North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1863-03-18
The Indemnity Bill.

The bill indemnifying the President for
the illegal and arbitrary arrests, passed by
the late infamous Congress, contains pro-
vision which will strike every CITIZEN with
Indignation and alarm. 1t authorizes Mr..
Lincoln to suspend the h0beds corpus in ev-
cry State in the Union. The bare mention
of this provision is sufficient to convey its
full atrocity. Pennsylvania to-day and always
save when Mr.. Lincoln's party stamped
notification upon her statute book-one of
the most loyal members of the confederacy,
may, under this provision, at any instant be
robbed of every common law right which
American freemen regard as the security of
individual liberty. Freedom of speech, of
the press, and of the person, freedom of po-
litical opposition, freedom even to vote for a
judge or township officer, are not to-day
rights of citizens, but farors permitted to
them in the discretion Of the President.
What is the object of comforting such pow
er upon one man? What justification exists
for this overthrow of the time honored prin-
cipes of the government? What is there to
repress in the loyal North, save an honest
expression of the popular will ? Do the re-
publicans hope to crush the majority which
is now rising against them by military ter
rorism2 Do they expect to perpetuate their
party by manacling their opponents
The North is loyal There are no rebels
here. There are millions of deathless oppo-
nents of the abolition idea-but no traitors,
at least no such number of them that they
cannot be tried, convicted and punished in
accordance with the law of the land. What,
then, is the meaning of this measure?
We regard it as dangerous gift of power
-as wanton abandonment of public liberty
as precedent fraught with endless evil-as
practice designed for the uses ofoppres-
sion. We denounce it as the greatest crime
against human liberty of the century-as the
fitting finale of the orgies of corruption and
tyranny which have disgraced the capital of
the nation during the last two years.
But We do not fear it. The people are
aroused. Nothing short of an Executive de-
cree closing the ballot-box can avert the an
Inhalation of the republican party, and that
no ruler will dare attempt, for that this peo-
pie will never submit to. 1t is really sub.
ject to rejoice over. This gigantic stride of
despotism only tears the veil from the pop
ular vision, and reveals that the Wilson's,
Wades, Chambers, and other counterfeit pa
triots In Congress, are merely worn-out poll
ticians, driven to violation of the constitu-
tion and oppression of the citizen as their
last refuge from the consequences of the
crimes and blunders by which they have
brought the country to its present condition.
1t is an open confession of guilt-an unmis-
taxable symptom of fear-an unerring indi-
cation that abolitionisn despairs of receiving
the popular support, and for the future re-
lies upon the sword and the bayonet as the
only means of sustaining itself
The last feather broke the camel's back.
We shall see, in the returns of the spring
elections, that the abolitonists have gone
TOO far. No democrat will be intimidated.
but hosts of honest, non'office seeking re-.
publicans, will be disgusted by this extraor-
dlnary measure.