organization, and this to make known to the country at III. Its extent and numbers. IV. Its armed force. V. Its ritual, oaths, and interior forms. VI. Its written principles. VII. Its specific purposes and operations, VIII. The witnesses and their testimony. 1. THE ORIGIN, HISTORY, NAMES, ETC., OF THE ORDER. This secret association first developed itself in the West in the year 1862, about the period of the first conscription of troops, which it aimed to obstruct and resist. Originally known in certain localities as the "Mutual Protection Society," the "Circle of Honor," or the "Circle," or "Knights of the Mighty Host," but more widely as the "Knights of the Golden Circle," it was simply an inspiration of the rebellion, being little other than an extension among the disloyal and disaffected at the North of the association of the latter name, which had existed for some years at the South, and from which it derived all the chief features of its organization. the Chief Secretary of this association. Dr. R. F. Stevens, stated in June last to a reliable witness, whose testimony has been furnished, "those who represent the McClellan interest are compelled to preach a vigorous prosecution of the war, in order to secure the popular sentiment and allure voters." II.-ITS ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. From printed copies, heretofore seized by the Government, of the constitutions of the Supreme Council, Grand Conncil, and County Parent Temples, respectively, of the Order of Sons of Liberty, in connection with other and abundant testimony, the organization of the Order, in its latest form, is ascertained to be as follows: 1. The government of the Order throughout the United States is vested in a Supreme Council, of which the officers are a Supreme Commander, Secretary of State, and Treas urer. These officers are elected for one year, at the anngal meeting of the Supreme Council, which is made up of the Grand Commanders of the several States ex officio, and two delegates elected from each State in which the Order is established. 2. The government of the Order in a State is vested in a Grand Council, the officers of which are a Grand Commander, Deputy Grand Commander, Grand Secretary, Grand Treasurer, and a certain number of Major Generals, or one for each Military District. These officers also are elected annually by "representatives" from the County Temples, each Temple being entitled to two representatives, and one additional for each thousand members. This body of representatives is also invested with certain legislative During the summer and fall of 1863, the Order, both at the North and South, underwent some modifications as well as a change of name. In consequence of a partial exposure which had been made of the signs and ritual of the "Knights of the Golden Circle," Sterling Price had instituted as its successor in Missouri a secret political association, which he called the "Corps de Belgique," or "South-functions. ern League;" his principal coadjutor being Charles L. Hunt, of St. Louis, then Belgian Consul at that city, but whose exequatur was subsequently revoked by the President on account of his disloyal practices. The special object of the Corps de Belgique appears to have been to unite the rebel sympathizers of Missouri, with a view to their taking up arms and joining Price upon his proposed grand invasion of that State, and to their recruiting for his army in the interim. Meanwhile, also, there had been instituted at the North, in the autumn of 1863, by sundry disloyal persons, prominent among whom were Vallandigham and P. C. Wright, of New York, a secret Order, intended to be general throughout the country, and aiming at an extended influence and power, and at more positive results than its predecessor, and which was termed, and has since been widely known as the O. A. K., or "Order of American Knights." The opinion is expressed by Col. Sanderson, Provost Marshal General of the Department of Missouri, in his official report upon the progress of this Order, that it was founded by Vallandigham during his banishment, and upon consultation at Richmond with Davis and other prominent traitors. It is, indeed, the boast of the Order in Indiana and elsewhere, that its "ritual" came direct from Davis himself; and Mary Ann Pitman, formerly attached to the command of the rebel Forrest, and a most intelligent witness, whose testimony will be hereafter referred to, states positively that Davis is a member of the Order. Upon the institution of the principal organization, it is represented that the "Corps de Belgique" was modified by Price, and became a southern section of the 0. A. K., and that the new name was generally adopted for the Order, both at the North and South. 3. The Parent Temple is the organization of the Order for a county, each Temple being formally instituted by authority of the Supreme Council, or of the Grand Council or Grand Commander of the State. By the same authority, or by that of the officers of the Parent Temple, branch or subordinate Temples may be established for townships in the county. But the strength and significance of this organization lie in its military character. The secret constitution of the Supreme Council provides that the Supreme Commander "shall be commander-in-chief of all military forces belonging to the Order in the various States when called into actual ser LETTER OF R. F. STEVENS. To the Editor of the World: NEW YORK, Oct. 17. DEAR SIR: In Judge Holt's report to the Secretary of War, just published, statements are made, to the effect that the Minute Guard Association is a secret organization. Second, That its objects are identical with the traitorous objects of an alleged Northwestern association. Third, That it is a branch of the O. A. K. Fourth, That I said in June, that "those who represent the McClellan interest are compelled to preach a vigorous prosecution of the war, in order to secure the popular sentiment, and allure voters." None of the members of the association ever held a secret meeting, and nothing of a secret or traitorous nature was ever connected with it. It was never connected with the O. A. K., or any other association. Its members were never compelled to "preach," as alleged, and all the above statements of Judge Holt are absolute and entire falsehoods. Mr. Greeley, in his editorial of the 15th instant, makes a The secret signs and character of the Order having be-like statement, to the effect that the Minute Guard is concome known to our military authorities, further modifica- nected with the alleged Northwestern conspiracy, and pa tions in the ritual and forms were introduced, and its name rades my name with the evident intent of fixing upon me was finally changed to that of the O. S. L., or " Order of the character of a traitor. The whole of which are base the Sons of Liberty," or the "Knights of the Order of the insinuations and fabrications, and worthy of the man who Sons of Liberty." These later changes are represented to wrote of our national flag, "Tear down the flaunting lie," have been first instituted, and the new ritual compiled, in and of the slave States, that they had a clear right to the State of Indiana, in May last, but the new name was at cede, and he would oppose all coercive attempts to keep once generally adopted throughout the West, though in them in. some localities the association is still better known as the "Order of American Knights." Meanwhile, also, the Order has received certain local designations. In parts of Illinois it has been called at times the "Peace Organization," in Kentucky the "Star Organization," and in Missouri the "American Organization;" these, however, being apparently names used outside of the lodges of the Order. Its members have also been familiarly designated as "Butternuts" by the country people of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and its separate lodges have also frequently received titles intended for the public ear; that in Chicago, for instance, being termed by its members the "Democratic Invincible Club;" that in Louisville, the "Democratic Reading Room," &c. It is to be added that in the State of New York and other parts of the North, the secret political association known as the McClellan Minute Guard" would seem to be a branch of the O. A. K., having substantially the same objects, to be accomplished, however, by means expressly suited to the localities in which it is established. For, as The Minute Guard is an association for ordinary political campaign work. It has no secrets like the oath-bound Loyal (7) League. On public occasions, each member carries, or wears, the American flag. On election days they work for votes; and the results of their work will be seen all over the Union, as it has been seen in the recent elec tion in Pennsylvania. In these fabrications of Judge Holt and Mr. Greeley; in the low buffoonery contained in the answer to the recent com munication from the Union men of Tennessee; in the unparalleled election frauds in Indiana; in the open boasts of a company of Massachusetts soldiers that they voted at sereral of the polls in Philadelphia; in the discharge of work men at the navy-yard for being in favor of McClellan: in the thousands of arbitrary arrests, and the hundreds of suppressions of a hitherto free press, all men may see that the re-election of Mr. Lincoln, and the continuance in pow er of such men as support him, will be the most unmitigated curse ever inflicted upon a free people. R F. STEVENS Yours, &c., III.-ITS EXTENT AND NUMBERS. vice;" and further, that the Grand Commanders "shall be that established in our armies, it was designed merely to Commanders-in-chief of the military forces of their respective render itself more popular and attractive with the masses, &ates." Subordinate to the Grand Commander in the and to invest its chiefs with a certain sham dignity; but State are the Major Generals," each of whom commands when it is understood that the Order comprises within itself his separate district and army. In Indiana the Major Gen- adarge army of well-armed men, constantly drilled and exerals are four in number. In Illinois, where the organiza-ercised as soldiers, and that this army is held ready at any tion of the order is considered most perfect, the members time for such forcible resistance to our military authorities, in each Congressional District compose a "brigade," which and such active co-operation with the public enemy, as it is commanded by a " Brigadier General." The members may be called upon to engage in by its commanders, it will of each county constitute a "regiment," with a "colonel," be perceived that the titles of the latter are not assumed in command, and those of each township form a "company." for a mere purpose of display, but they are the chiefs of an A somewhat similar system prevails in Indiana, where also actual and formidable force of conspirators against the life each company is divided into "squads," each with its chief of the Government, and that their military system is, as it -an arrangement intended to facilitate the guerilla mode has been remarked by Colonel Sanderson, "the grand lever of warfare in case of a general outbreak or local disorder. used by the rebel Government for its army operations." The "McClellan Minute Guard," as appears from a circular issued by the Chief Secretary in New York in March last, is organized upon a military basis similar to that of the Order proper. It is composed of companies, one for each election district, ten of which constitute a "brigade," with a "brigadier general" at its head. The whole is placed under the authority of a "Commander-in-chief." A strict obedience on the part of members to the orders of their superiors is enjoined. The first Supreme Commander" of the Order was P. C. Wright, of New York, editor of the New York News, who was in May last placed in arrest and confined in Fort Lafayette. His successor in office was Vallandigham,* who was elected at the annual meeting of the Supreme Council in February last. Robert Holloway, of Illinois, is represented to have acted as Lieutenant General, or Deputy Supreme Commander, during the absence of Vallandigham from the country. The Secretary of State chosen at the last election was Dr. Massey, of Ohio. In Missouri the principal officers were Charles L. Hunt, Grand Commander, Charles E. Dunn, Deputy Grand Commander, and Green B. Smith, Grand Secretary. Since the arrest of these three persons (all of whom have made confessions which will be presently alluded to) James A. Barrett has, as it is understood, officiated as Grand Commander. He is stated to occupy also the position of chief of staff to the Supreme Commander. The Grand Commander in Indiana, H. H. Dodd, is now on trial at Indianapolis by a military commission for "conspiracy against the Government," "violation of the laws of war," and other charges. The Deputy Grand Commander In that State is Horace Heffren, and the Grand Secretary, W. M. Harrison. The Major Generals are W. A. Bowles, John C. Walker, L. P. Milligan, and Andrew Humphreys. Among the other leading men of the Order in that State are Dr. Athon, State Secretary, and Joseph Ristine, State AudiThe Grand Commander in Illinois is - Judd, of Lewistown; and B. B. Piper, of Springfield, who is entitled "Grand Missionary" of the State, and designated also as a member of Vallandigham's staff, is one of the most active members, having been busily engaged throughout the sumer in establishing Temples and initiating members. tor. In Kentucky, Judge Bullit, of the Court of Appeals, is Grand Commander, and, with Dr. U. F. Kalfus and W. R. Thomas, jailor in Louisville, two other of the most prominent members, has been arrested and confined by the military authorities. In New York, Dr. R. F. Stevens, the chief secretary of the McClellan Minute Guard, is the most active ostensible representative of the Order. The greater part of the chief and subordinate officers of the Order and its branches, as well as the principal members thereof, are known to the Government, and, where not already arrested, may regard themselves as under a constant military surveillance. So complete has been the exposure of this secret league, that however frequently the conspirators may change its names, forms, passwords, and siguals, its true purposes and operations cannot longer be concealed from the military authorities. It is to be remarked that the Supreme Council of the Order, which annually meets on February 22, convened this Year at New York city, and a special meeting was then appodated to be held at Chicago on July 1, or just prior to the day then fixed for the convention of the Democratic party. This convention having been postponed to August 29, the special meeting of the Supreme Council was also postponed to August 27, at the same place, and was duly convened accordingly. It will be remembered that a leading member of the convention, in the course of a speech made before that body, alluded approvingly to the session of the Sons of Liberty at Chicago at the same time, as that of an organization in harmony with the sentiment and projects of the Convention. It may be observed, in conclusion, that one not fully acquainted with the true character and intentions of the Order might well suppose that, in designating its officers by high military titles, and in imitating in its organization * Mr. Vallandigham's notice of this report, see page 423. The "Temples" or "Lodges" of the Order are numer ously scattered through the States of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. They are also officially reported as established, to a less extent, in Michigan and the other Western States, as well as in New York, Pennsyl vania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Tennessee. Dodd, the Grand Commander of Indiana, in an address to the members in that State of February last, claims that at the next annual meeting of the Supreme Council (in February, 1865) every State in the Union will be represented, and adds, "this is the first and only true national organization the Democratic and Conservative men of the country have ever attempted." A provision made in the constitution of the Council for a representation from the Territories, shows, indeed, that the widest extension of the Order is contemplated. In the States first mentioned the Order is most strongly centred at the following places, where are situated its principal "Temples." In Indiana, at Indianapolis and Vincennes; in Illinois, at Chicago, Springfield, and Quincy, (a large proportion of the lodges in and about the latter place having been founded by the notorious guerilla chief, Jackman;) in Ohio, at Cincinnati, Dayton, and in Hamilton county, (which is proudly termed by members "the South Carolina of the North;") in Missouri, at St. Louis; in Kentucky, at Louisville; and in Michigan, at Detroit, (whence communication was freely had by the leaders of the Order with Vallandigham during his banishment, either by letters addressed to him through two prominent citizens and members of the Order, or by personal interviews at Windsor, C. W.) It is to be added that the regular places of meeting, as also the principal rendezvous and haunts of the members in these and less important places, are generally well known to the Government. The actual numbers of the Order have, it is believed, never been officially reported, and cannot, therefore, be accurately ascertained. Various estimates have been made by leading members, some of which are no doubt consider ably exaggerated. It has been asserted by delegates to the Supreme Council of February last, that the number was there represented to be from 800,000 to 1,000,000; but Vallandigham, in his speech last summer at Dayton, Ohio, placed it at 500,000, which is probably much nearer the true total. The number of its members in the several States has been differently estimated in the reports and statements of its officers. Thus, the force of the Order in Indiana is stated to be from 75,000 to 125,000; in Illinois, from 100,000 to 140,000; in Ohio, from 80,000 to 103,000; in Kentucky, from 40,000 to 70,000; in Missouri, from 20,000 to 40,000; and in Michigan and New York, about 20,000 each. Its representation in the other States above mentioned does not specifically appear from the testimony; but, allowing for every exaggeration in the figures reported, they may be deemed to present a tolerably faithful view of what, at least, is regarded by the Order as its true force in the States designated. It is to be noted that the Order, or its counterpart, is probably much more widely extended at the South even than at the North, and that a large proportion of the officers of the rebel army are represented by credible witnesses to be members. In Kentucky and Missouri the Order has not hesitated to admit as members, not only officers of that army, but also a considerable number of guerillas, a class who might be supposed to appreciate most readily its spirit and purposes. It is fully shown that as lately as in July last several of these ruffians were initiated into the first degree by Dr. Kalfus, in Kentucky. IV. ITS ARMED FORCE. A review of the testimony in regard to the armed force of the Order will materially aid in determining its real strength and numbers. Although the Order has from the outset partaken of the military character, it was not till the summer or fall of 1863 that it began to be generally organized as an armed body. Since that date its officers and leaders have been the testimony of Clayton upon the trial of Dodd, to the effect that arms were to be furnished the Order from Nassau, N. P., by way of Canada; that, to defray the expense of these arms or their transportation, a formal assessment was levied upon the lodges, but that the transportation into Canada was actually to be furnished by the Confed busily engaged in placing it upon a military basis, and in In March last the entire armed force of the Order, capable of being mobilized for effective service, was represented to be 340,000 men. As the details upon which this statement was based are imperfectly set forth in the testimony, it is not known how far this number may be exaggerated. It is abundantly shown, however, that the Order, by means of a tax levied upon its members, has accumulated considerable funds for the purchase of arms and ammunition, and that these have been procured in large quantities for its use. The witness Clayton, on the trial of Dodd, estimated that two-thirds of the Order are furnished with arms. Green B. Smith, Grand Secretary of the Order in Missouri, states in his confession of July last: "I know that arms, mostly revolvers, and ammunition have been purchased by members in St. Louis to send to members in the country where they could not be had;" and he subsequently adds that he himself alone clandestinely purchased and forwarded, between April 15th and 19th last, about 200 revolvers, with 5,000 percussion caps and other ammunition. A muster-roll of one of the country lodges of that State is exhibited, in which, opposite the name of each member, are noted certain numbers, under the heads of "Missouri Republican," "St. Louis, Union," "Anzeiger" "Miscellaneous Periodicals," "Books," "Speeches," and "Reports;" titles which, when interpreted, severally signify single-barrelled guns, double-barrelled guns, revolvers, private ammunition, private lead, company powder, company lead-the roll thus actually setting forth the amount of arms and ammunition in the possession of the lodge and its members. In the States of Ohio and Illinois the Order is claimed by its members to be unusually well armed with revolvers, carbines, &c.; but it is in regard to the arming of the Order in Indiana that the principal statistics have been presented, and these may serve to illustrate the system which has probably been pursued in most of the States. One intelligent witness, who has been a member, estimates that in March last there were in possession of the Order in that State 6,000 muskets and 60,000 revolvers, besides private arms. Another member testifies that at a single lodge meeting of two hundred and fifty-two persons, which he attended early in the present year, the sum of $1,000 was subscribed for arms. Other members present statements in reference to the number of arms in their respective counties, and all agree in representing that these have been constantly forwarded from Indianapolis into the interior. Beck & Brothers are designated as the firm in that city to which most of the arms were consigned. These were shipped principally from the East; some packages, however, were sent from Cincinnati, and some from Kentucky, and the boxes were generally marked "pick-axes," "hardware," "nails," "household goods," &c. A statement was made by Hunt, Grand Commander of Missouri, before his arrest, to a fellow member, that shells aud all kinds of munitions of war, as well as infernal machines, were manufactured by the Order at Indianapolis; and the late discovery in Cincinnati of samples of handgrenades, conical shells, and rockets, of which one thou sand were about to be manufactured, under a special con tract, for the O. S. L., goes directly to verify such a state ment. These details will convey some idea of the attempis which have been made to place the Order upon a war foot ing and prepare it for aggressive movements. But, not withstanding all the efforts that have been put forth, and with considerable success, to arm and equip its members as fighting men, the leaders have felt themselves still very deficient in their armament, and numerous schemes for increasing their armed strength have been devised. Thus, at the time of the issuing of the general order in Missouri requiring the enrollment of all citizens, it was proposed in the lodges of the O. A. K., at St. Louis, that certain members should raise companies in the militia, in their respo tive wards, and thus get command of as many Government arms and equipments as possible, for the future use of the Order. Again it was proposed that all the members should enroll themselves in the militia, instead of paying commatation, in this way obtaining possession of United States arms, and having the advantage of the drill and military instruction. In the councils of the Order in Kentucky, in June last, a scheme was devised for disarming all the negro troops, which it was thought could be done without much difficulty, and appropriating their arms for military pur poses. The despicable treachery of these proposed plans, as evincing the animus of the conspiracy, need not be com mented upon. It is to be observed that the Order in the State of Missouri has counted greatly upon support from the enrolled mitia, in case of an invasion by Price, as containing many members and friends of the O. A. K.; and that the "Paw Paw militia," a military organization of Buchanan county, as well as the militia of Platte and Clay counties, known as Flat Foots," have been relied upon, almost to a man, join the revolutionary movement. to V.-ITS RITUAL, OATHS, AND INTERIOR FORMS. The ritual of the Order, as well as its secret signs, passwords, &c., has been fully made known to the military authorities. In August last one hundred and twelve copies of the ritual of the O. A. K. were seized in the office of Hon. D W. Voorhees, M. C., at Terre Haute, and a large number of rituals of the O. S. L., together with copies of the Constitu tions of the councils, &c., already referred to, were found in the building at Indianapolis, occupied by Dodd, the Grand Commander of Indiana, as had been indicated by the Government witness and detective, Stidger. Copies were likewise discovered at Louisville, at the residence of Dr. Kalfus, concealed within the mattress of his bed, where Stidger had ascertained that they were kept. The ritual of the O. A. K. has also been furnished by the authorities at St. Louis. From the ritual, that of the 0.8.L does not materially differ. Both are termed "progressive," in that they provide for five separate degrees of member ship, and contemplate the admission of a member of a lower degree into a higher one only upon certain vouchers and proofs of fitness, which, with each ascending degree, are required to be stronger and more imposing. General Carrington estimates that in February and March last, nearly 30,000 guns and revolvers entered the State, and this estimate is based upon actual inspection of invoices. The true number introduced was therefore probably considerably greater. That officer adds that on the day in which the sale of arms was stopped by his order, in Indianapolis, nearly 1,000 additional revolvers had been contracted for, and that the trade could not supply the demand. He further reports that after the introduction of arms into the Department of the North had been prohibited in General Orders of March last, a seizure was made by the Government of a large quantity of revolvers and 135,000 rounds of ammunition, which had been shipped to the firm in Indianapolis, of which H. H. Dodd, Grand Commander, was a member; that other arms about to be shipped to the same destination were seized in New York city; and that all these were claimed as the private property of John C. Walker, one of the Major Generals of the Order in Indiana, and were represented to have been "purchased for a few friends." It should also be stated that at the office of Hon. D. W. Voorhees, M. C., at Terre Haute, were discovered let-practiced upon the ignorant masses by unscrupulous and ters which disclosed a correspondence between him and exSenator Wall, of New Jersey, in regard to the purchase of 20,000 Garibaldi rifles, to be forwarded to the West. It appears in the course of the testimony that a consider able quantity of arms and ammunition were brought into the State of Illinois from Burlington, Iowa, and that ammunition was sent from New Albany, Indiana, into Kentucky; it is also represented that, had Vallandigham been arrested on his return to Ohio, it was contemplated furnishing the Order with arms from a point in Canada, near Windsor, where they were stored and ready for use. There remains further to be noticed, in this connexion, Each degree has its commander or head; the Fourth or "Grand" is the highest in a State; the Fifth or "Supreme" the highest in the United States; but to the first or lower degree only do the great majority of members attain. A large proportion of these enter the Order, supposing it to be a "Democratic" and political association merely; and the history of the Order furnishes a most striking illustra tion of the gross and criminal deception which may be unprincipled leaders. The members of the lower degree are often for a considerable period kept quite unaware of the true purposes of their chiefs. But to the latter they are bound, in the language of their obligation, "to yuld prompt and implicit obedience to the utmost of their ability, without remonstrance, hesitation, or delay," and meanwhite their minds, under the discipline and teachings to which they are subjected, become educated and accustomed to contemplate with comparative unconcern the treason for which they are preparing. The oaths, "invocations," "charges," &c., of the ritual, expressed as they are in bombastic and extravagant phrase ology, would excite in the mind of an educated person only ridicule and contempt, but upon the illiterate they are calcalated to make a deep impression, the effect and importance of which were doubtless fully studied by the framers of the instrument. The oath which is administered upon the introduction of a member into any degree is especially imposing in its language; it prescribes as a penalty for a violation of the obligation assumed "a shameful death," and further, that the body of the person guilty of such violation shall be divided into four parts and cast out at the four "gates" of the Temple. Not only, as has been said, does it enjoin a blind obedience to the commands of the superiors of the Order, but it is required to be held of paramount obligation to any oath which may be administered to a member in a court of justice or elsewhere. Thus, in cases where members have been sworn by officers empowered to administer oaths to speak the whole truth in answer to questions that may be put to them, and have then been examined in reference to the Order, and their connection therewith, they have not only refused to give any information in regard to its character, but have denied that they were members, or even that they knew of its existence. A conspicuous instance of this is presented in the cases of Hunt, Dunn, and Smith, the chief officers of the Order in Missouri, who, upon their first examination under oath, after their arrest, denied all connection with the Order, but confessed, also under oath, at a subsequent period, that this denial was wholly false, although in accordance with their obligations as members. Indeed, a deliberate system of deception in regard to the details of the conspiracy is inculcated upon the members, and studiously pursued; and it may be mentioned, as a similarly despicable feature of the organization, that it is held bound to injure the Administration and officers of the Government, in every possible manner, by misrepresentation and falsehood. Members are also instructed that their oath of membership is to be held paramount to an oath of allegiance, or any other oath which may impose obligations inconsistent with those which are assumed upon entering the Order. Thus, if a member, when in danger, or for the purpose of facilitating some traitorous design, has taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, he is held at liberty to violate it on the first occasion, his obligation to the Order being deemed superior to any consideration of duty or loyalty prompted by such oath." It is to be added that where members are threatened with the penalties of perjury, in case of their answering falsely to questions propounded to them in regard to the Order before a court or grand jury, they are instructed to refuse to answer such questions, alleging, as a ground for their refusal, that their answers may criminate themselves. The testimony shows that this course has habitually been pursued by members, especially in Indiana, when placed in such a situation. Besides the oaths and other forms and ceremonies which have been alluded to, the ritual contains what are termed "Declarations of Principles." These declarations, which are most important as exhibiting the creed and character of the Order, as inspired by the principles of the rebellion, will be fully presented under the next branch of the subject. The signs, signals, passwords, &c., of the Order are set forth at length in the testimony, but need only be briefly alluded to. It is a significant fact, as showing the intimate relations between the Northern and Southern sections of the secret conspiracy, that a member from a Northern State is enabled to pass without risk through the South by the Use of the signs of recognition which have been established throughout the Order, and by means of which members from distant points, though meeting as strangers, are at once made known to each other as "brothers." Mary Ann Pitman expressly states in her testimony that whenever important despatches are required to be sent by rebel generals beyond their lines, members of the Order are always selected to convey them. Certain passwords are also used in common in both sections, and of these, none appears to be more familiar than the word "Nu-oh-lac," or the name "Calhoun" spelt backward, and which is employed upon entering a Temple of the first degree of the O. A. K.-certainly a fitting password to such dens of treason. Beside the signs of recognition, there are signs of warning and danger, for use at night as well as by day; as, for instance, signs to warn members of the approach of United States officials seeking to make arrests. The Order has also established what are called battle-signals, by means of which, as it is asserted, a member serving in the army may comnicate with the enemy in the field, and thus escape personal harm in case of attack or capture. The most recent of these signals represented to have been adopted is a fivepointed copper star, worn under the coat, which is to be disclosed upon meeting an enemy, who will thus recognize in the wearer a sympathizer and an ally. A similar star of German silver, hung in a frame, is said to be numerously displayed by members or their families in private houses in Indiana, for the purpose of insuring protection to their property in case of a raid or other attack; and it is stated that in many dwellings in that State a portrait of John Morgan is exhibited for a similar purpose. Other signs are used by members, and especially the officers of the Order in their correspondence. Their letters, when of an official character, are generally conveyed by special messengers, but when transmitted through the mail are usually in cipher. When written in the ordinary manner, a character at the foot of the letter, consisting of a circle with a line drawn across the centre, signifies to the member who receives it that the statements as written are to be understood in a sense directly the opposite to that which would ordinarily be conveyed. It is to be added that the meetings of the Order, especially in the country, are generally held at night and in secluded places, and that the approach to them is carefully guarded by a line of sentinels, who are passed only by means of a special countersign, which is termed the "picket." VI.-ITS WRITTEN PRINCIPLES. The "Declaration of Principles," which is set forth in the ritual of the Order, has already been alluded to. This declaration, which is specially framed for the instruction of the great mass of members, commences with the following proposition: "All men are endowed by the Creator with certain rights, equal as far as there is equality in the capacity for the ap preciation, enjoyment, and exercise of those rights." And subsequently there is added: "In the Divine economy no individual of the human race must be permitted to encumber the earth, to mar its aspects of transcendent beauty, nor to impede the progress of the physical or intellectual man, neither in himself nor in the race to which he belongs. Hence, a people, upon whatever plane they may be found in the ascending scale of humanity, whom neither the divinity within them nor the inspirations of divine and beautiful nature around them can impel to virtuous action and progress onward and upward, should be subjected to a just and humane servitude and tutelage to the superior race until they shall be able to appreciate the benefits and advantages of civilization." Here, expressed in studied terms of hypocrisy, is the whole theory of human bondage-the right of the strong, because they are strong, to despoil and enslave the weak, because they are weak! The languages of earth can add nothing to the cowardly and loathsome baseness of the doctribe, as thus announced. It is the robber's creed, sought to be nationalized, and would push back the hand on the dial plate of our civilization to the darkest periods of hu man bistory. It must be admitted, however, that it furnishes a fitting "corner-stone" for the government of a rebellion, every fibre of whose body and every throb of whose soul is born of the traitorous ambition and slave-pen inspirations of the South. To these detestable tenets is added that other pernicious political theory of State sovereignty, with its necessary fruit, the monstrous doctrine of secession-a doctrine which, in asserting that in our federative system a part is greater than the whole, would compel the General Government, like a Japanese slave, to commit hari-kari whenever a faithless or insolent State should command it to do so. Thus, the ritual, after reciting that the States of the Union are "free, independent, and sovereign," proceeds as follows: "The government designated "The United States of America' has no sovereignty, because that is an attribute with which the people, in their several and distinct politi cal organizations, are endowed and is inalienable. It was constituted by the terms of the compact, by all the States, through the express will of the people thereof, respectively -a common agent, to use and exercise certain named, specified, defined, and limited powers which are inherent of the sovereignties within those States. It is permitted, so far as regards its status and relations, as common agent in the exercise of the powers carefully and jealously delegated to it, to call itself 'supreme,' but not sovereign.' In accordance with the principles upon which is founded the American theory, government can exercise only delegated power; hence, if those who shall have been chosen to administer the government shall assume to exercise powers not delegated, they should be regarded and treated as usurpers. The reference to inherent power,' war power,' or military necessity,' on the part of the functionary for the sanction of an arbitrary exercise of power by him, we will not accept in palliation or excuse." To this is added, as a corollary, "it is incompatible with the history and nature of our system of government that Federal authority should coerce by arms a sovereign Statu.” The declaration of principles, however, does not stop here, but proceeds one step further, as follows: "Whenever the chosen officers or delegates shall fail or refuse to administer the Government in strict accordance with the letter of the accepted Constitution, it is the inherent right and the solemn and imperative duty of the people to resist the functionaries, and, if need be, to expel them by force of arms! Such resistance is not revolution, but is solely the assertion of right-the exercise of all the noble attributes which impart honor and dignity to man hood." To the same effect, though in a milder tone, is the platform of the order in Indiana, put forth by the Grand Council at their meeting in February last, which declares that "the right to alter or abolish their government, whenever it fails to secure the blessings of liberty, is one of the inalienable rights of the people that can never be surrendered." Such, then, are the principles which the new member swears to observe and abide by in his obligation, set forth in the ritual, where he says: "I do solemnly promise that I will ever cherish in my heart of hearts the sublime creed of the E. K., (Excellent Knights,) and will, so far as in me lies, illustrate the same in my intercourse with men, and will defend the principles thereof, if need be, with my life, whensoever assailed, in my own country first of all. I do further solemnly declare that I will never take up arms in behalf of any government which does not acknowledge the sole authority or power to be the will of the governed." The following extracts from the ritual may also be quoted as illustrating the principle of the right of revolution and resistance to constituted authority insisted upon by the Order: "Our swords shall be unsheathed whenever the great principles which we aim to inculcate and have sworn to maintain and defend are assailed." Again: "I do solemnly promise, that whensoever the principles which our Order inculcates shall be assailed in my own State or country, I will defend these principles with my sword and my life, in whatsoever capacity may be assigned me by the competent authority of our Order." And further: "I do promise that I will, at all times, if need be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed-in my own country first of all-against any power or government usurped, which may be found in arms and waging war against a people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish, or have inaugurated, a government for themselves of their own free choice." Moreover, it is to be noted that all the addresses and speeches of its leaders breathe the same principle, of the right of forcible resistance to the Government, as one of the tenets of the Order. Thus P. C. Wright, Supreme Commander, in his general address of December, 1863, after urging that "the spirit of the fathers may animate the free minds, the brave hearts, and still unshackled limbs of the true democracy," (meaning the members of the Order,) adds as follows: To be prepared for the crisis now approaching, we must catch from afar the earliest and faintest breathings of the spirit of the storm; to be successful when the storm comes, we must be watchful, patient, brave, confident, organized, armed." Thus, too, Dodd, Grand Commander of the Order in Indiana, quoting, in his address of February last, the views of his chief, Vallandigham, and adopting them as his own, Bays: "He (Vallandigham) judges that the Washington power will not yield up its power until it is taken from them by an indignant people by force of arms." Such, then, are the written principles of the Order in which the neophyte is instructed, and which he is sworn to cherish and observe as his rule of action, when, with arms placed in his hands, he is called upon to engage in the overthrow of his Government. This declaration-first, of the absolute right of slavery; second, of State sovereignty and the right of secession; third, of the right of armed resistance to constituted authority on the part of the disaffected and the disloyal, whenever their ambition may prompt them to revolution-is but an assertion of that abominable theory which, from its first enunciation, served as a pretext for conspiracy after conspiracy against the Government on the part of Southern traitors, until their detestable plotting culminated in open rebellion and bloody civil war. What more appropriate password, therefore, to be communicated to the new member upon his first admission to the secrets of the Order could have been conceived than that which was actually adopted-"Calhoun!"-a man who, baffled in his lust for power, with gnashing teeth turned upon the Government that had lifted him to its highest honors, and upon the country that had borne him, and down to the very close of his fevered life labored incessantly to scatter far and wide the seeds of that poison of death now upon our lips. The thorns which now pierce and tear us ure of the tree he planted. general purpose of co-operating with the rebellion may readily be inferred, and, in fact, those principles could logi cally lead to no other result. This general purpose, indeed, is distinctly set forth in the personal statements and confessions of its members, and particularly of its prominent officers, who have been induced to make disclosures to the Government. Among the most significant of these con fessions are those already alluded to, of Hunt, Dunn, and Smith, the heads of the order in Missouri. The latter, whose statement is full and explicit, says: "At the time I joined the Order I understood that its object was to aid and assist the Confederate Government, and endeavor to restore the Union as it was prior to this rebellion." He adds: "The Order is hostile in every respect to the General Government, and friendly to the so-called Confederate Gov ernment. It is exclusively made up of disloyal personsof all Democrats who are desirous of securing the independ ence of the Confederate States with a view of restoring the Union as it was." It would be idle to comment on such gibberish as the statement that "the independence of the Confederate States" was to be used as the means of restoring “the Union as it was ;" and yet, under the manipulations of these traitorous jugglers, doubtless the brains of many have been so far muddled as to accept this shameless declaration as true. But proceeding to the specific purposes of the Order, which its leaders have had in view from the beginning, and which, as will be seen, it has been able, in many cases, to carry out with very considerable success, the following are found to be most pointedly presented by the testimony: 1. Aiding Soldiers to Desert and Harboring and Protect ing Deserters.-Early in its history the Order essayed to undermine such portions of the army as were exposed to its insidious approaches. Agents were sent by the K. G. C. into the camps to introduce the Order among the soldiers, and those who became members were instructed to induce as many of their companions as possible to desert, and for this purpose the latter were furnished by the Order with money and citizens' clothing. Soldiers who hesitated at desertion, but desired to leave the army, were introduced to lawyers who engaged to furnish them some quasi legal pretext for so doing, and a certain attorney of Indianapolis, named Walpole, who was particularly conspicuous in farnishing facilities of this character to soldiers who applied to him, has boasted that he has thus aided five hundred enlisted men to escape from their contracts. Through the schemes of the Order in Indiana whole companies were broken up-a large detachment or a battery company, for instance, desert ing on one occasion to the enemy with two of its guns-and the camps were imbued with a spirit of discontent and dissat isfaction with the service. Some estimate of the success of these efforts may be derived from the report of the Adje tant General of Indiana, of January, in 1863, setting forth that the number of deserters and absentees returned to the army through the post of Indianapolis alone, during the month of December, 1862, was nearly two thousand six hundred. As soon as arrests of these deserters began to be gener ally made, writs of habeas corpus were issued in their cases by disloyal judges, and a considerable number were dis charged thereon. In one instance in Indiana, where an officer in charge of a deserter properly refused to obey the writ, after it had been suspended in such cases by the President, ha attachment for contempt was ordered by the chief justice of the State, who declared that “the streets of Indianapolis might run with blood, but that he would enforce his anthority against the President's order." On another occa sion certain United States officers who had made the arrests of deserters in Illinois were themselves arrested for kidnapping, and held to trial by a disloyal judge, who at the same time discharged the deserters, though acknowledging then to be such. Soldiers, upon deserting, were assured of immunity from punishment and protection on the part of the Order, and were instructed to bring away with them their arms, and, if mounted, their horses. Details sent to arrest them by the military authorities were in several cases forcibly re sisted, and, where not unusually strong in numbers, were driven back by large bodies of men, subsequently generally ascertained to be members of the Order. Where arrests were effected, our troops were openly attacked and fired upon on their return. Instances of such attacks occurring in Morgan and Rush counties, Indiana, are especially noticed by General Carrington. In the case of the cut break in Morgan county, J. 8. Bingham, editor of the Indianapolis Sentinel, a member or friend of the Order, sought to forward to the disloyal newspapers of the West false and inflammatory telegraphic dispatches in regard to the affair, to the effect that cavalry had been sent to arrest all the Democrats in the county, that they had committed gross outrages, and that several citizens had been shot; and adding "ten thousand soldiers cannot hold the men arrested this night. Civil war and bloodshed are inevita From the principles of the Order, as thus set forth, its ble." Tassertions in this despatch were entirely false, VII.-ITS SPECIFIC PURPOSES AND OPERATIONS. |