Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-26
THE THIN EDGE OF THE vyEDeE

harsh measure tnat is apFhed 70 the laller
that In the blindness of thcir yindictiveness
toward us they are in danger of losing
their own liberties. The New York World
elahoFatesthis ideayery fully in IFS issue of
Stlie'21st inst. That paper says: an the
history of our very early diplomacy there
appears a statement which bears upon to-
day. 1t was said to an American minister
shortly after the Revolutionary war thatthe
reasonwby Parliament insisted on its right
to tax the American colonies was that If
there were two portions of the British en-
pire, each withthe right to vote subsidies to
the crown, the crown might by drawing
supplies from one tread out liberty in the
other If the colonies were to have right
Independent of Parliament to grant subsi-
dies, the crown by placating the colonies
might draw means enough therefom ODE
independent of Parliament IN money mat
tiers, and by being so independent.
set Parliament at naught. In other
words, with two equally independent
sources of revenue the crown might play
one off against the Other to the SsifbVersion
of liberty in both. The old rule of tyranny
could then be put into practice, first to di-
vide and then to conquer. MtIsty as the i
old argument is, there is certain general
applicability in it to the affairs of the pre-
sent. On the 18th inst, the President is
sued his proclamation suspending the privi-
lege of the writ of habeas corpus in divers
counties Of South Carolina, said suspension
to endure. of course for his good pleasure.
1t is perfectly well known that this man
would not have dared venture on so mon
strous scoundrelism in Ohio, say, or New
York, or Maine, and only from an unhappy
bitterness of feeling is the country so
divided and set one section against the
other, as to allow Of his taking the step there.
The law however, ON which he relies for his
authority is general it must be noted. So far
as the mere power goes, it authorizes him
to suspend the privilege of the writ of
babeas corpus in Massachusetts, as in South
Carolina. The right is the same in one as
in the other, and it is only because what il
is thought can be safely yentured on in one
is neither desirable nor polite in another, is
there distinction in practice made. Any
where, in any State, at any time this man
can suspend the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus and put any honest citizen
thousand miles below the yilest criminal
who now wears motley in our State peni-
tentiaries. Given the day of the expiration
of their sentence and these foul dogs have
their appel of liberty to the courts, but I'M
der suspension of the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus our best and noblest
must look as fully for their freedom to
master as any Eastern slave. Unhappily
from that division of the country we
have mentioned what is an actuality in the
South seems an impossibility North. Good
enough for 'em; let the rebels smoke, is
doubtless the verdict in this matter of
many who do not reflect how soon it is
that bloody inventions return to plague
the inventor; how favorite a trick of tyranny
it is to secure from a community the I'M
limited right TO Cypress those whom the
community dislikes and then convert that
into right to illimitably Cypress the com
munity itself. No man dreams if we had
never had a war and had not become en-
Uttered and disunited that any such impu-
dent despotism as this would have been per
mitted anywhere. The affront to the least of
the family would have thrilledto the weight
est members and the scoundrel who
dare menace all in expressing one
have soon felt the lash upon his
back. But embittered we have be-
come; theaigature which bound all the sticks
together has been loosened, and the sticks
which united could have defed any strength
are now swapping one by one. In Massa-
chusettS, in Ohio, IN New York, anywhere,
in any State, at any time, we repeat, this
law Just trained upon South Carolina may
be trained upon us. By act of April 20,
1871, the President can actually suspend the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus TO-
day in any State of the Union if there
should, in his opinion, be in that State a
combination of persons puposing to test
the constitutionality or legality of the re,
cent amendments. 1t is not necessary the
combination should really exist, but only
that he should think, or say he thought, il
existed; it is not necessary the combination
should do anything, but only purpose to do
it is not required that the means il
: view should be forcible, for any
means, even a recourse TO thu
; courts, will do. If any man think
! this an over-statement let him read will
care the proclamation of this Oct. II anC
the act of the 10Th of April last. Out o
: his own internal consciousness the Presi
dent may evolve everything necessary Il
= enable him to suspend the privilege OF th
, writ of habeas corpus and put The libert.
of anv given man in America at his mercy
But this sort of thing will never be trieC
\ North! We recall something like this whel
negro suffrage was moOted, when troop
D were employed at the polls, when Fedora
4 officials first took to counting votes an
supervising returns South. One by on
, these things acre tried North and are tO-da
n the law North. Fiat erpeT'bRent,ma IN con
e pore riH, say the physicans-make you
: experiments on what nobody cares muc
@ for-and the rascal tactics which are III
4 dermining our liberties take the maxim t
= heart. On the South-the accurset
n well-deserving, conquered, rebel, traffic
South-every experiment towards consol
datian, despotism, destruction of free GOV
u eminent, and erection in the stead there'
of a mill where the many are to be grOun
like corn for the profit of the few, has bee
taken. Succeeding perfectly, and met eve
with applause and braves, the eXperimel
4 has been cunningly hardened into rule, an
/, every villainous essay made on the Sout
> from 1867 to 1870 is now, in 1871, an iro
> woke for the North's neck. Divide and col
= quer is the process that has been and