Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-03-03
ruE rlnERry OF THE CITIZEN,
SPEC CH OF
HON. DANIEL ". VOORHEES,,
" iNDlANAs
DELIVERED IN THE HousE OF REPREsENTA'
rTvEs, FEBRuARr IS. 1868.
lcoxcLUpEp.l
Oh ISmANA.

And now, Mr.. Speaker, in view Of the histori- |
cal grandeur Of this writ; in view OF the duties
which belong % its nature 10 PERFORM IN view OF 1
the evils which Il alone can restrain; in view of
the causes which produced II, and in view of the
abuses against which il is leyeled, am filed with
wonder and amazemeni that any healthy intellect
has ever been found 90 entertain the opinion that
Il was in the power Of the executive department
of any Government to suspend it. privileges and
deny 10 the people it, protection. IL came into
existence to compel English kings TO obey the
principles Of Magma Charta, and il is the only
means. this side of the sword, by which an Amer
lean President can be made 20 obey the Constitu-
ton and yet the air is filled with clamorous cry
that these kings and this President can escape
this obedience by multiplying with single word.
the only peaceful means which the people possess
90 enforce H. II the only legal means by which
the American citizen resist and antagonize
the most infamous outrages against personal
rights and vet the doctrine is daily proclaimed
here and elsewhere that IL Is wholly left 20 the
Executive 20 determine whether he will be rcsis-
tod at all, or whether he will enjoy the spectacle
of n people devoted to liberty implorng, not the
law, but his clemency, through the iron CRATES Of
prisons, with less legal redress for their wrongs
than the dusky slaves Of the Carolinas. The writ
OF habcas corpus was originated for the sole pur-
pose Of controlling one man and his subordinates;
and vet IL Is claimed, in this enlightened age,
that that very man can control IL. IL has been
the master of every Executive since IL was known
among men; but in these modern days the major
ity of the American Congress assert that the
President Of the United States has become its
master. You might ~ we'll lock the convict in
his cell aud give him the key and expect Ia find
him there when you return, n 10 expect the ex-
ecutive ruler Of a nation 20 abide within the linn
IL of constitutional restraint when the people
have surrendered 10 him the only engine of power
hold tha Xot oeekt
Us well expect an enemy who had laid siege TO n
city Ia refrain from entrance when the gates were
thrown open and the sword delivered up. rs to
expect official station 10 respect nj all times pop
ular rights when all their safeguards arr aban-
doned Ia their ancient enemy. Sir. the very pur-
pose, the single object for which the writ Of ha.
beas corpus has survived the lapse of centuries
aud rocked the world with revolutions would be
utterly defeated II the President of the United
States eau suspend its operations and paralyze it
bykis touch. II might as well never have adorned
the pages of jurisprudence IL becomes a useless,
an idle thing by such construction. It j. only
needed when the Executive attempts % deprive
the citizen of his liberty contrary 10 law: and
coring to the construction Of the supporters of
this Administration. that attempt need never
fail for IL il within the power of the President 10
remove every obstacle which stands in his way
by the suspension of this writ.
Let this construction be maintained. and the
cause of liberty rcccdcs back into the twilight
dawn from which IL emerged nearly thousand
wears ago Then there was no law for the king
except his arbitrary viii; and there will be no
other law here now for the President. Every
effort made in behalf free government will have
been made in vain. The I3arons will have Assem-.
blcd in vain. John Hampdcn, on the plains Of
Chalgraye, will have died in vain. Our own mar.
tyrcd host. robed in glory. who fell for freedom
on the battle fields of the Revolution. will have
tasted the bitterness OF death In vain. The lights
which have bccn hung up over our heads by the
wisdom and tho suilcrings of the past will all bc
stricken down Magma Charta will fall from It's
exalted sphere like falling star, and our own
Constitution like the eagle towering in his pride
of place, i'll be by housing owl hawkod ut and
killed. The gloom of absolutsm will once more
all the sly. and IL will only be left % American
citizens To creep around In it, shadows secret
and stcalthy mourncrs nc the tomb Of liberty.
One mans supremacy. the everlasting foe 10 free
institutions, will be complete. In the place of
written constitutions and laws we will enjoy the
government of one mind and one will. embittercd
aud swsyed by tho passions aud Prcirsiiccs which
make their home In every frnil mortal breast. No,
sir: this darling writ of the people, which has
| caused the venerable statesman to abound I'm
warm and swelling periods of cuogium. and the
cool lips of the Judge 10 indulge in unwontcd
| judicial coqucnce; this guardian Of every home;
|
of every firesidc; this key tn every dungeon; this
mcssinh Of the law which comes 10 redeem the
lost and To visit those that are sick and In prison.
| was not born 10 DO suspended and crucincd M
| the command Of some ruling CeSar. The people
| who made IL, and who own Il by the title of n
hundred battles fought for It's principles. can
alone, through their representatives. say when
they arc willing TO waive for season IT, protec-
| ton aud enact its temporary suspension. Not
i IL IA la ~ al t.ta
in the history of English and American iurispr,,.
dence, but IL l. also the law ~ decided hy every
maxim Of reason, by every principle Of political
| philosophy.
II err, Mr.. Speaker, in asserting that the
Parliament alone IN England and the Congress
alone In the United States. can judge of the ne
ccssity aud exercise the power Of suspcnding the
writ of haheas corpus. | err In most noble COM
pany. am but but following M IN humble dis
tance in the footsteps of those whose lustrous
names have long since become proverbs of wis
dom and Justice. Ii | am lost and going astray
IN the doctrines have enumerated to-day, am
consolcd with the reelection that | am wandering
with Blackstone, with Hale, with Mansfield. with
Coke; that l share my delusion with Kent. with
Story. with John Marshall. Ii am inscnsbe
nj this time to the claims of modern political law
yers. Il il because my mind |, absorbed in the
contemplation of the teachings of those whose
names are of the immortal few not horn 10 die.
II l turn deaf ear on this occasion 10 the AFRO
giant prctcnsons of provost marshals and police
officials. the representatives of executive usurpa.
tions, II is because prefer 90 fix my attention
upon n lofty and virtuous class. the latchcts OF
whose shoes they are not worthy "a unloosc. II
! am 10 he denounced for my utterances here in
behalf of liberty and justice by the eager seryility
of the hour, the storm will spend its fury in vain
on my head. sustained and protected ~ am by
the unanimous voice Of those whom mankind has
been taught 10 revere n benciactors of the human
race. My ere shall not he Withdrawn from the
Constitution a. the guardian of liberty | will
not turn away from the written law, iudicially
expounded, for any consideration of earthly
Importance. Ii is to me the star that lowered
the cradle of liberty in It's infancy, the spirit
which upheld and strengthened il when tempted
in the wilderness, and the power which will roll
away the stone from It's tomb If il should ever
again be betrayed and nut 20 DEATH
belong, sir 10 a profession which is glorious
in history. rejoice that have spent some of
the DAYS of my manhood in the study of n science
in the adornment of which Erskine and Curran.
Webster and Grimke spent their lives The le-
gal profession has had much bear in the hos
tile criticism provoked BY an unworthy class who
inhabit the vestibule of her temple and allure TO
their meshes the unwary pilgrims who seek her
shrine for substantial relief. The artful trickerv
of ignoble minds has been assigned as an attri-
butte of the profession of the law. and it, lower
/ walks; that pestilential brood which swams
around the base of the pedestal of honorable