Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-03-17

| Inlttcu tho ioltoWlnH important anu interesting
communication and document, which, on motion
| Of Mr.. johnson, were ordered To be printed md
referred to tho Committee of Courts: on motion
ofNlr. Brnnnon, 1000 extra copies were ordered
| TO bo printed:
Executive DEPARTMENT.,
March lith, 1850.
Gentlemen ofMe Senate and House Of Delegates:
On the 2Sth day of February last upon inorma.
ton believed to be reliable, issued rcquisiton
on the Executive authority Of the State of Ohio.
for Francis Merriam an Owen Brown, two of tho
persons engaged with John Brown in the raid at
llarper's Ferry. In reply to that rcquisition,
! have received d communication from Gov ben
nison Of Tint state. declining to surrender these
iugitives from justice for reasons, which are, in
my Judgment. us frivolous us those which wcro
assigned by Gov. kirkwood Of Iowa. and which,
taken together. demonstrate u determined purpose
on the part Of tie Governors Of these States. to
refuse q compliance with the express provsions
Of the Constitution OF tho United States, aud tho
| laws made to execute those provisions.
| Coy. ncnuison informs mo that the reasons for
his CONCLUSIONS. fully sci forth in the copy of
mn opinion of tho Attorney General OF Ohio,
! which he cncloscs. The Governors letter and
| that opinion ARE herewith transmitted for Your
| consideration.
| The Attorney General If Ohio. assigns three
reasons why this rcquistion should not be COM
! piled with:
"lst. That no enactment Of this State (Uhio)
| has cothe thc Governor with authority to sur
render To another State fugilycs from it4 jus! CO
seeking refuge here. Whatever power he may
have must be derived from the Constitution of the
United States and the act Of Congress respecting
fneiti,cs from justice, approved 10Th February,
1903" And then he states that under that net,
"l.t lie mist have been charged in another
State, Y indictment or affidavit, with the commis.
son there OF treason, felony or Other crime.
'2l. lie must haze fed from that State to cs-
cape its justice
sd. Dcmlu for his surrender, accompanied by
an authentic copy of thciudi.mcnt or afi lav, on
which the demand is prc1ea'c1. must have been
made OF tho Executive authority of the Statc from
which the flight was made
when these do concurrently happen, the pow
er to remove exists. and must be executed
ID le bic that there is no allegation, still
|, S. is there any evidence that Merriam ever fed
from the State Of Nirgini," The Attorney Gen.
eral says ''Frnc, the preamble To the requisiton
rccitcs that il uppcnrs 10y the annexed documents
hat Merriam is fugitive from Justice from Nir-
ginin, Int this recital docs not accord with tho
fact, No flight whatever is shown by the dncu
ments annexed"
Sd. The Attorney General takes the ground that
| ''there is nothing to show that he (Mcrrinm) was
ever within the State Of Virginia snve the allcgi-
alton in the indictment that the offence Of which
| he is accused was there committed"
| propose to consider lrici1y these objections :
lst. There is no law Of Ohio which authorizes the
| Governor to surrender lugtives from justice. II
this be So it would only prove that the State Of
Ohio had refused or nes elected to comply with tho
Constitutional provision, which requires that IN
person charged in any State with treason. felony
or other crime, who shall flee from Justice and be
found in another State, shall, demand of the
Executive authority Of the State baving jnrislc-
ton of the crime
have examined the last revised statutes of
Ohio, psbliehcd in 1854, and find. that from the
year 1871 to the time Of the publication Of those
statutes, the State Of Ohio had made ann he pro-
vision for the surrender of fngilvcs from Justice.
This provision is contained in the ninth section Of
the act securing the benefits Of hnhcaa copus, aud
ia in these words provided, that if my ciizcn
Of this State or person. or prrsons, ut any time
resident in the same shall have committed, or he
charged with having committed, my treason. iel-
ony or misIcmcnnor, in any other part uf the Uni,
ted States or Territories, where he or she ought TO
DO tried for such offence, he, she or they may be
sent to the State or TerritJry having jurisdiction
of the offence" But to evincG determined rur
pose not to comply with the Constitution, that pro-
viso repealed by an act passed in 1856, in
which the act repealed wns re cnncted omitting
the words quoted and again, in 1888 the repeal
cd act was again repealed but re enacted " th the
same proyso omitted.
And now the Governor Of Ohio pleads, through
his Attorney General the fact that there is no law
Of Ohio which authorizes the Governor to surrcn-
ucr II luRlliNc from JUSTICE. IL tHtrt DC any law
of that State which. authorizes the Governor to
demand fugitive from the justice Of Ohio, have
been unsuccessful in finding it ns Governor
Dennison has been in finding the other. And yet
the constant practice Of that State is and its pre-
sent Governor mas ncted upon the practice, to de-
niand ugives from other States.
But if the Governor Of Ohio was disposed TO
carry out the friendly relations which should cx-
it between sister States he night still have found
law on the statute book of Ohio to justify tho de-
tention OF notorious offender md To require him
to be sent to the authorities Of Virginia. find
in the same Revised Statutes, an act concerning
fugitives from Justice, passed in 1894, and the
peal of which, after tho closest scrutiny, have
not been abl to discover. which provides that
"when any person shall be brought before any
Justice Of the peace within this State (Ohio)
charged with the commission Of any criminal Of
fcnce-0gatnst tie lars Of any other State, or of
any Of the territories of the United States it shall
be lawful, and it is hereby made the duty OF such
justice OF the peace to hear and examine such
charge, aud upon proof by him adjudged sufficient
to commit such person to the Jail of the county,
in which such examination shall take place, or 10
cause such person to be delivered 10 suitable
person, TO be rcmored 10 some proper place ofjurfs
diction." IF this law s still in force, the friend
ship which once existed between Virginia aud the
State of Ohio in tho better days Of tho Republic
ought to have induced tho Governor TO have refer
red the agent of Virginia to that statute and to
have promised aid and assistance in executing its
provisions. If it has been repealed, then it is
another evidence of determined purpose to enjoy
the benefits of the Union, without complying with
the obligations imposed. A sad spectacle, exhib
ting great State great Confederacy bound by
the obligations of compact of Union, deliberately
setting aside that compact, and repeating laws
which itself had enacted to enable the authorities
to carry that compact into execution. But, II
it be in force then it is obviously fthc provi
sions originally designed to execute tho clause OF