Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1861-06-12

tice Taney in the case
This petition presents the following case -
The petitioner resides in Maryland, in Baltimore
county. While peaceably in his own house win
his family, it was, at O'Clock on the morning
of the 25th of Nav, 1861, entered by an armed
force. protesting to act under military orders.
He was Ell comueied to rise from his bed, Ia
ken into Gu stodys and conveyed to Fort Mcden
nv. where he is i'm mprisoned by the commanding
officer. without warrant from any lawful author
ity. r.. c,,.o Cd
valIader. by whom he is detained in conhne
ment, in his return to the writ, does not deny |
any of the facts alleged In the petition lie 1
states that the prisoner was arrested by order OF
General Keim of Pennsylvania, and conducted |
as prisoner to Fort McHenry by his order, and |
placed in his (Gen. Cadwallader's) custody, to
be there detained by him prisoner
A COPY of the warrant, order, under which
the prisoner was arrested, was demanded by the
counsel and refused. And it is not alleged IN
the return that any specific act, constituting an
offense against the laws of the United States has
been charged against them upon oath; but he
appears TO have been arrested upon general
charges of treason and rebellion, without proof,
| and without giving the names of the witnesses,
! or specifying the acts, which, in the Judgment
| of the military officer constituted these Crimes
And having the prisoner thus IN custody, upon
| these vague and unsupported accusations, he
refuses to obey the writ of habeas corpus, upon
| the ground that he is duly authorized by the
| President to suspend it.
The case, then, is simply this A military Of
| fcer re, ,iGng in Pennsylvania, issues an order
to arrest a citizen of Maryland, upou vague and
indefinite Chalg ges, without any proof, so lar as
appears. Under thii order his house is entered
in the night he is seized as prisnner, and con-
! veyed to Fort McHenry, and there kept IN close
confinement. And when habeGS corpus is SER
we'd on the commanding officer, requiring him to
L Of tl,n Stp-
preme Court, in order that he may examine INTO
the legality of the imprisonment, the answer to
the officer is that he is authorized by the Pres
ident to suspend the writ of hdbeds corpus at his
discretion, and in the exercise of that discretion,
suspends it in this case, and on that ground re
fuses obedience to the writ.
As the case comes before me, therefore, un-
derstand that the President not only claims the
right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus him
SELF his discretion. but to delegate that dlscret
onary power to military officer, and to leave 1t to
him todetermine whether he will or vii: not obey
: judicial process that may be served upon him.
We arc and always have been in favor of
sustaining President Lincoln in the discharge
of his constitutional duties, but he has no
right to usurp power which does not belong
, to him but to Congress Il is his duty to
- take care that the laws be faithfully execu-
ted " instead of instructing either civil or mill
tary officers to treat important provision OF
| the Constitution with contempt The Constl-
J tuition as we'll as the Union must be maintain
| ed 1t was the infringement OF provision;
of that sacred instrument by the rebels which
brought on the country the horrors of civil
5 war, and we therefore think it behoves thc
e Administration while engaged in Furnishing
: the rebels for their infractioDs of the COnsti
g tuition, to be careful to keep within the limit
: prescribed By it, II would Ill become it, u
punish others for what it is doing itself Tht
n American people justly look on all infraction
d of the Constitution either by those in or ou
:. of power, with jealous eye, for it is th
i charter of their right as freemen, and on it
1t preservation depends the security of thos
/ rights 1t is as sacred as the Union for with
y out it there would be no Union.
n We regret that in the discussion of thi
l. subject, certain partisan Newspapers hav
Of travelled so far out of the record as to max
lie grossly personal attacks on the venerabl
K Chief Justice of the United States He ha
e been styled 9 traitor" an - old dotard
t. and other equally degrading epi;hets hav
is been applied to him. As we would despis
le the man who would make a coarse vulgar at
,e tack of this kind on President Lincoln, so ais
Of We loath the men who seek to degrade an i'm
le portant branch of the Government, by ma
l. lignIng and villifying its chief officer. n
lie public man in the country has purer recor
7, than Judge Taney, and now when standin
= on the brink of the grave, full of years an
to full of honors, what possible motive could b
a. have for doing wrong? He has always bee
l. true to the Constitution and the Union. III
lie was the friend and confdant of Gen. Jackson
Of aud felt the arm of that great man during tn
v darkest period of his administration lean O
T. him for support. His patriotism as ma
lie and ability as Judge are alike unquestiona
lie Bile. If President Lincoln through some mis-
D. take or oversight. directed Gen. Cadwallade
10 to suspend the privilege of the writ of habea
le corpus in the district which be commands,
= is clearly his duty to reverse that order a
at once
na. We learn from the Johnstown Tr!
6uHe, that Henry Amsbaugh, an elderly gen
tleman, was killed on Wednesday evening {
= last week. while standing upon or near tn
: track of the Pennsylvania Railroad, shol
: distance east of Johpstown. He was watch
ing the evening evnress train oo;no 49, -