Year: 1862

those forgiven by the law, will again be our
political brothers. The restored States will
return to the Union with all the rights of other
States. To win back the confidence and af-
fection of their people, and to restore the
4 Union in the spirit of the Constitution, the
sectional party at the North must be vigor-
ously combatted, and in due time overthrown
at the ballot-box By the Democratic party,
the only national, constitutional party left in
the land If the Democratic party should be
disbanded, or should suffer itself to remain in
active, the South would retain Its old distrust
of the Republican party, and its old aversion
to the General Government administered by
it. Ii would then believe that the whole
North was indeed given up TO abolition, and
that the weaker South would receive no JUS
tice from the stronger North. But if the
South sees the Republican party defeated,
and the ancient defenders of its rights against
sectional influences once more in power in the
Union, or even bold in maintaining its old
political warfare against sectional parties and
influences then may the people of the South,
misled from the allegiance by the detestable
intrigues OF ambitious demagogues, well hope
to find once more in the Union old rights, old
blessings, old safety. Disunion is the Off
spring OF sectional parties, and the complete
restoration of the Union, in all its old peace
and harmony, rests upon the utter rout, North
and South, of all sectional parties. The spi-
rit of the Constitution must 90 hand in hand
with the letter of the Constitution.


1t is no less essential to the people of the
loyal States to establish the full reign of the
spirit of the Constitution; to restore as the
supreme law of the land, in peace and war,
in prosperity and adversely, in all circum-
stances of society, the Constitution, the
whole Constitution, and nothing but the Con-
stitution.


We claim the right, as free and loyal Amer
lean citizens, to discuss the conduct of the
Administration, and 10 censure it when we
deem it worthy of censure. Our fathers won
and established this right and we will not
surrender it. We utterly deny to the Exec
utive OF the United States the power assumed
by Congress in the sedition act of 1898, to
suppress opposition to the Administration, or
restrict the full freedom of political discussion
In the loyal States. This would be to assume
a power above the Constitution. The Adj
ministration has no more power to suspend
the Constitution than have the people. The
Administration is the child of the Constitution,
and the servant of the people The child
must not reject the authority of the parent,
nor the servant usurp the rights of the master
The Constitution and the laws give the Ad-
ministration ample power to protect itself and
enforce its authority in the loyal States; and
it would at this day be an evil example preg-
nant with anarchy and disorder, to disregard
the Constitutional rights of the loyal States
and their people We cannot bring ourselves
to the belief that such reign of terror is i'm
pending over us. We respect the Admins
tratlon too much for such an apprehension.
But II such times are upon us, we must play
our parts like men, and not disavow our prin-
ciples and opinions like towards. LOYAL to
the core TO the Constitution and Government
of the United States, the Democracy has
nothing to fear from the assertion of its prin-
ciples, and the discussion of its political views


Allowing much of minor evil to pass un-
noticed, in view of the difficult part which the
Administration has had to play, there are
some grave acts of the executive and legisla-
tive departments of the Government, for
which we hold the Republican party respon-
sible, and for which we arragn it at the bar
of public opinion.


We denounce the mischievous and uncon-
stIruTionol tone OF much OF the discussion In
both Houses of Congress at its late session.
We hold the general tenor of these discus
sions against the rights of slavery in the slave
holding States, and in favor of the exercise
by Congress of powers not delegated by the
Constitution, to be eminently dangerous in
sustaining the spirit of secession at the South,
and creating disregard for the Constitution
at the North.


We denounce the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia, at the cost of the
United States, as unconstitutional, and pecu-
liarly mischievous at this time III giving force
IL. = Al IL al.
States.


We denounce the sweeping end indiscrim-
mate measures OF confiscation and emancipa-
ton, as unconstitutional and as having a
strong tendency to unite the whole South
against the Union, as one man.


We believe that these and kindred things
have had great weight in diminishing the
numbers and influence of the Union party at
the South


We deny the power of the Executive to
suspend the writ Of hdbeaS corpus in the loyal
States. We deny that this act, materially
changing the laws OF the land, is an Executive
act. We have the authority of the Supreme
Court of the United States, pronounced by
the voice of Chief Justice Marshall as long
ago as 1907, and affirmed by every commen-
tator on the Constitution since, that under the
Constitution of the United States, it is leg
islative power. No king has assumed such
power in England, since the revolution.


We deny the power of the Executive to
make arrests in the loyal States. The sus-
pension of the writ of habeds corpus, if validly
done, would not authorize this. There are
Federal Courts in all the loyal States with
full power and jurisdiction to punish all crimes
against the United States. No, exercise of
Executive power has ever been more odious
than letters de cacket, by which the Executive
could arrest and imprison without judicial
writ accusation, or trial We hold this man
ner of arrest in the loyal States, of persons
not in arms against the Government, to be in
violation of Sec. 2, Art. 8, of the Constitution
of the United States, and of Art. A, and 6
of the amendments thereto. And we consider
this practice as unnecessary, and tending to
bring the Constitution into disregard.


We deny the power of the Executive to
trammel the freedom of the press by the sup
preston of newspapers. The press is judicially
responsible for abuses; but the freedom of the
press, subject to judicial remedies. is essential
to the freedom of the people. And We pro-
test against the manifest partiality with which
this new and dangerous power is exercised.


We deny the recent semi-oficial definitions
of the crime of treason. "Treason against
the United States shall consist only in levying
war against them, or in adhering to their enc
mics, giving them aid and comfort" In COM
menting on this definition in the Constitution,
Judge Story quotes with appreciation the re-
mark of Montesquieu, that if the crime of
treason be indeterminate, that alone is suffi-
cient to make any government degenerate