Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-02-01

for such opinions are not force nor Is the express
ing of them force, nor is ii a crime by any law Of
the land
There Is one precedent upon this question to
which we think il instructive to refer. When,in
l776, the American Colonies rebeIled against
Great Britain, not 10 overthrow the British Gov
ernment-that still stands-but to sever the
British Union, TO take the colonies out from
der the jurisdiction Of the British Government
King George the Third determined 70 go TO
great lengths in attempting 70 consolidate British
public sentiment in support Of his particular
policy against the colonies. He laid down the
two propositions, that the British Union should
never be dissolved, and that the colonies should
be subjugated BY the sword to the sovereign win,
uninfuenced by any reasonable or fair terms 70 be
offered 10 invite submission. He wentgreatlengths
in attempting to unite the English people al home
upon the idea of enforcing his platform By war
alone. He used the patronage of the govern
ment, in the shape Of contracts andappoiniments,
to corrupt; he spent enormous amounts in actual
bribery, and resorted TO various means Of intimi-
dation to produce q united English sentiment
corresponding with his own. Mays Const.
Hist, vol 1, PIP. so, as; 3D. 81. On page So of
volume one are extracts of letters from the
King TO Lord North. On the 4th of February
1879, he wrote: you may sound Lord Howe;
but before name him to preside at the Admiral
ty Board, / must expect an explicit declaration
that he will zealously concur in prosecuting the
war in all quarters of the globe" Again, on the
22d of June, 1879, he wrote: Before will hear
of any mans readiness TO come into Office,
will expect 10 see it signed under his own hand
and seal, that he has resolved to keep the empire
entire, and that no troops shall consequently be
drawn from thence, l. G. America nor inde-
pendence ever allowed"
But the King could not produce unity of SEN
/ q - IL
/ Fox, Burke, Barre and other true Britons far
seeing statesmen and ilustrious patriots, were
for compromise, Cancellation along with war;
they warned the King that his policy was less
humane, less Christian than theirs, and was cal
culated to prolong and increase the expenses of
the war; that it involved the overthrow of liberty
in England itself, and might even subject him.
at last, in the dispensations of Providence, to
the loss of the brightest jewel of his crown.
These sentiments were boldly and earnestly ut
tered; they were read by the army and the rebel
colonists; and, though il was attempted by few
narrOw-minded bigots to throw discredit upon
the patriotism of those great statesmen, we have
never learned that the King, even claimed that
their course gave him right to arrest them by
virtue of martial law See Buckles Hist. Civ,
p. 355. If the speakers thought King George
and his ministers advocated erroneous doctrines,
the intelligence of the soldiers rendered the army
capable of discerning it and avoiding being infu-
enced by them; events the fact did not JUS
ty the violation of the constitutional rights of the
citizen to suppress them. And the proposition
would certainly be a monstTous one, that all ut
terances of opinion may be prohibited for fear an
erroneous one might be expressed; and we have
in this country no legal censor, outside of the
law, who has right TO set up his own opinions
as test by which the correctness of all Others is
to be determined. The foregoing is the prece-
dent from Great Britain. We should be reluctant
to seek others in Spain, Austria, Russia, Turkey,
Naples, Mexico, or the so-called Confederate
States.
We feel constrained them to come to the con-
clusion that the war power of the President is
limited to the simple right of exercising martial
law, simply as military chief, locally and tenn
porarily, where actual orimmediately impending
force renders il military necessity. No other
doctrine can be reconciled with TIE Constitution
of the United States, or is compatible with the
liberties of the people.
The next question that arises is how is the
existence of the fact that the civil power il SUI
perseded by illegal. forcible resistance, 10 be
ascertainedl Is it fact to be proved on the
trial, or decided by tie Court upon judicial
knowledge If the former, there is no avermcnt
in the answer of the existence of such fact, and
it bad for that reason. If the latter we are
able to state with feeling Of complete assur-
ance, that there has at no time been any forcible
resistance on the part OF the people to the civil
power, in the city of Indianapolis, which the
officers of the law were not easily able to over
come, when disposed to do their duty. The
courts have at all times been open, and there are
a sufficiency of them here, including those of the
City, State and United States TO meet the public
necessities And, extending observation
from the city to all parts of our commonwealth,
we are proud and happy in being able to saw, in
honor of the people and State of Indiana, that
all the citizens of the State, with scarcely an ex-
ception, if indeed there is one, are, and always
have been, emnently true and patriotic and re-
markedly patient. Judge Leavitt, in the VAL
landigham case, we regret to say, assuming to
speak by judicial knowledge, but beyond question
upon false and slanderous information, of the
people of this State, charges that portion of
them are affected with the rankest disloyalty.
Our judicial knowledge is thorough TO the con-
trary. The people of Indiana all for the
Constitution, the Union as formed BY il,
and the laws enacted pursuant to il. No
one is opposed to the Government, (using
that word in its proper sense, and notas meaning
the Administration, but only where opposition
is expressed to any proceeding, to acts believed
TO be illegal and yrannical, perpctrated by in
dividualS. The people of the State, in the Ian
guage Of an illustrious statesman now no more,
are for LIBERTY and UNION, one and insepdrGbe,
. nosc and Torerer. They arc, as we said above,
and again repeat, devoted TO the Constitution, tho
in the invocation-.Sanfo pcTPefuG-
The Judgment below is reversed with costs,
renanded, &c.