Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-10-29
The sections OF this law, which we have

The sections OF this law, Whlch we nave
quoted, can be found on page $50 vol. 18th
of the United States Statutes at large
The law is entitled ''au act to suppress
Insurrect1On, to punish Treason and Re-
bellion, to seize and confscate the proper
ty of Rebels, and tor other purposes" We
have quoted more of the section bearing
on coniscation than we had need to, but
we desired to give the matter in detail as
much as possible, II order that members
of the legislature might see that all the
persons affected By the bill now before the
House of Delegates are included in the act
of Congress.
The question then is, does not this act
supercede any necessity of an act on the
part of the State of West Virginia2 Can
the State of West Virginia pass beyond
what Congress has prescribed in the mat
ter of confscation2 We do not believe she
can To claim she can, is, as it seems to
US, an assertion of the mischieVOus doc
trine of State Rights in its most obnoxious
phase. The Law of Congress can have no
operation outside the States and Terrific
ries, Within those States and Territories
it is The supreme law of the land; and it is
not for any State law to either precede or
succeed the adjudications of the United
States courts in a matter so comPrehsn-
sively provided for as the persons and
and property subject to ConhscasiOo BY rea-
son of this rebellion.
Look, for instance, how Ne bill under
consideration by the House of Delegates,
must conflict with the law of the United
States on the same subject. 1t recites that
all the property forfeited by persons aid
ing or abetting the rebellion, shall be
forfeitedtO Lhe use OF this State" The law
of Congress declares all such property for
feited to "the support of the army of the
United States" This is only one feature
of the conflict. Another would be the
question as to whether State can enact
perpetual forfeiture of re al property, or,
in other words, whether, Notwithstanding
the provision of the Constitution of the
United States, declaring that no punish
ment for treason shall work "forfeiture
except during the life of the person at
tainted" of such treason. the State of West
Virginia can give title in fee simple to
such property.
We object TO the law before the House
of Delegates because it is unnecessary,
aud because we see in it the seeds of end
less collision with the United States au-
tboritics. We do not dwell upon its States
Rights features as We might, but certainly
there is no need for us to make an elabo-
rate argument on that view of the subject
to Legislature exercising its powers and
owing existence, itself, to the reputation
of States Rights lAtitudinarianism by its
constituents. The people of West Virginia
have we'll declared that the laws of Con.
gress made IN pursuance of the Coustitu-
ton of the United States are supreme in
their midst The bill before the House of
Delegates is most undoubtedly and unde-
ably in conflict not only with the law of
Congress on the same subject, but with a
provision of the Constitution nf thA u-:t~l
states, beyond which neither any law of
Congress or of any State can go
The original conception of. State law
on this subject, as we'll as the original de.
niaud for such law by the people, goes
back beyond the enactment of the United
sttaes law ON the subject. There was a
necessity once for some such law, bu,
there is no necessity now, and it is cardi
nal maxim of law that the necessity for any
law having ceased, the law itself should
cease. We regard the bill before the
House as liable to still further objections,
but those pointed out, it seems to us, are
sufficient to induce such an examination
of its imperfections as ought to result il
setting it aside altogether.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad
1 The atoolr ~ +b;s roaSl ,-o,, =, NJ vi