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THE CONSTITUTION AND; THE; LAW S-THE GUARDIANS OF OU R L1BE RT Y .
Vol. XLI1I.
HILLSBOROUGH, N. C, JANUARY 21, 1863. .
No. 2178.
it-:: -a
(9W
EX-GOV. MOREHEAD'S SPEECH.
Ex-Go. Morehoad, of Kentucky, delivered a a peach
in licrpool, England, on ibe 8th of November last,
which wa publihetl iii the Liverpool Mercurj. The
fallowing it (bo coucluding portion pf it
Speaking of Lincoln' attempt at eman
cipation Gov. Morehead said : , ;
H claims hjs power in one of two way
either Milder the constitution of the Unit
il State, or a aa exercise of the war pow
er. Well, he would hardly claim it untler
the Constitution of the United state. Will
wu allow me it it a very short extract to
rrad what Mr. Webtr said on that sub
ject. He wan making a speech at Richmond.
Virginia, and lie said : . .
I hold that Congre i absolutely pre
eluded from interfering in any manner, di-
utter indirect, with this a wiih any other
id the iiuOtuiNn.a of the Stare, (t.heer
jog, and a voice from the crowd exclaimed,
w swish this could he heard fiom Maryland lo
I.uuiiana, and we desire that the aentiment
jutespreed imj he repealed Repeat,
repeat.') ' .Well, I rep-tUt; proclaim it
on the wing of all the winds, tell it to all
.your friend (crie of we will, we wlil
tell it. 1 say, that standing here in the
capitol of Virginia, benrat-i an October un.
.in the inidt nt lln assemblage, before the
enure country, ami upon all the reponi
bi'iti which belong J.o ine. ( say that mere
it no per,direct or indirect, in Congre
or the (ieneral Govcnment, to inteifere in
tbe lighiest degree with the institutions of
the South."
That i the Government ander which we
lived; that i the Govern eent that I wanted
:o perpetuate, that I denired lo bee cmitin
tied, umted upon that baiia, according to
the true meaning ol the Lonvtitatiun, wuich
dm the bond uf Loion between ut. ,
' ' Well.'undi theC mttitutiiin then, he ha
no power. You i! remember that iu 1812
tuere wa, unf-rtuoateiv, a war between
(Ural Britain a id the United State. That
war continued for neailj three Jears. At
t te rl! ol the wr treaty m mad at
Ghent. Mr. John QVmcf Adam, father
f the preant accomplished minister from
the tnitrd tate lothecmrt of thitcoun
trv, wa one of the neiiatora on the part
l the United State, with Mr. Henry Clar,
iJav aril ami o;ter live ol them. It
that tratf Great Uiiiain ttipula'ed to de
luer op whatever private property had been
taken. The queatoin then came up vihet!
er the !ae xht had been taken by Great
Uritaia altould be delivered up tinder that
reaty, It u resitted. There wai a dif
ine nee of opinion between I,oriCailereath
nd Mr. A'iam, the minister then at the
turt of St. James, and they agreed to re
ter .t to the Emperor of Rasiia. I am not
now arguing whether it it right or wronij
lat I want to ahow what ha been the set-
:ed policy of the United State. Mr. Aw
ait writes that he had an interview with
Lord Liverpool, in which he presented to
l.i.u the argument that slaves were private
property and not ubject tote taken, and
ihat Lord Liverpool did not object to the
'guiiivnw w nru n was reterreu to ihe Liu
peror gf Rutsia, he w rite toMr. Mildleton
whtf wi our minister at the cnrt f Russia
'o he effect that private properly m not
bict tiicapture.iml could r.ot lawfullv ho
taken with the place. " With thr exception"
r ot Riaitnne captures, pnv.te jr
-rt? in captured jdac- i. b? the law of
emons, always reprrteil. .None can law
fMv be taken." I will not read th whole
t if, but jutt mention the principle in the
it:r!usi.n of this let r. The pii.-iple
'hat the emsnctpation ol an eiiemv'
es i not ain'oi the act of legitimate
"r. A irlate to the owners, it a des
I'wuiou i. private 'property nowhere war
'.ted by the tiupe of wr."
Yr-M u the d-.c rin of the United State.
H't doctrine wa sanctioned b the? Kin-
ror ol Ruu, Mho decided the content in
aor t.f the United Sta'es upon the pri.i
"pie o broadly jovtn br r ,d4m.
pSo that I show you Mr. Webster, and
1 could show you five hundred other North
rD men who have admitted the samt thing,
hat then is no power under the ContiU
don, aoJ no war power, and thu the act of
Mr. Lincoln is in violation of the law of
war, as expounded by the civilized world.
Maryland is a part of the United States;
Delaware i a part; Kentucky has never
yet aeceded Mistonrt is a part. All these
State have slaves, and Mr. Lincoln, in hi
proclamation, proposes that if they will
send members of Congress to the National
Legislature slavery shall remain there
that he will nat abolish it there. v
It is nut, therefore, because he is oppos
ed to slavery that he would abolish it; it is
as a punishment to individual. Well, so
far as regards that, there is another great
principle recognized by all courts of iustice
that wherever a country is taken ptoses-
ion oi oy an enemv, me allegiance or the
common people of that country is absolved
for the time beine; wherever protectiou is
not extended. The United States hat de-
cided it in six different cases. Castine wa
taken in 1812. We had law againt the im
portation of foreign goods, and especially
from Great Britain, but the) citizens of that
puce after it was taken traded with this
country, and introduced a large amount of
goods, and at the eloo of th war they were
brought before the courts of the United
State for violating the non-intercourse
las. The judge unanimously decided
that a the goods were imported at the time
thit the United State taws cu! J not be en
forced there, the places being in possession
of the British Government and the British
troops, allegiance and protection were cor
relative terms, and tht these individuals
whohd imported good during tht period
were iu no manner liable for a violation of
the law of the State. The ame thing has
been declared here by statute II Henry
VII. After the long war of the Rosse
they felt it necessary to embody what was
a common law principle in a statute which
provule that you may obey the ruling mon
arch whether he is rightful monarch or not,
and in so doing ym are not liable for a vi
olation of the laws of the realm af all. Yet
the KederaUattempt to confiscate the whole
of the private property, not aUvrs only but
all the private property of those citizens
who are b und to o jev the lw of the Con
ledeiacy under wlnc'i they live, receiving
ni piotection fiom the Untied States. Thev
confica'e their property, and declare their
slaves lre. Su-h an act of despotism is
not ' be found on the record of any civil
ized nation of ihe world. (Hear, hear.)
There are many other things, my friend,
that 1 might say to you, but I deem it un
necesary. I have already talked more than
perh ib 1 ought (crienf No no") but
my heart is deeply enlisted in thi thing. I
have in my own person felt the despotism
ol thi Northern. Government. It i a mat
ter of ery little moment t the world, or
lo you, or even to the community in which
I live, how a single individual may suffer
from despotism ; but the infringement of the
right of one individual i but the sanction
for a tike atrocity to be perpetrated upon
every hamau being Ihat come under the
influence of such a Government aa that. I
wa eized at two o'clock in the night in
my own bed, dragged from it and from my
family, without a moment' warn-ng, and
carried acrot ihe USio river in dt-iuiiee ol
the writ of habeat torpui. "The soldiers
took me and ran uie bv night, by perial
trm, to I.idtanapoli. One the judges
of the Supreme Court sent a utm'ial with
4 hnhea$ torpu to bring me back, bat I a
carried by a special train to Columbus,
Gain. There I wa kept awhile, and after
wards I wa carried on to New York, and
hurried to the prison ol Layfijette. And
here I desire its jy that I cannot well con
reive of any horror more dreadful than
that which wt experienced in that prison.
It jus a mil comt nut much larger than
this room for xerclse. Thirty-eight nf u
were placed in one room, five 32-pounder
cn.n occupying one portion of the room,
which wa tixly six let in length and
twenty-two ftet in depth. The floor wa a
brick floor, and. imp that your boot would
be covered with green mould every morn
ing. They gave me fourteen pound of
straw to sleep on, carefully weighed, about
ha'f ratten. It was placed in a very enarse
tick. 1 am, without my shoes, six feet in
height, and the . bed measured four feet
seven inche actually measured by a mem
ber from Maryland, Mr. Sangton. We
had one very dirty tin cup to drink out of.
and the water we drank was 'filled, nut
. a . . . .
wun anim-rflculae, but with millions of tad
poles. We had to bold our noses when we
drank, and strain every drop of it. We
were locked up at six o clock at night, and
kept till six next morning, without any
natural convenience whatever, suffering
he agonies of death. I remember, if you
will allow me. to tell it, dislike to lollow
Mr. Lincoln, but there was an old man
brought from Kentucky upwardsof seventy
year ot age, Hs head wa as white as
snow. I never saw him before, but I wa
ama.pil to see him, and seeing that he was
from Kentucky I went up and addressed
him. A friend had tent me some liquors
and I asked him if he would not like to
have a little "whisky or brandy, and he said
ye, it wa the only time in hit life that he
ielt that a good dram would be of service to
him. So, as is very commonly the case
there, he took the bottle and poured out a
very heavy drink. Laughter. He drank
it off without mixing it with wa'ter we had
purchased glasses at that time to drink nut
of and he saw the tadpoles. He set it
down again, shaking his heat1, and said he
could not stand it, and walked away; but
the btandy burned him so much that he
came back and took it up, and held it be
tween the light, of the sun and himself, and
soliloquizing, said, " Well, tadpoles, if you
can stand it I can," and drank it off.
Laughter. He made a compromise with
the ud pules. We wrote a letter to Mr.
Lincoln signed by every individual who
wa in the fort, telling him d the horrors
ol this prison, stating that we did not pre
tend to discusa the rightfulness , our im
priaonineni, but that we supposed we were
entitled to the common rights of human be
ings. The result of that wa, that in about
month we were taken to Fort Warren.
They put u on a vessel to be taken there
by ca. The CapUin told me himself that
the vesvel wa calculated to take about 250
persons and they took 1,100. We were
fifty hours in waking the voyage, and all
that was given us to eat during that time
wa a piece of raw fat barrel pork, perfect
ly raw, about the si.e of my hand, and I
saw the poor soldier eating that raw meat.
We had furnished ourselves with something
better, but could not feed them all with the
little w had.
We were placed afterward in Fort
Warren upon the naked floor, without bed
or blanket or any thing not a wisp of straw
even; and there in that condition we had to
remain until we scptied ourselves with
such thing as we needed, buying beds and
bed-steads, and being allowed by a very
kind, excellent and humane ofBcer, Col.
Dymick who I believe ia thorough gen
tleman, and who did all he could to allevi
ate our condition being allowed by him to
employ a cook and to buy provisions, we
lived ver comfortably there. This, gen
tlemen, is my experience. I trust that
the time is not-far distant when these things
are to cease. Hear, hear.j I think that
the South has s'town that she intends, un
der all circumstance an" in every contin
gency, to m.iitUaii her independence.
I.-iud cheer. j
It i ii.it for in?, it is nt for an Ameri
can, it 1 l ot for a citi.en of the Confede
rate States, to ak Englishmen to recognize
u; but it see us to me that there is coming
up a solemn appeal 10 'the bnsm of human
ity, n w- m of justice, that the time has
come when we ouiht to be reeogaized
a nonz the nation of ihe earth. I do not
ask for such lecogiiition. 1 have no official
position; I am a more wanderer and an
exile. It is lor every natioi to determine
for herself. It is for'the people of Englapd
to decide it is for tha Government of
England to decide, without any interfer
ence whatever 0:1 our pirt. We, perhaps,
are lot good judges. We If' that we are
not; but we think Mat enough ha been
shown to the world to convince them that
we intend, that we can, and that we will be
independent. Cheer.") .
The Governor concluded by thanking the
gentlemen present for the attention with
which they had listened to him, and return
ed to his seat amidst loud' cheering.. Ril
ing, aijafn, h said he was reminded by a
gentleman that an order came to Fort
Warren whilst they were there forbiddihg
them to employ counsel, it being stated by
Secretary Seward himself that the mere fact
of employing counsel would be a sufficient
caue for continuing them in prison.
A vote of thanks to Mr. Gov. Morehead
having been moved and seconded,
The Chairman said : It has been mov
ed and seconded, and I am sure will meet
with a unanimous response on the part of
all of yoo, that the thanks of this meeting
should be tendered to Gov. Morehead for
the instructive and deeply interesting ad-
I . . . I. L I. - L . . . . I I- 1 . ..- I a
ureps wnica ne nas just ueuvereu to us. 11
needs nothing to be said by me to rivet in
your mind the striking facts he has just
put before us. A to the question of the
war power which ha been alluded to and
discussed, there is no such thing known in
modern warfare. Amongst brave and hon
orable cations there is no such thing known
as the right of assassination, or ot inciting
assasstaatiun. All power when at war
with each other, if inclined to take any
unusual step, are at any rate bound to con
sider what it may be; and no man for one
moment can reflect upon this proclamation
withouthavinghismind immediately drawn
to the probable consequences of such a
measure it enecuve in any degree, In my
own mind I ran only liken it to thai de
scription ot warlare winch consists in the
poisoning of wells : but I am surest will be.
a satisfaction to Gov. Morehead, in reflect
ing upon the hardship he has gone through,
and to all Southerners present, in reflect
ing upon the sufferings which their ruun
try lud passed through, to recollect that a
great and permanent good and gain will re
main through all future time, of which this
has been the cause. There cannot be a
doubt on the mind of airy Englishman here
present that the South as a people were
unknown to ua few years ago. They are
unknown to us now. Hear, hear. We
were apt to judge of them by books, many
of them romances which had produced an
impression upon the public mind. The
men of the South were described as an idle
and luxurious r&ce ; the women of the South
as effeminated and still more idle and lux
urious ; but the manner in which they stood
f irth 10 fight for their rights, the success
which has attended their efforts, and the
manner in which the women as well aa the
men have vindicated the blood and the race
from which they descend, I think will
have raised them to an elevation in the
new position which they take amongst the
nations of the world, whicTl will' be worth
even the terrible cost of the hardship and
suffering which they now endure. QAp
plause. Nothing more ia neoessary on
my part, for I feel quite sure that yo will
all cardially respond to the motion.
The motion was carried by acclamation,
and the meeting separated.
From Brags;' '$ Army.
Mobile, Jan. 8. I he Advertiser and
Regitrr 14 the following private despatch
dated Duel erd, Tenn.. Jan. 7:
Hojt. J. Forsyth: Being outnumbered
more than two to one by the enemy our
troop utterly exhausted "by cold and rain
and four days incessaat fighting with alo
of killed and wounded. Gen," Bragg deter
mined to fall back to Duck River. The en
eny showed he wa receiving large rein
forcement from Kentucky. By a skillful
night march, covered by an admirable cav
alv force under Wheeler and Wharton, the
whole armv, with all it uppties and cap
tured arm, i n w concentrating in it ne
line, ready for the enemy, whenever lie
shall advance. Since the army crossed the
Tennessee river in Nuvembir we have cap
tured 9,500 prisoners, near 40 pieces of ar
tillery, 8,000 small arm, and lot of wag
0111. (Signed) W.
Rev. Henry Ward Buecher lectured Uit
week in New" Jersey, but so great was the
fcelin 'aainot him that he had to be guard
ed by "th police to the biul.