North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-10-08
JUDGE KANE'S CHARGE

CnrlStlana outrage, referred 10 In our last:
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury 1t has been
sented to me that since we met last, circnms, pre-
have occurred in of the neighboring conO,ine
our district which should call for your promn, Of
tiny, and perhaps for the energetic action of the sun
1t is said that citizen of the State of Ma,UDOT
who had come into Pennsylvania to reclaim SShd
tive from labor, was forcibly obstructeR j.; a ugl-
tempt by BODY of armed men-assapl,ed e at
and murdered-that some members of bis sOedeA
who had accompanied him in the pursuit. w., nly
same time and by the same party malreated and a. HE
ously wounded, and that officer of Justice grey sle!
tuted under the authority of this Court, who G
to arrest the fugitive was impeded and ran IOpghi
menaces and violence, while proclaimDo his t BY
ter and exhibiting his warrant. 1t is said ~, Unaa
the time and manner of these outrages thei, w. mat
object, the denunciations by which thew u'ted
ded' and the simultaneous action of most Of tba ao
ty parties, evinced combined purpose fo,cbI gull
sist and make nugatory constitutional nrovs; re.
the statutes enacted in pursuance Of it-and and
ed. in confirmation of this, that for some - add
back, gatherings of people, strangers as weI mOnns
izens nave been neid from time to time in the vc
ity of the place of the recent outbreak AZ VIII ,c
horatons were made and pledges inercb,n r,'n ex
hold the law for the recovery Of fugitive sIavo
no validity, and to defy its execution. 60 aS OF
Such are some of the representations ,b,, l..
bee made in my hearing, and in regard to bn naE
has become your duty, as the Grand Jury If bn
trict, to make legal inquiry. PersonaIv 'ne u.s.
nothing of the facts. the evidences reatiD, hnoW
AS member Of the court, before which The ~ s"n
persons may hereafter be arraigned and treJ
sought 10 keep my mind altogether FREQ f,ol. "ave
impression of their guilt or innocence and WI" dhy
an extra-ludclal knowledge of the circnms,n O,l
which must determine the legal character Of tS @
fence that has been perperated. 1t is due IN W.
great interests of public Justice no less Than u ,
parties Implicated in criminal charge, that their ca
shall be In no wise and in no degree prejudged And
in referring therefore to the Representations vh;L
have been made to me, have no other object tb. ~
point you to the reasons for my addressing Won at b
advanced period of our sessions, and to enabIo ~
to apply with more facility and certainty the pri1ci
Piles and rules of law, which l shall proceed to law
before you.
If the circumstances to which I have adver,ed have
In fact taken place. they involve the highest crims
known TO our laws. Treason against the Uni,aJ
States is defined by the Constitution, Art. g. Sect 2
Oh. L, to consist in "levying war against them, q,
in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and
comfort" This definition is borrowed from the an
cient law of England Stat. g. Edao. 8, sak s. chm
2, and its terms must be understood of course in the
which they bore in that law and which Obtain
ed here when the Constitution was adopted. The
expression " levying war;" so regarded, embraces
not merely the of formal or declared war but anv
combination forcibly prevent or oppose the execu
ton or enforcement of provision of the Consitu.
ton or of public Statute, if accompanied or follow.
ed by act of forcible opposition in pursuance Of
such combination.
to these words by the English Judges, and ii has
oeen uniformly and fully recognised and adopted in
the Courts of the United States. (See Foster, Hale
and Hawkins, and the opinions of Irede Patterson
chase, Marshall, and Washington, j. J., of Il ST.
preme Court, and of Peters. D. ]. in U. S. vs VigsL
U. s. Us Mitchell, q. s. Fries, IT, S. BORmqn
and S,uartsoour, and U. S. Us. Burr.)
| The definition, you will observe, includes two
particulars, both OF them indispensable elements of
the offence. There must have been combination OF
conspirng together to oppose the law by force and
! some actual force must have been exered, or the
crime of treason is not consummaIed.
The highest, or at least the direct proof of the
| combining, may be found in the declared purpose Of
the individual party before the actual outbreak or it
may be derived from the proceedings of meetings, in
which he took part openly, or which he either prompt
ed, made effective by his eountenance sanction
commenting, counselling and instgating forcibIe
resistance to the law. l speak, of course, of con-
spring to resist law, not the more limited purpose
to violate it, or to prevent the application and enforce
ment IN particular case, or against particular H.
dividual. The combination must be directed against
law itself.
But such direct proof of this element of the Of
fence is not legally necessary to establish Its exist
ence. The concert of purpose may be deduced from
the concerted action itself, it may be inferred IRON
facts occurring at the time, afterwards as well
before.
Besides this, there must be some act Of violence
as the result or consequence of the combining. BuI
here again. 1t is not necessary TO prove that the n'
vidua accused was direct, personal actor in the VI
oence. Ii he was present, directing, aiding, a0'
ting, counselling, or countenancng it, he is in law
guilty of the forcibe act. Nor is his personal
presence indispensable. Though he be absent al the
time of its actual Preparation, yet if he directed The
act, devised or knowingly furnished the means li
carrying it into effect, instigated others 10 perform It,
he shares their guilt. In treason there no acce'
series.
There has been, fear, erroneous impression
this subject among portion of our people. II Il
has been thought safe to counsel and nstgate Others
to acts OF forclble oppugnation to the provisions Oh
statute,-to infame the minds of the Ignorant by F
peals to passion, and denunciations of the law as O
presslve, unjust, revolving to the conscience anO
not binding the action of men,-to represent the
constitution of the land a compact of nlquIg
which it were meritorious to violate or subvert-tN
mistake has been grievous one and they who have
fallen into II may rejoice, if peradyenture Their az
peals and their counsels have been hitherto Wlho"
effect. The supremacy of the constitution, in allS
provisions, is at the very basis of existence
nation. He, whose conscience, or whose theories
political or individual right forbid him to supPoHa
maintain it in its fullest integrity, may relieve mp
self from the duties of citizenship by divestng hI
self of its rights. But while he remains within O3
borders, he is to remember that successfully to nST
gate treason is to commit it.
l shall not be supposed to imply in these remark
that have doubts of the aw-abiding character oil l
people. No one can know them well, without wv
most entire reliance their fidelity to the consu'
ton. Some of them may differ from the mass as s
the rightfulness the wisdom of this or the OH"
provision, that is found in the federal compact-mE9
may be divided in sentiment as to the policy o. y,
particular statute or ofsome provision in satutea
1t is their honest purpose to stand by the engageh
all the engagements, which bind them to thelrOl
rem of the other States. They have but one counI.
they recognize no law of higher social obIlsauSs
than its constitution and the laws made in Pursnar:
of its they recognize higher appeal than to inc so
bunals it has appointed they cherish no Pa''l0D'D
that looks beyond the union of the States.
That there are men here, elsewhere, W00 ~,