xxiii. pt. i. pp.395-397.]
Submission to law was all that was demanded, and when this was fully
established, the prisoners were soon released without further
punishment. The fear of further prosecutions operated to preserve
the peace, and the men who had been allowed to go at large were a
guaranty, in effect, for the good behavior of the community.
Before dropping the subject, I may properly add that the arrest of
Mr. Vallandigham very naturally raised the question how far we were
willing to go in bringing disloyal men before the military courts.
Prominent citizens, and especially men in official position, often
found themselves urged to ask for the arrest of the more outspoken
followers of Vallandigham in every country neighborhood. In answer
to inquiries which had come through the Hon. Martin Welker,
[Footnote: Afterward for many years Judge of the U. S. District
Court for northern Ohio.] member of Congress for the Wayne County
district, I wrote him a letter which shows the efforts we made to be
prudent and to avoid unnecessary collisions. Judge Welker had served
as Judge Advocate on my staff in the three months' service in the
spring of 1861, and my intimacy with him made me speak as to our
policy without reserve.
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