The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1863-11-05
Where are the Advocates OfJuS-
ticcl

can people are, to-day, living under sus
pension of the CONSTITUTIONAL dictator
ship Justice is administered in scarcely
Il single spot in the North for the func-
tions of the courts are suspended. Law
yers have forgotten or ignored their Soble
calling Junius said:-''It is not an act
Of open violence done by the king. or any
direct or palpablc breach of the laws at
tempted by his ministers. that can ever
cndancer the liberties of this country
Against such king or minister the peo-
pie would immediately take the alarm, and
al parties unite to oppose him. The laws
may be grossly violated in particular in
stances without any direct attack upon the
whole system. Facts Of this kind stand
alone: they are attributed to necessity, not
defended by principles. We can never be
really in dancer until the forms Of ParlIa,
men, are made Use Of to destroy the sub
stance Of our civil and political liberties;
until Parliament itself betrays its trust by
contributing to establish new principles of
government. and employing the very wcap-
ons committed to it by the collective body,
to stab the Constitution
1t was Erskine who said before Il Brit
ish court. in defense of the liberties of the
prese: IF | were to ask the people of
England, what is the choicest fruit that
grows upon the tree Of liberty, | would be
answered security Under tbs tDw. II were
to ask what they would ask in return for
the burdens under which they bend to
support government, would be answered
Sc uriy uader the las. and impartial al
nmistration cf Jassice'
Where are the Juniuscs of the present
day, or Tie Erskins Of ths American Bar?
The writer's write to justify the acts that
have plundered the people Of their liber
ties. stolen their wealth, and reduced them
to the scrfdom Of conScription. The law
ycrs hire themselves out TO the govern
ment to make plausible the doctrine that
a tyrants necessity knotcs no la,e They
claim that the habeos corpus is vellcnough
when j. is net needed, but when i, is, it is
to be dispensed with for the common good.
The argument Of these special pleaders for
dcSpotsm IL, that there is distinction TO
he made as to the class Of people TO whom
the benefits Of this writ is to be extended
or withheld; and that the judge who is to
decide that question is to have it decided
for him by the Government. They know
that as long as they are in power they are
safe; but the very moment they are out Of
power, are they not crushed By their OWL
argument? The public safety that JUS
tifes the suspension o: the writ, consE Il :
tt'onally, never did exist, and never can,
indiscriminatcly, in any country where the
ha5cas corpus ever had constitutional
being or guarantee. The very existence of
such a guarantee prevents it, for that
guarantee is, that military power shall al
ways be subscrvient to the civil, outside
of the lines Of the army, where there is no
rebellion or invasion, ut least. Will the
David Dudley Fields, or any of the Crown
Larycrs of Lincoln, tell US how the pub
lie safety may suffer here in the State of
New York, 90 as to constitutionally justify
the suspension Of the functions of the
courts of justice in any respect? Let us
hear the legal argument they would en-
ploy Let the public hear your argument,
gentlemen. Ncstors Of the Bar, come forth
and indicate the existence Of the necessi-
ty. The party in power may, some day,
be swept away by a constitutional change
Of Administration, and then the class Of
) people to whom you claim this writ is de-
MED, will change. Will the Constitution
change also? Youwil differ with the Ad.
ministration then, and the war may still
continue. Suppose then some Of the Nes-
tors Of the bar should be seized and i'm
prisoned without legal process fer ex-
pro 'sing their unwillingness to go and
E Ght under a Democratic Administration
aad advising their Abolition brethren not
70 so, does any one suppose, fora moment,
that they wauid not claim that they we're
entitled to the privilege Of the writ of ha.
Teas corpus!
Was this the kind of secu,ity under the
law Erskine meant, as "the choicest fruit
that grew upon the tree of liberty" Was
it the security only Of the party in power,
and that, too, only while they are in pow
er? Does the expression in Constitu-
ton, "where the public safety shall require
it," mean the public safety of party, or
Of the people? Again, is it Judicial,
Executive, or a Legislative power that
shall finally determine, in a contest be-
tween the Government and the citizen,
tho cros,;or &c Eonst;tu,;on,E.,, oc a. q,