Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1863-07-02

oil dehned crime; and its suspension is al
lowed by the Constitution on purpose that
men may be ARRESTED and held who can
not be proved to be guilty of defined crime,
"when in cases Of rebellion or invasion,
the public safety may require it, This is
4 precisely oar present casp--a case of rebel
lion. wherein the public sofety does require
lie suspension. Indeed, arrests by process
Of courts. and arrests in case Of rebellion,
do not proceed altogether on the same ba-
SIS. The former is directed at the small
per. centage of ordinary and continuous
preparation Of crime, while the latter is
directed at sudden and extensive uprisings
against the Government, which, at most,
will succeed or fail in no great length OF
time. In the latter case, arrests are made.
not SO much for what has been done, as
for what probably would be done The
latter is more for the preventive and less
/ for the vindictive than tho former In such
cases the purposes of men are much more
easily understood than in cases of ordinary
crime. The man who stands by and says
nothing when the peril Of his Govern ment
is discussed. cannot be misunderstood. If
not hindered. he is sure to help the enemy;
much more. if be talks ambiguously-
talks for his country with "buts" and IFS
and "ands." OF how little value the con
stitutional provisions have quoted will
be rendered, il arrests shall never be made
until defined crimes shall have been com
mitted. may be illustrated by few nota-
bic examples. General John G. Breckin-
ridge. General Robert E. Lee, General 10
seph +. Johnston. General John u. Ma
gruder. General William B. Preston. Gen.
Simon B. Buckner. and Commodore Buch-
anan, now occupying the very highest
places in the rebel war service, were all
within the power Of the Government since
the rebellion began, and were nearly as
well known to be traitors then as now
Unquestionably. If we had seized and held
them. the insurgent cause would be much
weaker. But no one of them had then
committed any crime defined IN the law
Every one Of them, If arrested, would
have been discharged on habeas corpus.
were the writ allowed to operate. In
view Of these and similar cases, | think
the time not unlikely to come when shall
be blamed for having made too few arrests
rather than too many. m gsf 100
"Ihe meeting indicate their opinion
that military arrests may be constitu-
tional in the States where rebellion actual
ly exists. but that such arrests are un-
constitutional in localities where rebellion
and insurrection does not actually exist
They insist that such arrests shall not be
made outside of the lines OF necessary
military occupation and the scenes of in
surrection. Inasmuch. however, as the
Constitution itself makes no such dis
tinction, l am unable 10 believe that there
is any such constitutional Distinction
l concede that the class of arrests COM
planned Of, can be constitutional only
when, in case Of rebellion or invasion,
The public safety may require them. and,
insist that in such cases they are con-
stitutional whenever the public safety does
/ require them, as well ia places to which
they may prevent the rebellion extending
as in those where it may be already pre-.
vailing; as well where they may restrain
mischievous interference with the raising
and supplying Of armies to suppress the
rebellion as where the rebellion may
actually be; as well where they may re-
strain the enticing men out Of the army
as where they would prevent mutiny in
the army; and equally constitutional at
all places where they will conduce to the
public safety as against the dangers of
rebellion or invasion, like the particular
case mentioned by the meeting. II is as
serted. in substance, that Mr.. v. was, by
military commander, seized and tried
& for no other reason than words addressed
2 to public weeting in criticism of the
course of the Administration. and in con-
demnation of the military orders of the
General. Now, if there be no mistake
about this, if this assertion is the truth
and the whole truth, if there was no 9TH
/, er reason for the arrest. then conclude
the arrest was wrong; but the arrest un-
derstand, was made for very different
reason. Mr.. Vallandigham avows his
hostility TO the war on the part of the
Union. and his arrest was made because he
was laboring with some effe:t to prevent
the cnlisting of troops. to encourage de-
sertisn from the army, and toaleave the
rebellion without an adequate military
force to suppress it.. He was not arrested
because he was damaging the political
prospects of the Administration or the
personal interests of the commanding
General. but because he was endangering
the army, upon tho existence and vigor Of
which the life of the nation depends. He
was warriug upon the military and this
gave the military. constitutional jurisdic-
tion to lay hands upon him. frMr. ".
was not damaging the military power Of
the country, then bis arrest was made on
mistake, a fact which j, would be glad to
correct on responsible and satisfactory
evidence. slIl / InundcrstandI thci meeting
adopted resolutions in favor Of the sup
preston of the rebellion by military force
and by armies. Long. experience has
shown that armies cannot De maintained
unless desertion, shall ibe,punishod BY the
severe penalty of DEATH The. case re-
quires. and he law and the Constitution
sanctions this punishment Must / shoot
. supplemented sol dior boy who deserts.
while I must not touch q hair OF o willy.
sgitator iwhoii induces him to .desert?-
/ This is none the less; injurious when effect
ed BY gsttinsa a father, OF brother Or friend
into q public meeting. and there working
upon his,feelings, till heujs persuaded to
write the soldier boy that he is fighting in
la bad ceuse,; anil for - weak ,Administfa- (