Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1841-02-23

seated, he was imprisoned to await Nis tNhl iNrfr
was no invasion ol Brush territory o. scIfo 40 take
him But upon his hoi1r voluntarily wlt1il uur icrn-
;ory he arrested r1cn ot the ri'rl states
cIarccd with a similar offence, might have hccn. We
know oi mo- law of nations ihai wort exempt a man
ifon arrest and imprisonment for offences chrrct 60
bo committed against the peace Rpd dignity OF state
because he Is subject ut Great BijAiD or because hc
crupittcl ile at the insrluou or under the an
iuutv vt Brush provincial officers much less do ""
KNOW Of any law that would Justify the Precedent los
liver him hp without irial, at h" demand and upon the
assertion facts otany agent oithc British Govern
ucnt
1.-Two had been at open war with Great Britain, and
N,Icod had committed the offences charged, then he
might have fallen under the rules and regulations oi
war and been treated prisoner of the mlrI states
Government and would have been subject 20 the laws
ofnauons IN war. Bot rs the alleged criminal acts, 40
which Me cod Il charged to he implicated, com
mted IN profound peace. 70 Is crime, rs for rs be
may be concerned, SOLELY against the peace and dgnl
~ of the state of New ork and her criminal urisdic
ton IS complete and exclusive i Tic crime commit
ted be such make a man hosaS human rcn,rS--an
outlaw pirate in the legal acceptauon oi the term,
then under the law OF nations the United states courts
and tribunals would have jurisdiction Bot the offence
charged IN this case, committed as It yas in lime of
peace, far this diVdua was concerned, ono
purely against the lex loci, and coming exclusively
within the criminal jurisdiction OF the tribunals Of New
York.
The Minister, in his letter of The 18Th December
1870 sayS"lt is quite notorious that NJ Me- cod was
OF the party engaged Ia the destruction of the
steamboat Carone and that the pretended charge up
on which he has been imprisoned rests only upon the
purJured testimony OF certain tanatans, outlaws and
/ their abcttors,' DC. This pctChanCc all bc So
bu, it would be asking great deal require Amer
lean court TO yield jurisdiction and surrender up prls
oner charged with offences against the law, upon the
mere psc drt OF any man. no matter how high IN au-
thOrlty. Whether Mcleod be found guilty not gull
ty,ls the very point upon which American Jury alone
have right to decide Jurisdiction in state tribunals
over criminal cases, and trial by the jury o the venue
ale ess entidl points in American Jurisprudence And
:, is Total misrepresentation as 10 the nature of our
ye.n,, 10 suhUose that there is any right in the Fed
oral Fyanutvc to arrest the verdict OF the one, or
,h,y,r, tho i,r;so-on o. the other II such power
existed, and were exercised, would efiec'uay over
throw and upon vital poin, !he ,4i''e sovereignty
and Independence of these states.
! The Federal Executive might he clothed with 'o"
to deliver up fugves from justice for offences com
mitted against foreign state but then it might
not be obligatory TO do unless II were made matter
OF treaty stipulation. This duty and right IN an Exec
utive has generally been considered dormant, until
made binding by treaty arrangement. But when the
matter is reversed, and demand is made not Of fugi-
lives from justice for offences against foreign power
but for the liberation of charged with offences
against the peace and dignity of one Of our own states
then it is that the demand becomes preposterous in the
! extreme. The fact that the offences committed
under the sanction of provincial authorities does no,
alter the case, unless were IN a state OF In
such the present tho power deliver up could
not be conferred upon the Federal Executive by treaty
stipulation II could only be conferred in those cases
over which jurisdiction il clearly delegated by the
Federal constitution. Such for instance as treason
which is offence against the conoincd sovereignty
Of the states, as defined in the constitution Over all
cases except those defined in the constitution and
those coming clearly under the laws of nations the
states have exclusive jurisdiction, and the trial and
punishment for offences against them, incident to
their separate sovereignty. 1t pretended in this
case that there Is any treaty stipulation under which
the demand is made: and the Federal Executive under
q W lie hv tho
constitution, or by special law Of congress In the
former it is declared that he Executive power is vest
ed in President OF the United States, and that pow
IS then pointed and defined by special laws pass
ed from time memposing such ducs as arc thought
proper and eXpedien by congress.
Your committee deem it dangerous for the Exccu-
tive to exercise any power over subjectmatter not
conferred by treaty or by law and exercise il in
any case in conflict with state lufi>diction would be
worse than dangerous; it would be uslrpaton
But your committee fnrbear 10 press these points
farther at present, and they would not have said as
much on such clear questions OF international law, but
that in this the dcmcnd for liberation has been
made by the accredited agent Of a great power and
under circumstances of peculiar aggravation and
element.
We have other points Of difference with Great Brit
ain, which add interest TO every question that arises
between Us NJ present Neither our Northeastern or
Northwestern boundaries are vet settled with her and
the subject is not entirely free from difficulty She
has recently seized our vessels and exercised power
involving the right OF search, under the preoxt sun
pressing the foreign slave trade, which, If petscvered
in will sweep our commerce from the coast OF frca
and which IS Incompatible with ri" is as 4 mara
time power She has recently, in her intercourse with
u.s. refused indemnity and denied rights 70 proper
~ on subJcct-macr vital TO near one half the ST itcs
OF this conodcracy and which. cons lering her mill
tary position at Bermuda and her growing power in
the Wee ndos, i, Of the las, Importance TO our ma
uonal Independence.
Al These subjects make every question between US,
at tins particular iuncture, ofthc deepest interest,
Besides this, we arc both permanently destined 10
have peflhps the most extensive commerce Of modern
nations. Our flags float side by sllG over every sea
and bay and inlet Of the known globe
she moves steadily upon her objects with an anti
ton that knows no bounds ind wherever She has had
conflict Of interest She BIAS rarely Yielded 20 any power
At this moment She presents 10 the civilized world
The spectacle Of the greatest military and commercial
power 40 combination ever known
From her vast possessions IN every quarter of the
globe and her peculiar Commercial! system she has
been made the reservoir Of the wealth Of nations
Her internal resources, skill labor aud machinery
with her capital arc beyond calculation. Her natural
position, being about midway the colstof Europe gives
H4r rrg. mn. . I.. ,.f.fH