, 1863-08-21

The TeSpcCtubic 1osslls VINO conduct tae
National Inkcligcnosr suts,st upon o zcpu- |
tation which they have built up, in mar
row circle Of readers, Of absolute correct
ness Of statement as to facts, and the pu-
rest practice Of Aristotician logic. Those
who patronize the ancient concern profess
that they can afford to wait a week or two
for their news for the purpose ct having II
right at last We welcome the IatetEleacer
to our table because it is familiar relic Of
the dead pas, because, in city where toadies
do most abound. itstriycs in its way to be
Independent in its utterances, and because,
too, Of it's droll efforts to reduce politics to
one Of the exact sciences. But it must be
said that the IntelGgeneer is exceedingly
prone to stumble when 1t treats Of matters
later in chronology than the Administra-
ton Of James Monroe. It ventured, the
other day, to c1iticise the order Of the Sec~
1etary Of War on the case Of Hazel B.
Cashell, in which our readers will remcm-
ber, the court martial, Of which Gen. Hitch
cock was President, was first censured and
then dissolved A more amusing series Of
blunders can hardly be conceived. Let us
enumerate some oftheun.
Cashcll, q citizen Of Maryland, was reg
ularly tried and convicted on charge of
voluntarily giving information to the enc
my Of the whereabouts Of thousand
head Of Government cattle in his neigh
bothood, stating, also, thatthey were with
out any guard, except the herdsmen usual
ly attending them. lie was found guilty
under the 57th azticle Of war, and sen
fenced to le-w1at: "To be more OH lis
guard in answering inquiries addressed
to him by an enemy, in the tuture!" At
ter reviewing the record and auimadvert-
ing in terms ofjust severity on the scandal
which the court had brought On military
jurisprudence by the inadequacy Of the
sentence, the secretary affirmed TINT Cash
ell was still liable to be prosecuted under
the I'd section Of the acs Of July 17th,
1862, and that lie would be handed over to
the civil authorities for that purpose. This
proposition start1es the Int<1igene<r from
its p1opziety. "By what principle OF Law
cor equity" it e1claims, "can this man
<fbe put second time in jeopardy ef hts
eHfe Tor the same offence? The Constitu-
@tion Of the United States is express in its
prohibition Of such IN IN anomaly" On
this point we are favored by the IntsN;9e1-
cer with the opinions Of Attorney Generals
G1undy and Writ, and much other learned
lumber, equally apart from, the purpose
The I'd section Of the act Of July 18th,
1862, p1csc1ibes only the penalties Of i'm
prisonment for period not exceeding ten
years, or fine Of ten thousand dollars and
the liberation Of all his slaves, if any he
have, or both Of said punishments, al the
discretion Of the court. Therefore, it has
not been proposed to put Mr: Cashell
second timo Sin jeopardy Of his lfe'' for
the came offence, and the InteUigenecrs
elaborate staging tumbles down, with the
weight m several great ju1ists Of antiquity
contributing to the dismal ruin.
4 word will suffice for the remainder Of
the Inte1Igenctr,s two column article, be-
fore We proceed to notice more particular
lYthe merits Of the case itself It says That
the Secretary has committed the sentence
of the court by changing it from the nd
s*monition ordered By the court into
anew trial under the act Of July 17th'
1862" and that it has always been held
that the sentence Of court martial can
only be commuted to the adna.'tago Of the
prisoner. We were not aware, before, that
the Secretary Of War was a grand jury.
The InteMgencer makes him grand jury
Of thc United States District Court tor the
District Of Maryland. In directing that
The man Oasheu be handed over to. the
civil authorities, the Secretary did not d.
xect that he be tried, or even indicted. In
passing from the eustody OF the Department
OF War the prisoner passes from its ju1is-
diction also, and the sentence Of the court
martial is not commuted at all. If Grand
jury shall find that there is evidence Of
IN infraction Of the law Of July 17th.
1862, On which to ground IN indictment
they will undoubtedly bring Cashen 10
trial, but If they be men fit for the offices
OF grand jurors, they will not do 80 be-
cause of anything that the Secretary Of
Warhas done. They viii do 50 because Of
their oaths and their consciences: The
lauding Of Cashel1 to the civil authorities
is IN no eense q punishment Of his offence,