The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1870-07-14
HON. J. S. BLACKS LETTER.
HISTORY AS WRITTEN BY BUCHAN.
ANS ATTORNEY GENERAL.
A MOST CAUSTIC ARTICLE.
Senator Wilson and {. M. Stanton.
TFrpm the Galaxv for J,,ne


To THE HoNoRABLE HENRY WILSON, Sen
dtoT from Massachusetts In the February
number of the atlantic Monthly appeared an
article of yours, entitled Edwin M. Stan
ton" 1t contains some statements which
are very wonderful, if true; and if false they
ought to be corrected. / ask you to review
this production in the light of certain facts
which shall now take the liberty to men
ton.
My principal object is to satisfy you that
you have wholly misunderstood the charac-
ter of Mr.. Stanton and grossly injured him
by what you supposed to be panegyric.-
But. before begin, suffer me to correct some
OF your errors about other persons.
10 your vituperative description of the
Buchanan administration, you allege that
"the President and his Attorney General
surrendered the Governments right of self
preservation" and pronounced against its
power to coerce seeding State" You re-
fer, manilestly. to the opinion of the Attor-
ney General, dated the Goth of November.
1860. defining the duties and powers of the
President, and to the public acts of the Pres
ident, which show that he took the advice
of the Law Department and squared his
conduct accordingly. Upon this ground
mainly. if not entirely, you denounce that
administration as not only weak and unpa-
triotic, but willfully wicked and reasonable.
1 propose to show that you have committed
2 cardinal error, if not something worse.
The coarse way in which you charge the
dead as well as the living with the highest
! crimes, would justify a reply in language
much palmer then intend TO use.
Your modes of thinking and speaking on
subjects of this kind are so loose and inaocu-
rate that it is necessary to furnish you with
an idea of certain elementary principles,
which, 70 nrost ether men, are too familiar
to talk about.
l. The Government of the United States
is the Constitution and laws
2. The preservation of the Government
consists in maintaining the supremacy of the
| Constitution and laws.
9. For this purpose certain coerciVe pow
ers are delegated to the executive, which he
may use 20 defend the laws when they are
resisted.
| 4. But in this country, as in every other,
! except where the Government is an absolute
| despotism, the authority of the chief magis-
! trate is limited and his hands are tied up by
| legal restrictions, to prevent him from using
| physical force against the life, liberty and
| property Of his fellow-citizens, unless in GER
| tain prescribed ways and On proper occasions.
| 8. he is bound by his inaugural oath to
| keep within those limits; if he breaks the
| laws be destroys the Government; he cannot
| stab the Constitution in the back because he
is afraid that somebody else ii. strike it in
! the face.
Q. The Government of the United States,
4 within its proper sphere, is a sovereign, as
much az the States are sovereign within
| their sphere. 1t acts Immediately upon the
! people aud claims their direct obedience to
| to its laws AS State cannot make war on
| city, county or town, and put all its inhab-
! itants to the sword, because some of them
! have acted or threatened to act illegally, SO
/ the general Government is also restrained
from exterminating the whole population OF
State for the offences, actual or intended,
1 Of some who live among them.
/ Z. The so-calied ordinances Of secession in
lSGO-6I were the declarations of certain per-
sons who made them, that they intended tc
disobey the laws Of the United States. Ii
was the duty of Congress and the President
to see that foTcible resistance to the laws,
/ when actually made, should be met by a
coanterforce sufficient to put 1t downs but
| neither Congress nor the President had au.
/ thority to declare war and begin hostillties
by authorization, against all the people al
| ouce, and put them all in the attitude O
! public enemies, without regard to their per
sonal guilt or innocence.
The opinion of the Attorney General
which you have garbled, and the messages
of President Buchanan, assert these prlnc
pies in plain English words. We held thai
the whole coercive powers of the United
| States, delegated by the Constitution to every
i branch of the Government. including i.s mil
itary and naval force, might and ought, il
the appointed way, to be used to maintain
the SUPREMACY of the laws against all oppo
sers, to hold or retake the public property
and to collect the revenue. But we asserted
4 also, that powers not given ought not to b.
usurped, and that war upon State, In tn
circumstances of the country, would be, no
| only usurpation, but destruction of the Union
OF course you cannot be SO ignorant OF th
fundamental law as not to know that ou
exposition of it was perfectly sound and cor
rect You never preteDded-no man wit
sense enough to know his right hand from
his left ever will pretend that the Presiden
had constitutional or legal authority to max
al aggressive war against the States by nj
own act. nor had Congress any such power
But YOU think ought not to have answere
the Presidents questions truly, and that b
ought not to have been influenced by const
tutional scruples. That was the rub. Ther
ia no dispute-never was and never can
! -abont the law; but Mr.. Buchanan's wick
, | edness and treason consisted IN ooeying
when you think he ought to have broken j
For this cause you try to excite against b
memory those bad party passions by whic
/, he was bounded and prosecuted during a
the last years of his life.
I will make no effort to convince you thu
: Mr.. Buchanan was right in standing by Il
Constitution which he had sworn to preserv
protect and defend. That, l know. woul
be altogether hopeless. The declared admlr'
of John Brown, the political ally of Jim Ian
the partisan of Baker. the advocate OF gel
eral kidnapping and special murder by mi
itary commissions, the open supporter
measures which abolish the right OF trial
/. jury and build up an Asiatic despotism
: the ruins of free government-such ma
/ would entirely misunderstood the Teast
i. (simple as it Isl upon which ! put the Jus