Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-03-27

me, would subvert tho first principles Of
the government under which we live" II
1t seems to me that Mr.. Wade, by argu- |
Ing that an attempt to hold men In this
Union by force Is subversive of the funda- |
mental principles of our government, clear
ly and unequivocally comedies the right of
secession. Mr.. Speaker, the people Of the
South deem. themselves oppressed, endeayor
to shake off the Oppressive" government,
and to make their own SO much of the ter
,ritory as they inhabit. Mr.. Lincoln, In a
they have q right to do SO. We deny that
right also, and resist Its exercise with armed
force: Ii Thaddeus Stevens; the leader of
the Administration party in Congress, may
be quoted as authority, they have even
ceased to be rebels; they are alien enemies;
they are an independent belligerent power,
subject to all the rHlessof warfare with for
eign nations! Afew policemen may quell
mob; but 1t Is doubtful whether millions
of men will be sufficient to suppress the
southern rebellion. A rebellion of such
magnitude Is as similar to mob as an ele-
phant is to mouse. But the gentleman
( from Hamilton calls 1t mob; hence it Is a
mob, nothing but mob, and Lincoln, Wade
and Stevens may write themselves down
asses. only hope the Dogberries In Wash
ington may have at least sense enough left
to place the gentleman in high position,
when, no doubt, his master mind will read
lily devise proper means to quell the mob"
instantly. -a .l. HI.
Rivulets and creeks, Mr.. Speaker, depend
on the springs from which they derive their
water. Whenever the water is withheld
from them, they become torpid, lifeless, and
cease to exist. But as long rs the water
flows freely from the springs, the creeks are
IlfNf s.s.x -.
and spreading innumerablc blessings over
animate and inanimate creation. So, Mr..
Speaker, the people in this country are the
fountainhead and source of power. Presi-
dents, Congressman, the different depart
ments of the Administration are mere rivu-
lets, deriving their existence, their vitality
and temporary power from the source-the
people. Let them rebel as much as they
please; let them assume an air of indepen-
dence; it cannot last long. Unless the Adj
minstratlon has the hearty support and CO.
operation of the people, it is dead and ut
| terly pOwerless.
The people is the sovereign; Lincoln is
merely one of its servants-one of its
agents. The dominant party, by means of
the military power, seek to reverse the true
relation between the sovereign people and
its agents. They say the Administration
Is the Government, forgetting that ours is
a government of laws, not of persons; for
| getting that the Administration is only for
| four years, while the Government is per-
| petual. The people, and the Constitutions
and laws made by the people through its
| representatives, are the true basis of gov
| ernment. Without such basis, the Admin
istration bangles in the air! As long as the
| President acts in concert with tile laws, he
is the legitimate head of the Administra-
ton, and commands our respect as such;
but whenever he upsets the laws of the
land, he is simply q usurper, whose behests
deserve no notice from our hands. Call the
| Administration the Government With as
much propriety you might say that the
arm is the body, or the chimney the house.
| The people have built and own the house of
the Union. Its chimney is now obstructed
with Abolition SCOT. What we need and
eventually will have, Democratic fire, to
| burn out the chimney. Yes, the chimney
will be cleaned, and the people will again
take full, undisputed possession of the sa-
cred halls OF their editice.
| The dominant party further proclaims
| the dangerous doctrine, that in times of war
the will of the President is the supreme
law of the land, that under exercise of the
war power-that mysterious, underlined and
undeiinable power--Lincoln as Commander
in-Chief of the armies can, in times of war;
do things which he could not do, as Presi-
dent, in times of peace. Those advocating
such doctrine forget, that the President is a
mere creature of the Constitution, that from
the grants in that sacred instrument he de-
rives all his powers, that he prossesses no
power except such as Is conferred upon
him by its express provisions, and that all
powers, not so conferred, are expressly re-
served to the States, to the people. They
wilfully ignore the supreme judicial author
ity of our venerable Chief Justice Taney,
who, as late as May, 1863, decided, that a
civil war, or any other war, does not enlarge
the powers of the Federal Government over
the States or the people, beyond what the
compact has given to it in time Of war. A
state OF war does not annul the 10th article
of the amendment to the Constitution,
which declares, that the powers nOtdelegat-
ed to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are re-
served to the States respectively, or to the
people;;' who in other words decided, that
in times of war as well as in times of peace
the Constitution Is the supreme law Of the
land, that the exercise of unlimited war
power on the part of the Federal authorities
Is nothing more or less than usurpation.
In order to perpetuate its power, the
dominant party has undertaken to override
laws and Constitutions; and, unmindful of
the voice of the people, is engaged in a
wicked rebellion against the true sovereign
of the land, a rebellion far more dangerous
to the liberties of the people than the rebel
lion of the South. 4
And the outrages condemned by my res
olutions, are mere incidents of this gigan-
tio rebellion against tlIc pcUpic, inauSardt-
ed by the present Administration. On this
point permit me to read portion of the