ave not done this
in accordance with prescribed forms, in all instances, because the forms
of _civil_ government do not provide for a condition of society in which
civil authority is virtually abrogated, to a greater or less extent, for
military authority.

In the same way and by virtue of the same sovereignty, the people of the
United States may lay aside the common method of indicating their
pleasure to the Executive, and substitute one more in consonance with
the requirements of the times. They may make known that they _do_ lay
aside an established mode, either by a formal notice or by a general
tacit understanding, as the exigencies of the case require. They may
recognize the right, aye, the _duty_ of the Executive to act in
accordance with other methods than those prescribed for ordinary
seasons, in cases where the national security demands this.

But this is not an abandonment of the methods and forms of law! This is
not the establishment of an _arbitrary_ government! This is not passing
from freedom to despotism! The _people_ of this country are sovereign,
let it be repeated. So long as its Government is conducted as its people
or as the majority of them wish, it is conducted in accordance with its
established principle. There were no freedom if the vital spirit of
liberty were to be held in bondage to the dead forms of powerless or
obsolete prescriptions in the very crisis of the nation's death
struggle! Freedom means freedom to act, in all cases and under all
circumstances, so as to secure the highest individual and national
well-being. It does _not_ mean freedom to establish certain codes of
procedure under certain regulations, and to be forever bound under these
when the preservation of liberty itself demands their temporary
abeyance. So long as the Government fulfils the wishes of the people, it
is not arbitrary, it is not despotic, no matter what methods an
emergency may require it to adopt for this purpose, or in what manner it
ascertains these wishes; provided always that the methods adopted and
the modes of ascertainment are also in accordance with the people's
desires.

But how is the Executive to discover the will of the people if he does
not wait for its formal expression? How is he to be sure that he does
not outrun their desires? How is he to be checked and punished, should
he do so? Precisely the same law must apply here as has been indicated
to be the true one in reference to the fulfilment of