The New York herald., 1864-04-08

SnroWu Ovor TINS constitutional propoeluOn
BY our Lincoln contemporary, tho New York
times. that Old Abe prefers his own instruc-
tions to those Of the constitution. ID 1t 90. or
has the oracle Of the Times in this matter per-
mitted his zeal to outrun his disoretionf We
should like to know.
ARBITRARY DIsNssAIs or OrrIcsRs.-Col.
Holt, Judge Advocate General Of tho army.
has sent to che Military Committee OF the SEN
ate an opinion strongly adverse to depriving
the President Of his power to dismiss officers Of
the army BY simple order and without any
form Of trial. Col. Holt rests his argument
chiefly on the Inconvenience" that would arise
from the delays necessary to comply with the
forms Of military Justice, and on the difficulty
tbere might be at times in sparing sufficient
detail Of officers to form regular court mar
tial II this argument be good for anything,
Why not apply it to civil as we'll as military
odsaeest The principles Of justice are immuta-
ble and the same under all variations Of cir
cumstance. II tho mere Inconvenience" sf
trying an sflcer can be held to justify biz sum-
mary dismissal and disgrace, why go to the
formality oftrying pirates, murderers, burglars,
or any other Of the dangerous classes. Are
our officers, by the mere fact Of holding COM
missions, degraded to . lower rank than the
common felon thrice before convicted yet still
entitled to fair and full trial before punish
ment for any allie ged offence!
II Is urged that the Crown Of England and
the Emperors Of Austria, Prussia sad France
are endowed with the power Of summarily dis
missing any one or more Of their military SER
wants; but has it yet come to such q pass with
rs that this can be held valid precedent for
endowing Emperor Lincoln with similar power!
Does not the country see that this power Of dis
missing army officers at pleasure is IN itself
despotism, whenever the person endowed there
with may choose to exert his prerogatve? An
ambitious President, plotting against the
liberties Of the country, could turn out Of the
army every officer who was not willing to be-
come an accomplice in the crime; and while
few may suspect Mr.. Lincoln of any such in
tention, all will admit-even Mr.. Lincoln him
self-that there might be a President in whose
hands this power both could and would be
used with fatal effect against our continued
existence as free people
It is understood, moreover, that the new
Rules and Articles Of War now before the Mill
tary Comnittee Of the Senate, and soon to be-
come law, greatly simplify and abbreviate
the forms Of military Jurisprudence, and greatly
reduce the number Of officers required to
form court martial We have all, too,
been painfully familiar, during the last
two and half years, with sentences Of
arbitrary dismissal pronounced In one general
order Of the War Department, only to be re-
voked in the next with q reinstatement Of the
dismissed officer in his grade. and sort Of
sulky apology for the "misinformation" on
which the original order was issued. Let MS
have done with all this. Let us give to the
men who bear the commissions Of the nation al
least not less protection than Is afforded by the
common law of all States to the veriest wretch
ever arrested on charge Of picking . pocket.
Let our officers no longer be the mere creatures
OF the Presidents will, dependent upon him for
existence as we'll as for promotion; but let each
OF them be given-and more especially before
they are called upon to supervise the vote of
our soldiers in the field next election-the as
surance that only BY verdict Of their peers in
court martial assembled, aud on charges Of q
military nature duly preferred and tried, can
they be deprived Of the commissions which they
have sacrificed homo and perilled their very
lives to obtain. Colonel Hollis opinion on this
matter is not sound. Let the Military Com
nittee Of the Senate consult board of officers
who are not, like Judge Holt, the special ap-
pointees OF the President, and different opin-
ion will be given to them. In the early days
OF the war, when everything was higgledy-pig-
gledy in the army, there might have been some
colorado excuse for these arbitrary dismissals;
but with the present high state of discipline,
efficiency and intelligence throughout our
forces this despotic practice Of turning an
officer out Of the service and disgracing him for
preferred, should be abandoned as . power
with which it is not safe to trust any President,
and certainly not President who is a candi-
date for re election. Such men as Senators
Wilson and CONFESS should have the courage to
set their faces against this undue stretch Of the
Presidents pre- rogative.
A SOLDIERS HoME.-In another column we
give . communication from Major Halpine
containing some suggestions for the in
stitution Of home for soldiers crippled
by the war, similar in character to the
Chelsea Hospital, near London, and to the
Hotel des Invalides, In Paris Already the
need for such an establishment is painfully ap-
parent in all our cities Soldiers, disabled
for almost any employment stand as objects Of
charity in our streets, and excite pity and ex-
tort few coppers by the exhibition Of scars
that ought to be too honorable for such uses.
But when the war is over and our armies are
disbanded, and the hospitals send out oil their
occupants, then We may expect to see an army
Of these poor fellows