February 15, 1861; The New York Herald
On Wednesday last the New York police, notwithstanding their being compelled to surrender the greater portion of the muskets which they seized belonging to the State of Georgia, committed another act of depredation against the rights of Southern citizens. They seized a quantity of cartridges about being shipped for South Carolina, by way of Savannah. These highhanded proceedings can only irritate and annoy the Southern States, and take away trade from New York, without doing any good to the North or harm to the South; for both the Georgians and South Carolinians can obtain all the ammunition and arms they want from the border slave States and even from New England, whose Yankees will sell anything for cash down, to say nothing of Old England, France and other nations of Europe. It is the duty of Governor Morgan to put an end to this illegal violence by ordering the ammunition to be given up.
It appears that the Georgia case is not fully settled yet. The arms are not all surrendered, as they ought to have been. In consequence of the retaliation of the Governor of Georgia, the greater portion of the muskets have been delivered up; but for some inexplicable reason or other Superintendent Kennedy has retained ten cases, which belong to a different owner in Georgia. The police allege that they belong to that State, and, therefore, refuse to give them up. Now this is a distinction without a difference. The State of Georgia has as good a right to the free possession and use of arms as the State of New York. Yesterday a writ of replevin was issued, and what the result will be remains to be seen.
When we first heard of the seizure of these arms we knew it would lead to serious trouble, and we said so at the time. We denounced the act as unconstitutional, and we advised its repudiation by the Governor and the immediate surrender of the arms, with a suitable apology for the hostile proceeding. If it was not an act of war it was a violation of the rights of private property, and in either case indefensible. Ample time had been given to repair the mischief, but instead of that, the arms were refused when demanded by the Governor of Georgia, and the authorities have been since compelled by retaliation to give way, and to do from necessity what they might have done voluntarily with a good grace, to the honor of the State, and not, as afterwards to its humiliation. The best thing that can be done now is to surrender at once the ten cases of muskets to Georgia, and the cartridges and percussion caps to the citizens of South Carolina, to whom the ammunition belongs. Else there will soon be other reprisals.
These seizures appear to be part of the plan of the black republican leaders to precipitate the country into civil war. By what right do the police commit an act of war against citizens of Georgia or South Carolina? By what right do they interfere with the commerce of the merchants of New York? Only the federal Power can declare war, or make war, or define what is war on the part of governments outside of the Union. That even the federal government has power to make war against a sovereign State inside of the Union has been denied by the present Executive, and is doubted by all intelligent and candid republicans. Certain it is that a State which claims to be still in the Union has no such power. The State of New York has no power, under the constitution, to declare war or make war against any State in or out of the confederacy, or pronounce any merchandise of war; and if she had such power she has not yet exercised it, nor commissioned Superintendent Kennedy to commit hostilities on her behalf. The whole proceedings are illegal, violent and unconstitutional, and, under the circumstances, are so ill-timed that they must have been intended to prevent the adoption of any measures of reconciliation by the Peace Conference at Washington, and to commit both North and South to a deadly struggle.
The reason assigned by our Fouche for detaining the muskets, if it bear any weight, would justify every conceivable outrage and arbitrary proceeding. He said he would not let the arms go lest they should be used hereafter against the State of New York. On the same principle he might order the police to enter the houses of all citizens of New York who are not republicans, and take away their arms, lest they might use them hereafter in defending their liberties by revolution, or in maintaining the constitution against the party organized to overthrow it. So jealous is the constitution about the right of all citizens to possess firearms that it has been held illegal to levy upon them in an execution for debt. Now, if the Superintendent and his party will not respect the constitutional rights of the citizens of other States, it is scarcely to be expected that they will respect the constitutional rights of citizens of New York if they stand in the way of their atrocious designs. The doctrine of Mr. Kennedy is the doctrine of the despots of Europe, who deprive their subjects of arms in order that they may keep them in thraldom.
But, whatever is coming, we are not yet under martial law and a military dictatorship; and the right of the citizens of Georgia to have and to hold as many arms as they please is clear and undoubted. The second amendment to the constitution was expressly adopted to guarantee this right. It is in the following words: – ‘A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ Now, if the muskets for the Georgians, seized by our police, instead of being under one thousand, had numbered a million, or five weapons for every able bodied man in the State, their right to them is indefeasible, no matter what use they may think proper to make of them hereafter. For that they are responsible, and not the New York Superintendent of Police.
‘A guilty conscience is its own accuser.’ What reason has Mr. Kennedy to suppose that Georgia will ever use her arms against New York, unless it be foregone conclusion that he and his party mean, if they can, to employ the arms of this State in the invasion of Georgia? He can have no other reason. Georgia has never threatened New York, but Governor Morgan has threatened Georgia and other Southern States, and a bill is now before the Legislature to appropriate funds to carry on war against them. And all this they dare to do without consulting the sovereign people. The question remains to be solved, whether the people will permit any such abuse or power, or whether they will look on with folded arms while a military despotism is being established upon the ruins of their freedom.