XI

Meaningless "Oaths" Given to the Winds

On general principles of law and reason, the pretended "oaths" which these pretended agents of the people take to support and uphold the pretended "constitution," are of no validity or obligation. And why? For this, if for no other reason, viz., that they are given to nobody. There is no "privity" (as the lawyers say) - that is, no mutual recognition, consent, and agreement - between those who take these pretended "oaths," and any other persons.

If I go upon Boston Common, and in the presence of a hundred thousand people, men, women, and children, with whom I have no contract on the subject, take a pretended "oath" that I will enforce upon them the laws of Moses, of Lycurgus, of Solon, of Justinian, or of Alfred, that pretended "oath" is, on general principles of law and reason, of no obligation. It is of no obligation, not merely because it is intrinsically a criminal one, but also because it is given to nobody, and consequently pledges my faith to nobody. It is merely given to the winds.

XII
Responsibilities of Tax-Gatherers

For the same reasons, the pretended "oaths" of all the other pretended agents of this secret gang of tyrants, robbers, and murderers are, on general principles of law and reason, equally destitute of obligation. They are given to nobody; but only to the winds.

The pretended "oaths" of the tax-gatherers and treasurers of the gang, are, on general principles of law and reason, of no validity. If any tax-gatherer, for example, should put the money he receives into his own pocket, and refuse to part with it, the members of this gang could not say to him: "You collected that money as our agent, and for our uses; and you swore to pay it over to us, or to those we should appoint to receive it. You have betrayed us, and broken faith with us."

It would be a sufficient answer for him to say to them:
"I never knew you. You never made yourselves individually known to me. I never gave my pretended "oath" to you, as individuals. You may, or you may not, be members of that secret gang, who appoint agents to rob and murder other people; but who are cautious not to make themselves individually known, either to such agents, or to those whom their agents are commissioned to rob. If you are members of that gang, you have given me no proof that you ever commissioned me to rob others for your benefit. I never knew you, as individuals, and of course never promised you that I would pay over to you the proceeds of my robberies. I committed my robberies on my own account, and for my own profit. If you thought I was fool enough to allow you to keep yourselves concealed, and use me as your tool for robbing other persons; or that I would take all the personal risk of the robberies, and pay over the proceeds to you, you were particularly stupid. As I took all the risk of my robberies, I propose to take all the profits. Begone! You are fools, as well as villains. If I gave my pretended "oath" to anybody, I gave it to other persons than you. But I really gave it to nobody. I only gave it to the winds. It answered my purposes at the time. It enabled me to get the money I was after, and now I propose to keep it. If you expected me to pay it over to you, you relied only upon that honor that is said to prevail among thieves. You now understand that that is a very poor reliance. I trust you may become wise enough to never rely upon it again. If I have any duty in the matter, it is to give back the money to those from whom I stole it; not to pay it over to such villains as you."

XIII
Pretended "Oaths" by Foreigners, Southerners, and Soldiers

On general principles of law and reason, the pretended "oaths" which foreigners take, on coming here, and being "naturalized" (as it is called), are of no validity. They are necessarily given to nobody; because there is no open, authentic association, to which they can join themselves; or to whom, as individuals, they can pledge their faith. No such association, or organization, as "the people of the United States," having ever been formed by any open, written, authentic, or voluntary contract, there is, on general principles of law and reason, no such association, or organization, in existence. And all pretended "oaths" that purport to be given to such an association are necessarily given only to the winds. They cannot be said to be given to any man, or body of men, as individuals, because no man, or body of men, can come forward with any proof that the pretended "oaths" were given to them, as individuals, or to any association of which they are members. To say that there is a tacit understanding among a portion of the male adults of the country, that they will call themselves "the people of the United States," and that they will act in concert in subjecting the remainder of the people of the country to their dominion; but that they will keep themselves personally concealed by doing all their acts secretly, is wholly insufficient, on general principles of law and reason, to prove the existence of any such association, or organization, as "the people of the United States"; or consequently to prove that the pretended "oaths" of foreigners were given to any such association.

XIV

On general principles of law and reason, all the pretended "oaths" which since the civil war, have been given by southern men, that they will obey the pretended "laws of congress," support the supposed "union," and the like, are of no validity. Such pretended "oaths" are invalid, not only because they were extorted by military power, and threats of confiscation, and because they are in contravention of men's natural right to do as they please (provided they do not harm others or the property of others), but also because they were given to nobody. They were nominally given to the supposed "United States." But being nominally given to the supposed "United States," they were necessarily given to nobody, because, on general principles of law and reason, there were no pretended "United States," to whom the pretended "oaths" could be given. That is to say, there was no open, authentic, avowed, legitimate association, corporation, or body of men, known as the "United States," or as "the people of the United States," to whom the pretended "oaths" could have been given. If anybody says there was such a corporation, let him state who were the individuals that composed it, and how and when they became a corporation. Were Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr. C members of it? If so, where are their signatures? Where is the evidence of their membership? Where is the record? Where is the open, authentic proof? There is none. Therefore, in law and reason, there was no such corporation.

On general principles of law and reason, every corporation, association, or organized body of men, having a legitimate corporate existence, and legitimate corporate rights, must consist of certain known individuals, who can prove, by legitimate and reasonable evidence, their membership. But nothing of this kind can be proved in regard to the corporation, or body of men, who call themselves "the United States." Not a man of them, in all the pretended "northern States," can prove by any legitimate evidence, such as is required to prove membership in other legal corporations, that he himself, or any other man whom he can name, is a member of any corporation or association called "the United States," or "the people of the United States," or, consequently, that there is any such corporation. And since no such corporation can be proved to exist, it cannot of course be proved that the pretended "oaths" of southern men were given to any such corporation. The most that can be claimed is that the pretended "oaths" were given to a secret gang of tyrants, robbers, and murderers, who called themselves "the United States," and extorted those pretended "oaths." But that certainly is not enough to prove that the pretended "oaths" are of any obligation.

XV

On general principles of law and reason, the pretended "oaths" of soldiers, that they will serve a given number of years, that they will obey the orders of their superior officers, that they will bear true allegiance to the supposed "government," and so forth, are of no obligation. Independently of the criminality of a pretended "oath," that, for a given number of years, he will kill all whom he may be commanded to kill, without exercising his own judgment or conscience as to the justice or necessity of such killing, there is this further reason why a soldier's pretended "oath" is of no obligation, viz., that, like all the other pretended "oaths" that have now been mentioned, it is given to nobody. There being, in no legitimate sense, any such corporation, or nation, as "the United States," nor, consequently, in any legitimate sense, any such entity as "the government of the United States," a soldier's pretended "oath" given to, or contract made with, such an absent entity, is necessarily an pretended "oath" given to, or a contract made with, nobody. Consequently such pretended "oath" or "contract" can be of no obligation or authorization. Hence any killing done by such a soldier is done purely on his personal responsibility.

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