Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-05-16

vention according to the understanding
between the President and themselves. At
the same time Mr.. Stuart addressed that
body at some length on the engrossing
topics of the hour and embraced the occa-
sion to substantially repeat the views ne
had, on his own account, presented to the
President. The speech was taken down
by the reporter and proof delivered TO
Mr.. Stuart for revision, but, in the midst
of hurrying events eliminating in the sepa-
ration of the State from the Union, it was
passed by and never published. Following
are some of the extracts as prepared by the
reporter. Mr. Stuart said when addressing
the President -
ST stated to him, that while l could
readily perceive his sense of obligation TO
enforce the law, and could give him credlt
for sincerity in his attempt to enforce IL,
yet that I must be permitted to say to him,
that I thought be had fallen into a great
error. instanced. in the first place, the
revenue law, and stated that he ougnG TO
remember that while he was under an oDii-
cation to enforce the law, the law itself
provided agencies and instrumentantles py
which they were to be enforced and that
it was as much his obligation to pursue the
mode pointed out by the law, as it was to
execute the law itself. These agencies, l
said, were part and parcel OF the law, and
| he was bound to respect them and re-
marked that whenever he undertook to
depart from the mode which the law point
ed out for its own enforcement, he was no
longer enforcing the law, but usurping
power not conferred upon him by law, and
that did not exist. / stated much on the
subject of the collection of duties, and at
length came to where, as regards the light
| er duties, the Collector is authorized to
make all the machinery necessary for the
collection of the revenue. / then stated to
him that, as this machinery did not exist,
his authority ceased with it. He could
only execute the laws through this agency,
and when this agency no longer existed he
had no right to substitute others than those
which the law itself provided. / then re-
ferred to the case of the Courts. / remark
| ed to him that the power to use the military
authority of the country was in all cases
subordinate to the civil power that it
could only be used as ancillary or SUBJ
sidiary to the civil power; and that as soon
as the Courts ceased to exist, and the civil
authority was withdrawn from the seeded
States, be had no authority to employ the
military power for the enforcement of the
laws, and that any attempt to do SO by him
would be violation of the law, instead of
an enforcement of it.
I then referred to the forts. I stated to
him that cherished the hope that he would
find it consistent with his sense of duty to
withdraw his troops, at least from those
forts which were, strictly speaking, local /;
that he might find it consistent with his
sense of official obligation to withdraw the
troops from Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens,
and any other local forts which had no
great national functions to perform but
which were intended for the defence OF the
particular locality in which they were sit
uated. 1t seems, sir, that l was making
the same discrimination, by accident, in
regard to the forts, which was made in this
| Convention. drew distinction between
the forts which understand to be national
and those that were local. | referred to
| Fort Sumter and the Tortugas, as illustra-
| tions, and stated that whilst the latter
might be- regarded as national in their pur-
poses, as fulfilling national functions which
interested New York and Massachusetts
even more than Florida, yet, that when it
| CaID0 To UUOS0 lOCdt 1OEtc3 buCu do IOIl
Sumter and others of its class, l could con-
ceive that there was no public necessity for
his retaining them. l said to him that
upon this subject his power was plenary
that, as Commander in-chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, he had
power to dispose of these forces as to him
seemed most expedient. l referred to the
fact that it was an everyday occurrence to
evacuate forts which it was no longer ex-
pedient to hold, and l had cherished the
hope that he would find that it was no
longer expedent to hold Fort Sumter or
Fort Pickens, because they were no longer
necessary for purposes of local defence
at least for the present. l stated that he
might have Withdrawn the troops from
these forts without any remuneration of the
jurisdiction of the United States over them;
but that he might have made a public
proclamation of his purpose in withdrawing
the troops that it was in the interests OF
peace, and that he would make an appeal
to the people of the country to adjust these
distractiDg issues which now are upon us.
l stated to him that his predecessors had
admitted that these questions were too
grave and important to be dealt with by
the Executive or Legislative authority of
the country that the only power compe-
tent to deal with them was either a Con-
vention or Congress of ths United States,
through the Legislatures. At this point he
interrupted me by saying that he had made
that appeal. l thanked him for referring
to the fact, and sssented to the truth of it,
that he had, in his Inaugural Address, pro-
ceeded to make that appeal to the people
Of the United States but l reminded him
that he made that appeal after the Congress
ho1 81, T
minded him of the fact that the Congress
of the United States was the only agency
through which response could be obtains
ed to that appeal. | hele stated that it
had been my expectation and hope, that in
fulfilling the policy enunciated in his In
augurai, he would have felt called upon to
convoke Congress to carry out the policy
which he indicated in his Inaugural but
called his attention to the fact, that instead
of enforcing the policy indicated by that
Inaugural, in carrying out this appeal
after having addressed the appeal to an
arbiter of his own selection, before that
arbiter had gone upon the judgment seat,
he preiudged the result of the appeal by
his course. | felt it due to myself to make
these remarks to the President, which
were, as near as | can recollect, without
any generalization or previous preparation.
Now, l desire to say few words more. l
confess, sir, that, like my friends who were
associated with me, regard the Presidents
answer as in the highest degree unsatisfac-
tory. regard it, while courteous in form,
as almost hostile in intent. But l must
confess further, that l was utterly unpre-
pared for the developments which have
taken place since. All the differences
which my mind could draw from the inter-
view were directly at variance with these
subsequent developments. While his poll
cy was decidedly expressed, yet | under
stood him, from our official communica-
tions-and the general impressions left on
my MUD, favored that idea-as intending
nothing like general war, nothing in the
shape of a general system of hostilities.
understood his whole efforts to be limited
to the special purpose of re-occupying the
forts. While he said in his communication
to US that he would, after the attack upon
Fort Sumter, feel himself at liberty to re-
capture, if he could, that and other public
property seized by the seeded States, he
did not indicate any determination of pur-
pose to do So While he indicated that he
might be at liberty to discontinue tine mails,
yet he did not indicate any purpose to do
so. The inference that l drew was, that
there was no such purpose as seemed to
have existed and while l cannot refer to
anything which Would iustifv me- in i'm