The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-01-28

UNION. necenS eventS, however, nave dc
monstrated the continued attachment ofthe
patriotic masses Of all parties to the perpe-
tuity Of our FREQ institutions and shown
that they cannot be deceived by mere pre-
lenses Of loyalty, or misled by the cry d
peace. when there is no honorable or perma.
nent peace, short Of vigorous and successf ful
war. He
systematically opposing evcry measure
yet devised for q sqooesful prosecution Of
the war and having no mode Of their own
for an honorable solution Of existing troubles
these malcontents seek Ia justify their
course by creating 8 distinction between
the Government and its Administration /;
confronting Us with the novel doctrine that
the Government h the Constitution and
the institution founded thereon, while the
Administration Is merely the agents chosen
by the people, and responsible to them. As
Stunning to act upon this theory. they
claim the right 10 oppose the latter while
prssendips to support and ~.intsin the for.
mer.
This dangerous paradox 10 At compan.
ION Of the doctrine Of Estates Rights" !"
which held the American Union to be only
league between sovereign States, Dissolve
able at their win {; and that the. citizens
owned paramount allegiance to his State,
and only = subordinate ono to the Federal
Government A doctrine which, although
denounced blythe stern old leaders of de,
mocracy, Is destructive Of the Union, yet
succeeded in diffusing its subtle poison
through the Southern mind, and. finslly cul.
minated in tho crime of treason.
It needs but word Of rsfutation. do
but adopt the idea Ct : great writer, when I
say that our free, written Constitution is
not government. but the warrant and repre-
sentative Of government. It's not power,
but the symbol Of power. and will, in any
emergency. prove altogether useless. unless
the power for which it stands bs forthcom-
ing. Where does this power residei Not
in the Constitution nor in any co-ordinsts
departments created by It; nor in the peo.
pie but in al combined. These constitu.
ent elements compose the Government, the
powers Of which arc exercised through it,
eonstitutionally appointed agents. tho lesis-
istive, executive and judicial departments.
Without these, the powers defined in the
Constitution could not bs appr opriatsIy ex.
ercised; and without them il is obvious We
should have no government. Therefore to
strike at any Of these, is to injure The Gov
erpmsnt itsef TO tho full extent o. the
blow,
Tho President ofthe United States, for
the time being. is the Supreme Executive Of
the Nation, tho ehossn agent Of tho people,
the pilot who guides the ship OF State
The liberty Of speech, and Of tho press. guar
an.eed by the Constitution. is formidable
only to tho enemies Of liberty, 10 it's broad
sr and more extended sense. Tho right to
freely di,oass the affairs Of Government and
sritic'se the acts its agents, is fandamen-
tal to liberty. and cannot safely be denied.
To all this fully subscribe. But the
right claimed by some 10 orrnss tho exscu.
ion Of the laws, and, BY factious opposition
to thwart the President 10 tho discharge Of
his high duties. at % important juncture,
s subversive Of all liberty, and right which
belongs to treason only.
Again tho War policy Of the G ovsrnment
has been continuously denounced IS sub
versive Of the rights Of the South, and in Vi
ol.tion Of the Federal Constitution. Il is
to presume that these men have
either forgotten, or never known that Abrs-
ham Lincoln Is not only President Of the
United States, charged With the execution
Of eioiI power. but also Commands in. chief
Of the Army and Navy Of the Union, and
thereby clothed with tho Dar power of the
Government. In the exercise Of his civil
he is guided BY tho plain Ian.
guage Of the Constitution which defines the
limits Of his power, and boy ond this he can.
not go: but in tho discharge Of his duties ss
Commanderin n.ohief in time Of war, be Isl
governed only by ths laws OF war IS rscog-
nized among civilized nations, and such 9th
restrictions - Congress aud the people may
impose. Deriving his authority by appoint
ment Of tho Constitution, he Is thereby YES.
ted with al tho power which rightfuly be-
longs to the Commander in chief Of any 9TH
sr army upon the faoe Of the globe. This
extraordinary power, il must he understood,
is called into exercise only from state Of
was. and cannot DO exerted 10 time Of
peace.
BY his oath of Office, the President is
sworn ito the best of his ability. to preserps
protect and defepd the Constitution" and
in the discharge of this solemn obligation he
may rightfully exercise oil power inherent
in the people whose agent he 10; and that
he may do this, they have made him Com.
mander-in-chiet of their army and navy,
and the Constitution is tho warrant Of his
appointment. To hold, that when called
upon to "prsssrvs, protect and defend tho
Constitution to the best Of his ability" hs
is restricted to the mere letter of his civil au.
thority, is to deprive him Of the very means
Of discourgipg that high duty, and make the
Constitution, thereby. the weapon Of its
own destruction.
The Constitution is neither warmaking
nor war prosecuting document. II en-
powers Congress to declare, and the Presi-