Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1861-06-22

9th articleof the amendments to the Consti.
tuition. expressly provides that no person
"shall be deprived Of lifo, liberty or proper
ty without due process Of aw"-that is, iu-
dicial process, And even if tho privilege of
tho writ, OF A06eds corpus was suspended by
act of Congress, and u party not subject to
! the rules and articles of war was afterwards
arrested and imprisoned by regular judicial
process, he could not be detained in prison or
brought to trial before a military tribunal, for
the article in the amendments to the Consti-
tuition, immediately following the one above
rcforred--that is, the 9th -nrtclc-proyidcs
that .in all criminal prosecutions the accused
shall enjoy tho right to a speedy and public
trial by an Impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been pro
viously ascertaincd by law, and to be inform
ed OF the nature and cause of the accusation /;
to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtain
ing witnesses in his favor and to have the as
sistanso of counsel for his dofouee," :.
With such provisions in the Constitution.
expressed in language too clear to be misun-
| dcrstood by any one, can see no ground
whatever for supposing that the President, in
authorize the suspension of the privilege of
the writ of ho6cas corpus, or arrest a citizen
except in aid of the judicial power. He GER
tainly does not faithfully execute the laws, if
he takes upon himself Legislative power by
suspcnding the writ of hoJcas co,pus-und
the judicial power also, by arrcstng and i'm
prlsoning person without due process of
law. Nor can any argument be drawn from
the nature OF sovereignty or the necessities
OF Government Tor sclfdcfcncc in times of
tumult and danger. The Government of the
Unitcd States is one Of delegated and limited
powers. 1t derives it's existence and author
ity altogether from the Constitution, and nei-
thcr of it's branches, Executive, Legislative
or Judicial, can exercise any Of the powers
of Government beyond those specified and
granted. For the 10th article of the amend
ments to the Constitutions, in express terms
provides that {" tho powers not delegated to
the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States are reserved to
the States respectively or to the people"
Indeed, the security against Imprisonment
by executive authority, provided for in the
fifth article of the amendments of the Con
stitution, which L have before quo cd. is no
thing more than a copy Of like provision in
the English Constitution, which had been
firmly established before the Declaration of
Independence.
But am not left to form my judgment up.
on this great question, from analogics be-
tween English Jurists, or the decisions of
English Courts, although upon this subject
they arc entitled to the highest respect, and
arc justly regarded and received as authorita-
tive by our Courts Of Justice. TO guide me
to right conclusion, I have the conlmenta-
rlcs on the Constitution of the United
States of the late Mr. Justice Story. not only
ono OF the most eminent jurists of the age,
but tor long time one of the brightest orna-
lncnts of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and also the clear and authoritative
decision of that Court ITSELF given more
than half century since, and conclusvey
establishing tho principles, have above
stated.
But the documents before me show that
the military authority in this case has gone
iaf beyond the mere suspension of the priv
icge OF the writ Of huLcus coyDus 1t has.
by force of arms, thrust aside the judicial
authorities and officers to whom the Constitu-
tion has conGded the power and duty of in
tcrpreting 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 John Mcrryman, the Dis
trict Judge of Maryland, the commissioner
appointed under the act of Cungrcss-thc
| District Attorney and the Marshal all re-
sided in the city of Baltimore, a few miles
only from tho home of the prisoner Up to
that time there had never been the slightest
resistance or obstruction to the process nf any
court or judicial officer of the United States
in Maryland, except by tho military au-
thority
And if amilitary officer or any other per-
son, 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
support II, to the District Attorney; and it
would then have become the duty of that
| officer to bring the matter before the District
Judge or Commissioners and if there was
sufficient legal evidence to justify his arrest,
the Judge or Commissioner would have is
sued his warrant to tho Marshal 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
o.. have discharged him immcdiatclyif there
was not sufficient evidence to support the ac-
cusation. There was no danger of any OBJ
struction or resistance to the action of the
civil authorities; and therefore no reason
Whatever for The interpostion Of the military
And yet, under these circumstances, militia