Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-06-07
JUDGE TANEY AND THE WRIT
OF HABEAS CORPUS.

Hagfant traitors, although application o.
: aihtaVit by an eminent legal gentle
n man was made 10 him for that purpose
When another notorious rebel, Merriman o
, Baltimore, was seized and confined by the U
;. troops to be tried in due time for hi
crimes, Judge fancy went in hot haste t,
Baltimore to issue writ of ha5eas corp,l
ior his rescue. His sympathy with the rebel
Is manifest enough. Ofcourse, the U. S, mill
tary officer, General Cadwallader did not sur
render Mr.. Merriman, nor pay any more res
pect to an intimation that the Judge had
sent writ for his own arrest as contumaci-
Gus and the Judge says he shall call upon
the President to see that the laws are en-
torccd-that the civil power is always to be
held superior to the military power, &c.
According to Judge fancy, the rebels could
have very easy time of It. They only need
to have L. S. Judge of the right sort along.
to issue injuact5ons on all government officers
and troops, forbidding them to meddle with
property or persons of whom it might have
been alleged that they were in danger of
harm from the saId persons claiming to act
under the authority of the L ). command
er-in-chiei, till there had been hearing and
adjudication in the law courts Of course
too, if by i'll luck any Of the rebels should
have been caught before the judges protective
shield had been interposed, his writ of HqJeas
Corpus would be 4 sure means of setting them
free, a. unharmed and as hearty for rebellion
as ever.
In time of profound peace and, quiet,
no doubt, the civil authority
takes precedence Of the military; but
il is different when instant war or fla
grant rebellion calls for suppression Of
peaceful means, and a resort by the supreme
Executive to forc., for the preservation
Of the national existence The Constitution
expressly says the writ Of hqjeas corpus shall
not be su pended, unless ''re5ellon or iaUoaon
or th2 public safety may require it, -" and it
does not say who atone shall have power to
suspend it, Congress, no doubt, could suspend
it over the entire nation, if the case demand
cd it but in a great aud dangerous emer-
scncy, that power has been repeatedly used
by the President and high military officers,
and their action has been sanctioned by
public sentiment and by Congress. The
National inteLigenesr of Thursday has an
article on this subject, in which it is said
Il is important, however, TO remark tn at, so far
as W. arc aware, the only occasion on which the
question has ever como up for formal decision by
Congrcss, would seem t0 authorize an acquiesceuce
at least. tho part Of the National Legislature,
Ia the assumption of this right by the executive
ard military authorities Of tho United States in
ca acs Cf public danger AZ once SO eminent and
grave that the,maAim s1ily pop4h surr epa ler may
bo fairly deemed to afford a rule of action under
the pressure of visible public necessity. cur
sorry retrospect Of an interesting period in our
civil and parliamentary history will pet this fact in
a clear light.
IN enumeration of several Instances where
in the history Of our country; that writ was
suspended follows, and the article concludes /
by citing the following words Of Judge Story |
1T Is obvious that eases Of peculiar emer-
gency may arise which may justify, nay, |
even require, the temporary suspension Of |
any right TO this wit. But, it has fire. /
quently happened in foreign countries, and even /
in England, that the writ has, upon various pre- /
texts and occasions, been suspended, whereby per-
sons apprehcnded upon suspicion have suffered /
long Imprisonment, sometimes from design and /
sometimes because they we're forgotten, the right .
TO suspend it is expressly confined to cases Of re-
bellion and invasion, where the public safety may
require it,"
if it be ruled that Congress alone is empowere i .
TO suspend the privilege Of this writ, and if ere
bellion be fagrant while Congress is not in se5-
sion IT might doubtless become the duty Of the
Executive, acting under imperious public ne
cessity, % take the responsibility Of exer-
cising this high prerogative. For such an assump-
ton he would doubtless, in justice TO himself, be
prepared to render account TO the representatives
of the people and If, on a statement of the con-
siderations in virtue Of which he had acted, it
should appear that he had imperative reasons for
taking so extraordinary a step, he would doubt
less be acquitted Of any voluntary infringement
Of the constitution and laws. Mr.. Jefferson, with
al his notions Of " strict construction deemed il
right and proper 20 acquire the territory of Louis
lana, Ia violation as he thought at the time, Of
the constitution, and subsequently to the nego-
tiation proposed to "appeal TO the nation for an
additional article to the constitution approving
and confirming an act which the nation bad not
previously AUTHORISED
If 10 were permissible, IN his judgment, 10 trans
grc55 the letter Of the constitution IN order to Sc
cure good which would otherwise probably be
never again in power,' it will be admitted
that the President Of the United States may
sumo to exercise a similar discretion when the
very existence of the nation is imperilled Called
as the federal government Is, TO resist revolution
which proceeds on the principle of denying the
obi cations Of the constitution and laws of the
United States, it is obvious that those who symPa
thizc with the secession movement have no right
t. c1mplain Of it conduct in the premises, while
the loyal citizens Of the republic will be careful /
to unite that vigilance which is "the price of lo- !
erty" with that candor which shall impartialy !
weigh the proceedings Of their government at this
diicult crisis"
"FRArsENAL" PRWATEERs. - The New |