Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-07-26

so0s in the reoellious States Except certain
Confederate officers &c } mon condition that
they shall take, subscribe. and keep prescribed
oath, one provision Of which j.. that they will
abide by and faithfully supper all proclamations
OF the President made during the existing re-
belllOn. having reference 10 slaves, SO long and
50 far as not modified or declared void BY deci-
sion Of the Supreme Court And il further
prOclsims, that wbeneyes Ia any one Of the Con ,
federate States "a number Of persons not less
than one-teath IN number OF the votes cast ia
such State at the Presidential election of 1850,
having taken and kept the aforesaid oath, &c.
shall re-establish State government which shall
be republican, and nowse contrav ening said
oath. such State shall be recognized - the true
government Of the State
This Presidential paper must be regarded as
the most remarkable one ever issued by an Amer
| lean Executive. The one tenth part of a popu-
| latiOn are TO exercise the powers OF the whole,
and. II Congress concur, are TO be represented
in the government Of the United States and in
our Electoral Colleges for the choice of Presi
dent, as il they were the whole And the one
tenth is to be made up OF men who solemnly
swear that they will obey and keep all the Presi
dents proclamations upon particular subject
issued during the present war; not procla nations
which he may have issued already, but future
ones also. A more AFFECT oath was never framed
! in the history Of the whole earth Was religi
Gus obligation ever before required by citizens
subject, IN any age or country, TO obey and keep
the future. and unknown edcts of the executive
willE And it usurped authority accomplish
Its object. handful of men in a State, degraded
by an OATH are TO WELD representative votes in
the government Of the United States, and enter
Electoral Colleges TO extend the power OF the
master 10 whom their iealty is sworn
The lawleSs and dangerous character of the
administration must most evidently appear from
the foregoing review of its policy and conduct
regarding popular elections and the organization
OF States
But its incapacty DC not profligacy) will as
clearly appear from an examination of its meas
ures in the prosecution of the war, and TO some
of those measures We will now direct attention.
: RAISING or TROOPS.
! In April 1851 at the outbreak of hostilties,
the army Of the United States was small and
I wholly inadequate TO meet the exgeney of the
war which had arisen. The President called for
| seventy five thousand troops from the States to
serve for psriod of three months, and subse-
quenty made other calls. Finally, in the latter
part OF le62 drafts were ordered in several States
to fill up their quota and the proceeding for that
purpose was under the State authorities, pursuant
/ to State laws and some general regulations of
the War Department framed for the occasion
Thus the case stood TO the raising Of troops at
the commencement of 1863 and the troops in
service at that date consisted of the regular army
of the United States as il stood ut the outbreak
of hostiliries with subsequent enistments added,
and of volunteers and drafted militia OF The States
! differed companies and regiments by State
authority. Volunteering had at one time been
checked by the Administration upon statement
by it that all the troops needed were already in
service. Soon, however, the demand for men
was renewed, and at the beginning OF 1863, the
number called Tor and raised had become
enormous But for the after purposes of the Ad-
ministration il perfectly feasible for il TO call
for additional troops in the manner heretofore
practiced, which involved State assistance and
corporation, and secured to the troops raised
their regular organization State militia under
the laws of their respective States. The army
bore, maniuly. the character of public force
contributed BY the States under the fifteenth and
sixteenth clauses OF the eighth section OF the first
article Of the Constitution. which authorizes Con
gress 'to provide for calling forth the militia to
execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec
tons and rebel invasons, and ITO provide fo'
organizing. arming and disciplning the militia
and for governing snch part of them may be
employed in the service of the United States, re
serving to the States respectively the appoint
ment of tho officers" &c.
The power OF the Federal government To cal
for troops, and the power of the States to supply
ments and appointing their officers, were un-
questionable. as was also the power of the State:
TO select those troops which they were to con-
tribute by draft or lot
coSscRIPTIoN.
But, early i'll 1861, a system for the rails
ing of troops was established by the act of Con
gress This was system of conscription 9TH,
word and idea being borrowed from the French,
and was without example in the history of tn,
United States Passing by the State authortie
and by the clauses OF the constitution abov,
mentioned it put the general government il
direct communication with the whole arms bear
ing population of the country, and assumed fol-
the general government exclusive and absolut,
control over the whole proceeding of raising
troops The validity of this enactment has been
questioned, aud il is one of the debatable point:
which belong to the history of the war. For i
has been argued with much of force and reason
!. that the power OF Congress to raise armies, al
though general power is not Unlimited anC
that laws of conscrpton by it are not necessary
and proper" when the forces required can bt
raised with perfect certainty and convenience
from the militia of the States under the proyi-
si0Ds of the constitution above cited But, pass
ing this point, the inquiry arises, why was the
former system, involving State co operation
abandoned and new and questionable one sub
stitutedI No clear and adequate reason tor the
measure appears in the debates of Congress:
which passed it. unless the suggestion made b,
one of its leading supporters in the House OF
Representatives, that il was in hostility TO "tht
doctrine of State rights be accepted as such
reason We must. therefore, conclude that il
was the policy OF the authors of the law TO de-
prive the States OF the appointment of the Off
GERS OF the troops raised, and TO absorb thai
pow er into the hands OF the Federal Admnstra
ton; that the act was the measure of party &c
increase It's influence and power, ana to preyenl
the possibility of any participation therein by thC
government of the States
We believe IL to be certain that this measure
has entajled greet expense upon the treasury oil
the United States; that il has created unnecessa
rlly large number OF federal officers distributed
throughout the country; and that, while it ha:
been no more efficient than the system which re
quired State cooperation, il has been much less
satisfactory.
II necessity for raising troops by cOnscrption
be asserted, then il would follow that the reyolu
tonary policy of the administration has alarmed
aud Disguised the people. and chilled that enthu.
siasm which IN the earlier days of the contest
filled our patriotic army with brave and willing
volunteers
BOUNTIEs.
\ What l. further to be mentioned in this con-
uection j. the payment OF bounties 10y the United
Ststes, By the StIte governments, aud by cities
counties. and other municipalities Ia their pay
meut there has been great want Of uniformity
aud system. The policy OF the general govern
ment has not been the same at all times and in
-