Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1865-03-28
TIE CoNsTITUTION-STATE RIGHTS
RICHMOND WHIG.
Tuesday Morning, March ss, 1858.


first sight, such an editorial might seem TO be in
nNeess Of ordinary journalistic Efforts but when
we reflect that the labor Of nine days is embraced
,in this performance, shall rather admire its
breyity than voader at its magnitude. The delay
OF the Ssatissl in publishing the report has been,
We are told owing to the same cause that deferred
this replythe necessity Of referring to the record
IN orisr.to ascertain "the true merits Of the con
troversy' Had the same reason prompted a post
poncueut OF the me sssge, by which document, and
not oy the report the SsatPd insists, the con
trcversy was originated, the force Of this statement
might have been teh. Under present cireumstan-
res, Il seems 70 be clear that the maxim audi a.
..ram p1ct.a is deemed applicable by the SeHt0's
only when It's own side is 10 be heard. The first
objection taken to the report is one which is scarce
lv Ineligible il il is intended an arrangement
of the merits oftbe document itself Because the
report was adopted unanimously, and therefore
without a call for the yeas and NAYS, the SsRtise'
chooses 10 infer that il received the assent Of less
than a quorum OF the Senate If this fact were
stabilized il might constitute an objection as We
nd perhaps, as an attorneys exception to the
.,urisaie-iun Of court; but cannot see that il
wonId iu any manner weaken the facts or impair
the Arguments OF the document in qae stion More
over IN, S.7tias! adults that gentlemen Of the
senate who have honestly and diligently labored
for the good OF heir country have
given their names 10 this report together
with others "whose course during the past session
was violent and actious. Il seems TO US that when
the honest aud dilgeut gentlemen, who have the
supreme felicity 10 agree with the SsRiipa, unite
With those who have the misfortune to disagree with
the Sssiir-, their combined scton cannot reason
Abey he attributed to4actious motives, or partisan
fpanerceS, or personal antagouisn. But, while tie
ssafiet} csnsereS the Senate for being guilty of
l,report'' AZ q time when barely quorum Of it's
members were 50 the city il torgets TO state that
DC President selected that very time 10 ask for tie
suspension OF the writ Of hn6eaS eoTppS-s
measure which had failed when Congress was
comparatively tCll, and which had awakened an
opposition so vigorous as 10 find expression in the
solegu protest 81 thrce Of the sovereign States OF
the CoaicIcracy. We told, too, with par
tscular emphasis, that some gentlemen "whc
now sign a declaration that the measure was
unimportlnt and ineNpedent had " r)ted Tor q,
suSgsag.aaof ne lcrn OF hdjsgS corpus at the lrssts
ssssi0r, ia Consequence Of zee rercutj0HS made Do
the President sPscia H,sSSd}s'-the contradiction,
We suppose, being due 90 that vigorous Of italics
- often re5grted 70 in order remedy the weakness
OF al argument II such had been the declaration
OF ne Senators speaking for themselves as indivl-
usl. We presume they would haze been at least
entitled 10 credit tor noeTity OF statement uuJ
honesty 81 purpose. 1t might have occurred ot...
SHtH-. that the events OF several months has
shown he President % DC mi5tak en-, in the opini
on Of these gentlemen, aud that they might cousd-
er very uuimp0rtlnt how what they thought very
necessary then. But they made 10 such declara-
tio1. They simply sttested by their signatures the
action Of the Senate as a body; and that action
was precisely what the report declared il to be
Thus, II the majority OF tie Senator's had adoltsi
vote OF confidence 10 the President, on the grouui
that De had directed the movements of the armies
with cousammate skiil, and employed the resources
O. the country with unreasonable sagacity, Tn,
Sutg.! would not have deemed It inconsistent o.,
the par. Of tro minority 20 declare such TO bay,
bse7 the action and the motives Of the Senate
No would tine SH:'Rs' be guilty Of a contradiction
itt shocd say that the country had demanded III q,
app5in. mert of General Lee as Generalin- Clier.
o2ucconr. Of belief in his superior qualification,
for tha' o,ice although the Sentinel itself migpt
enter,lin very different opinion. In the sSu,
made Ti;n the Senate on this point, the SeHtiq,l
Supplies a deficiency Of argument by a superfcieD.
c. Of assertion When the report SAYS '' it is not
perceived that the deficiencies in the military re-
sources Of the country since that period august
IsStl, were occasoned by the absence Of the egi,-
ls.on asked for" it is triumphantly answered that
every commander, from the General in Chief down
Knows better, Sc, Sc.-whch, being only hat
contradiction, unsust1ned by whence, may he
simply dismissed with a repetition OF the original
s.ateupnt.
In regard 20 the question of arming the negroea
the Segti,.i insists that the President did recon-
mend the measure In his message, because, while
al1sug the employment of 40, 900 negroes as
cooks and teamsters, he suggests that they might
ia OF "a favorable decision the question aud
should the alternative even be presented OF sub
Jugstion Or Of the employment OF the slave as
soldier be used in such capacity. Does the
President The SBtiasl think that our suhiuga-
tion is inevitable uuless SO employ our slaves
Has either Of the IN said So. Has that alter
native ever been officially presented to Congress
and the country, Ii not, then the Senate was in
advance Of the President when il authorized the
employment Of 300, 600 negro soldiers, without dc
elaring he existence Of aDy such alternative, and
without notification Of the Executive opinion
on this important point. We told, likewise,
that the necessity 10 cIaploy negroes arose from
the Senate refusal 10 comply with the Executive
demand for white men, who were 10 have been
furnished b. militia law, and the repeal Of class
exemptions. But as 60 the militia Law, the answer
OF the report is conclusive that ii would haze
been totally unproductive, inasuluch as ell
in any way subject 10 military duty were already
embraced in the general couscripuou law and as to
class exemptions, there were only 9OOOin the whole
Coniederacy, and in regard to these the President
seemed 10 be much more ANXIOUS for the power to
detail the N out of the army than to put them in
the field. Congress, indeed, saw no reason why