The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-03-18
MDIGNATTON AT THE MON
40ODS DOINGS OF CONGRESS
DIV TFrom the New York World
The COnplete Overthrow of the
ar ssP Public Liberties.

stN @From the New York World
The Complete Overthrow of the
edv Public Liberties.
20 - r@zc --
u tho darkest hour since the outbreak
ct the rebellion. Congress, by tho act passad
yesterday authorizing the President to sus.
pend the writ of ho5eas corpus throughout
the Nheie extent of the country, has consum-
mated Its series of measures for laying the
country PROSTATE and helpless at the feet of
one man. It was not enough that Mr.. Lin
Acoln has been invested with the purse and the
sword that, with an immense power to raise
or manufacture money, he has unrestricted
amman OF the services of every able-bodied
man IN the country. Congress has thoughts II
necessary to give the finishing stroke to its
establishment Of a military despotism, by re-.
moving all checks on the abuse of the enor.
nous monetary and military power with which
they have clothed the President. What as
surance has the country that We shall ever
have another Presiden .ial election None
Whatever except what may be found in the
-conhdence, reasonable or unreasonable. renosed
in the reetitude and patriotism of Mr.. lincoln.
If any person, In any part of the country.
shall think it bis duty to resist uuconstitu.
stlonai encroachments on the rights of citizens,
Mr.. Lincoln Is authorized, by what purports
to besailaw, to snatch up that individual and
immune him ia one of the government has,
tiles az long AZ he shall see ct, and there is no.
lower anywhere in the nation to call him to
account~H be can send one of his countless
provost marshals into the house of a Governor
Of State, or any other citizen, in the dead of
night drag him from his bed, hustle him away
under the cover of darkness, plunge him in q
distant and unknown dungeon, and allow his
nepds to know no more of the Where's bouts
OF his body than they you'd of the habitat;on
OF hs soul, IT, instead of imprisoning, the
- ~ -
this tremendous power over the liberty of ey-
cry eitizep whom he may suspect, or whom he
may choose to imprison without suspecting,
the President is as absolute a despot as the
Sultan of Turkey. All the guarantees of lib
erty are broken down; we all lie at the feet
OF one man, dependent on his caprice for ey-
cry hours exemption from q bastile. If he
wills itSthe State Governments may continue
In the discharge of their functions ; but if he
wills It, every one of them that does not be-
come his submissive and subservient tool can
be at once suspended by the imprisonment of
Its ofhesrs-@ Considering the enormous power
conferred on the President by the Finance
and Coz scription Bills, a reasonable JEALOUSY
would have erected additional safeguards
against its abuse, Instead of that, Congress
has thrown down ell the old barrisys and left
IA absolutely without shelter in the greatest
yioIeh ce of the tempest.
ID 1al oCIcBb4DAo acb DA6BeQ yoBCefQay
Is an act Indemnify to shield the President
from the L. sal consequences of past exertions
Of arbitrary power, it Is = confession that he,
bis seoretarfa s,proyost-marshals, and other
have 5 sen acting in violation of law.
It annuIs ALLAN s passed by the State Legisla-
lures for fha / rejection of their citizens
against Kidnapping , it provides for taking all
Iuits for damages OF t of the State courts and
transferring them t. , the Federal tribunals,
nd before those tribn mails the fact that the in
Jury complained Of wa done under color of
executive authority is declared to be a full
md complete defense. 1t even inficts penal
ties on persons eoming be fore the courts for
redress of injuries, by dec laring that if they
are not successful the defer tdant shall recover
double COSTS 9eTfhat party |
must take the risk of this ?, snalty for yentur
ing to ascertain, in = court OIL justice, whether
his oppressor Was or was not acting under the
authority of the President. To thisa alarming
have matters come, that not only does
one man, but he Is liable to be punished for
inquiring whether the person arresting him
really possess, that mans authority
The attempt TO disguise the odIous charac-
ter Of this detestable act by . sham provision
in its second section is an insult to the intelli-
gence of the people. HThe Secretary of State
and the Secretary Of War" 50 it reads, fare
directed, as soon as may be practicable" to
furnish to the judges of the courts lists Of the
names Of the persons arrested, that they may
be presented to a grand jury for indictment
And who Is to judge of this prueticabiliy
Why, the Secretaries themselves, or the Pres
ident for them They will furnish such lists
It suits their pleasure, and not be-
FORE There is not only no penalty for neg
lecting to do this altogether, but the main
purpose of the acts is to protect these %efieers,
and all persons acting under their directionss
against al legal penalties for all arrests wher
ever made, and all detentiens in prison, how
ever long protracted.
Thesninety days during which Congress has
now been in session are the last ninety days
of American freedom. Our liberties had prezi
v~iOualybsen curtailsd and abridged by execu,
tive ep-eroachments, but the courts remained
open for redress of wrongs. But this Con-
gress has rendered their overthrow complete,
by first putting the purse and the sword in
the hands of the President and then assuring
him ofaepmpIete immunity in all abuses of this
A5esrs dadgefo6s; en1s remenuous1