The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1861-08-31

find tlrat--
!" Tho party consisted of twenty persons of
| whom seventeen were members of the Society OF
| Friends They were ordered first to Staunton
| then frontier town in the western settlement of
| Virginia but afterwards to be detained at Win.
chester, where they were kept in partial cOnlne-
ment nearly eight months. without provision being
made for their support for the only reference to
this was by n resolution of the Supreme Executive
Council of Pennsylvania dated April &, l773 as
follows
- RESOLVED, That the whole expenses of
nrresting and combining the prisoners sent to Vir
slnla. the expenses of their journey, and all other
incidental charges. be paid by the said prisoners
During the stay of the cxiles at Winchester,
nearly all OF them suffered greatly from circum-
stances unavoidable in their situation-from anx
lety, separation from their families left unpro-
tected in Philade lpha. then a besieged city, Liable
nj any time to be starved out or taken by assault !;
while from sickness and exposure during the
winter season, in accommodations entirely insult
able for them, two of their number departed this
life in the month of March, HIS "
Thus, Mr. President, we find that the writ
OF HABEAs CORPUS was suspended by the
authorities of Pennsylvania, during the
Revolution, in the case of persons who were
considered dangerous and inimical to the
country. writ was taken out and served
upon the -oiliccrs, and they refused to sur
render the prisoners, or even to give them
nearing. Ii the Senator from Kentucky had
desired an extreme case, and wiShc to make
display of his legal and historical informa-
ton, it would have been very easy for him
to have cited this casc--much more agra
waited, much more cXtravagant, much more
striking, than the one in regard to which he
was speaking. Let it he remembered, also,
that this case, although it seems to be an
cXtravagant and striking one, occurred dur
IA
eral Washington, before we had President.
We find that at the time the writ Of HADEAs
CORPUS was suspended, and twenty ind-
vlduals were denied even the privilege Of a
hearing. because they were considered mimi
cal and dangerous to the liberties of the
country. In the midst of the Revolution,
when the writ of H,BEAs CORPUS was as well
understood as it is now, when they were
iamiIar with its operation in Great Britain,
when they knew and understood all the rights
and privileges it granted to the citizen, we
una That the Legislature of Pennsylvania
passed law repeating the power to issue the
writ OF nABEAS CORPUS, and went back and
relieved the officers who refused to obey the
writs, and Unidentified them from the opera
ton OF any wrong they might have done. If
inc Senator wanted strong and striking
case, one that would bear comment. why did
ne NOT go back to this case, that occurred in
the Revolution, during the very period
referred to by him But no; all these cases
seem to have been forgotten, and the mind
was liked down upon a case Of recent occur
renee. There is great similarity in the
cases. The one to which | have alluded
however, is much stronger ca sc than that
referred to by the Senator. 1t was in Phila-
dciphla, where Congress was sitting; it was
IN Pennsylvania where these persons, who
were considered inimical to the freedom of
the county, were found. Congress was
appealed To, but Congress executed the
order; and the Legislature Of Pennsylvania,
after it was executed, though it was in viola :
ton OF the right to the writ of uABEAs CORPUS,
passed law indcmnifying the persons that
had violated it, and made it retrospective in
its operation. What is our case now Z We
are not struggling for the establishment of
our nationality, but we are struggling for the
existence of the Government. Suppose the
writ of nABEAs CORPUS has been suspended
the question ari SEES whether it was not IL justi-
liable suspension at the time ard ought we
not now to indorSe simply what we would
have done if we had been here ourselves at
the time the power was exercised
The impression is sought to be made on
the public mind that this is the first and only
case where the power has been exercised
L have shown that there is one tcntold more
striking, that occurred during our struggle
for independence. Is this the first time that
persons i'll the United States have been
placed under martial law ? In 1915, when
New Orleans was about to be sacked, when
foreign foe was upon the soil of Louisiana,
New Orleans was put under martial law, and
Judge Hall was made prisoner because he
attempted to interpoSe. Is there II man
here, or in the country, who condemns Gen.
Ia tIA
Ginning martial law in 1857 Could that
city have been saved without placing it under
martial law, and making Judge Hall submit
to it | know that General jackson sub
united to be arrested, tried, and fined S 900;
but what did Congress do in that case 1t
did just what we are called on to do in this
case. BY the restoration of his fne--an act
passed by an overwhelming majority in the
two Houses of Congress the nation said
'we approve Of what you did" Suppose,
Mr.. President, (and it may have been the
case,) that the existence of the Government
depended upon the protection and successful
defense Of New Orleans; and suppose, too,
it was in violation Of the strict letter of the
Constitution for General jackson to place
New Orleans under martial law, but without
placing it under martial law the Government
would have been overthrow: is there any
reasonable, any intelligent man in or out of
Congress who would not ndorSc and acknow-
edge the exercise Of power which was indis-
penSable to the existence and maintenance
of the Government! The Constitution was
likely to be overthrow, the law was about
to be violated, and the Government tramplcd
under foot and when it becomes necessary
to prevent this, even by exercising power
that comes in conflict with the Constitution
in time Of peace, it should and ought to be
exercised. If General jackson had lost the
city Of New Orleans, and the Government
had been overthrow by refusal on his part
to place Judge Hall and the city of New
Orleans under martial law, he ought to have
lost his head. But he acted as a soldier he
acted as a patriot; he acted as a statesman
as one devoted to the institutions and the
preservation and the existence of his Gov
ernment and the grateful homage Of natio n
was his reward.
Then, sir, the power which has been cXcr-
clsed in this instance is no new thing. In
great emergencies, when the life of nation
is in peril, when its very existence is flicker
ing, to question too nicely, to scan too criti-
cally, its acts in the very midst of that crisis,
when the Government is likely to be over
thrown, is to make war upon it, and try to
parayze its energies. If war is to be made
upon those who seem to violate the laws OF
the United States in their efforts to preserve
the Government, wait until the country
passes out it's peril wait until the coun-
try is relieved from its difficulty wait until
the crisis passes by, and then ceme forward,
dispassionately, and ascertain to what extent
the law has bsen violated, if indeed it has
been violated at all.
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