Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1861-06-13
NO. I.

cation they give, to all the courts, the pow
er of awarding writs of hobeas corpus
And again, in page 1O1:
eff any time the public safety should re-
quire the suspension Of the powers vested
by this act in the courts of the United States,
it is for the Legislature to say so. That
question depends on political considerations,
on which the Legislature is to decide. I'm
til the Legislative will be expressed, this
court can only see its duty, and must obey
the law"
can add nothing to these clear and en-
phatic words of my great predecessor.
But the documents before me show that
the military authority in this cause has gone
far beyond the mere suspension of the privi
lcge of the writ Of habeas corpus. 1t has.
by force of arms, thrust aside the judicial
authorities and officers to whom the consti-
tuition has confded the power and duty Of
interpreting and administering the laws,
and substituted military government in it's
place, to be administered and executed by
military officers. For at the time these
proceedings were had against j ohm Merry
man, the District Judge of Maryland
commissioner appointed under the act of
Congress-the District Attorney and the
Marshall-all resided in this city of Balti-
more, a few miles only from the home of the
prisoner.
Up to that time there had never been the
slightest resistance or obstruction to the pro-
cess of any court or judicial officer of the
United States in Maryland, except by the
military authority. And if military officer
or any other person had reason to believe
that the prisoner had committed any offence
against the laws of the United States, it was
his duty to give information of the fact, and
the evidence to sup II it, to the District
Attorney; and it would then have become
the duty of that officer to bring the matter
before the District Judge or Commissioner,
and if there was sufficient legal evidence to
justify his arrest, the judge or commissioner
would have issued his warrant to the mar
shall to arrest him; and upon the hearing
of the party would have held him to bail or
committed him for trial, according to the
character of the offence as it appeared in the
testimony. or would have discharged him
Immediately if there was not sufficient evil
dence to support the accusation.
There was no danger of any obstruction
or resistance to the action of the civil autho-
rifles and therefore no reason whateverfor
the interposition Of the military. Andyet 4. u.
stationed in Pennsylvania, without giving
any information to the District Attorney,
and without any application to the judicial
&o 1.,oeo1c ~ .,,l: ~: II
power in the District of Maryland; under
takes to decide what constitutes the crime
of treason or rebellion; what evidence Gf,
indeed, he required any is sufficient to sup
port the accusation and justify the commit
ment; and commits the party without hav-
ing hearing even before himself, to close
custody in strongly garrisoned fort, to be
there held, it would seem, during the plea
sure of those who committed him.
The constitution provides. as have be-
fore said, that ''no person shall be deprived
Of life, liberty or property, without due pro-
cess of law" It declares that ''the right Of
the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects, against umeason
able searches and seizures, shall not be vio-
lated, and no warrant shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by oath or affir-
nation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized" It provides that the
party accused shall be entitled to speedy
trial in court of justice.
And these great and fundamental laws,
which Congress itself could not suspend,
have been disregarded and suspended, like
Tho xurif of L<,Io1o h1,, j., ;l;for.,
der, supported by force Of arms. Such is
the case now before Inc, and can only say,
that if the authority which the constitution
has confded to the judiciary department and
judicial officers, may thus upon any pretcxt
or under any circumstances be usurped by
the military power at its discretion, the
people of the United States are no longer
living under government of laws, but every
citizen holds life, liberty and property at the
will and pleasure of the army officer in whose
military district he may happen to be found.
In such case my duty was too plain to
be mistaken. have exercised all the pow
er which the constitution and laws confer on
me, but that power has been resisted by
| force too strong for me to overcome. It is
possible that the officer who has incurred
tnls grave responsibility may nave mlsun-
derstood his instructions, and exceeded the
authority intended to be given him. shall,
therefore, order all the proceedings in this
case, with my opinion, to be filed and re-
corded in the Circuit Court of the United
States for the District of Maryland, and di-
rect the clerk to transmit copy, under seal,
to the President of the United States. 1t
will then remain far that hiph officer in
fulflment of his constitutional obligation to
''take care that the laws be faithfully exc
cuted," to determine what measures he will
take to cause the civil process Of the United
States to be respected and enforced
r. b. TANEY, Chief Justice
Of the Supreme Court of the United States.
gEg"A country schoo-master thus describes
a money-ender:
''He serves you in the present tense-he lends