M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1863-05-14
(CONCLUDED) J


~ Court OfCOm mon PieaI, Mar
23, 1868.
(ooNoLUDED)
If we turn to this constitution o,
ours, we shall discover, by the vely
formulas of its structure, that the
great object ofits authors was to keeE
these several departments independ
ent Of each other, by what was ther
fondly hoped to be impossible bar
riers. speak now of the severs
distinctive Articles which separate
these departments from each other
The first defines the legislative powers
o! Congress the second the cxecL
tive powers OF the President; thu
third the judicial powers Of the Su-
preme Court; and the only remain
ing one is devoted to those miscela
neous objects which do not naturally
fall within either OF the previous pow
ers. Now. an intaljibIe test Of this
question. is to find where, and il
which Of th.se clearly separated de.
Ipartments, this power Of suspension
is deposited. The intention Of the
authors Of this instrument is clearly
to be ascerta;ncd by this fact ; or il is,
at least, a very leading element oI
construction, ii the question is to be
narrowed down to that. live shall
find it lodged in the judicial depart.
ment, the presumption would be ire
sistiblo, that it WAS to be alone exer.
cised by the supreme judicial power
Of the nation ard this presumption
would be vastly strengthened If the
| judicial department was the natural
cUncOmitsnt Of the power itself, as
drawn from the analogy ofother gov.
ernments ofklndred political insttu.
tiUns. But when We turn to this
constitution, we in fact find this pow.
or Of suspending tho writ lodged
where, by all the political ainities Vi
prior constitutional history, it natn-
rally belongs, to wit {: in the Legisla
tive Articlvs This single tact is
enough to settle the point in dispute;
bu: the question would DO only par
TALLY presented if We stopped here
The power OF suspension is found in
the 9th section Of the Legislative ar.
ticle, as follows: "the privileg OF the
wit Of Uabcas COlpnJ shall not be-
suspended, unless in cases Of rebellion
or invasion the public safety may re.
quire it," Sections s end 8 OF this
article classify the objects Of lcgisla.
ton. The Sth section is a grant OF
express and unconditional legislative
power, such as the power to levy
and collect taxes, impose duties and
excises, regulate commerce, coin
money, declare war, &c. The 9th
section is II Limitation or qualification
Of legislative power; that ls, the pow.
er granted is to be exercised only i'll
certain contingencies. AS for in.
stance; the power to suspend the writ
Of uabeas Corpus shall not be exert
cd unless when in case Of rebellion or
INVASION &c. No capitation or 9th,
er direct tax shall be laid "unless in
proportion to the census, &C." The
power to suspend the writ is contain
ed in the second subdivision of this
9th section, and stands between two
other limitations Of power, one upon
tho subject oftaxation, and the other
an express prohibition against spe
citic class Of legislation. The subdi.
vision Of the same section immediate.
ly preceding it, is the contingent
power given to Congress to prohibit
the importation OF slaves, with a right
to levy u tax upon the same; and the
next succeeding subdivision, is that
prohibiting the passage Of bills OF
attainder and frpOSt tacto laws. Do
not these facts show conclusively that
the power to suspend this writ is ex.
clusIvely Il legislative function 3
Might not the President as we'll claim
the power to levy upon the people a
capitation tax, as that of suspending
the writ Of Habeas Corpuss or could
he not claim with equal force and
propriety, that the prohibition against
the passage Of bills of attainder
and erpOst factO laws, applied to
him aud not to Congress 7 But | do
not ask you, gentlemen of the jury,
to take my Interpretation alone Of
this clanse OF the Constitution. Let
us look at the history Of the govern
ment, the opinions Of eminent juri5tS,
and the decisions OF the Courts, for
our determination. The question
itself is Of vast legal importance-the
interests and liberties OF a great peo.
pie are involved in. its solution; and
we should avail ourselves of all the
proper means to its correct under
standing, il tho discharge of our
present duties in regard to it. 1t is
worthy Of remark, that neither during
Al -, kbn ti,,,n nI tln