Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1865-04-14
TO THE RESCUE

The Chicago Conspiracy, trials now IN pro-
gress at Cincinnati, have alarmed the Demo
cratic leaders The testimony has shown that
prominent Democrats have been engaged m the
organization Of reasonable secret society. the
aim OF which was aid To the rebellion, and some
thing must be done to eOunteract the effect these
developments are having upon the country -
Vallandsham has mounted the judicial stnnu
and written himself down an ass, and now Nc
Masters, the editor Of the deepest dyed secession
sheet out of rebeldOm-the New York Fire
man s SJOl17ldt-has come to the rescue of the
Democracy. McBlasteTs, like Vallandgbam.
joined the Sons of Liberty,-sO he says--for the
purpose of controlling the order and to purge
away such societies as were illegal and immor-
al, such as assassinate Provost Marshals, and re-
sist constitutional authorities" That, certainly.
IS high toned patriotism, and carried to its leg
Itimate results would induce a man to ioin a
club Of thieves, so as TO improve their morals
McAlasters, did nOtgO it blind, as did Vallan-
digham but be took as much of the obligation
as | (he) liked aud discarded that / (he) did
not like He says the object was to"put forth
the old fashioned Democratic States Rights doc
trine, and hewent through all the degrees, and
filled the highest Office in New York McMas-
ters was asked TO go 10 Chicago and did 50. ON
business connected with the order. and there he,
pronounced the "institutiOn'' a humbug. Nc
Masters advised Nallandigham to have nothing
to do with the order, but Vallandigham consent
ed to become Supreme Commander and he
MeMasters, lost all interest in the matter
McAIasters, like Vallandighanl, never knew
ofany of the reasonable doings of the order. and
said he supposed Dodd and his associates "were
foolIng Jake Thompson out of his money" He
thought DOdd was man of no consequence
McMaster's evidence as to the intentions and
designs Of the order, amount merely to this,
that he did not know ofany reasonable designs.
His denounclng the thing as humbug and pro
nOunclng the official dignitaries in the order
DOdd d CO.-neu Of no account, would not
make his coGIcil or advice desirable hence
very good reason why McMasters would know
nothing OF the inside dOings Of the order and he
frankly admitted that although the highest Of
6eer in the New York lodge, he could not enter
any other lodge, and that he knew nothing Of
the order in Ohio, Illinois or Indiana
Judge Advocate Burnett led McMasters ON a
long and very winding road in the crOss-exam-
inatiOn, and the witness was sorely plagued to
extricate himself. The cr0ss-examination was
confined mainly, 10 the oath and principles of
the order. The witness was asked to state the
difference between the ritual of the order and
the doctrine of the rebels. The witness lodged
that by saying he supposed so far as theory
was concerned, the principles the rebels assuun-
ed to be fighting for were the principles of the
Constitution of the United States He finally
became SO cornered as TO say that the principles
in the ritual and those the rebels claim to be
fighting for are the principles of rs" When
asked If the rebels were not fighting for ths
right to secede, McMssters replied:
yes, sir, and that is the doctrine of every free
Government and of every free State in the old
Union. The Constitution never made nation.
but confederation of Nations" He admitted.
after great preyaricatiOn and har-spIitting, that
the majority of the Order that the Sons Of Lib
erty held that State had right to seeede.-
The Order also held that the Federel Govern
meut had nOrigbt To coereea State McMas-
ters. doctrine was summed up in his last an
swer, as follows:
Q-Do you understand this 10 be Govern
meut OF the people OfS States?
Alt was Government of States. IN which
the people of each State were the sole element of
the Government. That was the plan Of the Gov
ernment. don't say what it has been for four
years past have heard people talk about the
Nation for the past fifteen years, but that is not
the way my grandfather talked; he talked about
the Federal Union of the States
The examination Of Vallandigham and Nc
Masters is important as laying down the Demo-
cratic creed--it afirnis the right of a State to
secede, and denies the right Of coercion in the
Federal Government.