The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1868-02-25

and detained by any foreign government
in coniraventiou Of the intent and pur-
Pose Ul the act, aud whose release u ii
demand shall have been unres. onably de-
layed or refused. the President of the
United States shall arrest any citizen or
subject al such foreign government, and
rs soon us may Le report the facts to Gun
gres-, a.. am opposed - this proyis
ion, sir, upon two grounds. The system
OF hostages in time Of peace is against
modern civiliz ltinn and modern intcrna
tion3 ltw. 1t is at best an unnatural
aud barbarous system. and can only be
justified 10 meet the exigences of war.
Again, the provision commits too much
power to the Executive. 1t authorizes
him to do thtt which i, in arl Of itself
cdais bcH IN fet, i incidentally dele
gates to the president the power vested
in Cong 'css alone by the Constitution -
OF the various propositions which have
been submitted to the House, that of the
gentleman from Rhode Island Mr.
Jcntkes is preferable 1t announces in
the first section the old Roman law as to
the right Of cxpltrlStion. The second
section is in accordance with TIC code Of
Napolcc.; as to the manner in which q
citizen may lose his national character
The third section asserts what we claim
to be the public law. TO wit. t..Gt wien
a foreigner has thrown off his natural al
lcgiance by assuming, Under the forms of
Jaw, m allegiance to our government he
shall receive as to his person and proper,
ty every protection which we car lawful
ly afford to n native born citizen. Thus
the question i, met fairly and square!y
without advancing any new llaim or doc
trino but giving 10 what we have always
insisted upon, the force and neral effect
Of defined and public law.
The bin provides that the Executive
shall not interfere in behalf Of certain ex-
ctpted cl ss2s Of persons. Most Of these
naturally suggest themselves upon the
ground of national comfy. The second
excepted class, namely, those wto may te
gGiliy Of any crins against the laws Of
any forei.n State committed within lis
upon our German ci;;z MS; bat | can
hardly see how we can avoid making the
exception. Prussia has a naturally ,tion
law, and we would hardly admit that if
an American citizen had left our countr5
with crime resting upon him and after
having been naturalizcd there should re-
turn he would not be amenlble for the
crime under our laws. The law OF prus
sia making it a crime TO leave that cuun
try before renling prescribed term Of
military service we certainly canoot com
mend Or approve, and it is to be hoped
ard expected that the liberal IDEAS in re-
gard to personal rights an! personal liber.
tY, which are rapidly attaining in the
German States, will induce a more just
and liberal policy Count Bismarck is
desirou' TO sei,le ihis vexed question, and
substantially proposed the exemption Of
a.! PruaSian sui acts returning to their na g.
tive lar ! who hal left before lhei. seven,
, teenth year, AMI also all other persons
who were rot in the army or notified to
enter at the time of leaving, an who
shall have been out of the country for ten
years. | apprehcnd, sir. that Prussia
will be among the first to recognzn the
justice and agree ~ the principles OF The
law. With France and England it may
be otherwise Neither of then love our
free institutions, and both of them are
JEALOUS of our power. France, in the day
Of our tribu!tiion, planted her stan Lard
in Mexico, with the intention of estaD-
fishing monarchy under European aust
piccs and holding the key to the finest
cotton growing region upon our continen-
Englanl, in direct violation Of law, at
tempted, directly and indirectly, to Grip
PIE and destroy our commerce, Both
Governments sympathlzcd with the rebcl-
lious South and desired that or Republic
shonld be severed. Should lirn and
manly adherence to the doctrine enuncia-
ted ia the bill under consideration involve
us IN war we must accept the issue.-
Planting ourselves upon the right; ask
inc from other Governments Eothing but
what we arr willing to yield TO them ;
sustained by sound public policy and the
/ prime. plas which underie free Govern
ments. we give the force of law to wha'
heretofore has been the subject Of diplo
macy. We owe the duty to ourselves we
owe it to those brave men who have cas-
/ their lot with ours, who have defended our
| flag with their blood, and now that peace
has dawned are cheerfully sustaining the
great burden which rests upon us.
HENRY WARD BEEcHER says, apropos
OF trip to Canada, and transfer from