Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-01-21

carry on the war, possesses all the pswers
known to civilized nations to make war
effective, and among these powers is the
right to emancipate slaves. .sTtd--.l.
II assert, without fear of
contradiction, that the emancipationlo
the slaves, of an enemy is a wellrecog-
nized belligerent right, and would not
be questioned by any well-informed per-
son if we were at war with Spain, Bra
Zil, or any other nation holding slaves.
Has not our Government the same bel
Egerent right against the infamous trail
tor Davis as it would have against a re-
! eognized nation? Are the rebels less
public enemies because they are traitors
alsol Can we do that to a.public enemy.
which we cannot do to a public enemy
and traitor? In the case Of the Hia-
watha it has been distinctly decided by
the Supreme Court that the United States
have all the belligerenti rights against
the rebels. If, then, the emancipation
of slaves is belligerent right, that right
exists in the Government; it may be
exercised by the President as it has been
by the Proclamation of Emancipation.
1t exists in Congress, to be exercised, if
expedient, by emancipating slaves and
prohibiting slavery in all the territory
in rebellion. The right to emancipate
slaves has been so generally recognized
as belligerent right that il viii scarcely
be questioned h This spower was exer-
cised by Great Britain in the Revolution.
ary War, and in the war of 1912; and
the right to exercise it was admitted by
Gen Washington and Mr.. Jefferson, and
not eontroverted by any" sa .., .s -.
| Mr. Arnold sustained this argument
by citing Jefferson and John Quincy
AdamsJ - ssa .. rs ~ t'i' .[1s
vINEIcATIoN OF THE PRESIDENTS POLICY
In conclusion, Mr. Arnold eloquently
vindieated the policy adopted by the
President, remarking: .9-
II cannot close without Offering nv
tribute of homage to that great man who
has given to the institution of slavery the
hardest blows it has ever received iel5et
Abraham Lincoln finish the great work
he has begun. =.
's.The great objects of his life are to
crush the rebellion and eradicate slavery.
His ambition is to live on the page of |
history as the resterer of the Union, the |
emancipation of his country. For these
great ends he has labored and toiled |
through difficulties and obstacles fully |
known only to himself a-.
X y at has been the fortune of |
the President to have bis leading mea-
sures, however severely censured at the |
time of their adoption, always approved |
within a twelve-month after their exc
cution. The Emancipation Proelama
ton and employment OF negroes as sol
diers are striking examples. Let those
who deny his statesmanshp, or who
question his sagacty, note This fact. His
magnanimity has no parallel He has
borne censure and denunciation for acts
for which others were responsible, with.
a generosity which has extorted from his /
rivals, 'Of all men, Mr.. Lincoln is the
most unselfsh. The great fault of his
administration, the too tardy removal Of
incompetent men, has arisen from a
scrupulous care to be Just
II ask the ardent and impatient friends
of freedom to put implicit faith in Abra-
ham Lincoln. Remember, he lives for
the restoration of the Union and the abo-
lition Of slavery. Ii. you deem. him
slow, or if you think he has made mis-
takes, remember how often time has VIM
dicated his wisdom. 3l.ss sal
'.The masses of thepeople everywhere
trust and love him. They know his
hands are clean and his breast is pure
The people know that the devil has no
bribe big enough, no otemptation of gold,
or place, or power, which can secure the
honest heart of Abraham Lincoln They /
know that while he is President there is
no danger of a coup detgt Let him
exercise whatever extraordinary powers
the public safety may require, the peo-
pie instinctively- feel that their liberties
and laws are safe in his hands. They
sleep soundly with no Disturbing appre-
tensions, while he holds the reins. I'm
petuous, eager, impatient men call him
, slow, over cautious, wanting in energy.
Remember the times in which we live
remember the danger of reckless ener-
gy, of unscrupulous will and passion.
"You have chief magistrate of clean
hands and pure heart; sagacious, firm,
upright and true. Somewhat rude and |
rough, it may be, but under this rough I
exterior you have the real and true hero.
If he)is diamond in the rough, he is |
nevertheless real, with no false glitter or
garish pretension. You have irrhim1 a |
man of that sobriety, of that selfcom-
mand, of that freedom from passion, of
that justice and TRUTH of that soundness
of judgmentan perfect fectitude of1in- |
l9tention, that has had in all these attrib-
utes, no parallel since the days of Wash
ington. n
aTaking the last five eventful years,
and Mr.. Lincoln has exerted greater
influence upon the popular heart and in
forming public opinion than any other
man. If slavery now reels and staggers
in its last struggles, tits from the blows
it has received at his hands. His speech
es and writings, plain, homely and un-
polished as they sometimes are, have
become the household words Of the peo-
pie, and crystalized into the overwhelm-
/ ing public sentiment which demands the
extinction of slavery. E3I7T
asltsHe is radical--a radical from con-
viction, not from passion, or hatred, or
revenge. In all great radical changes,
in running round sharp curves is it not
better to put on; the brakes sometimes,
rather than to run off the track and
smash up the train2 eaoaloe
q "There are always mem who are loud,
boisterous, furious, intolerant, proscrip-
3 tive and cruel, whose hearts are filled
with hatred and malice, and who, to
! eradicate one evil, are willing to tear up
the good which it has taken ages to Sc
cure. Such was not the example set by
the great reformer and most radical
teacher who ever. appeared on earth
the Son of Cor. Mr.. Lincoln,s whole
f theory as a reformer,is to do the great
est possible amount of good with the
least possible evil Were he more vio-
lent, more carelessly destructive, did he
) use more violent words, he might be per-
f haps more the popular idol, but less
statesman and the Christian. This
2 great statesman, this simple, nnpretend-