Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-04-02

state. Its enactment does not imply or
assume chat it was impossible to punish
any offences not committed IN any county
or district in the State. 1t is silent on
that subject, and is not inconsistent with
the power TO inflict such punishment. If
such power existed by the general prin
clples OF law applicable to nations, the
enactment of general provision regarding
crimes committed within the state, saying
nothing about others, ought not TO be held
an abdication of it.
l am unable to say, therefore, that the
provisions OF this law providing for the
punishment of illegal voting under it,
might not be enforced against the citizens
OF this State who should violate it abroad,
If they should afterwards be found here.
Possibly further legislation may be neces-
sary, providing more particularly as to the
mode OF trial and what court should have
Jurisdiction. Rut if so, that may still be
enacted, and the want of it does not effect
the validity of the provision already
adopted establishing the offence and the
liability of punishment. Ii the citizens
of other States should violate it, perhaps
it could not be enforced against them even
ceding that it could not, should not for
that reason hold the law invalid. The
military organization of companies, affords
security equal and perhaps superior to
that of registry law against any illegal
voting by citizens OF other States. The
probability of any successful attempt On
their part to vote under this law, was too
slight to warrant the assumption that the
legislature would not have passed it, ex-
cept upon the supposition that they had
power to punish citizens Of other States
who might violate it.
l must therefore hold this law to be
valid. | have examined only as to the
power of the legislature to pass it. If the
power exists, the policy and expediency OF
1t are for the legislature and not the courts
to determine. Upon this question what.
ever arguments may be urged against the
policy of such law, there are also Ger.
tainly very strong considerations in its
favor, as adapted to the present extraor
binary conditions # affairs, when more
than forty thousand Of the citizens of this
State have left it in the service of their
country. But whatever else may be said
upon the subject this at least is true, that
history bas furnished no better example
illustrating the capacity of the people fol-
self government, than that furnished under
this law of the citizen soldiers pausine
amid the horrors of war, to discharge theil
duties as the primary legislators of the
republic, and to guard by an intelligent
use of their ballots, to be forwarded tc
their bones, the welfare of that country
and those principles Of civil liberty, to-
which they are ready at any moment tt
lay down their lives upon the field O
battle.
Judgment must be entered in favor O
the respondent.
In the matter of the application of CARL WEHLlr
Tor writ of habeas corpus, &c.
This matter was decided by a cour
commissioner of Milwaukee county, wht
made an order discharging the petitioner
and it has been brought here by writ O
certaordr5.
| We have already decided, in the appli
cation of Frederick Greiner and others, TO
e writ of ha6eas corpus, that the act o
! Congress of July II, 1862, authorizing tn
| resident to make the necessary rules an,
regulations for drafting the militia, in case
where the laws of the States had not mad
a sufficient provision for that purpose, wa
valid. The sonly question left then to b.
determined in this case, is whether resi-
dent of this State who was native of
foreign country, but who had declared hi
intention to become citizen Of the United
States and taken out his first papers i.
accordance with the lew of Congress, an,
had exercised the right of voting unde
the constitution and laws OF this State
all OF which was true Of the petitioner
was liable to be drafted The decision O
this question depends upon the meanin,
of the several acts of Congress and thu
laws of this State, in regard to the militia
For it has been the policy of the genera
government in all its legislation hithert'
upon this subject, to trust so much to tn,
action of the States, that it becomes nee
essary to consider the entire system of leg
islation both State and Federal, to hav,
a correct understanding of the laws O
either.
The act of Congress providing for tn
organization of the militia, approved MAY
Sth, 1892, designated as the persons to b,
enrolled, every free able bodied white
male citizen Of the respective States, resi-
dent therein, &C." Prior to 1853, the law
of this State provided that "every fret
able.bodied white male person, who has
resided within this State one month, anC
is between the ages OF eighteen and forty
five, shall be enrolled in the gmlitia," &c
Sec. 5, Chap. 81, r. S. 1858. But section
one of chapter 81 Of the General Laws q
1868, which is found as a part of the chap.
ter just referred TO, designated as those
who should. be liable to military duty
all able-bodied white male citizens.n &c
The act of Congress Of July II, 1862, be.
fore referred to, provided that in all cases
the enrolment should "include all able.
bodied male citizens" &c. 1t thus appears
that in the laws both of this State and OF
the United States, now in force, the word
"cltlsen" is used as desert ptive of the per.
sons liable to enrolment in the militia
The decision, therefore, must depend upon
the meaning Of that word.
The commissioner decided that it meant
only those who were tull citizens of the
United States. But before that conclu
sion can be adopted, it will be necessary
to inquire whether the word has anv
other we'll recognized meaning, not neces
sarily including the full rights of citizen.
ship of the United States, and if 90, then
to determine in which sense it was used
in these laws. That it has such another
meaning must be admitted. Under our
complex system of Government, there
may be citizen of State who is not
citizen of the United States, in the full
sense of the term. This result would
seem to follow unavoidably from the IA.
ture of the two systems of Government.
Each State being sovereign, except as to
matters referred to the General Govern