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[394] the same as that of the government of which he formed a part, and the military service rendered by the substitute was just as much rendered to the principal as a citizen of the government itself; his life, his honor, his property, and his liberty were defended by the act, and the consideration inured to him as a member of the society which composed the government. Contracts and vested rights must all bend to the exigencies of the government, of which the Legislature was the judge, and any act of the legislature contravening the public interest, may be repealed when the safety of the people becomes the supreme law. The vested rights of fathers may be annulled over their minor children, to make them soldiers when the public interests demand it, and the law-making power has so declared. All rights, all property, all persons who are citizens of a government, may be used by the government in time of war, and it was the duty of courts to sustain the government in the appropriation of the means exercised rightfully by the legislature to protect the whole people from subjugation and ruin.
Van Nostrand. New York, New York. 1862.
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