The spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1840-1844, 1843-01-20


The first position indeed was not binding upon and
should rot have influenced the decisions of any
man; ii WIS merely the expression u opinion of
bod, Of men. extra judirin, and without amy
force Hut The ldi'sr could have been iukcn only
tv such men ~ are sometimes created for no def |
naac benefit. that can be humanity perceived hut
merely 10 l up those unfortunate ilierstces that
are snutnnc, found To exist in The body pnic,-
1t is rn san plsiuq that the council, com osed OF
,len of hi.h atlaiHmrnls, sound sense and exlen-
siyc views, should have urdenily wished 10 rid
themselves of Il system then existing, so obnoxious
10 the prriudiccS and sometimes 10 tie Crnsurr OF
Injustice To community; bat il is surprising that
such npn should have 50 iaI wandered lrcm the
limits of their Jurisdiction, and should have based
.hcir report upon reasons which manifested that in
rcanrd to this subject they were strangers, and
with il they had TO intimacy, and Of i, no kGowl-
edge.
\ court martial is legally organized body to
investigate, decide aud award sentence concerning
offences committed against military law Ii is reg
mated and governed III lis proceeding. "5y the
iq,rs Of Tie inRd." Singular as il may seem, in
view of lhls report, such Courts have been ucques
ced ia since long before the foundation ui the re-
public, and their consjuionalily has neyer been
questioned by the wisdom olageS.
his law according 10 The authorities, is divided
into commCa iaw mHHUu, which is derived from
precedent aud lmmnnOrdI usage, partly military
md pur!ly civil and is peculiar 10 military courts;
aud The SidiUic iIr miHiOry which is derived from
pni.hii,e cnac,meniS and speciality designed for
hr government Of the military department Of the
state Instances may ocCni when these statutes
military operate more extensively, and may eiIcc,
every mcmber cf society," These, however, are
10 Iva
fence Of MARTIAL Law. Here It Is remarked
that military lar and Martial tar are not synon-
ymous, as il sometimes understood. .NuliiGi
law canno, he in force excepting by special stat
Ue. .Ni!ilarn law is in force either hy precedent
or statute. There is still greater difference;
martial law canno, prevail even by statute bu, in
extreme cases, such as rebellion" This is sccur-
ed TO the people by the constitution. "lmi no
person it jh' state can in any case be subject 10
Tar mqHiul, or 10 ANY penalties or pains hy Viz
tue Of thnl law. except those tmp'oycd IN tie ar
N.Y. and the militia in actual serNre,' Maral
law can never hn in farce but when The privilege
orhp}cas coiyuS Is suspended. The military is
then superior to the civil power; the citizen can
he arrested by military officer, and cannc, he re-
,evcd by the civil magistrate, bat may be tried by
court martial aud executed, "N here MaiiiHl i0w
i established, aud prevails IN any country" says
Lord Iougnhororgh, at is Of n totally different
ruturr from that Which. h. ia0cCnrCCp, Ia called
marital law. VIXEN martial law prevails, the au.
rhnry under which it is exercised claims IL ur,-
dlc,irn over all military Persons in all ci,cu@-
stances; and crcyy spcciCs of oilcncc committed by
nny person who apper,atns 10 the Amy, ia tried
no, hy the cirji iudicaure, hut by the indicaiurc
Of the regiment or corps To wh"h h" b longs, -
lauia law, us defined in The latter case, cannot
rXi,, in this natioa Martial law cannot be cnnct-
Cl. CXrept On extraordinary emergencies, Bat
military Law operates at n times II her in peace
" war CndcI the statute or coMmoR lar mHt-
Iyg Of the land, the military IS sui juct 10 the civ
i power; and oil those who act in military ca
pari'y are midi, dIa|'y responsible hcinrr tine ci'i
court. FIR any Illegal act. Eut under the pre'a-
lgurc Of moriiJi Mw II Is No., 81; then The mcm-
hers ola c0ur, martial aud all other officers wha
nav he concerned in the conycnjns Of The coar,,
urc irrceuouslir Cor any Of THEN cnnluc', and are
rot s,.hlrct to the ci> laws, rs mayiioi icw,,hcn,
as used in the constitution, j. /, meant The siliutc
Mr Of lhc states provided nr the collection If
ines and penalties and the punishment Of offences
committed by military mcn. If the Srto}, lar
niIdpru is mGriiW iIw, what then shah the wise
call tqi law which was declared over the land.
du,m, the war, ut New Orleans. and recently in
the Disturbances in Rhodr island3 Are there not
laws udnpcd IN the habits and cGS'Ons Of different
cas,r. Of SOri"!y' VIVA, is the iPW merchiri.hut
such - j. Hdnp;td 10 Mat class ur contracts whrh
nrr governed hy the customs and laws Of thu, class
nr rnmmuuilE What too i, the military law hui
that whirh il adapted 10 the ,ria, of military onin-
&c, and inr Tive awarding and collecting the fines
and penalties mCGirrd hy military mrn: Without
cuuil MARTA, M military body con'd cNis, for Il
mrmcnr. Without these there could hc no organ
Yninn, M discipline aud no Standardization. What
civil courts por known can take coen2ancc cf IF.
/ r,nceS such ~ d,uheGcnrc Of orders, neglect Of
du,v uunury and unorrr Ike condlcr, and
| iusuaurIinnriun mad npmcrncs olhcr,' Had there
been rny hnoWi,dgc Of the SUBJECT, or had there
existed nuy disposition to mahr the sHgh'c., OK.
anrma,lon Of il' question, shat report would new
! ~ have hccm made.
In ,hi4 agc IF wisdom beyond all experience o.
ilr past, it scrui now al1n 10 he claimed by all
u, if hy sudden rcyrhiion, the risM Of triui b.
ivJy GA every side hlS arisen the claim 10 suci
q 'rid in rrc"y c'ss, and The di4n'ercslcd lhoi'
of The council wnu,d not desert so favorable IN op
purluniiy to ,indicatr Tie cause Of her citizens
and one would suppose that II claim SO oslcnia
,iouSiy ST forth aud ably sustained, was found
ed upon nothing less ih!n il purpnrlS 10 he, III,
charter ii our lIhcltics-ihc constitution Of lh'
land. is it true that every man has right 10
lgnl by jury in ever! easel
How read. the constitution! "1hat when m,
issue in fact, proper for the cognhnnce cf u in
ry, !, ninod in a cour, Of law. the parties have
right to trial by Jury, which orqht 10 be- bel,
sacred" The assumption il not true then 10 he
Gin with One would suppose that the court mar
iml cf 1887 for the collection Of fines was n move
one Ur is kind for ha ahors Of the council 10 DIT
rcr, ngan<, it the prciadccs Of community. Eu
is The can't nr law, the rour, Of c,nnccrs, or TIN
cnui Of probate unconstitutional because i, com
pos attendance, and issues is orders DEGREES am
executions, without trial by Jnr!'
Are hrrc no, lhnnsands Of cnsrs N which III
iiipe Of fact canno: be- found? Is not the satut
necessarily Cuil Of instances. in which snmn!ar,
process ia Ind against delinquent. The penal,
prescribed, and the warrnnt issued wiihou, Il ir,
hy inrv. or even hrarin.' Is it demonstrations
to line Gni contempt 0C count, and commit wthou