Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1846-11-13

800 EAfA'A EN- ~
money taken, doth absent himself, * =
there lieth a writ # + 'aa cqpiendum,' Ito
take him)-and this is lee icrr@, By process g
latc."
'lf a man had entered into religion and
was protested, and after, he departed from
his house y = 4 against the ruler of his
religion, = = upon certificate of the abbot
= s. a writ should be directed to the
Sheriff to take the apostate and deliver MIN
to the abbot to be whipped, or punished ac-
cording to the rules OF his order, and this was
lee ierr@ by process Of Laio'"
He gives two further examples of a layman
taking iorcible possession of church property,
and a churchman attempting to leave the king
dom without the Kings leaye-in both which
cases they were restrained by simple COM
mand or writ, which was held "process of
law" Numerous other examples are given,
of a person who sees a felony committed be-
ing authorized to arrest and imprison the
wrong-doer, &C., &c.-Coke's , Institute, 40,
so, to So.
illustrations of these principles and deini-
lions Of Lord Coke abound in the common
and statute law of England and of this coun-
try.
= For instance, a man publishes a libel, or
trespasses on my farm, | sue him-he is fined,
and thus he is ''deprived of his property"
without sang indictment by u Grand Jury,'
which is one of Mr.. Goodell's requisites.
The Sheriff reads the riot act, and if the
mob refuse to d~isperse, orders the military to
fre-a score Of persons are "deprived Of life"
Here is no trial by any jury, at all; still the
statute and the courts declare it to be 'due
process of law" Gen. Jackson hangs spies
F in Florida, and other Generals shoot deser-
: ters-and this is ''due process of law
| (NCu,u,oInra Slidall ManEanuia daprivor ba1f
of his mutineers of elderly by putting them
in irons, and the other half, of %''life," by
; hanging them at the yard-arm; and this is
: "due process Of law" Judges of Probate
! deprive ~lunatics of elderly by sending
l them to hospitals for life, and spendthrilts of
I their property" by putting them under guar
: dianship-lathers conine children by the day
! or week, and put into their own pockets the
! wages Of a man Of twenty years Of age. In
Z either case is there any action of a juryl-
= Still it is ''due process Of law" So every
y child born Of a slave-mother, South Carolina
: law declares to be a slave for life. All these
things are done now, and have been done,
J, both here and in England, ever since Magma
!, Charta was erected, whence this phrase of
S ''due process of laws is taken. Mr.. Goodell
may, to be sure, say that all these things are
2 illegal, and Inconsistent with Magma Charta.
would only remind him in reply:
n LIST. To take notice then, how many things
e beside slavery, his construction Of the Con-
S stitution will destroy and to consider wheth-
or it is not possible, or even probable, that a
e principle of construction may be unsounl
which works such havoc among our law and
usages-which, his friend Spooner describes
it, would "possibly, perhaps, spare enough
e Of our existing Constitutions TO Sare The Go
pernments from tie necessity IF reOrganiztng"!
Is it not just possible that the world has be-
fore now discovered the true meaning of Mag
ma Charta, which is six hundred and thirty
d one years old
If ID. | will remind him that if, as he admits
and states, (p. Co., sin order to understand
it the full power and signiicancy Of this phrase,
ID due process of law which the writer of this
Amendment took of course, from the vocabu'
o. larry of our courts of Justice, and from the ac-
at credited law literature of our language, we
t, must trace Il back 10 lis early use, and follow
IS it down to the present time - then all these
o, things are not only legal, but perfectly con
n s%isteht with his magic phrase, of 'due pro
to cess of law; since from the time of MagnS
s, Charta, and of Lord Coke, whose interpreta'
r. ton is adopted, they have all uniformly beer
lie p%racticed and held legal, Notwithstanding
1T then as now, no person was TO be deprived o
d. life, liberty, or property, without due process
Ol ldhs PlA HulIultu 1Sdlo VI uS'Oh
at therefore, have settled it, according to Mr.
n, Goodell's oVn principles, just quoted, that tn
he law of riot, martial law, and probate law
nd though all wanting in the matter of jury trial
lat &C., are perfectly consistent with this clause
lr. If Lord Coke's opinion as to what this phras
ed means. is of any authority, (and it is quote
nd as SUCH then his practice and opinion ais
ID. of what is legally consistent with it are {
ke equal authority. The phrase, therefore, doe
rae not necessarily refer TO, or always includ
is, indictment, trial, and verdict, as Mr.. Goode
asserts.
nut Let not Mr.. Goodell reply that two of m
", examples, Chose relating TO martial law,) al
cd specially excepted by the previous part
ne this very Article. Ii but one of the othel
M given be sound, it is sufficient to ~illustra
my idea. But he must remember that tn
ee reply will not avail him here, since we al
in now, at his request, debating under that Gal
he surd) principle of his, called ''strict eonstrur
tion," which he tells us lin pages 10, 70
'has nothing to do with the task of reconci
ing inconsistencies in a written documents
1t can only expound its several parts by III
,u help of its grammar, its lexicon, and the Gu
."e rent use of the terms and phrases, accordin
10 the accredited literature within its reacl
1t + + + Il and for the plain reason thi
oil one provision of the Constitution is as pr
cious in its eyes as another, and each mui
ca stand valid upon the Independent power
Ia its own immaculate words and syhaJies'",
ase 1t is partly to illustrate the weakness
In this, his %favorite principle, that we introduC
cd, those examples.
the According to Lord Coke, therefore, ar
Judge Story, the literal meaning of the Lat
term, hgem terra, claw of the land and
her the English equivalent ''due process of law
is the true meaning. A thing must be dor
: rf according to law-by that process which IL
Of law points out as due and appropriate to sue
an act: if by statute-then by statute
aw through a jury and court, then that form mu
Of be observed. And this is the whole signi
> cation of the phrase. Now slaves are mat