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CHAPTER XXIX.

EFFECT OF THE FEDERAL SUCCESSES OF 1863 ON THE NORTHERN ELECTIONS.—ESTIMATE IN THE RICHMOND NEWSPAPERS OF THE DEMOCRATIO ALLIANCE IN THE NORTH.-LOSSES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE ELECTIONS OF 1863.-PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S TRIUMPH.—HIS ADMINISTRATION STRENGTHENED.-IT VENTURES TO NEW LENGTHS.-ARREST OF MR. VALLANDIGHAM.-PROTESTS OF THE DEMOCRATIO PARTY.-THEIR WORTHLESS AND RIDICULOUS CHARACTER.-NEW AND VIGOROUS MEASURES OF WAR AT WASHINGTON.-SCARCITY OF MEN AND OF FOOD THE TWO CONCERNS AT RICHMOND.-MEAGRE RESULTS OF THE CONSCRIPTION LAW.-AN ALARMING STATEMENT FROM THE CONFEDERATE SECRETARY OF WAR.-DIMINUTION OF SUBSISTENCE IN THE CONFEDERACY.-SUFFERING AMONG THE PEOPLE AND ARMY.-HISTORY OF THE CONFEDERATE COMMISSARIAT.-REPORT OF THE MEAT SUPPLIES IN THE CONFEDERAOY IN JANUARY, 1862.-Effect of the CAMPAIGNS IN KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE ON THE QUESTION OF SUBSISTENCE.-PROPOSITION TO GET MEAT THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES.-OBSTINATE OBJECTIONS OF PRESIDENT DAVIS.-HIS MANIA ABOUT COTTON. THE CONFEDERATE STATES DRAINED OF MEAT IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR.-STATEMENT OF COMMISSARY NORTHROP.-ATTEMPT TO GET SUPPLIES THROUGH THE BLOCKADE.-HOW MISMANAGED.-THE CRENSHAW CONTRACT.-SMALL YIELD OF IMPRESSMENTS.-THE WHOLE CONFEDERATE POLICY OF SUBSISTENCE A FAILURE. -AN EXTRAORDINARY DEVICE OF SECRETARY SEDDON.-HOW IT PLAYED INTO THE HANDS OF SPECULATORS.-REFLECTION UPON THE WANT OF THE COMMERCIAL OR BUSINESS FACULTY IN THE SOUTHERN MIND.-A STOCK OF CHILDISH EXPEDIENTS.

THE Federal successes of 1863 produced a well-defined effect upon political parties in the North, and the elections there of this year were in remarkable contrast to those of 1862. It is significant of the little virtue of all the political organizations of the North during the time of the war that opposition to the administration at Washington was checked at every success of its arms, and declined in exact proportion as its military power ascended. The weak instinct of politicians readily took to the stronger side; and although there was a large party in the Confederacy that looked for a certain co-operation of the Democratic party in the North, it was readily understood by the intelligent that that co-operation was only to be obtained by making the Confederate side the stronger, by increasing the prospects of its success by victories in the field-in short, that the only

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hope of peace for the South was in the vigour of her resistance and the pressure of the enemy's necessities. This estimate of the Democratic alliance in the North was plainly enough stated in the Richmond journals and put in very blunt English. In anticipation of the elections of 1863, the Richmond Enquirer said: “It is nothing to us which of their factions may devour their 'spoils ;' just as little does it signify to us whether they recover or do not recover that constitutional liberty which they so wan tonly threw away in the mad pursuit of Southern conquest and plunder. But it is of the utmost importance to us to aid in stimulating disaffection among Yankees against their own government, and in demoralizing and disintegrating society in that God-abandoned country. We can do this only in one way—namely, by thrashing their armies and carrying the war to their own firesides. Then, indeed, conscientious constitutional principles will hold sway; peace platforms will look attractive; arbitrary arrests will become odious, and habeas corpus be quoted at a premium. This is the only way we can help them. In this sense and to this extent, those Democrats are truly our allies, and we shall endeavour to do our duty by them."

The Democratic party in the North went into the fall elections of 1863 on the issue of a general opposition to the Lincoln Administration; at the same time promising a vigorous "constitutional" prosecution of the war. The result was a triumph of the Administration from Minnesota to Maine; the Democrats were everywhere defeated; and the significance of this defeat was that opposition to the authorities at Washington had been subdued either by the strong hand of lawless power or by the appliance of selfish arguments, that they had no longer anything to fear, and that the overthrow of free government in the North was complete. President Lincoln wrote that "the crisis was past." The elections of 1863 had given him, as it were, a carte blanche for his government. Certainly no more striking illustration could be given of this fact than the arrest and exile of Mr. Vallandigham, who was probably the most talented and prominent representative of the so-called "peace party" in the North, and had stood as Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio. This single act of the Washington Administration is sufficient illustration of the license it had now assumed in the insolent and giddy moments of military success, and the lengths to which it now dared to go in defying the Constitution, and involving the liberties of its own people with the designs of the war.

*

* The following correspondence, with reference to the case of Mr. Vallandigham, discusses the whole subject of Military Arrests, and covers a topic in the war so large and important, that a full copy of it is afforded for the reference of the reader:

"To His Excellency the President of the United States.

"The undersigned, officers of a public meeting held at the city of Albany on the sixteenth day of May, instant, herewith transmit to your Excellency a copy of the resolutions adopted at the said

It is true that the outrage upon Mr. Vallandigham, and, through him, upon the whole body of American liberties, was the occasion of some forcible

meeting, and respectfully request your earnest consideration of them. They deem it proper on their personal responsibility to state that the meeting was one of the most respectable as to numbers and character, and one of the most earnest in the support of the Union ever held in this city.

"Yours, with great regard,

"ERASTUS CORNING, President.

"RESOLUTIONS.

"Resolved, That the Democrats of New York point to their uniform course of action during the two years of civil war through which we have passed, to the alacrity which they have evinced in filling the ranks of the army, to their contributions and sacrifices, as the evidence of their patriotism and devotion to the cause of our imperilled country. Never in the history of civil wars has a gov. ernment been sustained with such ample resources of means and men as the people have voluntarily placed in the hands of the Administration.

"Resolved, That as Democrats we are determined to maintain this patriotic attitude, and, despite of adverse and disheartening circumstances, to devote all our energies to sustain the cause of the Union, to secure peace through victory, and to bring back the restoration of all the States under the safeguards of the Constitution.

"Resolved, That while we will not consent to be misapprehended upon these points, we are determined not to be misunderstood in regard to others not less essential. We demand that the Administration shall be true to the Constitution; shall recognize and maintain the rights of the States and the liberties of the citizen; shall everywhere, outside of the lines of necessary military occupation and the scenes of insurrection, exert all its powers to maintain the supremacy of the civil over military law.

"Resolved, That in view of these principles we denounce the recent assumption of a military commander to seize and try a citizen of Ohio, Clement L. Vallandigham, for no other reason than words addressed to a public meeting, in criticism of the course of the Administration, and in condemnation of the military orders of that General.

“Resolved, That this assumption of power by a military tribunal, if successfully asserted, not only abrogates the right of the people to assemble and discuss the affairs of government, the liberty vi speech and of the press, the right of trial by jury, the law of evidence, and the privilege of habeas corpus, but it strikes a fatal blow at the supremacy of law, and the authority of the State and federal constitutions.

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"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States-the supreme law of the land-has aefined the crime of treason against the United States to consist only in levying war against them, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort;' and has provided that'no person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.' And it further provides that 'no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land and naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;' and further, that 'in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial oy an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime was com mitted.'

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Resolved, That these safeguards of the rights of the citizen against the pretensions of arbitrary power were intended more especially for his protection in times of civil commotion. They were secured substantially to the English people, after years of protracted civil war, and were adopted into our Constitution at the close of the Revolution. They have stood the test of seventy-six years of trial, under our republican system, under circumstances which show that, while they constitute the foundation of all free government, they are the elements of the enduring stability of the republic.

"Resolved, That, in adopting the language of Daniel Webster, we declare, it is the ancient and undoubted prerogative of this people to canvass public measures and the merits of public men.' It

ARREST OF VALLANDIGHAM.

467

expressions of public indignation. A Democratic meeting in New Jersey resolved "that in the illegal seizure and banishment of the Hon. C. L.

is a 'home-bred right,' a fireside privilege. It has been enjoyed in every house, cottage, and cabin in the nation. It is as undoubted as the right of breathing the air or walking on the earth. Belong ing to private life as a right, it belongs to public life as a duty, and it is the last duty which those whose representatives we are shall find us to abandon. Aiming at all times to be courteous and temperate in its use, except when the right itself is questioned, we shall place ourselves on the extreme boundary of our own right, and bid defiance to any arm that would move us from our ground. "This high constitutional privilege we shall defend and exercise in all places-in time of peace, in time of war, and at all times. Living, we shall assert it; and should we leave no other inheritance to our children, by the blessing of God we will leave them the inheritance of free principles and the example of a manly, independent, and constitutional defence of them.'

"Resolved, That in the election of Governor Seymour, the people of this State, by an emphatic majority, declared their condemnation of the system of arbitrary arrests and their determination to stand by the Constitution. That the revival of this lawless system can have but one result-to divide and distract the North, and destroy its confidence in the purposes of the Administration. That we deprecate it as an element of confusion at home, of weakness to our armies in the field, and as calculated to lower the estimate of American character and magnify the apparent peril of our cause abroad. And that, regarding the blow struck at a citizen of Ohio as aimed at the rights of every citizen of the North, we denounce it as against the spirit of our laws and Constitution, and most earnestly call upon the President of the United States to reverse the action of the military tribunal which has passed a 'cruel and unusual punishment' upon the party arrested, prohibited in terms by the Constitution, and to restore him to the liberty of which he has been deprived.

“Resolved, That the President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretary of this meeting be requested to transmit a copy of these resolutions to his Excellency the President of the United States, with the assurance of this meeting of their hearty and earnest desire to support the Government in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the existing rebellion.

"PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S REPLY.

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, June 12, 1863.

"Hon. Erastus Corning and others:

"GENTLEMEN: Your letter of May 19th, inclosing the resolutions of a public meeting held at Albany, New York, on the 16th of the same month, was received several days ago.

"The resolutions, as I understand them, are resolvable into two propositions-first, the expression of a purpose to sustain the cause of the Union, to secure peace through victory, and to support the Administration in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion; and secondly, a declaration of censure upon the Administration for supposed unconstitutional action, such as the making of military arrests. And from the two propositions a third is deduced, which is, that the gentlemen composing the meeting are resolved on doing their part to maintain our common Government and country, despite the folly or wickedness, as they may conceive, of any Administration. This position is eminently patriotic, and as such, I thank the meeting and congratulate the nation for it. My own purpose is the same; so that the meeting and myself have a common object, and can have no difference, except in the choice of means or measures for effecting that object.

"And here I ought to close this paper, and would close it, if there were no apprehension that more injurious consequences than any merely personal to myself might follow the censures systemat ically cast upon me for doing what, in my view of duty, I could not forbear. The resolutions promis to support me in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion; and I have not knowingly employed, nor shall knowingly employ, any other. But the meeting, by their resolutions, assert and argue that certain military arrests, and proceedings following them, for which I am ultimately responsible are unconstitutional. I think they are not. The resolutions quote from the

Vallandigham, the laws of the country have been outraged, the name of the United States disgraced, and the rights of every citizen menaced, and

Constitution the definition of treason, and also the limiting safeguards and guarantees thereir, provided for the citizen on trial for treason, and on his being held to answer for capital or othe: wise infamous crimes, and, in criminal prosecutions, his right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. They proceed to resolve that these safeguards of the rights of the citizens against the pretensions of arbitrary power were intended more especially for his protection in times of civil commotion.' And, apparently to demonstrate the proposition, the resolutions proceed: 'They were secured substantially to the English people after years of protracted civil war, and were adopted into our Constitution at the close of the Revolution.' Would not the demonstration have been better, if it could have been truly said that these safeguards had been adopted and applied during the civil wars and during our Revolution, instead of after the one and at the close of the other? I, too, am devotedly for them after civil war, and before civil war, and at all times, 'except when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require' their suspension. The resolutions proceed to tell us that these safeguards have stood the test of seventy-six years of trial, under our republican system, under circumstances which show that while they constitute the foundation of all free government, they are the elements of the enduring stability of the republic.' No one denies that they have so stood the test up to the beginning of the present rebellion, if we accept a certain occurrence at New Orleans; nor does any one question that they will stand the same test much longer after the rebellion closes. But these provisions of the Constitution have no application to the case we have in hand, because the arrests complained of were not made for treason—that is, not for the treason defined in the Constitution, and upon the conviction of which the punishment is death; nor were the proceedings following, in any constitutional or legal sense, 'criminal prosecutions.' The arrests were made on totally different grounds, and the proceedings following accorded with the grounds of the arrests. Let us consider the real case with which we are dealing, and apply to it the parts of the Constitution plainly made for such cases.

"Prior to my installation here it had been inculcated that any State had a lawful right to secede from the Union, and that it would be expedient to exercise the right whenever the devotees of the doctrine should fail to elect a President to their own liking. I was elected contrary to their liking; and accordingly, so far as it was legally possible, they had taken seven States out of the Union, had seized many of the United States forts, and had fired upon the United States flag, all before I was inaugurated, and, of course, before I had done any official act whatever. The rebellion thus begun soon ran into the present civil war; and, in certain respects, it begun on very unequal terms between the parties. The insurgents had been preparing for it more than thirty years, while the Government had taken no steps to resist them. The former had carefully considered all the means which could be turned to their account. It undoubtedly was a well-pondered reliance with them that in their own unrestricted efforts to destroy Union, Constitution, and law, all together, the Government would, in great degree, be restrained by the same Constitution and law from arresting their progress. Their sympathizers pervaded all departments of the Government and nearly all communities of the people. From this material, under cover of 'liberty of speech,' 'liberty of the press,' and habeas corpus, they hoped to keep on foot amongst us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause in a thousand ways. They knew that in times such as they were inaugurating, by the Constitution itself, the habeas corpus might be suspended; but they also knew they had friends who would make a question as to who was to suspend it; meanwhile their spies and others might remain at large to help on their cause. Or if, as has happened, the executive should suspend the writ, without ruinous waste of time, instances of arresting innocent persons might occur, as are always likely to occur in such cases; and then a clamor could be raised in regard to this, which might be, at least, of some service to the insurgent cause. It needed no very keen perception to dis cover this part of the enemy's programme so soon as by open hostilities their machinery was fairly put in motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I was slow to adopt the strong measures which by degrees I have been forced to regard as being within the exceptions of the Constitution and as indispensable to the public safety. Nothing is better

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