Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-09-24
THE LAST PROCLAMATION.

habeas corpus throughout the whole land IN certain
classes of cases. we it with the words of
the statute Of Congress in pursuance of which it
purports to be issued. We did so that our readers
might have the opportunity Of collatiDg the two
instruments, and we purposely abstained from any
note or comment in the premises that they might
have the advantage Of forming their own first i'm
pressions as to the degree of correspondence that
exists between the terms Of the proclamation and
the provisions of the statute in question.
But now that the law of Congress and the edict
Of the President avoWedy issued under it have
been distinctly submitted to the judgment Of our
readers, it becomes duty to give expression to
our own opinion as candidly entertained with re-
gard to the scope of the last proclamation We
propose very briefly to state how far it is author
zed and how far it is unauthorized by the terms of
the statute under the authority Of which the Pre-
sident assumes to issue it. We shall do this with
great brevity and at the time with great plain
ness of speech, for there is no complexity or OBJ
scurity in the matter. Truth in this instance lies
on the surface and is not hidden at the bottom of
we'll
The words of the law to which the President
makes appeal in the preamble of his proclamation
are as follows:
"Beu enacted By The Senate and House Of Representatives.
Of the United Staes e America in Congress assembled
That durIg the present rebellion, the President of he
United states whenever, in his Judgment the public safe
ty may require it, authorized to suspend the privilege of
the writ OF hsbens throughout the Uni
ted States any part thereof And whenever and wher
the said privilege shall be- Suspended aore-aii
military or 9th er cer shall be compelled in to
any writ of hsbess corpus the body per
INV hv Vaf
dent but upon the Certificate under OATH OF the officer
having charge of any detained that such person is
doined bp him prisoner under authority Of the Pre-
sidsn further proceedings under the writ Of habeas
pus bs be Suspended by the judge court having ssued
the said writ long said suspension by the President
shall remain in force and said rebellion continue.
1t will thus be seen that this statute expressly
oontemplates the cases only of those who are "de-
tanned as prisoners under the authority of the Pre-
sident" is, as the context of the act in its
subsequent sections clearly shows, of persons ar
rested and held in charge by some officer of the
Government on suspicion or allegation of disloyal
designs or practices. On reading the whole statute
il is discovered that the authorization to suspend
the privilege Of the writ of habeas corpus, lin any
case" relates to that class Of in which the
officer having charge of any one SO detained" is
able to make return, in the shape of "cer-
ti6cate under oath" that the person by him de-
taned is detained as prisoner under authority
of the President" 1t is obvious that this provi-
sion of the law covers all that class of persons who
may at any time be arrested and held in custody
either as prisoners of war; spies, aiders or abet
tors Of the enemy and the President, in enume-
rating this class of detenus as being persons with
regard to whom the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus is suspended, may undoubtedly claim to be
within the limits prescribed by the law of Congress.
But he plainly exceeds these limits when, in addi
tion to this denomination Of persons he proceeds in
like manner to declare suspension of the privilege
Of the writ as regards-wc quote from his procla-
NATION" officers, soldiers, or seamen enrolled or
drafted or mustered or enlisted in belonging to
tthe land or naval forces of the United States, or
as deserters thercfrom, or otherwise amenable to
military law or the rules and articles of war, or
sthc rules or regulations prescribed for the mill
'tary or naval services by authority Of the Presi
'dcnt Of the United States, for resisting draft,
sor for any other offence against the military or
naval service
This sweeping declaration finds no basis on which
to rest in the law of Congress- and, in of its
denominations, involves, inadvertently we doubt
not express violation Of another act of the last
Congress. With what propriety can it be said that
"oficers, soldiers, enrolled, or drafted,
or mustered or enlisted in the land or naval forces
Of the United States are prisoners detained under
the authority Of the President J" and yet it is only
a regards persons who be thus styled in a
ssoorn certificate that the law Of Congress of March
Sd, 1863, authorizes suspension of the privilege
Of the writ Of habess corpus. Suppose the case Of
youth, under the prescribed ago, who has been
improperly drafted or enrolled in the army. May
he not loyalty perform his duty as soldier while
making application to the courts of the country for
redress And in what just sense could the officer
under whose compand he was placed make return
to the judge that such person was held as ga
prisoner under the authority Of the President"
How the proclamation will operate in increasing
the hardships of the draft, as respects persons who
are erroneously enrolled and drawn, and who have
actually entered the service, may be read in such
cases as the following. We copy from the Gin
cinnati Gazette Of Monday last
rec boys, named Isaac M. Owens, Isaac Traphs-
sans and NJ b. Miller who had enised in the Fourth