warranted by the law as cited. The tenth section relates to fugitive slaves of loyal musters, and they constitute the third class. The section is in these words:

And be it further enacted, that no slaves escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia from any other State shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime or some offense against the laws, unless the person saving fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner and has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto, and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretense whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person in the service or labor of any other person or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on paid of being dismissed from the service.

The duty of the military authorities in reference to this class of fugitives from labor is that of absolute non-intervention. This follows alike from the prohibition to surrender the fugitives and from the prohibition to decide on the validity of the claim made to his service. As the military cannot primarily exert any power in behalf of the claimant, neither can it be done in a secondary or subordinate capacity as a posse comitatus to the civil authorities or otherwise. If therefore a loyal claimant or his agent, acting in person or through a civil officer, shall attempt to arrest one of these fugitives from labor in the presence of the military authorities he must do so on his own responsibility and cannot claim from such authorities, nor can they extend to him any support or protection whatever. It is believed that these suggestions meet all the points presented by the letter of Major-General Schofield.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. HOLT,

Judge-Advocate-General.

WASHINGTON, D. C., August 17, 1863.

His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

President of the United States:

HONORED SIR: On the 12th instant I was at the Executive Mansion with a petition to Your Excellency from citizens of Maine residing in this city in behalf of General Neal Dow, of Portland, in our State. On account of the great delay I found inevitable in reaching your presence to discharge my duty and the pressing nature of my official duties I sent the proper to Your Excellency by your messenger instead of presenting it in person. My official engagements still forbid the expenditure of the time I find requisite to secure a personal interview. I write this therefore to say in a few words what I am charged with saying to you in this case by my fellow-citizens.

We are fully aware that your recent general order covers the case of General Dow and with reference to ordinary men it would be deemed sufficient, but General Dow, from his position in the Army of the United States, among his fellow-citizens at home, and his relations to the civilization of this age, is an exception to ordinary men, and therefore his case, we deem, should be made an exceptional one and demands the special attention and intervention of the Government. General Dow is one of the leaders in the temperance reform and one of the champions of human rights, whose fearless activity and zeal has provoked the special hatred of traitors North and the rebels South, whose strongholds and centers of influence are in the grogshop and purlieus of vice. He is, in consequence, the especial object of the hatred and malice of these