Randolph County journal., 1864-04-01

5 this Is now war OF suJiagatiOn, an
! the law Of nations must govern tn
: parties and the settlement of the dis
+ pute. We shall not he confined L
the penal enactments Of Congress OF
the subject of treason, which requir
| an indictment, n regular trial. and
con, iction. The condemnation o
: rebel property need not depend upor
: the prosecution Of its owner through
& grand jury, who may be wholly Oh
/ in part secessionists. nor upon his
, conviction by petit jury Of lik,
, character, nor upon the finding OF {
bill within any statute of limitations
. Resting our case on the law OF ma
: tiops and the laws Of war, we arc
not compelled TO seek the land OF
the rebel through trial which must
be had in the county in which the
offence WAS committed, and in which
both court and jur, may he in SYM
pathy with the accused. The several
penal acts Of Congress on these sub
jects, and the ordinary safeguards OF
law applicable to the rights of cit;-
zens in time of peace, are not in
on way. The war powers of the
government, rs asserted and defined
in the 9TH, 9Th, Ith, and Sth, sections
1862. point to Il remedy rs sweeping
rs it is just, namel V the military
seizure, condemnation, and sale of
the real estate of traitors and their
abettors. a considerable quantity
Of land, it is true. may pass from the
rebels by judicial proceedings
against them for treason. and other
municipal statutes. | know too that
millions OF acres must he forfeited
b., the non-payment Of taxes. But
! independent of these sources Of title,
and by virtue of military seizure and
condemnation alone, q very large
proportion OF the lands within the
iasurrectionarv districts must vest in
the government Of the United States.
II it be said that the government
has no right to coniiscate the fee
simple Of rebel States, | meet it with
n direct denial In what | have
said, l have taken this right for
granted. | have never donbtcd it
for q moment. and shall not now
argue the question. The honest re-
fisal OF the president, in last June, to
allow Congress To toach the fee OF
rebels in arms against the nation,
was the saddest and grandcst mis-.
take of his life That the right TO
do 50 was disputed and debated in
the last Congress, rs it has been ey-
tensively in this, by some of our
wiscst statesmen aud greatest law
yers, will hereafter be set down
among the political curiosities of this
century. Oar fathers were not fools.
but wise men, who armed the nation
with the power to crush its foes, as
well rs To protect its friends. The
Constitution was made fer the peo-
pie, not the people for the Constjtu-
tlon. 1t was not designed as a
.!.,cid in the hands Of traitors, but
as q sword in the hands Of the gov
erment TO smitc them to the earth.
u recognizes the law OF nations and
the laws of war, nor was il possible
for our country To escape them. The
builders of our national ship did not
Sc fashion and rig her that she could
sail onl y in cain weather and over
smooth seas, but they qualified her
TO ride out the ficrcest tempest i'm
salty, and to defy all pirates. That
the nation, in this struggle for its
liIc against red handed traitors and
assassins, has no power TO coniis-
cate their lands, is proposition
which gives comfort To- every rebel
sympatlIilcr in the country, while it
insults both loyalty and common
sense. The people know better, and
on this question their voice must he
needed. They do not believe. but
they knou, that the lands of rebels
are subject To our power under the
laws OF war, rs well rs their person
al property. their negroes, or their
lives. The government, in the
course OF this struggle, has learned
many lessons. Others are vet to be
mastered. Having learned how to
strike ut slavery rs the wicked cause
OF the war, and to arm the nc- rocs
ia the national defence. it must now
Law hold of the lands of rebcIs I
believe or triumph over them is not
SO near at hand as We generally sup
pose. The most terrific fighting of
the war is vet to come. They do
not dream. oil surrender, or compro-
mise, on any conceivable terms.
They wal resist us, To the end. with
4 spirit rs remorsclcss as death. and
rs bitter rs the ashes of hell. they
must I've overcome and crushed by
the powers Of war, and We must en-
ploy, with all the might which can
be kindled by the crisis. every WeaP-
on known TO the law OF nations.
Congress must repeal the joint reso-
luton of last year which protects the
fee of rebel land. holders. The Pres
ident. rs I am well advised. now
stands ready 10 join us in such &C
ton. Should we fail 20 do this the
courts must so interpret the joint
resolution rs 10 make its repeal
needless. Should both Congress
and the courts stand in the way Of
r "A.