Year: 1861

vison Of the Constitution being that tho


privilege OF the hobeas corpus shall not be-


suspended except in cases of rebellion Or in.


vaslon the public safety does require it, it


was descldcd that we have case of rebellion,


and the public safety does require quail.


ned suspension Of the privilege of the writ


which was authorized to be made. Now it


is insisted that Congress-, and not the Execu.


tive, is vested with this power. But the


Constitution itself is silent rs to which or


who is to usurp the power, and as the pro-


visions was plainly made for dangerous


emergency, it cannot be believed that the


franess of the instrument intended that in


every case the danger should run its course


until Congress should be called together, the


very assembling Of which might be preven-


ted, as was intended in this case, by the re-


belllon. No more extended argument is now


offered, as an opinion at some length will


probably be presented by the Attorney Cen
eral-W Wnether there shall be any lesisla-


ton on the subject, and if so, what, is sub


mltted entirely 10 the better judgment Of


Congress-


The forbeararce of this Government has


been so extraordinary and SO long continued
as to lead some foreign nations to shape ther
acton as if they supposed the early de>-
tructlon of cur Nationl Union was probable.


"mle this, on discovery, gave the Executive
some concern he is now happy to say that
the sovereignty and rights Of the United
states are now practically respected by for
eiSn powers, ard general sympathy with
tho government is manifested throughout
the world.


Ine reports Of Secretaries of the Treasury,


war ana Navy, will give the information in
detail deemed necessary and convenient for
your action, while the Executive and De-
partments will stand ready to supply omiss.
Ions, or to communicate new facts consid-
erec Important for you to know. 1t is now
recommended that you give the legal means
Tor making this contest short and desisivu
one; that you place at the control of the
Government for the work at least 100000
men and $40O, 1000, 900. That number OF
men is about one-tenth Of those Of proper
ages within the regions where apparently all
are wiling to engage, and the sum is les,
tnan twenty-thlrd part of the money value
owned by the men who seem ready to devote
the whole.-A debt Of six hundred millio.s
dollars now, Is less sum per head than WAS
the debt of onr Revolution, when we came
out OF that struggle, and the moaey value in
the country bears even greater proportion.


S"Sh dS SIVIIS HOINc NO"
to preserve our libe ties as esch had then to
establish them. right result at this time
Will be worth more to the world than ten
times the men and ten times the money.
The evidence reaching us from the country,
leaves no doubt that the material for the
work is abundant, that it needs only the
hand oflegislaton to give 1t sanction, AMI
the hand of the Executive to give it prac
tcal shape and efficiency. One of the great
est perpexties Of the Government is to
avoid receiving troops faster than it can
provide for them In word, the people
will save the Government if the Government
will 90 its part only inditferently well.


1t might seem at first thought to be of lit
tie difference whether the present movement
at the South be called secession or rebellion,
The movers, however, well understand the
difference They knev at the beginning
they never could raise their treason to any
respectful magnitude by any name Implies
violation Of law. They knew their people
possessed as much devotion to law and order,
as much pride and reverence for their his
tory aud the government of their country as
any other civilized and patriotic people
Tney knew they conld make no advancement
directly in the teeth of these strong and no.
bic sentiments. accordinly commenced
by an industrious debaucbing of the public
mind. They invented an ingenious sophism.
which, conceded, was followed by perfectly
logical steps through all the incidents the
complete destruction of the Union. The
sophism itself is tnat any State Of the Union
may, consistently with the nations Consti-
tuition, and therefore lawfully and peacefully,
withdraw from the Union without the con-
sent Of the Union or any other State. A lit
tie disguise, that the supposed right is to be
exercised only for just cause, themselves to
bs sole judges, Of its justice. is too thin to
merit any notice. With rebellion thus su-
gar-coated, they have been drugging the
minds Of their section for more than thirty
years, until at length they have brought
many good men to willingness to take up
arms against the Government, the day after
some assemblage of men have enacted the
farce of taking their State out Of the Union,
who could have been brought to no such
thing the day before. Tais sophsm derives
much, perhaps the whole, OF its currency
from the assumption that there is some om-
nipotent and sacred supremacy pretain,ng
to each State of our Federal Union. Our
States have neither more or less power than
that reserved to them in the Union by the
Constitution, no one of them ever having
been out of the Union. 4he original ones
passed into the Union even before they cast
off their British dependence, and the new
ones came with the Union directly from .
condition Of dependence, excepting Texas,
and even Texas in its temporary indepen-
dence was never designated as State The
new ones only were designated States on
coming into the Union, while that name
was only first adopted for the old ones in
and by the Declaration OF Independence
Therein the United Colonies were declared
free and independent States, but even than
the object plainly was not to to declare their
independence ofone another, the Uniou,
but directly the contrary. as tReir natural
action before, at the time, and afterwards,