Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-05-12
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
THE STANDARD OF JUDGMENT

Whatever objections may justly or uDjustly be
alleged against the Presidents statement In DIS
late letter to Col Hodges, of the ground on winch
he plants himself in defence of his policy as re-
CARDS slavery and its relations to the war none
can deny to it the merit of candor lie frankly
admits that that policy was unconstitutional
until in the order of time and in the progress
of events, it became, an has Judgment "lndispen-
sable to the preservation of the Constitution
through the preservation of the Nation" As soon
a. it became, in his opinion, indispensable to
the preservation of the Constitution that he
should adopt measure " otherwise unconstltu-
tional," that measure then became "lawful."
This view of duty, as construed to his own mind
by the President, is very instructive in more as
poets than one. 1t appears from it that the Pre-
sident's notions of what is "lawfuP' under the
Constitution are determined by the physical ne
cessites of the war; those necessities are regard
ed from the point of view taken by the Executive.
Thus the constitutional legitimacy of particular
measures, instead of being settled by the text and
Interpretation of the Constitution, becomes ques-
ton depending for its decision on the course OF
events and the mutable opinions of the Chief Ma
gistrate of the country called to determine the
complexion of these events And this being so,
we can readily perceive why the President prac-
tises large federation, as we know he does, (and
in which he sets good example to some others,)
towards those who, in all candor and honesty, do
not concur with him in his views of constitutional
duty on this point. As the President comedies
that, apart from their conceived "necessity," the
measures he SO reluctantly and hestatingy adopt
ed were otherwise unconstitutional" it is obvious
that he yields to the opponents of his policy the
advantage of being theoretically right, as they
were also practically right until he changed his
practice. And, as he did not adopt these "other-
wise unconstitutional measures" until they seemed
to him indispensable, it is equally obvious that, in
matter of human opinion, he comedies to others
the same liberty of judgment as to their in
dispensability which he assumes to himself. lie
deemed certain measures, /" otheroise unconstitu-
tiona," to be indispensable to the preservation of
the Constitution. Whoever, with the lights be-
fore him, i. compelled to believe that SO far from
being indispensable to the preservation of the Con-
stitution, they must be fatal to its supremacy is
bound by the very same rule Of duty which the
President avows to regard these measures as still
Unconstitutional )" for the President in giving
in to them reluctant and dilatory adhesion, de-
Tended them to his own mind only so far as they
seemed to be indispensable" And this view, if
sound for other purpose is at least valuable for
the clear light in which it sets the grounds of the
charity extended, as we know, by the President to
many men, inside and outside of his party, who
do not share his practical any more than his tbeo-
retical views in regard to the standard by which
The Constitution should be interpreted in the pre-
sent emergency. That standard, as we understand
1t, has never been better defced than in the fol-
lowing words of Senator CoLLAMER, for whose
opinions, we are sure, the President entertains a
respect shared by the whole country:
eff we are constrained TO call up invoke, and put in
exercise any department of the GovernmSnt-it is
immateria in what department of the Government-more
of power force than the Constitution provides
than is limited by the Constitution-the moment do
that or constrained from supposed necessities TO
do IT, acknowledge before the world that instits
fons insucienty founded, and that after all
compelled ia the period of trial. TO resort TO the force
which, they to the existence OF nation
and our experiment is failure. We should therefore,
particularly in period like this carefully study and
credy regard all the limitations and provisions of the Con-
stitution. 1t is vain aud idle to against part
at people because they have made upon the Gov
eminent il at the time have to sap the ouuda-
tons OF the Government by sabbng through the vta of
the Constitution"