Year: 1861

ltal of Virginia when Fort Sumtor fell. Tc


this body the people had chosen q large ma


jority of professed Union men. Almost I'M


mediatcly after the fall of Sumter numbers


OF that majority went over to the Original


minority, and with then, adopted an ordin


ance for withdrawing the State from Che Un.


ion. Whether this change was wrought by


their great approval of the assault on Sumter


or their great resentment to the Government's


RESISTANCE to the assault is not definitely


known. Although they submitted the ordi


nance for ratification to u vote of the people,


to be taken somewhat more than month


distant the Convention and Legislature,


which was also in session at the same time


and place, with leading men of the State


Immediately commenced acting as if the


State was already out of the Union. They
pussed military preparations vigorously for.
ward all over the State. They seized the


United States armory at Harpcr's Ferry and
the Navy Yard at Gosport near Norfork.
They received perhaps invited into their
State, large bodies Of troops, with their war
like appointments, from the so calleo seeded
States. They formally entered into treaty
with the so called Confederate States and
sent members to their Congress at Montsom-
cry, and finally they permitted the nsurrec-
tonary government to be transferred to their
Capital at Richmond. The people of Virgin
ia have thus allowed this great insurrection
| u make It's nest within their borders, and
this Government has no choice left but to
deal with it where it finds it, and it has tie
less to regret, as the loyal citizens have, in
due form, claimed its protection. Those 10y
al citizens the Government is bound to rec
ognize and protect as being in Virginia.


In the border States, SO called, in fact, the
Middle States, there are those who favor a
policy which they call neutrality, that is, an
arming of those States to prevent the Union
forces passing one way, or the d;sunion the
other, over their soil. This would be dsun-
ion completely; iguratively speaking, it would
be the building of an impossible wall aleng
the line of separation; aud yet not quite an
impossible enc, for, under the guise of neu-
tralty, it would tie the hands of the Union
mon and freely pass supplies from among
them to the insurrectionists, which it could
not do as an open enemy. At a stroke it would
take all the trouble off the hands of secession
except only what proceeds from the externa
blockade 1t would do for the disunionists
that which fall things they most desire feed
them well and give them disunion without
struggle of their own. 1t recognizes no fdel-
ity to the Constitution, no obligation to
maintain the Union. While very many who
have favored it are doubtless loyal citizens
it is nevertheless very injurious in effect.


Recurring to the action of the Government
It may be stated that at first a call was made
for $4,000 militia, and rapidly following
this, proclamation was issued for closing the
ports of the nsurrectionary districts by u
blockade. So far all was believed to be
strictly legal.


At this point the insurrectionists announ-
ced their purpose of entering upon the pract-
ice Of privateering. Other calls were made
to serve three years unless sonner discharged,
and also larger additions to the army and ma
vy.-These measures, whether strictly legal
or not, were ventursd upon what appeared to
be popular demand for a public necessity,
trusting then, as now, that Congress would
ratfy them. 1t is believed that nothing has
been done beyond the constitution al compe-
tency of Congress. Soon after the first call
for militia, it was con nsidered a duty to au-
thorize the commanding General, in proper
cases, according to his discretion, to suspend
the privilege of the haoleas corpus, or in other
words to arrest and detain without resort to
ordinary process and forms Of law such in
dividuals as he might deem dangerous to the
public safety This authority has purposely
been exercised but very sparingly; neverthe.
less, the legality and propeiety of what has
been done under it are questions and the
attention of the country has been called to
the position that one who was sworn to take |
care that the laws be faithfully executed
should not himself violate them. Of course
some consideration was given to the ques-
tons of the power and propriety before this
matter Was acted upon. The whole of the
laws which was required to be faithfully ex-
ecuted, were being resisted and failing of
execution in nearly one-third Of the States.
Must they be allowed to finally fail of execu-
ton, even if it had been perfectly clear that
by the use of the means necessary to their
execution some single law nade in such ex-
treme tenderness of the citizens liberty that
practically it relieves more of the guilty