, and congratulate tile ma
ton for 1t. My own purpose Is the same; SO
that the meeting and myself have common
object, and can have no difference, except in
the choice Of means or measures for effectlng
that object
And here fought to close this paper, and
would close it, II there were no apprehension
that more Injurious consequences than any
merelFpefsonal to mysclf might follow the
censures systematically cast upon me for do
ing what, in my view Of duty, / could not f,r-
bear. The resolutions promise to support me
In every constitutional and lawful measure to
suppress the rebellion; asd hare not kaon-
fng;y employed, nor shall knotcin9ly employ, any
otter. But the meeting, by their resolu-
tionB, Assert and argue that certain military
arrests, and proceedings following them,
for Which I am ultimately responsible,
are unconsti itutiona1, think they are moi.
the definition Of .reasou, and also tho limit
frg safeguards and guarantees therein proyid-
ed for the citizen on trials for treason, and On
his being held to answer for capital or other
wise Infamous crimes, and, IN criminal prose-
cutions; his right to speedy and public trial
';tl,at these safeguards Of the rights Of the
citizen against the .pretcnsions Of arbitrary
power were intended more especially for his
protection in times Of ciyif commotion."
And, apparently to demonstrate the propo-
sition, the resolutions proceed: "They
were secured substantially to. the Englisl,
Wal, and were adopted into our Con-
ftitution ut the close Of the revolution"
Would not the demonstration have been bet.
ter, If 1t could have been truly said that these
safeguards had been adopted and applied dur
ing the civil vars and during our revolution,
instead Of after the one and at the close o1
f%nt4 &hnN T $1- &$nlt r. $tn%,n
after civil war, and before civil war. and at I'LL
times, "e1e1t .rhe'a, in cases Of REBELLION or in
easion, the pul2ic s9fty s'ady require" their sus.
pension. The resolutions proceed to tell US
that these safeguards Z" have stood the test OF
seycnty-six years Of trial, under our repub.
lican system, upder circumstances which
show that while they constitute the founda.
ments Of the enduring stability of the rcpnb.
Nc."' No one denies tlat they have 30 stood
the test up to the beginning Of the present
rebellion, If we except a certAin occurrence
ut New Orleans; nor does any one question
that they will stand the same test much longer
after The rebellion closes. But these proyi-
sions Of the Constitution hare no application
to the ease VIC have In hand, because the
arrests complained Of were not made for
treason-that is, not for the treason defined
in the Constitution, and upon the conviction
Of which the punishment Is death-nor yet
were they made to hold persons to answer Tor
any capital or otherwise Infamous crimes
nor we're the proceedings following, in any
constitutional or legal sense, "criminal pros.
different grounds, and the proceedings fol.
lowing accorded with the grounds Of the
arrests. Let us consider the real case with
which VIC are dealing, and apply to 1t the parts
oftheC Constitution p1ain1y made for such cases,
Prior to my Installation here, it had been
inculcated that any State had q lawful right
to eccede from the national Union, and that II
would be e1psdient to exercise the right
whenever the deyotces OF the doctrine should
fail to elect q President to their own liking.
was elected contrary to their liking; and,
accordingly, so far as it Was legally possible,
they Ind taken seyen States out of the Unfon,
had seized many Of the United States forts,
and had fred upon the United States flag, ali
before was inauguratcd, and, of course, be-
fore had done any official act whatever.
The rebellion thus began soon ran into the
present civil wnr; and, IN certain respects, it
began on very unequal terms between the
parties. The insurgents had been prepar.
ing for it more taa,t thirty gears, while the
Government had taken no steps to resist
them. The former Ind carefully considered
all the means which could be- turned to
their account. It undoubtedly WIS well
pondered reliance with them TINT in theil
own unrestricted efforts to destroy the Union,
Constitution, and law, al together, the Gov:
erpment would, In great degree, be restrained
By the came Constitution aud Law from arrest.
ing their progress. Their sympathlzers per;
yaded all departments Of the Government and
nearly all communities Of the people From
this material, under cover Of ''liberty OF
speech" :" liberty Of the prcss,n aud j" habe:
as corpus, they hoped to keep on foot amongst
us most efficient corps Of spies, informers,
suppliers, and aide1s and .abettors Of theit
cause In thousand ways. They knew that
in times such as they were snaugurating, BY
the Constitution itself, the "dalfas cofpus''
might be suspended; but they also knew
they had friends who would, make a
question as to seho WIS to suspend it; mean.
while their spies and others might remain at
large to help on their cause. Or If, as has
happened, the Executive should suspend the
writ, without ruinous waste oftime, Instances
Of arresting Innocent persons might occur, as
then clamor could be raised in regard to
this, which might be, at least, Of some sery.
ice to the insurgent cansc. It needed novery
keen perception to discover this part of the
enemy's programme, SO soon rs by, open hos
ti1ities their machinery was fairly put in mo-
ton. Yet, thoroughly imbued with q reyeE-
ence for the guaranteed rights OF individuals
which by degrees have been forced 10 regard
us being within The exceptions Of the Consti.
tuition, and rs indispensable to the public
safety. Nothing is better known to history
than Tint courts Of justice are utterly incom-
petent to euch cases. Civil courts are organ
lied chiefly for trials Of individuals, or, at
most, few individuals acting in concert !;
and this in quiet times, and on charges well
defined in the law. Even In times Of peace,
bands Of horse thieves and robbers frequently
grow too numerous and powerful for the or
dinaly courts OF Justice But what compari-
son, In numbers, have such bands ever borne
to the insurgent sympathizezs even in many
of the loyal statesf Again, jury
too frequently has at least one mem
ber more ready to hing the panel
than to hang the traitor. And Jet, again, he
uho dissrades one man from volunteering, or in
cause as much. she u1.o Hills a Union soldier in