The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-02-18
Bill Comforting Supreme Power on
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A bill actually passed the Senate of the U.
S. en- the 27 h of JANUARY, to indemnify the
President and his agents for s%uspending the
privilege of the writ of habeds corpus, and
acts done in pursuance thereof. Iu the Ian
guaoe of the New York WoyEa, it is 'aothing
less than an act for the establishment of u des-
potism in these United States, and taking from
the people the protection of the Constitution.
It authorizes and justifes arbitrary arrests at
the will Of the executive, in defarce of explic-
it provisions of the Constitution forbidding
such arrests. It puts every mans liberty and
property out of the protection Of the funda-
mental law it annihilatcs the. power Of the
State government to protect their citizens
against illegal violence it tells the President
and bis minions that they may, with impuni-
ty, perpetrate all those acts of despotism by
which odious tyrants in the worst ages have
earred the execration of mankind. This may
be de~ome3streug Language, but 1t is no more
than adcquatceoeharaeteriz the infamous act
of combined perjury ~nddespotism which must
provoke the indignat on or eucry MN who is
not base enough to confess himself -a-slaye.
The proceeding in connection with the passage
of this bill proves that every Senator who vo-
ted for it committed conscious Terjury that he
knowingly and w~illfully violated the solemn
oath he had taken to support the Constitution
of the United States.
We ask the deliberate attention of the country
to the fact We will now recite and which ap.
pears on the record. Mr.. Carlisle, Of Virgins,
moved to amend the first section of the bill
by inserting after the phrase "President of
the United States the words, SIN the exercise
of has Constitutional authority" an amendment
which would give that officer immunity for
all acts, arrests and proceedings WHICH he has
done or ordered in the exercise of his Consti-
tutional authority, but leaving him and his
subordinates to the full consequences and pen
alties of acts done in violation OF the Constitu-
ton. The amendment was accordingly rejec-
ted by IL ayes against 20 noes, as follows
YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Bayard, Brown
ing, Carlisle, Cowan, Harding, Powell, Sauls-I
bury, Turpis, Wal and Wilson, of Massachus
etts-11
NA4s-Messrs. Chandler, Clarke, Cola
mer, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Eos
Hicks, Howard, King, Lane, of Ind, Lane, of
Kansas ; Morrill,, Poncroy, Sherman, Sumner,
Ten Eyck, TrumbulI, Wade, Wilkinson, il
ley, Wilmot and Wilson, of Massachusetts-z9
By this vote the Senate of the United
States declared their determination to treat
the Constitution which they have sworn to
and the guarantees it throws around
the liberties of the people, as a nuiliiy. The
vote of these twenty nine Senators is a dam
ming and lndeiible record, not only against
themselves, hut AGAINST the President of the
United States. 1t in effect declares him gull
~ of numerous, frequent and repeated viola
ions of the Constitution. 1t is a plain con-
Fession that the design of the bill i, to shield
he officer and his underlings from the legal
of such violations. IF that were
not its object. Mr.. Oarlisle's amendment would
lave been readily accepted, for the insertion
If that amendment could in no way impair J
he effect of the bill in exempting the Presi- !
lent and his subordinates from penalties for t
which were not violations of the Consti- I
ution. These Senators in effect declare that
le has violated the Constitution that they !
consider violations of the Constitution neri 4
orious acts on the part Of an officer to support .
nd defend it and that they will stand be-
Ween him and all penalties ordained by State
r federal laws for wanton and illegal trespass- 7
s on the rights Of citizens. 1
The Journal de Rouen states that $4,000 =
ave been sentby the Duke de Aumales aud 7
5 900 by the Count de Chatres, to the SUBJ !