Year: 1862




like to know it. 1t is the ordinary form.
Senators will observe that the construction
OF our Parliament, if | may so call it, is pc
cuar one. Ministers do not come here: the
Secretaries have no seat upon this floor; and
no person connected with the Executive can
sit here. In the English Parliament, it is 9TH
erwise; and the ordinary course, upon an oc-
casion when information is desired with regard
to an act of government, is, if understand it,
for some member of Parliament to give notice
of motion that on such day he will move
that information be communicated, and that
any papers in the possession of the govern
ment be presented i'm relation to a particular
transaction. Then the Minister of the Crown,
one who knows what the reasons are in refer
ence to it, will express his opinion that it is or
is not advisable; that in the present condition
of public affairs, perhaps ii would not be well
that the motion had better be deferred; and as
general rule, on that opinion given, the mo-
tion is dropped unless in very extraordinary
cases. We adopted different policy, and we
adopted It because of the different situation of
things here. We do not send, except where
here and there we want ordinary information
that everybody knows may be communicated
without difficulty, peremptory order to the
Secretary of State, or of War, or of the Navy,
to communicate certain information at all
events-that is what is asked for here-but.
trusting to the executive Government. espec-
tally in matters of delcacy and matters of DIFF
iculty, we respectfully ask, as we are in duty
bound to do, that the President will commu-
nieate the Information, if 1t be not inconsist-
ent with the public interest so to do. That is
the duty which is to be expected. from us to
the great head of this government; and hold
that he is the great head of the government
because this is a great government-and the
President, being chosen by the people for a
great place, is therefore to be treated with re-
spect on all occasions. Our usual course. |
say, is to ask him, il consistent with the public
interest, TO communicate the information Ii
the resolution with regard to this matter had
been originally worded in that way, presume
there would have been no objection to it, but
it was peremptory. The question now comes
up on the mere motion to amend. | presume
that motion viii be adopted; and then gentle
men will judge for themselves whether there is
ANYTHING difficult about it. The question then
comes up on the adoption of the resolution
do not accuse the honorable Senator from
Delaware Mr.. SAULsBuRYl of any desire to
Introduce this resolution for the sake of max
ing political capital. i am willing to take him
at his word; and taking him at his word, / ask
his attention to one or two considerations.


Sir, had this taken place in time of peace, in
the ordinary position of thingsin this country,
nobody would hesitate, perhaps, to call it an
outrage, inexcusable, that any man should be





the Secretary Of War, even acting under the
direction of the President; but the Senator
mnst acknowledge, what the people of this
country see and feel, that we are in most un-
exampled condition OF our public affairs. He
must acknowledge that in times like these, of
necessity many things must be done and may
be done with propriety that could not be done
in the ordinary condition OF things. He must
acknowledge that when nation has war up
ifs hands like this N ipfnruacina uar
portion OF the people divided against another
and, as my honorable colleague has said,
with traitors in every State in the Union, mix
ing up everywhere-it is not a time to stand
upon trifles, or to exact too strict an account
of our rulers, OF their doings, so long as we
are satisfied that they mean TO do what in
their judgment the public good requires. Is
it not so, sir? And undertake to say that the
Senator is too careful Of private rights, who
follows every slight infraction of them into the
executive chamber for a motive in times when
no man hardly knows what or who his neigh
Dor is, and when, as he must confess, the coun-
try is, as it has been for months, trembling up
on the verge of ruin.


Now, sir, If ii is admitted that / am right,
and that my colleague is right in what he has
said on this subject let us look at matters a
little literally. Does any man undertake to
doubt the patriotism of the President of the
United States? Does the Senator from Della
ware, or his colleague, or the Senator from
Kentucky, undertake to say here, or to inti-
mate that in all his acts he has not been gov
erned with single view to the good of the
country and TO the suppression of this rebel
lion; that he has willfully violated any pri-
vate right mean violated ii, If you call it
violation-in opposition to his own belief that
1t was absolutely necessary for the good of the
public that he should do so? Is that charge
made? have not understood it to be made or
intmated from any quarter. We have heard
much from the honorable Senator from Ken
lucky about violations of the Constitution, but
We have not heard an iDtimation that there
was any proof, or any ground to suppose that
in any act of the Executive, there had been
any willful disregard of the rights of any indi-
vidual.


Sir, there is a little mistake, in my judgment,
as to the responsibility under which the Presi-
dent labors. The Senator from Kentucky will
allow me to tell him that the President does
not take an oath to support the Constitution
of the United States, but that he will "pre-
serve, protect, and defend" it; that is the Ian
guage. The honorable Senator will reply to
me by asking, can he protect il by violating
it? Certainly not, ordinarily. We, and other
officers of the Government, but not the PIesi-
dent, swear TO support the Constitution of the
United States; he swears to preserve, protect,
and defend it. am not to be put in the posi-
tion OF saying that therefore he has a right to
violate 1t. i say no such thing. What | do
say is, that his paramount duty is TO preserve,
protect, and defend it; and if an occasion
arises when, in order to preserve, protect and
defend, that great instrument without which
the Union dies, he is compelled in his judg-
ment to violate the individual rights of a citi-
zen Tor time, can any one suppose that he
ought to hesitate for a single instant in doing
so? | know that gentlemen appeal to that
clause OF the Constitution which says that no
man shall be deprived of life, liberty, or prop
erty without due process of law; and they in
fer, if the President arrests man without due
process of law, that he has deprived him of his
liberty. Grant it; but suppose that in his
judgment, and in the judgment of all other
men, time has arrived when it is necessary
that some of the individual rights secured to
the citizen by that great instrument should be
violated, or that he should be deprived of them
for time in order to preserve the instrument
ITSELF is il not the duty of the President at once
to take the step? think no man can hesitate
about that. The other day put question
to the honorable Senator from Kentucky, who
is one of the best-natured and most amiable
men in the world, as judge, and to that ques-
tion L tried to get an answer. My question
was whether, in a like case, if he were Presi-
dent of the nation, and there was no other
mode in which be could prevent the commits
sion of great crime which would be injurious,
deadly perhaps, to the nation itself, but by in
teriering with the rights of citizen, he would
SO interfere. Well, sir, after a little talk, in
which the honorable Senator exhibited very
considerable fencing skill, being obliged to
answer directly, he substantially said that he
would not. will never vote for him for Pres