Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1861-08-08

long letter 90 the question OF suspending
the writU hb>ke eeoos. N snswsr to
the following questions propoundsd By the
President Of the United States:
La the present. time Of great and
dangerous instruction, has tho President
the discretionary power to cause TO be ar
rested md held il, custody, persons known
to have crinlinai intercourso with the insur-
gents. or persons against whom there is
probable cause for suspicion of such Grim
4 $HES .A5.L,,,%h. Resi-
dent justified in refusing to obey q writ Of
habeas corpus issued by Court or Judge,
requiring him or his agent to produce the
body Of the prisoner. and show the cause
of his caption and detention. to be ad-
juG I'd disposed Of By sach Court or
JudeSe = - ..i1Ai
After review of the differences that ex-
ist between European principles of govern
msnt eud those which obtain in this co1n-
try. Mr. Bites proceeds to demonstrate
the separate and independent character of
the several departments of our Govern.
ms14 "a thea exprssses tn sopihian that
..in . time like the present. when the very
existence OF the nation is assAiled by q
great aud dangerous insurrcction the Pres.
ident has the lawful discretionary power
20 arrest and hold in custody, person
known to have criminal intercourse with
the insurgents. or persons against whom
there is probable ceuse for suspicion of
sdch criminal completely" ei11id III
In replying to the second question, Mr.
Bates beeins by an analysis Of the nature
of the writ ofbsbeas corpus and Aliudes to
the Constitutional view of the question as
follows.9 = ifc,--f,fssrgE
Thsss is bat ous sentence in the Consti-
tuition which mentions the writ of hsheas
corpns-srticie I, section 9. clause o.
which is in these words "The privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
suspended unless when. in case of rebellion
q ,ss9a 4s Pubiicsdssy msy require
Very learned persons have differed wide
ly about, The meaning OF this. short SEN
tence. and 1 am by mo- means confident
that fully understand it myself. The SEN
tsntious language of the Constitution in
this particular must. suppose. be infer
preted with reference to the origin of our
people. their historical relations. to the
: mott sssetrD ~. .s tier ;s,e':,ss palit-
Constitution was formed. At that time
the United States. Is nation. had no
common ifwlof its own. and 40 statutory
provision for the'writ of habeas corpus.
Still the people. English by descent, even
while in open rebellion against the Eng
Iish crown. claimed q sort of historical
lgbttatheforms Of The Eualish. Law and
The eukaaties fof Xnglish feedoms
They knew that the English Government
bad mUre than. once assumed the power to
iUppison whom ie wonld. d-hold them
for an indefinite time beyond the reach OF
judicial examination; and they desired.
no doubt. to interpose guard against the
like abuse in this country And hence the
clause of the Constitution now under con-
GtsUiQs xiBut I'VE mast sconstrus xthe
ND &eoe anf1indeterminats as they
90 : nd tlnA THE privilege 4
the writ Of ka5eas corpus shall be suspend
cd" &c. Dvus that meen that. the writ
itself shall not Be issued, Or, that being
iszned. the party shall derive no. benefit
honit7 Suspended docs that mean de-
hyed. hung up for a time. or altogether
denied? The writ of habeas corpus
which writ In England there many
wriss eslled by that nams, and used by the
courts Tor the more convenient exercise Of
their various powers. and our own courts
now. by AS4 or 06ngfess@fliozju Judiciary
act Of 1889, section l. and tho act Of
1880 1sB assnsisnt 4hss e. Ibeiiese,
equivalent powers.
Hesaiasfs1 Tsssz kas aisiT
If by the phrase the suspension of the
privilege ofths Wit ofhabsas corpus. VIZ
must understsnd \ repesl Of all power &c
issus Tie wit, tbeaA / freely admit lthsI
none but Congress can do it.. But If we
are ct liberty to understand the phrase to
mean. tha. in case Off great. and Danger
ous rebellion like the present, stheE public
safety requires the arrest and confinement
ofpersons Implicated m that rebellion.
pe-s: { sdspsDa sas' ri psIes,
ofpsrsons arrested under such circum.
stances. For he is especially charged by the
Conssitution With ths ..public SAFETY and
AsiSthe sole -judgs- Of the emergency
which requires his prompt action.
Of s;9 sslls.eg L ;s!s 3 l:. e., s E !.
temporary and exceptional. and was intend
ed only 20 meet a. pressing emergency.
waea thejvdiciaFy - said 70 be too weak
to insure the public ssfety-when in the
lsxet6gs y <hssict Of UoSgfessy ths1sesre
combinations too powerful ia. besuppress-
ed b the ordinary course Of Judicial pro-
ceedingzses.hs ~ pcgersEyetsd IN the
marshsls.' Then. and not till then. has
he tho lawia authority to scalfto his aid
tha.piitAry power Of the nation. .sna with
that power perform his great legal and
t9<t(poN6}ar l@5zf6 kupffsss he siusmt
section. And shall It be said that when
he has fought snfespsussd the insurgeni
CD as j ,; en- Pin inn ~ s sS;.'
before ~ juass gsp No. send him writ
Of hsbsas corpus, TO do. submit AID re-
esivs Whatsoever the Jddge shall consider
4's{ al b !. s1d n Il: sIab Cab
70 ehsE sch. : writ iss1ed under such cir.
,sunnnsss ssss s.s $50 - i.ss,'s ssrvs=
The opinion concludes as follows