The New York herald., 1865-06-10

The Hon. csrrit ssitA's Ess. % rseiA-
eatfca-He TrsasOas
They ~" moralisss the beautiful put un-
happy Ophelia, 'that the owl was the baSsr's
daughtsr." This may sesm strange, but w
say that tho Hon. Gerrit Smith. the right
hand supporter Of John Brown, in becoming tho
advocate Of JEFF. Davis, il quito a. curious
Transformation. Who could have believed that
this amiable philosopher. after justifying the
attempted extrpation Of the slaveholders Of
tho South by fro and sword, could ever feel
suoh brotherly love In their behalf a. to plead
against tho cruelty Of even trying them for
their feaxcul orime Of treason. But 90 II d,
and tho intolerable abolition fanatic, ~ they
have for yea. regarded Gerrit Smith. emerges
from the Cooper Institute the champion Of the
"psaoeat-any-prioe" oopperheads--yea, their
prince Of peaoemskes. a
His late speech reads ~ II drawn from tho
copperhead Chicago platform. the CHOP logic
Of Henry.sA. Wise, the wisdom Of Ben Wood,
tho moral philosophy Of Jake Thompson. and
the diplomatic correspondents Of Colorado
Jewett. Mr.. Smith assumes that In adopting
tho laws Of civilized warfare against tho rebel
nous States We virtually recognized them ~ m
Independent oonfederacy. and that thus shsir
rekelllops people ceased b bs traitors, were
relieved Of tho pains and penalties Of treason,
and clothed with NE rights Of independent
belligerents But tho simple truth. Is that all
this is mere quibbling. Tho government
adopted the rules Of civilized warfare against
the rebels from broad considerations Of human
ity; but from the beginning to the end Of the
war Jef Davis and his confederates were
made to understand that they were traitors
and rebels, engaged in q lawless insurrection,
and liable to the penalties Of treason. This
broad distinction between the adoption of the
rules Of civilized warfare and the recognition Of
the so-called Confederate States" was better
understood by JEFF. Davis than it by Mr.. Smith.
Davis understood it, or he would not have
resorted to the numerous cunning devices
which he tried from time to time to obtain, by
some slip of the pen, at least technical recog-
milton Of International belligerent rights, if hs
could get nothing more.
The argument of Mr.. Gerrit Smith to show
that Davis cannot justly be even tried for tres-
son y 3 Pleoe Of the same cloth a. James
Buohanans argument in favor Of non-resistance
to the rebellion, on the ground thet the general
government hSd no right to defend ittsse-H asalas'
( Reasonable coms. s.ination acting in the name
of a State or Of sevs;:-al States combined.
According to Buchaaan theie was no treason
in the Southern oonsederae,, while, socsrding
to Smith, If there was treason, have 40 right
to punish It In the one case the traSsor4 y pro-
tected by State sovereignty, and in the other by
that humane policy. which treated him in war
according to the usages Of civilization In both
cases the government against traitors is power
less to protect ITSELF But the federal constitu-
ton and the laws Of Congress passed in con-
formity Herewith tell Us very plainly what
constitutes treason-that it consists "only in
levying war against the United States, or in
giving aid and comfort to the enemy" In
accordance with the constitution Congress, at
an early day, provided the penalty for treason.
which is death, and the President is bound to
see the laws faithfully executed. He is thus
escape this responsibility on the plea that there
are too many to be tried. He must bring some
Of them to trial and to judgment, In vindicaton
of the law, the majesty and safety Of the gov
ernment We do not say that it is necessary
to do any hanging Of condemned traitors. We
khiuk tho hat OF so
found guilty only of treason, will be most
wisely disposed Of by q Communication Of the
penalty to perpetual exile. A very few ex-
amples of this sort will suffice for the present
and the future a. our protection against trea-
son.
his overfowing philanthrophy, oversheots the
mark. Do the hundreds of thousands of young
and able-bodied men which this late terrible
rebellion has carried to their untimely graves,
and the thousands upon thousands Of destitute
widows and orphans which it has thrown upon
the charity of the country, go for nothing, or for
only so much as q black eye from drunken
carousal Mr.. Smith appears to think 50; but
the idea is monstrous fallscy. Adopt it; let
the traitors in this late bloody and destructive
war be pronounced beyond the reach Of even
trial for treason, and what security shall We
have for peace in tho faturef None whatever.
A shorter way to reach the millennium thus fore
by our philanthropic reformer would
be to abolish all our jails and State prisons, all
the cumbersome machinery Of government,
national, State and municipal; all laws, officers
and courts Of law, and turn society back to the
primitive freedom Of the savages Of Australia.
We apprehend that the one idea of Mr.. Smith,
which has rendered him 80 excessively charita-
BILE towards the treason of this late rebellion is
the good thing which it has accomplished in
the abolition Of African slavery For this he
would have the government declare that there
has been no treason, and that JEFF Davis and
q