Washington telegraph., 1863-01-28


This state Of the case, clearly refers to those
States having no such law; that is, having no
law requiring white person 10 remain upon
a plantation where there are slaves. What il
the construction TO be placed upon this clause
Of the exemption act Clearly that sl-enfy ne
groes on one plantation, and no less will exempt
And that tgsnty negroes, divided between two
or more plantations, and belonging to different
owners, will exempt the Oldest conscript.
Hence we find that, in States having no Law
requiring a white person TO remain on plan
tation where there are negroes, il requires
tlCenty negroes to exempt. Whereas, ia States
having such law, the number is not fixed by
Congress, and is thus left to be regulated By
the State laws. This is done for the reason
that Congress could not consistently recognize
the existence Of portion Of State law, and
ignore and trample upon tha residue.
Having arrived at the two classes Of cases
exempted BY this act, il only remains TO DO
considered to which class of cases the ons at
bar belongs. To do this, we must ascertain
whether Arkansas il one Of the States having
law requiring a white person TO be kept upon
plantation with negroes; or whether II Is ons
Of those States .'haUiHg no such IGrO"
We find a. little difficulty in determining
this, As the other points Among the acts
passed 1t the special session Of the General
Assembly of Arkansas. and approved Noven-
Der 18th 1861, is an act entitled, :" An act to
compel the residence Of some white person on
plantations on which there are slaves" Ii
reads as follows: :. b. it enacted by the Gen.
eral Assembly Of the State Of Arkansas, that
any person occupying pLaztatioR Nth sIapes,
be bound TO have thereon a white person to
oversee and maintain good order among them
provided he or she does not remain on said
plantation II person. A penalty for failure
~ -
This is police regulation. Its object is to
compel white person to oreraee snd "main-
tain good order" among the slaves. 1t is re-
quirel on all plantations on which there are
negroes without regard to the number. Ii
unqaestionably brings Arkansas within tbs
provisions OF the act Of Congress, above
quoted.
Ii being left to the State law to limit the
number " slaves il States having such law,
ana Arkansas having such law, does that Law
limit the NUMBER We are forced 10 admit
that il does not. There Is no clause contained
therein, that ear be SO construed, unless we
conclude, as mas been insisted, that pkdnfd-
tioa requires t.reHfy negroe, before it is plan
,ation. This i not sustained, as | conceive,
either By the act of Arkansas, or the Congress
.ional exemption act. The former speaks Of
plantations upon which there are slaves"
and thus, by implication, refers to plantations
upon which there are no slaves. This might
be pushing the definition too far, for slave
territory. The act Of Congress, however, set
ties the matter. liz does not leave Us in doubt
a. to what il means by plantation. 1t speaks
Ut .-plantations'' with fICeHty slaves; anI in
the same connection Of smaller plantation"
to three Of which, put together, may have
twenty slaves. Yet ii regards each as :" plans
tation,'' 1t speaks Of plantation" with TEN
70
sroes on t.co or more plantations, within firs
miles Of each other"
But II is insisted that, by the law Of Ark
ansas. female would be sufficient on plan-
tation If she were the owner, and resided
upon il. il j. clear, such residence there would
be sufficient Bat If she should not remain
upon IL il i BY no means clear that she could
satisfy the laws of Arkansas, by leaving n fe-
male there to - oversee and maintain good
order" Taking words in "their usual and
most known Specification" and according to
their general and proper use" (which j. the
methoi Of interpreting them-) an overseer
wOnd seem 10 mean white male, and not o
female. But be that n il may, and admit tha,,
for police regulations, female would satisfy
the requirements Of the Arkansas statute for
maintaining order on plantations, does il
satisfy the act Of Congress. / am Of opinion
that It does not. Because the act Of Congress
sayssthat :. one person, (meanlng one conscript,
shall be e1empt,) either as agent, owner. or
overseer on each plantation on which one white
person is required to be kept BY the laws or
ordinances Of any State, and on which there 10
no white male adult, not liable to do military
service 4
so. admitting that, by the laws Of Arkan sas,
a woman would be sufficient police on plan
tation with slaves, the Confederate set, in per-
feet harmony with our State law, and extend
Ing il little, j. specific and positive in declar
ing. that, unless there is a white male adult.
not liable TO do military service, on each plan
tation with slaves, = conscript shall be lefs
there. What is a conscriptf Not a woman.
Nor is it an old man, or one not liable TO do
military service. He is male adult between the
ages Of eighteen and forty-hve, and other
wise subject to military duty. Congress seemed
determined that a white male adult should b
left upon every plantation with negroes, when
the State laws require a white person to be
kept. And if it find no old man there, or nszls
adult, otherwise not liable to military duty, l.
has decided to leave a eonscript In doing
this, it creates no conflict between the State
and Confederate laws
1t j. insisted by counsel, that il would Do
impolitic TO construe the law as contendei for
by petitioner. This is not n matter for the
Court do not feel called upon to legislats.
nor to decide whether law is good one or Q
bad one. am called upon, under the solen-
nifty of my official position to declare what the
law is-not what it ought to be-
From the law in the case, as understood By
me. and the facts as admitted, am of opinion
That in States having law requiring white
person to reside upon plantation where there
are slaves, one conscript is exempt unless
there l. already male adult on such planta-
ton. who is exempt by age, or otherwise. an
further Of opinion, that Arkansas has such .
law, and that Congress has recognized its ex-
istence, and left its provisions in full force,
And Congress, having failed to limit, and
the State Of Arkansas not limiting the number
Of slaves upon plantation where a white per-
son is required to be kept; and not having de-
fined twenty negroes and overseer as con-
stitnting a plantation; and the petitioner IN
this case, being a citizen of Arkansas, and
being on the 18th day Of October, A. D. 1852.
and up to this date, residing upon plantation
on which there ara ten SLAVES; and there being
no white male adult on said plantation, not
liable to do military service, am OF opinion,
and so decide, that petitioner j. Illegally re-
stra ined ofihis liberty, and entitled to be dis
charged.
rBrigadier-Gene A. K. Steeu, who
Is reported to have been killed in the recent
battle near Fayetteville, Arkansas, was O
native of Missouri, and entered the United
States army as lieutenant in 1849. He
Il nsL