The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1860-1863, 1861-07-04

the insane press OF N. York was raving for
instantaneous action. This sort Of care
less advance is what has prodnced',he dis.
asters at Great and Little Bethel North
american.
judge Parsons on Martial LaT.-Thc Pow.
ers Of the President.
Judge Parsons, the eminent Prof ssor
at the Harvard Law School, contributes
TO the Boston Advertiser the following
abstract Of his lecture on Martial Law
The lecture was delivered before the re.
cent hdJeds corpus cases had occurred at
Baltimore and St. Louis, hence the Judg-
e's exposition ofthe law does not allude
to any particular instances. hut lays
down The general principles FLAW.
DEFINITION OF MARITAL LAW.
MARTIAL law is often confounded with
military laws and this mistake is made in
some works Of authority; but they are
distinct and very different. A recent
English CONNIE ntator on Blackstone says,
there is great distinction, otten lost
Sight Of, between military Iaw and martial
law.' So chancellor Kent in his Com
meEtaries after deanins n.il;tory fu,V says,
martial laao is quite a distinct thing. They
do indeed diiler in nearly all important
particulars. Military law consists Of the
articles Of war, and other statutory proyi.
sions, and rests on legislative antbority
it exists equally in pace and in war; il
applies only to military matters and thingf
and it i, perfectly definite in its proyi-
sions. In all these respects martial law
differs from military law.
martial law springs from military ne
ce'slty, and nothing else. or, in the words
Of Kent, 1T is founded upon paramount
necessity As it has no origin but war,
it exists only in wsr, or in a condition Of
things requiring armies and military ac-
ton. While it exists, to all the inhab
itanis ofthe district where it is in force.
whtthef they are military ornon military.
And iras wholly arbitrary
=. APPLICATION To THIS COUNTRY.
The obvious, uEquestionable, and uni.
versal need Of power som0 Whers TO exer.
else martial law, when an adequate neces
sity exists is as certain in this as in al
other organized nations. But we have
also something in our national constitution
about it not under the word and name
Of martial law, but under that other
phrooa ,p h;.h ,,,n La,,- o.on g. h., ;Is
equivalent-the suspension of the right
to hO6eas corpus. '-
"The Constitution Of the United States
art, ], sec. 9. x. 9, provides that the priv.
llcgc of the writ OF habeas corpus shall mol
be suspended unless when, in cases o
rebellion or invasion, the public safety
may require it, And many of the State
Constitutions have similar provisions. A
fair inference from this is, tLat the right
to haJeas corpus may be suspended, or,
what is the same thi G. martial law may
be declared and exercised in cases of re.
bellion or invasion, when the public safe
ty may require it, The first and mos
important question is. who may decide
when the exigeucy occurs, and who may
lit occurs, declare martial law. On this
point have myself no doubt. The clause
on this subject is contained in the first
article Of the Constitution, ard this sr icle
relates principally TO Congress. Nor can
there be any doubt that Congress may
when the necessity occurs, suspend the
right to the writ Of haledS corpus, or,
which is the same thing, declare or au'
thorize marital law. TIE question is ha:
the President this power? The Constitu
tion does not expressly give this power
to any department Of Government, moi
does it expressly reserve it to Congress
although. in the same article, II does
make this express reservation as 10 SOM
Of tie provisions co:itained in the article
This may be mere accidental omission
but il seems to me more reasonable, an,
more consouant with the principles OF le
, gal Interpretation, to infer fom it an ab
sence Of intention 10 con6ne il TO Con
J gress. And am confirmed in this opin
ion by the nature ofthe case. Tho vef
instance specified as those in which Il.
right to ha5eas corpus may be suspended
(invasion and rebellion) are iecisel
) those in which the reason for doing 6
t may come suddenly, thenecessi,y Of d
termination be immediate, and a eertaint
I exist that the suspension will he ustles
: and the whole mischief which The SUI
pension might prevent, take place ifthel
! be any delay. To guard against the SUI
1 pension by limiting tho cases. as is don'
seems TO mo wise; to obstruct it by rt
: curing the delay necessarily arising froI
legislative action. would seem to be III
/, reasonable; It is true that my construt
, ton gives to the President, in the tw
e lcases IF rehellion and Invasion, val