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18 THE CONSCRIPT LAW CONSTITUTIONAL I
Thia question, long and earnestly agitated in
private circles, has at last been brought before
a judicial tribunal in Georgia, and decided in
the negative. Judge Thomas, of the Northern
Circuit, in a writ of habeas corpus, sued out at
the instance of Mr. James M. Lovinggood, has
decided, in Elbert Superior Court, that the law
is unconstitutional. Much as it may be re
gretted by many good citizens, solicitous for
the public defence against an infuriate enemy,
that the question has been raised at this criti
cal time, it is now impossible to ignore it, or
shut our eyes to the possible consequences. It
is equally impossible to avoid forming an opin
ion on the subject, on one side or the other.
The time has come, in fact, for public opinion
to speak out, and to seek some mode of arrest
ing the embarrassments which may ensue irom
a collision of the Judicial authorities of the
State with the Confederate Government.
The question once raised and decided in the
Northern Circuit, will not end there. Nor will
the question be limited to the courts of the
State of Georgia; for the point can be as well
taken, and the argument will apply with as
much force, in every other Confederate State as
in Georgia.
Desiring to furnish the public with as mach
light as possible, on questions involving funda
mental principles, and the dearest rights of
the citizen, we give place, most cheerfully, to a
lucid article, from one of the brightest minds
in Georgia, on the question above propounded.
We are promised that it will be followed by a
second, on the unconstitutionality of Martial
Law—fey a third,’ on the principles which gov
ern the seizure of private property for public
use, and the powers which may be legally ex
ercised, by military commanders, in the con
duct of war; and a fourth, on the importance
of standing by Constitutional limitations and
and landmarks, in war, as well as in peace.
We are very far from feeling any apprehen
sion for the ultimate results of this jealous
watchfulness o£ Constitutional rights, as affect
ing the question of our national independence.
A people thus jealous of encroachment on the
part of their own Government and its officials,
will never lack spirit and will to resist the
domination of our infamous invaders. They
will fight on and fight ever, if need be, un
til the crack of doom, rather than yield up
their liberties to any human power.
If the arm of Conscription is to fall paralyzed
and dead beneath the weight of public obloquy
and the frown of judicial condemnation, the
spirit of volunteering must rise up in towering
majesty, to show that the Conscript Law is
condemned, not for the hardships it imposes,
• but for the rights it violates. Our State Gov
ernments must put forth a vigor, in responding
to calls for more troops, which shall more than
compensate for any lack of efficiency in Con
gressional legislation. If Congress has to undo
much of its work, let our State Legislatures
more than make up all deficiencies, by bringing
to bear on the war all the energies of their re
spective constituencies.
Communicated.
THE UNCONBTITUTIONALITY OF CONSCRIPTION.
Mr. Editor: It is not too much to say that con
scription as adopted by our Congress, is demon*
strably unconstitutional. The power to pass it
is rested by its advocates solely upon that clause
of the Constitution which gives Congress the
power “to raise armies.” They say this power is
without any limitation, except that the means
used must oe appropriate to.the end of raising an
army They say, further, that conscription is such
a means, and is, therefore, covered by the power.
One recognized test of the soundness of any docs
trine is its logical consequences Let us try this
doctrine by its consequences. To do so, let us
consider what conscription is. And, that there
may be no room tor quibbling, let it be under
stood that 1 speak not of conscription as a gen
eral vague, undefined thing, but of the conscrip
tion’which has been adopted by our Congress.—
This conscription is a mode of “raising an army
bu compulsion and without any concurrent action of
the States. Compulsion of the citizen, wiihout
aaiv concurrent action’of his State, is, then, ac
cording to the advocates df conscription, a Con
stitutional means of raising an army, and con*
tinues to be Constitutional so long as it serves
that end. This consequence follows: Not only
is the liberty of the citizen at the mercy of Con*
gress but Congress has the Constitutional power
to destroy the States, by sweeping every one of
their legislative, executive, and judicial officers
into the Comederate armies—armies raised, it
may be, not for any pressing emergency, but for
a standing establishment in a time of profound
Pe Tbis is the legitimate and necessary result of
the principle of conscription. Ido not intend to
enlarge on this view. The simple statement of
it is sufficiently alarming to people who think and
who have any regard for personal liberty, or for
the preservation of the States. I simply ask, is
it credible that the framers of our Constitution
intend* d to arm Confess with the power to “raise
armies” (in peace as well as in war) by compulsion
of the ciLzens, and without any concurrent action
of tbe States—a power to destroy both the liberty
of tbe Citizen un< the ex stance of tbe States, for
no bet er end, it may be. than the raising of
armies to lounge about barracks in times of pro*
found peace, or wage wars of conquest and ambi
tion ? But let us apply another test,which is more
conclusive than even these startling consequences.
Is conscription, as a mode of “raising an army,
that is to say, is compulsion of the citizen with
out any concurrent action of his State, reconcilaole
with othei clauses of the Constitution. Iwill
cite two which stand in irreconcilable hostility to
it 1 refer so the clause which gives Congress the
power to provide for calling forth the militia to
execute the laws, repel invasion, or suppress in
surrection : and that other clause which reserves
to the States tee appointment of tbe officers tor
such portion of the m.litia forces as may be »ini
ployed in tbe service of the Confederate btaies.
I know tbe advocates of conscription expressly
deny that there is any connection between these
clauses and the power to raise armies,
or that there is any propriety in construing them
together. But this denial is futile.
They must be construed with it, and they do
limit it m a manner which needs only to be stated
in order to be acknowledged. The power to
“raise armies,” if uncontrolled by other words, is
broad enough, as indeed the advocates of con
scription claim it to be, to embrace all modes of
raising armies, and also the right of appointing
the necessary officers. Now, an “army” may ob -
viously cotis'st of militia forces as well as of any
others, and both one node of “raising an army”
is therefore by calling for the militia. Yet, m
“raising an army” by this mode, Congress is con
fined, by one of these clauses, to some one of three
specified purposes for which that army must be
used, and is deprived, by the other, of the ap*
pointmentof the officers. It is idle, therefore, to
deny that these two clauses do have same con
nection with and control over the power to raise
armies. They control it absolutely, whenever an
army is raised by “calling forth the militia.”—
This brings us to the question on which the
whole argument turns, and on which the con
clusion depends. What is the constitutional
sense of “calling forth the militia ?” The mean
, mg of these terms is conclusively shown by the
very remarkable manner in which the exercise
of this power “to provide for cal'ing forth the
militia’” is guarded and limited. First, by ex
press enumeration of the cases in which it may
be exercised, Congress is confined jn exercis: .g
It, to the three great emergencies of executing
the laws, repelling invasion, or suppressing in
surrection. Second, the appointment of officers
for the forces raised by calling forth the militia,
is expressly reserved to the States respectively.
Tbe true nature and importance of this reserva*
tion to the States of the appointment of the
officers, seem to be not generally apprehended. —
The thing reserved to the States is not a mere
priority of right to appoint, with au alternative
right in the Confederate government to make
tbe appointment, in case any State should fait or
refuse to do so.
The appointment is reserved to the States, and,
if not made by them, caa not be made at all, no
more than Confederate Senators could be elected
by tbe Confederate Government for any State who
might fail or refuse to elect them for herself.
Now military forces can not be moved a single
inch without tbe necessaryotficers, and, therefore,
each State has a perfect constitutional veto over
the calling forth of her militia, by simply refus
ing to appoint the officers. The true constitu
tional view is, that Congress can not “call forth
tbe militia,” except either to execute the laws of
the Confederate States, or repel invasion, or sup
press insurrection; and not even for these great
purposes, except with the concurrent action of
the States in appointing the officers, each State
for her own forces. There is a marked signifi
cance in the peculiar phraseology which the Con
stitution uses in conferring this power upon Con
gress, Congress is only to “provide for calling
forth the militia,” while the actual calling forth
is left to be done by the States. These remark*
able restrictions upon the power of Congress to
call forth the militia, point to some great purpose
to be served by them. What is mat purpose?
This “calling forth” is a process of compulsion,
and these limitations upon its exercise, restrain
Congress from tbe use of compulsion in “raising
armies” from the militia, except in some one of
the three specified cases and with the concurrent
action of each State in appointing the officers for
her own forces. These guards and restrictions
upon the power of Congress over the “militia,”
shed an irresistible flood of light upon what the
Constitution means by that “militia” which it
guards and protects in so remarkable a manner.
Is it possible to believe, as the advocates ot cons
scription contend, that this militia, which is so
carefully placed under the sheltering shield of
the States, means only the militia organizdion,
and not the material of which that organization
is composed? Did the Constitution extend all this
care to protect the mere hull, and leave the kernel
without anv protection at ail ?
What rations purpose could the Constitution
have in throwing these protecting guards around
the mere oiganization, and yet leaving its mate”
rial to the unlimited control of Congress? Nay,
more—how futue and foolish would me protection
even to the organization be, if Congress, with its
‘power to “raise armies,” is left tree to destroy
that organization by forcing all its material into
the regular armies, without any public emergency,
and without any concurrent action of the States.
The Constitution meant these protecting guards
for no shadow which may be destroyed at any
time by taking away the substance, but for the
great substance itself—for no mere organization
which may be destroyed at any time by removing
all its component parts, but tor the great body of
tbe arms*bearinq people. These are restrictions
upon the power of Congress to raise armies by
compulsion. They carry upon their face two ob
vious and grand purposes—the protection of per*
sonal liberty by limiting the cases and the man
ner in which compulsory service can be required
from the people, and the protection of the mates
bv arming each State with a power to withhold
her people from any compulsory service which
she may deem dangerous to her existence or her
rights. The meaning of these restrictions is, that
Congress shall not raise armies by compulsion,
except to execute the laws, repel invasion, or sup
press insurrection, and not then even, except with
the concurrent action of the States in appointing
the officers. The clear result, from a fair construc
tion of all those paris ot the Constitution which
bear upon this subject, is, that Congress may
raise armies by voluntary enlistment without any
limitation to particular emergencies, or check
from the States; and, whenever there is a neces
sity to suoport the execution of the laws of the
Confederate States by force, or to repel invasion,
or suppress insurrection, Congress may provide
for raising an army by compulsion, through re
quisitions upon the States tor just such forces, or
class of forces as Congress may deem best suited
to tbe emergency, leaving the States to fill these
requisitions by accepting volunteers, or by draft,
as each State may deem best for herself, and leav
ing to each State the appointment of officers for
the forces which she sends. The conscription law
raises an army by compulsion, bui, instead of leav«
ing the appointment of the officers to the States,
expressly confers it on the President of the Con*
federate States, It, therefore, does violence to the
Constitution, and its violence is directed against
one of the nob test pillars ot that noble structure.
Constitution.
The News.—Tbe Louisville Journal, of the 12th
Inst., eutertains its readers with a history of tbe
movements of our forces in Tennessee and Ken
tucky, from the time when Gen.. Bragg massed
his army at Chattanooga and Knoxville, and set
his grim face towards the North. Prentice puts
down the effective infantry force of the three corps
d'armee, under Hardee, Polk, and Smith, a> 40,000
effective men and 5,000 cavalry, with 40 pieces of
cannon. He tells the story substantially thus:
With the two corps under Hardee and Polk, Bragg
crossed the Tennessee river on the 22d ot August,
a few miles above Chattanooga, marching west
ward by the mountain road to Dunlap; they moved
rapidly up the Valley of the Sequatchie river, sub
sisting off the country, and reached Pikeville on
the 30th of August. The army entered Kentucky
at Albany, Clinton co., on the sth of September;
it crossed the Cumberland on the 6th or 7th, and
this, says the Journal, is the last definite account
we have of Bragg. He found hisdes gns against
Bowling Green irustrated, and probably moved
northward towards Columbia, in Adair county.
It is likely, the writer continues, that this large
force is to combine with Kiroy Smith and Hum*
pbrey Marshall.
In another article the Journal declares that “the
rebels have no present intention of attacking Cin
cinnati” and that their demonstrations have been
made with a view to divert attention from their
real design, which is a combined attack upon
Louisville. The Kirby Smith, who, twelve, miles
out on the Lexington road received the flag of truce
accompanying the ambulances, was a bogus Kirby
Smith—patched up for the occasion. The Journal
says • “Four columt.s, one of them the large
column of Bragg, are at this very ume advancing
towards our city. Seven thousand infantry, cav
alry and artillery are already at Lebanon. The
whole rebel plan is as clear as noonday. And yet,
under all these circumstances, thousands and
thousands of troops are ordered from here to
Cincinnati V'—Mobile Evening News, Sept. 25.
rs* Young ladies wn<> are accustomed to read
good newspapers are always observed to possess
more amiable dispositions, invariably make good i
wives, and always select good busbands.
From the Ohronicle <t Sentinel.
THE CONSCRIPT LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
AND VOID-
JUDGE THOMAS' DECISION.
Jn Elbsbt Superior Court, 1
September Term, 1862. f
James S. Lovinggood, )
> Habeas Corpus.
Sidney P. Bruce. )
Tbe papers in this case reveal the following
facts. About tbe last of February or first of
March lasi the piaintiff enlisted as a volunteer
recruit under Lieut. Willis, of the 15th Regiment
Georgia Volunteers—was examined and rejected
tor unsoundness oy Surgeon Gleckley at Augusta,
Georgia, on the 17th of March, 1862. On the 11th
of June, 1862, he applied for admission asa volun
teer recruit into tbe 9:h Gergia Battalion at
Camp Van Dorn, near Knoxville, Tennessee, and
was iigiin rejected for unsoundness by Surgeons
Calloway ana Bell. On the 61. h of June, 1862,
Col. Trenchard, of thta county, issued an order
appointing him Ensign of the 189ih District G. M.,
of Elbert county, and tbe tame day he accepted
and took tbe oath of office. That lately the de
fendant enrolled him as a conscript, and on
Wednesday, tbe 3d instant, assumed and took
control over him, by virtue ot his authoiity as
enrolling officer, and ordered.him off to the camp
of instruction. Tbe answer of Bruce admits
these facts to be true, and he brings into Court a
copy of the Conscript Act, and the regulationsand
orders framed upon it, as his justification ; pro*
duciog, also, in obedience to the writ, the body
of Lovinggood.
Plaintiff s Council makes the following points.
1. The plaintiff is a lawfully appointed Commis'
stoned officer of the Georgia Militia, and therefore
exempted by the order of the Commabder-in-chiet
of this State.
2. He has'been twice rejected by tbe Confedor*
ate Government as a soldier, for unsoundness and
cannot ba coerced into a third experiment under
the Conscript act.
The Conscript act is unconstitutional, and there
fore tbe act itself and all regulations and orders
based upon it are likewise void.
The first question suggested by this record is
whether this court has jurisdiction over the ques
tions presented and the subject matter, to-wit, the
body of the plaintiffLovinggood. As to this ques
tion the court can see but little ground for doubt
and shall treat it briefly. The Constitution of
Georgia declares the right of the people to appeal
to the courts shall never be impaired. For every
right there should be provided a remedy, and
every citizen ought io obtain justice without pur*
chase, without denial and without delay, con*
formably to tbe laws of the land. Such is the lan-.
guage of the Constitution of Georgia and such her
Sovereign commands to her courts.
There is no conflict between her Constitution
and the Constitution of the Confederate States in
any of the points involved in this record. Her
will then is that Judges shall permit the people to
appeal to the courts and forbid them not. Shall
use remedies to protect their rights and shall give
them justice without purchase, denial or delay,
conformably to the laws of the land.
What courts are intended here? Obviously the
courts established by the Constitution. What
remedy is brought to view in this case? Obviously
the remedy called habeas corpus, which is the uni
versal one in cases where personal liberty is re
stricted or taken away. For these reasons I must
hear, determine, make a judgment, and enforce
that judgmen* by the power of the Sheriff and
his posse. If the plaintiff were already a soldier,
whether by voluntary enlistment or draft, oroth
wise, and petitioned for habeas corpus, it must be
granted, and it appearing to the court upon the
return that tbe military courts bad jurisdiction
over him, then he must be remanded, for their
judgment is the standard of his rights. But here
the question is, shall he become a soldiei? and of
this question only the evil courls have jurisdic
tion. This is the true distinction, and if under
stood and remembered would save all conflict be
tween the two jurisdictions.
Coming now to the first question made by plain*
tiff’s counsel, that he is a commissioned officer of
the militia and exempt by the Governor’s order.
I do not question his power to exempt his officers
—indeed, I think it was bis unavoidable duty to
do so. He is, by the Constitution, Commander-in-
Chier ot the army and navy of the State; he is
charged by law with the duty of protecting the
State against invasion, and all other sources of
disorder and lawlessness—in fact, with the execu- '
tion of the laws. His only power to do this is the
militia; nor is it true, as has been often said, that
tbe Governor can get men enough over 35 years
of age to be officers. He has oo power to get of
ficers at all, by the laws of the State, which bind
the Governor as well as any other man; the people
have the right to elect officers, and the Governor
must take such as tbe people give him.
He saw fit to waive his military authoriiy over
the militia below the age of 35; this, it appears
to me, was a question ter his military discretion
to decide, holding himself responsible to retain
force enough at home tor domestic protection
and the enforcement of tbe laws; but if he had
permitted the officers to be taken, it would have
been au abdication of his office, in effect, de*
serving severe censure and perhaps punishment.
I am tons explicit in stating my opinion of the
rightfulness of the Governor’s ordtr, because I
am compelled to bold, under the facts of this case,
the plaintiff is not exempt under f it order. It
is true that on the 6th June, 1862, the Colonel
issued an order appointing the plaintiff, Loving*
goed, ensign of the 189th District, and he ac*
cep ted and took the oath of office the same day.
But by refeience to the law, Cobb’s New Digest,
page 761, it will be seen the Colonel has no right
to appoint, but only to nominate; that is, to nomi
nate to the Commander in chief, who may com"
mission; and until commissioned, the nominee is
no officer, and Lovinggood, not having been
commissioned, is not within the purview of the
Governor’s order.
In relation to plaintiff’s second point that he
has been twice rejected by the Government for
disability and cannot be subjected to a third ex*
amination, the judgment ot this court agrees
with him. By the conscript act itself, and orders
issued under it, the citizen has his option to avoid
conscription by volunteering; the Government
has shown particular anxiety ts secure to him
this choice. Before the act passed the plaintiff
volunteers, and after the act passed be volunteers
again. Both times he was rejected, and under
such circumstances as torbid him to hope b-e
would ever be received as a volunteer. Now, it
he is permitted to be forced into tbe army as a
conscript, can it be said he bad this choice, se
cured to him by tbe act and orders ?
Such a rule would keep the word of promise to
the ear and break it to the hope; it would be the
hands of Esau but the voice of Jacob. Subordin*
ates of the Government have proclaimed they
intended to perpetrate this wrong and injustice,
but I have yet to see the evidence which connects
the head of the nation with such a proceeding,
and we can yet hope for the honor ot the great
people he rules over that such evidence does not
exist.
But it has lately been discovered that the halt,
the lame, and blind, though unfit for military duty,
will do for cle-iks, messengers, nurses, waiters,
Ac. The clear and decided judgment of this Court
is that even under the conscript law, the Com*
mander-in*Cbief, nor big subordinates, nor any of
them, have no more power to impress the free
people of this country for such purposes, than to
seize them for grooms ior his horses and scullions
for his kitchen. Tne purpose to do such a thing
shows ignorance of the spirit of the people, not
less than the principles of free government, and
i* not paralleled by any instance in the despotisms
of Europe lor the'last three hundred years, ex*
cept perhaps Russia, now the sympathetic friend
of President Lincoln.
We come now to the third point made by plain
tiff’s counsel, to-wit: that the Conscript Act is
unconstitutional, and, therefore, the Act itself,
and all regulations and orders bas'd upon it are,
likewise, void. In every government, based on a
written constitution, containing restrictions ou the
legislative department, it follows necessarily that
the judiciary must annul all acts in violation of
tbat constitution when attempted to be enforced
against the citizen or his rights. But we are not
left to this implication, plain as it is. Tbe 17th
clause of the Ist articleof the Constitution of th is
State deciares “Legislative acts m violation of the
fundamental law are void; and the judiciary shall
Iso declare them.” If, therefore, upon investiga-
I tion we find this Conscript Act to be in violation
1 of the fundamental law, it must be declared void.
■ t Our Confederate Government, like the old fed''
eral ’»o«i a government of limited and restricted
powers) Congress has no powers save those dele
gated in ise Constitution, all others are withheld.
Neither cour?s, nor Congress, nor.Presldents, can
change it, the p.'an and tneans for its change are
nominated in tn<? bond and necessity is not
among them The inquiry then is—is the power
to pass the Conscript hw delegated to Congress
>. in the Constitution ?It is claimed that such pow*
* er is delegated in the i‘2th clause of the Bth sec*
lion of the let article wbi?h gives the power “to
raise and support armies” ?nd in the 18th clause
following giving the power “to make all laws
’ which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
1 into execution the foregoing powers and ail other
’ powers vested bv thia Constitution in ttte Govern
ment of the Confederate Slates, or in any depict*
ment or officer thereof.”
Now, if this law be necessary and proper for
carrying into execution the 12tb clause aforesaid,
and is not in conflict with the reserved rights of
the States, and not in conflict with any other
portion of the Confederate compact itself, then it
is constitutional. In the 16 th clause of the same
section aud article are reserved to the States the
right of training the militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress and of appoint*
lug the officers.
What are we to understand by the term “mili
tia,” as used in this clause ? The language used
is such as describes a thing already existing and
not hereafter to De created, and taken in connec
tion with the tact that each State, which was a
party to the compact already, had existing a body
of men called its militia, the conclusion is plain
in my judgment that the term was intended to
mean these bodies, and not to confer on Congress
the power to create a militia of its own. A strict
construction gives this result, and strict construe®
tion is our settled policy and law. This militia,
by our law, is ail males between 18 and 45 not ex*
empt by law, and by State law too I ho d. I
doubt not., when called into service, Congress
might exempt others, but could ovsrrule no ex
emption made by the State. Does this con enpt
law provide for training the conscripts by the au
thority ot the States? Does it not, on the con
trary, take away this authority from the States?
It enacts, also, that the President shall appoint
tne officers —a clear and pa'pable violation of the
rights of the States reserved in said 16th clause
In this view, I am sustained by tbe President <f
the Confederate States himself. The fact is
corded in his life written by John Savage, cor*
tained in a book entitled “Oar Living Represen
tative Men,” page 172, as follows:
•‘The term of enlistment of the handful that
remained of the Mississippi Regiment, expired in
July 1847, and Col. Davis was ordered home.
While in New Orleans he received from the Presi*
dent (Polk) tbe commission of Brigadier General
of Volunteers, but declined the honor on the
ground, that neither Congress nor the President
had a right to make such an appointment. The
Constitution reserved to tbe States, respectively,
the appointment of officers of the Militia, and
consequently the assumption of this duty by the
Federal Government was a violation of the rights
of the States.”
The Constitution he was then living under was
exact in words with the present one on these
points, and- he preferred to retire to private life
from the midst of his fame and usefulnesj to vio>
iating it. This act of devotion to Constitutional
right contributed as much perhaps as any other
to elevate him to bis present exalted station.
In- the preamble to our Confederate Constitution
care is taken- to assert vnd maintain that the I
States are sovereign and independent.
In what sense can this be said of Georgia, if ,i
every man of her militia can be taken from under i
tbe control of her constitutional commander-in- <
oiief without his consent Must he abdicate his 1
most important duties by permitting himself to i
be disarmed of bis forces, and all this, too, in i
violation of his oath? Nay, if Congress can pass ]
a Conscript Act, with certain exemptions, they t
can pass it without exemptions. No one will i
deny this. If, therefore, they have the power to J
prescribe what shall be militia, and to eonscribe i
at pleasure, they may take the Governor, tbe I
General Assembly, ana the whole Judiciary, and t
thus annihilate the whole Government. e
This palpable infraction of the Confederate coms i
pact is sometimes indeed principally detended on 1
the plea of necessity. What a dangerous fallacy 1 t
We have exchanged one hundred thousand lives i
and untold millions of money to maintain the Con* i
stitution; and shall we now violate it and des- I
troy the State Governments ? As reasonably i
might we commit suicide to avoid personal danger.
Nor is this plea of necessity true in fact. I
The conscript law can only futnish men. We
have, and bad before, State laws to reach every 1
man in the State between 18 and 45, and to say ]
the conscript law was necessary to procure meu, i
is to maintain the arithmetical absurdity that there i
are more men in the country between 18 and 35 i
than between 18 and 45. _ i
Whereupon and for these reasons it is ordered <
and adjudged by the Court that tbe Act of the i
Confederate Congress known as the Conscript i
Law, entitled an ac‘. to further provide for tbe
public defence, is-void, and is hereby declared
void, and that the plaintiff, James M. Loving*
good, be released and discharged Irom the cus
tody and control of Sydney P. Bruce, and from
the custody and control of the sheriff cf this
court, and be set at liberty to go wherever he
pleases. Thos. W- Thomas,
J. S. C. E. C.
FROM NEW ORLEANS.
The Atlanta Commonwealth has a copy of the
Delta of the 15th. Tbat paper bad New York
dates of the 6th and published the Manassas ac
counts yithout a word of comment. The Com
monwealth learns verbally tbat great defensive
preparations' were making by Butler. A line of
heavy entrenchments was building all around the
land side of the city ; and troops were arriving
from seaward >n large numbers.
It was supposed tbat there were some fifteen or
twenty thousand at hand. This accounts for the
activity of the fleet which has been noticed from
Fort Morgan. These troops are landed at Ship
Island, and thence transferred to the city. There
were several thousand negroes at work on tbe
defences. Some of them were armed, and all of
them without masters. As far as the African is
concerned all is chaos. The white “secesh” has
to stand back in his presence. The okf distinc
tion in relation to tbe two are out of fashion in
omnibuses and other public places. In short.
New Orleans is putting on the worst garb of Bos
ton.
A New Orleans correspondent of the New Fork
Times, save:
I have talked with a dozen planters living
within a four hours’drive of this city, who all
say that for the rest of their lives, they and
their families will eat, wear, and have nothing
but what they can produce, though it reduce them
to the appearance of barbarians, rather than rely
upon commerce through a port held by the ‘'Lins
coin Government.” They speak as if there was
an intense animosity in the interior of this State
against the merchanis of the captured ports, who
would take advantage of the privilege of com
mere ; open to them by the National power.
“ It is my impression, from all I have seen and
heard, that, there is very little true Union feeling
among the citizens here. Ido not believe there
have been more than two United States flags dy
ing in the whole city the week we have been here,
that were not raised by the military authority.
Secession sentiment is becoming quiet here, but
it is no doubt bitter as ever. Ladies seem to he
eretting tired of expressing their contempt for U.
S. officers and soldiers in the street.”
We take the following paragraphs from
the Charleston Courier, of Sept. 27th:
From thb Bar.—At daylight, on the 26th inst.,
eight steamers and two 1 small schooners were in
sight—one of the schooners off Maffit Channel
and the other near Folly Inlet. No decent flag
was in sight.
About five o’clock Friday evening a large pro*
peller, painted grey, came down from the North*
ward, and exchanged signals with the blockading
! fleet This steamer was well filled with troops,
and proceeded, after a brief delay, to the South
ward.
In reply to many letters of inquiry, notice is
, given that the q outh Carolina College will not
open, on the first Monday of October.
AFFAIRS nr EUROPE
Prom the London Correspondent of the N. Y.
London, Aug. 26, 18t>2.
As the British Government g'tesno sign of
interference in American affairs, English capital
ists appear to have taken tbe matter into tneur
own bands. It is said that the iron pJate<f
steam ?r which left these shores a few days ago,
and of which you will have probably heard be
fore '.his reaches you, was purchased by tbeaoutn*
ern Commissioners; but as she is reported to
have cost some $7,000,000, it is bard to see where
they got either tbe money or credit to purenaae
It appears that this steamer was built forth a
British Government, but rejected as not up to
contract. She is very large, can B teao> . e ’^ ht ®*“
knots an hour, is covered with six inc h>™ n
plates, and has an armament, ot which thene -
lest are r fled 120 pounders. If the reports cir
culated here are true, sbe wiK be far the most
formidable antagonist the American navy nas
ever met with, rffionid English capitalists, in
terested in cotton, tit out half a dczjn such ves
sels as they can very easily, and take cotton for
pay’ you will find a use for all tbe iron clad ships
yon are building. It is true that toe steamer ot
which I have spoKen may be the only one, and
that not to be despised, but there is nothing im
probable in a large number; and I know not bow
otherwise to account for the high spirits ot the
secessionists uere, who hint of some terrible biow
to be struck, and who speak confidently of the
speedy return of peace, and of resuming their
occupations in the South, and even in cities now
occupied by national troops.
The oottou famine increases, and grows every*
day more gloomy, hopeless and threatening in its
aspect. The Times has sent a special reporter
into the district which suffers more by the war
than any portion'of America. The autumn is at
hand, aud winter is close upon us. The vast mass
ot manufacturing operatives and email traders,
reduced to pauperism, are naked and starving but
for the relief doled out to them. They must be
warmed as well as-fed. Long since they have
pawned their clothing and blankets. They lie
upon thefloor. They have been used to a warm
atmosphere and generous diet. They have been
promised that the war would soon end. or tbat
cotton would come from India or elsewhere. To
day they are told tbat the war in America ecu sb
last ior many months, and probably for years, and
that no cotton is coming from any quarter. Pa
tience, for which they have been so praised, is
nearly exhausted. Despair bas come. What des
pairing men will do, when they number by the
hundred thousand, we wait to see, and not with*-
out the apprehension of some great calamitr.
It is not in England alone. There is a frightful
distress in Belgium. Tbe Queen of England sent—
to Lancahsire a few days ago. She bas
sent the same amount to Belgium. This shows
what must be tbe distress then. In Franco the
government has taken the matter upon its own
broad shoulders. The manufacturers have been
ins'ructed to keep their woriis going and to charge
the loss to the government. To find work tor *
every Frenchman willing to labor is one of the
functions of the Imperial gevernment. But, ob<
serve that the government that does this must
also consider an obstacle to industry as an attack
upon itself. If you injure a French manufactory,
vou injure the Emperor. A war which deprives-
France of cotton, or a tariff which limits her trad#;.,
is an affair of State—not, as in England, a ques
tion ot political economy.
Tbe defection and escape of a-few thousand’
fugitives from the draft into Canada, or to Eng
land, is not a misfortune. Os the- few hundreds’
who have lauded at Cork from the- late steamers,
all were Southern sympathisers, who would have
done on>ly mischief in a Northern army. No offis
cer would willingly command soldiers whose first
bullet would be tired at his head instead of the
enemy. Unless opinion has changed very rap
idly. there are thousands of Americans as well as i
Irishmen, in the North, liable to be drafted into
the army, who will not add to its strength, but
will take the first opportunity to desert to the
SoUtbern> standard. And every such man well
got rid'of, will add to the real strength of tbe
Northern forces. It is to be feared tbat tbe cow
ards, the skulkers, and the stampeders, who have
so often brought disaster and disgrace upou the
national cause, have been those who volunteered
from necessity, and have no heart in the cause
they pretend to serve. One earnest Union man
is worth a dozen of these half-way sympathisers
with rebellion. If I am not strangely misin
formed, there are officers of high rank who are
as open to these remarks as the common soldier,
Tue disappointment experienced Here at tbe
financial condition of the North is ludicrous. The
Times has apologised to iis readers f«r the non
fulfillment of its predictions, Tbe crisis is
postponed. It seems impossible for these people
to understand that a country producing all the *
necessaries of life, and a large surplus for exporta
tion, having the richest g< Id miues in the world,
and a government which has the entire confidence
of the people, can get on without payment in
specie. It is remarkable, however, that all the
difficulty should be with the North. No wonder
is expressed that the South should be highly -
prosperous without money or credit;
The feeling about the war is without change. It
is one of susp. nse. Earope waits to see what will
become-of McClellan, what will be done to Pope,
and what will be tbe result of the conscription.
Tbe Western Democrats write of the great things
they expect to do in the fall elections. Some, m ■
high positions, speak confidently of carrying some •
ot the larger States, ttnd of a plot to make over*
tures to join tbe Southern Confederacy. I can >
can only hint obscurely at these matters, but they*
may soon become worthy of attention. There fs
no doubt tbat a deep plot exists to carryover*
Missouri, and there are Pennsylvanians in London,
who, long since, threatened to carry that State
for tbe South, and hope to make Philadelphia the
great entrepot of Southern trade.
There are stories about a grand, coup d’etat of'
Southern intervention—a sudden opening of the
Southern ports by the French fleet now leaving'
for Mexico. There will be nothing of this.—*
Whatever is done by France will be open and.
deliberate. Well disposed as we are told the*
Emperor is and has been toward the S.uitb, he
will be in no haste to even acknowledge the Con««
tederacy. When be takes this step, if ever, he.-
will also give the South all needed assistance
but the now opening campaign, may be fought,
out with no other interference than what may be
given underhaudedly by sympathising English
capitalists, with the connivanoe of the govern*
meat. Monadnockl
LATER FROM NASHVILLE—BUELL HASTEN
ING TO ITS SUPPORT—TROOPS SENT TO
OPERATE AGAINST KIRBY SMITH.
Philadklphia, September 13.—The Press of
this city has rec ived tbe following dispatch:
Nashvillr. Tenn., September 11, 5 P. M.—The,
whole of General Buell’s army is hastening to
. the support of this city, which is now menaced
by Bragg, who follows our rear guard at a re
spectful aistance.
The citv is being fortified. General Thomas
will be placed in command with orders to detend
the city at all hazards. Before this reaches you
the fate ot Nashville, doubtlesa, will have been
decided.
An advance composed of tbe 79th Penney I vania*.
24th and Ist Wisconsin, and 17th Kentucky, ac»
companied by two batteries, fell here to make a.
tender of their respects to General Kirby Smith.
Nearly 15,000 men, under Boell, will leave to*
night for the same destination.
Eight thousand men from the army of General
Rosencfanz, under command of Jeff. u. Davis, ar*
rived to-day for tbe purpose of reinforcing Buell.
Major Polk is in town to-day, a refugee from
Columbia
Capitol H'Jl is being fortified. Bragg will not
catch v.s napping.
The Secessionißts are very bold, while the
Unionists are trustful and undaunted.
We take the following paragraphs from
the Charleston Mercury, of Sept. 27th:
Firs on Ashlby Rivbr.—The fine residence ot
Mr. Wm. V?rdelt, on his plantation, on Ashley
River, waa destroyed by fire on Tuesday uight
last. z ,
Saluda Manufacturing Company.—On the first
of August, tbe factory known as “Ccltunbia
Mills,” owned by James G. Gibbs A Do., was sold
to Messrs. Childs, Johnson A Willard, of North
k Carolina.