75 7 lEIilH nil H JHIIIISTiyiTll THE CONSTITUTIONALITY Acts ITindicated! vfirn A REVIEW OF TUI^^PMINISTRATION" BY W';' j/ljOCKSTADEE. WASinl?/GTON, 18C4.3 " There arc periods iu the history of nations, as well as of ilidividuals, that «ro ihe turning point of their destinies. ' ',"* ' ■ roriotis, V. lien events long germinatlnjj, culminate witH the rapidity of thought, bearing in their train an avalanche of woe, or heralding prophetic giear^s of a hopeful future. We are now at the crisis of our destiny, and the nation is struggling in the !j ^.hirlpool of events, in which we must either sink into an abyss of infamy, or ,, emerge purified and regenerated as a people. For over sixty years the theory of self-government by the people ]^a been a problem, whose solution has been watched with jealous solicitation by the dynasties of Europe — Freedom during the interim steadily, but surely, prog- ressing with gigantic strides. , To a casual observer, the country for years has seemed prosperous; but underlying this was the accursed plague-spot of human slavery, which, since the organization of the Grovernment, has slowly disseminated its virus through the '' body-politic," and spread abroad its corrupting influences through the secret machinations of its insidious agents for the retention of power, but the " handwriting on the wall," prognosticating its downfall, pointed to revolution as. a last resort to retain its ascendancy. To this, and no other cau^e, are we indebted for the rebellion now threat- ening the national existence, and the shallow pretext of Mr. Lincoln's election as a " casus belli''' by the southern leaders, ia most lame and impotent. Of the immediate events preceding the advent of the present Administration, the country is too well informed to need a recapitulation here. Of the acts of Mr. Lincoln, their constitutionality, and what the present Administr.itifn Kr ^ done since its induction into power, we propose to treat. ,i»^- ^vSaumins: tL'- reins of Government in the darkest dayg of the Republic, Vhen tut) street^ ..f the Capital swarmed with armed traitors, the Army under cciuniaad of i i.-itor in Texas, and the Navy scattered to the four quarters of the globe, the prospective future of the nation looked gloomy and un- certain. Did Mr. Lincoln falter in the least, oi; fail to fulfill the high trust reposed in him by the people ? Let history answer ! . Exhausting every means of reconoiliation consistent with national honor and integrity, (which were indignantly spurned by the rebels,) he accepted the .g^ge of battle, and issued a call for 75,000 men for three months, which was promptly responded to, and the quota at once raised, arm^d, and equipped. This act was denounced by northern traitors, and rbfc'el sympathizers, as unconstitutional, tyrannical, &c. No loyal man, or patriot, however, ques- tioned its legality, which is sanctioned by the Constitution, in Article first, Sec- tion eight; which ''/Jroui/Zes /or calling forth the militia to suppress insur- rection, and repel invasion,''' fyc. The rebellion increasing in magnitude, and the ranks of our armies becom- ing depleted by losses from battles and disease, it was deemed necessary to draft to fill them up. , ..,.,•/. And here, again, traitors at home prated of unconstitutionality, when intact a law of Congress empowered the President to order a draft, providing suffi- cient men wore not raised by volunteering, the Constitution especially providini,' for Congress " to raise and support armies." And, again, in arming the negroes, the President was denounced by trait- ors' North and South, as violating the Constitution. And yet this was not done until Congress had enacted a law for this very purpose. How then in carryin<' out the letter of the law was the Constitution violated ? .... The "policy of arming them was not decided upon until the necessities of war made it clearly manifest that it was most essential to our success to de- prive the rebels of this potent clement of strength, for while all able-bodied whites in the Confederacy were pressed into the military service, the negroes were used for agricultural labor, and thoao not so omployod were placed on the fortifications, thereby husbanding their military strength for the emergencies of the field. \„^ r.' r A A The suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus, (a measure rendered necessary for the f'cneral safety by the exigencies then arising,) raised a general cry of opposition among the malcontents, as another unpardonable violation of law, and usurpation of power. _ • . x- i , o .• n <. ^t^j. In reference to this the Constitution says, in Article 1, Section 9: " /Ae privilege of the icrit oj Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended unless in case of REBELLION or INVASION the public safety may require it." The constitutional right is liere clearly established beyond cavil, and so plain that none but a fool need err therein. .,. . , ' . , The policy of emancipation, as a powerful auxiliary in weakening the strength of the enemy, was long under consideration by Mr. Lincoln and the Cabinet, and only delayed, from diversity of opinion, as to the time when it would be most potent in its advent. :, . ! , j . .v This when adopted, was a vital blow to the slave power, and touched to the quick ail rcbcldom, and the verdict among all loyal men and patriots was uni- versal in its favor. Its effectiveness, and favorable results to the Union cause, • are well known to every intelligent reader and observer. In nearly allold countries the punishment of Treason is death, and confisca- tion of the estates of those' in arms against the Government. There being no existing law to meet the case, Congress passed a Confisca- tion Act, providing a certain time for rebels to laydown their arms ; or, failing in that to have their property confiscated, including their slaves. • Thisf ii.'S other acts of the Administration, met with severe denunciation by rebel sym- pathizers; yet the legality of any act authorized by Congress is beyond ques- •The open and defiant treason of Vallandigham, and others entertaining sim- ilar sentiments, rendered their arrest essential as well to the public interest, as sustaining intact the authority of the Federal Government. These advocates of anarchy and disloyalty were as much enemies to the State as our foes in the field, only that the acts of the former were covertly performed under specious pretexts— stabbing the Government in the dark. The issue of the first battle of Bull Run demonstrated but too forcibly to the Administration the necessity of a change in the organization and discipline In the military district, of which Western Virginia formed a part, partial successes had crowned our arms. McClellan was in command of this district, •md under him was Kosecrans, to whom all the credit of success rightfully be- longed • but McClellan, in his official dispatches, arrogating to himself the laurels' belonging to another, the Government was a victim to the deception, and called him to the chief command of our armies ; believing that in his ability and military genius the country would have 'cause for congrat- ulation. Upon his assumption of command every facility was afforded by the Admin- istration to enable him to carry out his plans on the scale of magnitude he proposed, until an army of 200,000 men was raised, organized, and fully equipped. How did he carry out the high expectations the country had formed of his military talent ? Was there ever a commanding officer to whom more leniency was shown for his shortcomings than he ? In reference to his ability as a commander, the following facts have been asserted by those who are willing to testify to the same under oath. 1. He has never, in any battle, heen under fire. 2. He has never in any battle, where he had control, gained a permanent advantage over the enemy. 3. Hfi wrote jngt previous to the " change of base" to James river, an order ''■for the baggage and munitions of war of the Jirmy to be all gathered together and burnt," and every man to save himself as best he might,'''' and was only prevented from issuing it by the urgent remonstrances of his officers. 4. He stated upon going on board the Galena, that he should be obliged " to surrender the Array'''' before morning, which was only saved by the superior generalship of his officers in defeating the enemy by their individual efforts. It is not our design here to discuss, at length, his merits and failures, or critis. cise his military talent. They can be more fully ascertained by a careful pe- rusal of the "Conduct of the War," or "Ball's Bluff to Antietam," and "Mc- Clellan's Military Career lleviewed and Exposed." From a fair and impartial trial of more than a year, in which his ability and military strategy had full scope, resulting in continued disaster, and not even one decisive victory, the patience of the country became exhausted, and the President and Cabinet decided on his removal. As a statesman, the people have yet to learn the extent of his intellectual ability, in which, if his present reticence on political topics continues, the country will be hardly more enlightened than now by the 8th of No- vember. Having briefly reviewed the acts of McClellan, and the circumstances by which the Government called him on the stage as a prominent actor in the bloody struggle now pending, we purpose to review other acts of the Adminis- tration, and leave to the people to judge of their general results thus far, as affocting the great issues forced upon us by this unnatural controversy. It has been sneeringly asked what has this Administration done ? It has forever abolished slavery in the District of Columbia, and by the Act of Eman- eipation tolled its death knell in all the Southern States. Out of fifteen States and territories originally held by the rebels, they now hold but ten States in part. The area of the original territory in square miles is 1,653,852 The territory in square miles now held by them is. 342,668 ThiB original amount of population was 12,121,294 The population now in rebellion is 4,453,232 Showing that we have recovered 7,638,062 of the pop- ulation, and have reconquered 1,311,184 square miles of territory. • In the outset, the rebels had possession of the army, and had sent the navy to foreign seas, and had also three-fourths of the army officers, who liad all bc'ii cduratC'il at the expense of the Government they were in arms against. ' They had also stolen from the Government small arms and ord- nance sufficient for an army of 150,000 men. We therefore, had an army to organize and educate in the art of war, and our Ki\v\ to cnljr*p to meet the exigencies arising. What tiave we done? , We %ivb mahuTactured over 1,000,000 stand of armSi We iiave built ShTli/ Iron Cltieh, and over one Jtnndred and fifty wooden war vessels ! We have organized and disciplined the largest army the world ever saw ! We Icive maniif:u-turvd o\ci- five tliousund pieces of field artillery, and over, two r//o?/>rf.'!f/1ip'aVy gu'rrs, from a 10-pounder to'^he mammoth 15-inch guns, car- rying pii'ieet 1 s a distance of five miles and inorei' We have brought the science of ■jnuiii;'ry'^earf*r to perfection than ony other nation, and. by the introduction if oifr Monitors compelled the respect of England and France, liv revoliilirnizing Naval- Warfare. «'••.' v "iU'iiieiU tiUtoS, -tIIU iiiCLD liiciU ; /rt- i.iive . efficiently^ *hat tliey now have but oi.c ' >ri wi eniiy. ;tnii can fi'iiy .nter and depart from that under cover of dark- 'les?. The. Old Flag, lianislied from the seceded States upon the passage )l' the^'ordinance of secession, now floats over our*rmies in all of them ! We have cleared the Shenandoah Valley of Rebels, winning three bril- liant victories, afid now hold it! Our armies under (iiJAVT, Sherman, and Sheridan have been victorious in over forty battles Our Navy has won imperishable renown under Foote and FARRAcrr. and has to a great extent contributed to its support by the capture ol over one Ihonsand important prizes, valued at over S10,000,000. We have wrested from the rebel grasp, the Mississippi river, and kept it ipen! We have done tnore to extend the area of Freedom, and demon- ■ilrated more forcibly to the world the inherent energy of the American peo- ple, and their ability for self-government, than any administration since the ■xistence of the Government ! We have filled our Treasury, and established a National currency, and . et, despite all obstacles, we have sustained our credit, without any foreign iidebtedness. And in the face of all the facts above, there arc those so false to truth and to their country, as to deliberately assert that this Administra- ion has failed to show any evidence