Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1863-07-29

} lined by any rule, and hitherto unknown
to the laws of this country and this II
followed by indiscriminate arrests, mid
! night seizures, military commissions, un'
heard of modes OF trial and punishment
and all the machinery of terror and des
potism. Your language does not permit
US to doubt as to your essential meaning
for you tell us that ARRESTS are made moi
so much for what has been done, as foi
what probably would be done" Ard
again "The man who stands by and saws
nothing when the peril of his Government
is discussed, cannot be misunderstood -
If not hindered (of course by arrest) he Ii
sure to help the enemy, and much more
1t he talks ambiguously sly-talks for his
country with butts and ifs and 'ands'
Iou also tell us that the arrests complain
ed OF have not been made "lor the treason
defined in the Constitution" nor "lor any
capital or olherwi e infamous crimes, nor
were the proce adiags following in any con.
stitutional or legal sense criminal prosecu-
tons" rhe very ground, then, OF your
justification is, that the victims Of arbtra>
ry arrests were obedent to every law, were
guiltless of any known anddefned offence,
and therefore were without the protection
the writ of habeaS corpus, instead of being
intended to prevent the enlargement OF
arrested criminals until a legal trial and
conviction can be had, is designed, accor>
ding to your doctrine, 10 subject innocent
men 10 your supreme will and pie .sure.
Silence tself is punishable, according 10
this extraordinary theory, and still more
so the expression Of opinions, lowever
loyal, if attended with criticism upon the
policy of the Government. We must res.
pectfully refuse our assent to this theory
Of constitutional law. We think that men
may te righ fully silent, if they so choose.
while clamorous end needy patriots pro,
claim the praises oi those who WELD pow.
er and as to the butts" the "ifs," and
the "ands," these are Saxon words and
belong to the vocabulary Of freemen.
We have already said that the intuition
of a free people instantly rejects these dan.
I gercus and unheard of doctrines. 1t is
not our purpose TO enter ufon an elabor
ate and extended refutation of them. We
submit to you, however, one or two con.
siderations, in the hope that you will re,
view the subject with the earnest atten.
tion which its supreme Importance de-
mands. We say, then, we are not aware
that the writ Of habeaS corpus is now sus
pended in any Of the PEACEFUL and loyal
States Of the Union. An act of Congress
approved by you on the 81 of March, 1868
authorized the President to suspend it du
ring the pres6at rebellion. That the sus-
pension is a legislative, and not an cxecu.
tive act has been hello in every judicial
decision ever made in this county, and
we think it cannot be delegated to any
other branch of the Government. But
passing over that consideration, you have
not exercised the power which Congress
attempted to confer upon you, and the
writ 10 not sueponded in any nart of the
country where the civil laws are in force.
Now, inasmuch as your doctrine of the
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of limo
cent men, in admitted violation of express
constitutional guarantees is wholly deriv-
ed from a suspension Of the hlJGQS corpus,
the first step TO be taken in the ascer TO
absolute power ought TO be to make it
known to the people that the writ is in
fact suspended, to the end that they may
know what is their condition. You have
not yet exercised this power, and, there.
fore, according 10 your own constitutional
thesis, your conclusion falls to the ground
II is one of the provisions OF the Conslitd.
ton, and of the very highest value, that
no er post flcto law shall De pa,sed-the
meaning of which is, that no act which is
not against the law when com hitted, can
be made criminal by subsequent legisla-
tion. But your claim is, that when the
writ OF haJeaS corpus is suspended, you may
lawfully impnson and punish. for the
crimes of silence, of speech, and opinion.
But as these ale no offences against the
known and established law Of tho land, ths
constitutional principle TO wEich We now
refer, plainly requires that you should, be
fore taking cognizance of such offences,
make known the rule OF action, in order
that the people may be lvised in due
season, so as not to become liable 10 its
penalties. Let us turn your attention TO
the most glaring and indefeusible of all
the assaults upon constitutional liberty,
which have marked the history of your
administration. No one has ever preten,
ded that the writ Of haGeaS corpus was sus,
pended in the State Of Ohio, where the or.
rest OF citizen at midnight, already re.
fegred to, was made, and be placed before
q coart-martial for trial and sentence, upon
charges and specifications which admitted
his innocence according to the existing
laws of this country. Upon your own
doctrine, then, can you hesitate TO redress
that m0nstrous wrong?
Bot, sir, we cannot acquiesce in your
dogmas that arrests and imprsonments,
without warrant or criminal accusation, in
their nature lawless and arbitrary, op.
posed to the very letter Of constitutional
guarantees, can become in any sense right.
ful by reason Of suspension of the writ |
Of habeds corpus. We deny that the sus
pension Of single aud peculiar remedy
for such wrongs brings into existence new
and unknown classes of offences, or new
causes for depriying men of their liberty.
1t is one OF the most material purposes of
that writ 10 enlarge upon bail, persons
Who, upon probable cause, are duly and
Illegally charged with some known crime;
and suspension Of the writ was never
asked for in England, or in this country,
except TO prevent such enlargement when
the supposed offence was against the safe.