Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1862-12-31

ernment and regulation of the land and
naval forces
The President. as Chief.
may enforce these enactments upon ~offi-
GERS and soldiers but has no authority.
from his station, to interfere with the per
son or private rights of a citizen During
the revolutionary war, the Ioyalists, or
. tories" as they were called. were very
troublesome. To remedy the mischief.
Congress passed resolution, vesting Gen.
Washington with kind of dictaor5al
power, "for the term of SIX months. un-
less sooner determined" He was allow
ed q to arrest and cunline persons" dis
affected to the American cause. and. re
turn to the States, OF which they are citi-
= ZenS, their names and the nature of
. tlrslr Offences, together with the wit
. nosses to prove them" They were not
to be tried 10y court martial, but by a
civil tribunal. One man was taken under
this resolution, and delivered 10 the Gov
eynor of Connecticut, but he was pardoned
No citizen was ever held subject 10 mill
iarv law In our present civil war, or
ra.har rebellion, Congress has not authori-
zei The Commander-in-C Chief TO arrest CT
vi:jgns; and even If such an act were pass
csl, | deny its validity. IN regions where
G,r regular Judicial power was in the free
exercise Its functions There never has
ben a hostile force in any OF tine Northern
"a middle States vet citizens have been
seized and carried from their homes and
families, to Fortress Monroe. refer.
q
perl!aps-thal OF Air. IngerSoil
Without extending further. th,Se zen
crai remarks ! will now state my grounds
of Impeachment: and.
l-t The President has suspended the
writ OF hnj.gS cDryus thi> regard az an
iniraction Of the Constitution. ami a viola
tioi, of the guaranteed AMI personal lib
crty and safety .Oi ciiiznn~. Il involves
both usurpHtiou tyraHnv. as I viii show
What IL the habeas corpus II Is the
palladium OF freedom. Take IL away.
and power !, dc~potiSm. To understand
it correctly, vc must 50 back to the Eng
lish source, from whence mauv OF our
civil and social institutions are derived.
The habeas corpus. then, was COM
mon law remedy. for such as were i'm
prisoned uniu~tIy. but, although it was
not credited by statute. there have been
many parliamentary acts TO prevent abuses.
and Sccurc IT. operation Thus. by the
- petition oi' right t3d Car. Ist.) 1t i
enacted. That no freeman shall De i'm
..prisoned or detained without cause
- shown, TO which nc MAKE answer ac-
= ~cnrCling 10 law" and by 9th Car. lst:
- If anv person be restrained OF hiS liberty
''by order of any illegal Court, or by
. comman oi the Kings majesty in per
. son. or by warrant Of the council board.
. or by any OF she priyy council. ne shall.
'.UpOn demand OF his counsel. have a
writ OF hab,oS corpus, TO bring his body
:. before the court of Kings bench or
:. common pleas. who shall determine
. whether the cause Of his commitment be
Just. and thcreupon do as To justice
:. shall apperiain." Ii Is evident from
this statute, that the Queen of England
now dare not = suspend or disobcv 4
writ ofhabcas corpus Ii is strange in
deed, if Our President may exercise Il
power over the person OF Il citizen, which
the greatest monarch in the world Is re-
strained from doing
The methods of obtaining and cnforc-
Ing this remedy, are ampiitied by act OF
3lst Car, 2nd, to which | will only
refer 1t is called the - ''Second magma
charta, and bulwark of English liberty
because it fully provided for the security
OF personal freedom, in conformity with
the explicit concession cxtortcd from
John in 1915, by the barons of Runne-
meade. It's now a settled principle,
q that no freeman shall be taken or i'm
'.prisoned, but by lawful judgement of
- his equals, or by the law of the land
No exigent restraint of the person of the
meanest subject, BY the monarch HIM
self, or by his order, Is permitted ''Thc
Hing cannot command any one, by word
of mouth. 10 be arrested for he must do
ii by writ. or by order of lis courts, ac-
cor,ling to law nor may the king arrest
any man for suspicion of treason or felony,
rs his subjects may. because If he doeth
wrong; the party cannot have an action
against him , Inst. IS6.
These fundamental axiolns, a. they
NAV now be called, are of great impor-
tancc TO The people For if it were left
in the power OF the highest magistrate to
impriSun rbitrarily-wiihout relief
whenever hc or his officers thought proper.
there would soon bc au end of all rights
and immuniticS. When such dcSputic
rulc l.. exercised. therefore. the habe:lS
corpus Is the certain. prompt and ciil-