Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-10-27

Judge CURTIS, of Boston, formerly one Of the
justices of the United States Supreme Court, and
one of the ablest ursts in the country has lately
published an opinion upon executive power. which
we viii hereafter spread before our readers In
it he discusses the proclamation of the President.
his right to suspend the writ Of hGbeas corpus and
his power to bring all the people of the United
States under martial law, administered at
his own discretion all these topics he
discusses with great clearness and ability We
give the following brief extract from that part OF
the opinion which discusses the power ofthe Pres
ident to place she whole country Under martial
law. If he has authority to DO that, Judges and
juries may be arrested at his pleasure and pun
ished for judicial decisions, and legislators for
words spoken in debate. 1t such power is con-
ceded the rights and liberty Of the citizens are sub
ect the arbitrary will and disposal of the Pres
ident. Judge CURTIS says:
What, then, is his 1.-THE Presdent's) authority
over the persons and property of citizens? | an
swer that all persons enlisted in his forces
he has military power and command: that over
all persons and property within the sphere of his
actual operations in the field. he may lawfully ex
erciSe such restraints and control the successful
prosecution of his particular military enterprise
may, in his honest judgment, absolutely require;
and upon such persons have committed Of
lenses against the articles of war; he may, through
appropriate military tribunals, infiict the punish
ment prescribed by law. And there his lawful
authority ends.
1.-The military power over citizens and their
property is power to act, not power to pre-
scribe rules for future action. 1t springs from
present pressing emergencies, and is limited by
them. Ii cannot assume the functions of the
statesman and legislator, and make provision
for future distant arrangements by which per-
sons or property may be made subseryent TO mil
itary uses. 1t is the physical force of an army
in the field, and may control whatever Is SO
near to be actually reached by that force,
in order to remove distractions to its exercise.
| But when the military commander controls the
persons or property of citizens, who are beyond
the sphere OF his actual operations in the field,
| when he makes laws to govern their conduct
he becomes a legislator. Those laws NAV be
made actually operative; obedience to them
may be enforced 10y military power; their purpose
and effect may be solely to recruit or support his
armies, or 10 weaken the power of the enemy
with whom he is cOntending. But he is a legis-
lator still; and whether his edicts are clothed in
the form of proclamations, or of military orders,
Dy whatever name they may be called, they are
laws. II he have the legislative power, confer
red on him by the people, it is well; If not, he
usurps it.
He has no more lawful authority to hold all
the citizens of the entire country. outside OF the
sphere of his actual operations in the field,
amenable to his military edicts, than he has TO
hold all the property of the country subject 10
his military acquisitions. He is not the military
commander of the citizens of the United States,
but of lis soldiers