, 1864-09-02
Truisms---No. /.

is no need of physicians, medicines or reme-
dies. simple obedience to the laws of health
is all that is required. So is it with nation.
When each part of its organism is performing
It's proper functions, obedience to the laws of its
organism will ensure national health. But
when it happens that an attack has been made
upon the Physical organism of an individual,
and the organs deranged or deprived of their
proper functions and therefore violent sickness
perYa-des and effects the whole physical man, it
is necessary that men of skill should be called
in to examine into the causes of arrangement,
and by removing those causes restore health.
So is it with our nation at the present time
its organism has been attacked and the whole
nation is distorted and sick on account of the
attacks ON its organism and the destruction and
abnormal action of its functions. When per-
son is i'll We expect man to be well acquainted
with the organism and the functions of each
part thereof before he attempts to act as ply
sician. So should we expect in national illness
that the organism of the nation and the func-
tions of each and all of its departments should
be understood by the physician who should
dertake national case The Administration is
the physician having the case of the nation un-
der charge and if it understands and uses all
the remedies which are necessary to restore
health, then the nation should be left in it's
charge; but if, on the other hand, it exhibits
either want of the knowledge or the care to
administer the proper remedies to restore health,
and the disease under its treatment grows worse
and worse, a change of physicians is necessary.
The man who, convinced that the physician at
seA5;z- his friend 1s igne-~ ma
instead of administering renleG.~g ~ his
treatment increasing the disease and would
cause it finally to terminate in death, should
from fear of that physician, from hope of pc
cuniary or other advantage fail to dismiss him
and employ one whom he believed more skill
nj D1xr ba ncih for
sequences, and treacherous, and unfaithful to
his friend. So with a citizen of the United
States who should refuse his influence to dis
miss either an incompetent or corrupt admins
tration of the government. To judge as to
whether the administration understands the
functions and organism of government, and
remedies for national disease, we must first
have clear idea of those things ourselves, and
then by comparing the actions of the admins
tration with the proper action, we could tell
how far the administration trustworthy.
In order to understand the organism and func-
tions of our government it may be well to con-
slider what government IS, the different kinds Of
government, and the principles upon which they
are founded, the principles upon which they
should be founded and the principles upon
which our government was founded, its purpo-
ses, and its organism. Government is the pow
er to control one or more persons. In its broad
er sense, the power which controls the actions
of individuals composing Nation. There are
but two kinds of government. when considered
on principle First, Despotism; second, De-
mOcracy. Under the first head | include aris-
tocracies, as they are composed of a number of
despots. The former hold the principles that
men are created unequal, some having more
rights than others; that certain favored per-
sons from the gift of the Creator, have the right
to govern others. The latter hold the principle
that all men have equal rights to participate in
the government and that each man has been
endowed by his Creator with the same rights to
govern and to be secure in his person, liberty
and property. The latter is the system of our
government. The Declaration of Independence
and the Bill of Rights-and in fact the Magma
Charta-declares that every man has a right to
personal security, personal liberty, and to the
control of property, and that none of these
rights could be taken away or impaired, except
bu due course Of lar. Our Declaration of Inde-
pendence announces that to secure these rights
governments are instituted among men. This,
then, was the purpose of our government. Each
citizen held his right to life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness as a gift from God. Govern
ment was made to protect them. just SO lar as
a xo,arn,,s.... sA0oV IIgnUsj just 81
" s IL TO be loved so far as It failed, detesteds
But it was announced F'that governments de-
rive their just powers from the consent of the
governed' therefore it followed that the only
and that even the people had not the right to
pass laws depriving man of his vested rights
to life, liberty and property but that every man
held these subject to rules of action applying
to each individual of the State. Accordingly
the people met in the capacity of mass meet
ing, and formed the Constitution of the United
States. This Constitution formed the Govern
ment. The people gave it as power of Attor-
ney, for the sake of convenience, establishing
the Executive, the Judiciary, and the Legisla-
tive departments, giving certain powers to GER
tain persons, selected in certain manner. 1t
followed from this, that each of the individuals
selected for the performance of their agency
could do what the power of attorney gave them
the right to do and had no other power what
ever Although the theory of government itself
would prove that this was the case, yet the
Constitution went so far as to expressly stipu
late that the agents should not do certain things
They should not interfere with religion the
freedom of the press, and speech, the right to
bear arms, unlawfully quarter soldiers on citi-
zens the right of freedom from search except
by regular search warrant; no person should be
held to answer for capital or infamous crime,
except cases arising in the land, naval, and mill
tary service in time of war, nor be deprived of
life, liberty property without due process of
law Every person accused should have the
right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of
his district, and face witnesses and have coun-
sci. Suits where more than twenty dollars
were involved should be tried by jury; excessive
bail should not be required. The writ of Ha-
beas Corpus should not be suspended unless
when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the pub
lie safety required it.. No bill of attainder or
expost facto law could be passed there could
be no treason except to give aid and comfort to
the enemies of the United States or by levying
war against it, and no one should be convicted
except by two witnesses or confession in open
court. No attainder of treason could work cor
ruption of blood or forfeiture of estate except
during the life of the person attainted and. f..
nally, that what the Constitution had not ex-
pressly delegated to the United States, and was
not prohibited to the States, was reserved to
the States and the people These are part of
the safeguards to security to person, liberty and
property, which constitute the excellence of our
government The President and his appointees
were the peoples agents to execute the law; the
Congress was the agent to make laws and the
judiciary was the tribunal to decide upon the
validity of the laws. All of these together had
no power to deprive a man of certain rights,
and none of these departments could ever take
mans life, liberty or property.
The Government of the United States, then.
is theaction of the people through their agents,
the President, the Congress, and the Judiciary
Whatever Congress does by virtue of the pow
er given by the Constitution is an act of Con-
gress-an act of the people through their agents,
hat n otfa 20 4