The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1863-06-25

that the laws shall be made 10y one body
Of men and executed by another. Ip the
institutions OF the great Anglican race, to
which We are proud to belong. the Iegisla.
tive and Judicial departments of govern
ment are carefully separated, the pariia
ment, congress or legislature ordering
the law. without knowing whom it may
effect, and the courts applying II TO indi-
vidual cases without any power to bend or
warp it, by conscious or unconscious bias,
for or against the particular prisoner be-
fore them. The tfense Is defined, the pen
atty declared, tie mode of trial ordained,
by men who. knowing nothing of the per-
sons to be affected by thtm. are governef
by strict sense OF abstract justice. The
citizen has perfect knowledge OF his
rights, remedies and liabilities; the law is
in the statute book. neither posted on tall
column nor rendered still more ilegibe by
conceament i'll the future caprlces of dis
cretion which makes light of long estab.
llshed precedents, and classes as crimes
what our fathers inscrib bed in the Consttu-
ton as inviolable RIGHTS. Under the just
aud benetlcent system We have heretofore
enjoyed, no man, even in the nightmare
of isea>cd imagi nation, ever dreamed
that the dav would So soon come when the
arbitrary vii OF one mau would clothe it..
self with The combined functions of legis-
lator. judge and jury, making the law Tor
cases after they have arisen, aud varying
the penalty by 1 strange and unaccounta-
bic freak, Interpreted by friendly pen as
a significant practical Ioke. Such grim and
grolesque J'kcs. where the hi"g sported
with is SO precious as the ri ghts Of an
American citizen, may remind the world
OF another incident in the life # Roman
Emperor. which our respect for the high
oiiice yua held will not allow u to Nell
ton
Mr. Lincoln, YOU were. ednca Ell a law
Yer and from the great amount Of leisure
yoo must ! ave enjoyed In he int avaIs o.
Your rnra. praci-e to qealify yourself, by
til siudic~. for your present ex tltc-l station,
IL IS To hr preSuiued tlial YOU are well read
In the iiteIa!liie oi your noble profe ion.
l'ermi! Us o carry yoir mind back to those
assiduous aud ennoDiing stulies, and recall
10 your recollection that light .! English
jurisprudence. Lord Somcrs. The great
constitutional lawyer bore witness, as YOU
Sir must well remember, against the tyr
amy and corruptIoa oi his are. 1t has been
sad OF him n u iisure TOO smart and or
n,tr to satisfy a severe taste, 5ut still with
entire jn,tiee, that like a chapel in pal!
ac'', he alone remained unpoluted, whist
Our purpose IN mentioning this great law
Yer and statesman. Who stood up with
such masculine streAeh against the toois
and parasites Of the ast two Sjusrts, is 20
ask your attention 10 some very bfief ex
tracts from his description oi II tribunal ia
NOUS i'll English history, and which has
done more To color the current OF subSe-
quent English thought, and of the political
thought Of the oifshoo,s OF the English
race, (amons which We occupy the first
place. than any otter one thing that ever
had all abiding place among men; but your
quick legal and historical perception ale
ready sees that we mean nothing else ihan
the Star Chamber, which We but now term
ed famous but 10 which your deeper de-
testation o. is charcactcr and better sense
of fitness. will apply the epithet, infam-
Gus. But let us make way for the lm
pressive language of Lord Somers:
I've had privy council IN England,
with grea, and mixed powers; we suffered
under it long and much. All the rolls If
Parliament are fall of complaints and rem.
edies; but none OF them etectual I'LL
Charles the First's time. The Star
Chamber was but a spawn OF our council,
and was called so only because it sat in
the usual council chamber 1t was set
up as IA formal court in the third year o.
Henry the Ii nth in very soft words. TO
punish great riots, to restrain Offenders too
big for ordinary Justice
But in a little lime it made the nation
tremble. The privy council came at last
to make laws by proclamation, and the
Star Chamber ruined those that would not
obey
We alluded, Sir, To that Justly odious
tribunal to I. ral To your notice peculi
srity of the Jealous. liberty loving Anglo
Saxon lace. with which your studies in the
principles and history of the illustrlous
patriots who brought the Star Chamber
to ruin and its abbettors to the block
,ouot have ,J., WON f,un iii.r Tha no