Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-09-06

we'll that as its provisions with regard 10 tue
militia are in direct opposition 10 THE supreme
law +" tie Constitution 81 the United Ststes' ana
therefore void 80 far as the militia OF the seYe-
raj States are concerned; they incur Inc RISK OF
serious legal penalties BY enforcing Il. They
should not overlook the fact that there are COT
sttutional laws already In existence in this State
against those Who unlawfally take the lives OF
Others: against tllose who, without establishing
lawful claim to the services Of others, kidnap
them. or aid and sbet in doing go, with the in.
tertion of forcbly removing them beyond the
limits Of the State; aud against those who M
lawfully imprison others
Although such officials may have no apprehen-
sion Of any evil consequences TO themselves at
the present time. they should reflect that the ap
preaching elections, or other future e1ectlons'
nav bring into authority party which can com
prehend. and does regard constitutional hmits-
tions Of power. and does punish those who VIC
late them: and In sach case, how could these
men. with iunumerabe indictments and lawsuits
against them, bold property or reside IN this
State or in spy other State in which the Consti
tuition of the United States is in force The
cost. alone. where the parties injured were Teck
oned by thousands, would amount TO an immense
sun. AT any rate. would il not be advisable Tor
such officials TO delay the enforcement OF the
law until after the coming elections, so as to
pite of a few years more. before the civil author
tiles resume their constitutional supremacy. As
10 any indemnity laws Of Congress, attempting
TO exempt any person from the operation Of con-
stitutional State aws:-any law intended 10 en-
courage crime. in violation OF the reserved pow
ers of the several States, subversive Of public
ustice, and contrary 10 common honesty, is void.
If the Conscription Law is enforced; when those
who enforce il are hereafter called to account
before the civil courts, they cannot justify them
selves bv the plea that they were not apprlsed OF
the fact that the Law, was unconstitutional; and
instead of resenting the counsel of those who
show them that they are entrapping themselves
they should consider themselves under obliga
tons to such persons. 1t clearly shown in
an article recently published in the Sentinel that
the Conscription Law Is not applicable to the
militia: and IL will not be amiss TO refer briefly
to some of the leading points in that article.
As the Constitution OF the United States de-
clares that ",he powers not delegated to the
United States by the constitution are reserved Il
the States respectively or TO the people" IL fol
lows that the General Government has no lin
herent powers that il car only exercise authOrl
ty where there is a positive grant of power; and
then only in the manner directed by the Consti-
tuition, for the specification of the mode OF ex
ercisug power forms a part Of the gran, OF
power and is nseparable from 1t.
In the exercise OF an apparently general gram
of power, the restrictions placed upon it in Other
parts of the Constitution must be observed. Fol
example the Constitution gives Congress gen
eral power TO regulate commerce, but restrict:
this power in another place by directing that nc
tax shall be laid on exports from any State. Sc
the power Of Congress "to raise armies, Art
/, sec 81 is not an unlimited power; but it j:
restricted by the special directions IN the Const
rtution relating TO the militia
In the fifth amendment to the Constitution
the military power Of the United States is thus
classified:
II J ." The land forces" OF the United States
(these properly constitute the United States
army y %. THE Militia" 1.-The militia
called elsewhere in the Constitution T" the militia
of the several States" form a distinct body of
men, and cannot be merged in the land forces. y
militiaman cannot eonstitutOnally be forced
into the army of the United States proper
When he enters that army he must do so az
volunteer for the mode in which, and the con
ditions under which he can be forced into the
service Of the United States are specified by the
Constitution and. therefore, he cannot be forced
into that service in any..other way or under any
other conditions The States refused TO resign
all control over their militia and the Constitu-
ton, Art | Sec. g. expressly reserves to each
State the right of appointing all the officers of its
militia and of training them according to the dis
cipIine prescribed by Congress. Under these
conditions Congress and the President can "call
forth the militia OF the several States, as militia
when necessary.
The trickery OF calling miIitiamen by some
other name than militia cannot consttutionally
take away their rights nor the rights of their
States Ifa single one OF the militia could be
constiiutionaly forced into the United States
service in any other way than rs miliiiaman
OF subject 10 other conditions than those pre-
scribed bv The Constitution, so could every other
mIlitiaman. thus tai king away the shield OF the
Constitution from the whole body Of the militia,
DESTROYING their rights and the rights of their
States and making the clause of the Constitution
last referred 10, nullty. When the Cor sttu-
tuition directs anything TO be done in certain
way and under certain conditions, this necessa
riy excludes all other ways. IL il did not, then
Congress might direct President TO be chosen
i'm some other way than that prescribed by the
Constitution.
There is plain constitutional mode of forcing
militiemen into service, militia preserving
their rights and the rights of their States; but
this new invention of the last Congress is un-
constitutional The trainers of the Constitution
were not such idiots as, after saying Force ser
vice shall not be required of the militia except
under certain restrictions" to add 10 the same
breath. 1T may be required of them without
these restrictions, If Congress will only call them
by some other name than the militia" Some
may pretend that these distinctions immaterial
but the trainers of the Constitution did not con-
slider them immaterial, and itcould easily be
shown. if space permitted. that they are not o.
II this law is not law providing for calling
forth the militia. /; cannot cOnsttutionally touch
militiaman- If it is pretended that it is. (al-
though it does not profess 10 be so.) in that case
the Is, that with regard to the militia, the
law i such gross violation of the Constitution
as to be void in whatever relates to them. Con-
gress and the President have no constitutional
power TO order the seizure Of miltiamen for the
purpose of placing them in what the Constitution
calls the land forces OF the United States.
(that IS the United States army proper as dis
tinguished from tho militia of the several Statss
when in seryice:) have they the rghtfnl
power to call forth the militsmen without com
plying with the conditions which the Constitu-
ton says must be observed when that is done
\ FRIEND or LIBERTY.
George II. PendletOn, OF Ohio.
But few young men have won ia the walks oil
civil life, a more envisble fame than George II