American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-07-31
HANCOCx's RECORD.

| I-o2.c-Power May Destroy the ForrnS
Whole Radical Theory Disposed OLA
Leaf From the Page of History.
The following letter was written to
Governor Pease, of Texas, in reply to
| one received by General Hancock in
1868, soon after the latter assumed COM
mand of the Fifth Military District:
HEADQUARTERS FIFTH MILITARY DISTRICT,
NEW ORLEANS, La, March 8, 1858. (
| To His Excellency L. NJ. Pease, Governor of
sIR-Your communication of the 18th Jan.
nary last was received in due course of mail
| Uhe 9th january, but not until it had been
| widely circulated by the newspaper press. To
such letter-wrtten and published for mani
Test purposes-it has been my intention to re-
| ply as soon leisure from more important
business would permit.
Your statement that the act of Congress
Ito provide for the more efficient government
| of the rebel States declares that whatever
Government existed in Texas was provisional,
that peace and order should be enforced, thar
Texas should be part of the Fifth Military
| President should appoint an officer to COM
mand in said district, and detail 4 force to pro-
tect the rights of person and property, sup
press inSurrectiOn and violence, and punish
offenders, either by military commission or
through the action of local civil tribunals, as
disputed. One need only read the act to per
ceive it contains such provisions But how
| to order the military commission you re-
quested, you have entirely failed to show.
The power to do thing, II shown. and the
matters, You observe you are at a loss to I'M
derstand howa Government, without repre-.
sentatiOn in Congress, or a militia force, and
| subject to military power, can be said to be
| in the full exercise of all its proper powers.
| You do not reflect that this Government, cre-
| ated or permitted by Congress, has ali the
powers which the act intends, and may fully
| exercise them accordingly. If you think it
| ought to have more powers, should be allowed
to send members to Congress, WELD a militia
plant is not to be preferred against p me. but
| against Congress. who made it what it is.
las AS respects the issue between u.s. any ques-
| has no pertinence. You admit the act of Con-
| gress authorizes me to try an offender by mil
| itary commission, or allow the local civil tri-
bunals to try, as l shall deem best, and you
cannot deny the act expressly recognizes such
the purpose np specified. When a You Contend
there are no legal local tribunals for any pur-
reading of the act of Congress or the power Of
Congress to pass the act.
declaration athat III county, Gexas5 i Is in
state OF profound peace" and proceed to state
me not little extraordinary. 1 quote your
words: :" 1t is true there no longer exists here
Texas, any organized resistance to the an-
majority of the white population who partici-
pated in the late rebellion are embittered
fe to It
concede they doyield it obedience. You pro-
coed:
Government, and very few any respect for it.
They regard the LEGISLATION of Congress on the
subject of reconstruction as unconstitutional
and hostile to their interests, and consider the
Government now existing here under author
i ny or the United states us an usurpation OF
ton of their late slaves and the disfranchise-
ment of portion of their own class as an act
of insult and oppression"
And this is al you have to present for proof
that war and not peace prevails in Texas and
to set aside the local civil tribunals, and en-
force the penal code again st citizens by means
of military commissions.
My dear sir, am not lawyer, nor has it
been my business, as it may have been yours,
to study the philosophy OF statecraft aud pol
itics. But may lay claim, after an expert
ence of more than half q lifetime, to some
poor knowledge of men, and some apprecia-
happiness. And for the future of our COM
mon country, could devoutly wish that
great number of our people have yet fallen in
with the views you appear to entertain. Woe
be to us whenever it shall come to pass that
lis permitted to deal with the mere opinions
or feelings of the people.
have been accus toned to believe that sem
timents of respect or dsrespect, and feelings
of affection, love or hatred, so long as not de-
veloped into acts in violation OF law were mat
tiers wholly beyond the punitory power of hui
man tribunals.
/ will maintain that the entire freedom of
thought and speech, however acrimoniously
INDUCED, is consistent with the nOblest aspi-
rations of man, and the happiest condition of
his race.
speech of Lord Chatham, delivered in Parla-
ment. 1t was during our Revolutionary War;
savages on the s de- Of Britain. You may be
more familiar with the speech than l am. If
am not greatly mistaken, his LOrdship de-
nounced the British GOvernment-his Govern
ment-in terms of unmeasured bitterness. He
characterized its policy as revolving to every
sentiment of humanity and religiOn-pro-
claimed it covered with disgrace, and vented
his eternal abhorrence Of it and its measures.
1t may, think, be safely asserted that a ma
jOrity of the British Nation concurred in the
views of Lord Chatham. But whoever sup
that Kingdom, or that Government had any
authority to question the absolute right of
the propriety t1the Kings measures in any
words, or to any extent they pleased? 1t
of the e GoVernment in the sn dsys of the eIdes
Adams, or Jefferson, or Jackson exhibited for
it either affection or respect" You are
parties and political struggles touching
legislation on alenage, sedition. the en-
gland and Mexico, and cannot be ignorant of
the fact that for one party to assert that law
oppressive and usurpatiye, is not a new thing
in the United States. That the people OF
tionaI, oppressive or insulting to them, is of
no consequence to the matter in hand. The
President of the United States has announced
his opinion that these acts of Congress are
unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, as
you are aware. not long ago decided unani-
was unconstitutional Our people every
where, in every state, without reference to
the side they took during the rebellion, differ
as to the constitutionality of these acts of
Congress. How the matter really is, neither
you nor may dogmaticaly affirm.
If you deem them constitutional laws, and
beneficial to the country, you not only have
the right to publish your opinions, but it
do so. Not less is it the privilege and duty of
any and every citizen, wherever residing, to
publish his opinion freely and fearlessiy on
Germs his interest. This Is merely in accord |
ance with the principles of our free Gov
ernment, and neither you nor would wish to |
live under any other. 1t is time now, at the |
end of almost two years from the close of the |
war, we should begin to recOllect what man |
popular discussion, and extend some forbear- |
ance and consideration to opposing views |
truth is mighty, and must prevail, and that |
error Is harmless when reason is left free to |
combat il, are not only sound, but salutary. |
IL is poor compliment to the merits of such |
a cause, that its advocates would silence op-
position by force, and generally those only |
generous means am confident you will not |
commit your serious Judgment to the propO-
sition that any amount of discussion, or any |
ment. or any assertion or feeling, however re
sentful or bitter, not resulting in breach of |
law, can furnish justification for your denial
might as well deny that profound peace ex-
lists in New York, PENNSYLVANIA, Maryland,
jority of the people difrer with a minority
on these questiOns-or that profound peace
thd in the Mouss Of RspresentatiXes or
Supreme Court, where all these ques-
tons have been repeatedly discussed. and
n ne respecIy ana pa'en.,y ar neara
the State Crexas) 1t Is difficult to enforce the
criminal laws, that sherifs fail to arrest, that
some cases the military acting in aid of civil
authorities have not been able to execute the
process of the courts that petit jurors have
ed "A lin Itred nv nd |