The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-06-23
The Repeal of the Force Bill.

The Repeal of the Force Bill.
In the late case of the rescuers at Ober-
lin, Mat. johnson, the worthy who holds
the baton of the U. s. Marshal for the
Northern District of Ohio, applied to the
Attorney General for an opinion. He got
an opinion highly remarkable for two
things, and not otherwise Objectionable.
In the first place, it shows us plainly the
confidence of the Federal Government in
the crusade against State rights upon
any question of collision of authority; and
next, it falls back at once on the habeas
corpus clause of the Force bill of 1888,
for all the weapons offensive and defen-
sivc which may be required The Presi-
dent wrote Attorney General Rush that
the aggressive power of their position is
considerable, backed up as it is by the ar
my and navy, and by swarms of function
aries ready to obey orders; and further
supported by the hunkeyism which pre-
walls amongst our politicians, who are
ready to do any thing to make them per
sonally known at Washington But all
these things might fail if the State power
were not palsied by some act of Congress
taking out of the hands of the home
judges the power to punish criminally the
violators of the peace. Consequently,
besides being prepared herself for any
contest, there was nothing for the Fede-
raj Government like the disarmament of
the locality into which its officers were to
be let loose. In Europe, the infected dis
trict is thrown out of the pale of the civil
law, by being declared in what is called
" a state of siege" and given up entirely
to the operation of martial law. The
same end is attained with us by another
mode. The infected district is put under
the ban of the Force bill, by which so
called habeas corpus from any federal
judge lets loose its criminals and its enc
mics. The State authorities, deprived of
the power to punish, are thus compelled
to submit to the will of the usurper. At
torney General Black, who is a country
lawyer of the deepest dye, without any
knowledge Of the complex beauty and per-
fection of our system, just transported
from the back woods of Pennsylvania to
the high post of legal adviser to the Pres
ident might be expected to display that
ludicrous confusion of thought which be-
longcd to his office under his predecessor,
and which he has himself still further
perplexed by his professional and official
labors. The wonders of Greytown bonn
bardments, British enlistments for the
Crimea, fllibustering expeditions, and the
right of search, wrought by Caleb Cush-
ing for the admiration of men, have been
rivalled by the present Attorney General,
who has contributed a good deal himself
under Buchanan to make Pierce's admin
istration respectable. Has he not indeed
carried the war into Paraguay, and ter
ror into the heart of Lopez-and was
Greytown a more memorable affair? and
Utah-is not Utah obedient to the Presi-
dent and the slave trade with the coast
of Africa-does that outrage scotch
ed by him, not drag its slow length pain
fully along? And then the right of
search which is not settled nor to be set
tied by anybody akin to the present ad-
ministration, has that not been-discuss-
ed ? And then has not the great two
horse act of Secretary Cass about every
great question of his life, just been re-
peated, upon the stir produced by pass
port applications for naturalized citizens
visiting their old homes2 But not to
dwell on other matters, has not Attorney
General Black enlightened successfully
the Opaque understanding of his federal
constable at Cleveland by the late opin-
ion? IF an attachment should be issued
against you by the State Court for your
refusal to obey their process, you will, of
course, appeal to the Federal Court un-
der the act of 1888 (and agreeably to the
precedent in the Robinson case) for re-
lief" Fortunately there was no collision
the Federal Courts Jurisdiction to try and
punish in the Oberlin rescue case being
clear, our Courts recognized it This d.
vision line in the partition of powers be-
tween the State and the Union being res
pected by US, the Federal Government
must be made, henceforth, to respect the
same line. 1t has broken over it shame
fully, and if the pretext of the right to
issue writs of habeas corpus be suffered
to remain, the barrier will finally be an
nihilat9d, and the Union be consolidated
and tho States merged altogether. The
Force bill furnishes that pretext, and it