Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-01-24
9PEECTE OF
HON. SAMUEL s. COX
Delivered In tie House Of Congress, on tie I4A ef
January, 1884, on C0nfscation. tT
tConcluded.l

the robbing Of the innocent children, wht
would legally take the estate. But, as ,
matter of enlightened law, public decency
and Christian morality, cannot perceive
how such case differs from the bill before
us, which he sustains, which proposes tC
despoil the children of their inheritance fol
the crime of the parent Does 1t make the
one heinous wrong that the attaint is after
death and the property had already de-
scended by statute9 No, sir; the outrage In
both cases consists In robbing the helpless
and weak, in Furnishing the innocent for
the guilty. To prevent this, in the interest
of society and in the sacred name of the
family, and to save the innocentfrom shame
as well as from want, our Constitution de-
clares that the forfeiture should not 60 be-
yond the life of the person attainted. The
grave shall hide his shame. The6hild shall
begin its life clear from stain, unsullied
from the attaint of its parents life, and the
inheritance 1t had expected from the phys
ical source of its being should not be snatch
ed away by unlineal hands or tyrannic ra-
pacity. ..
/ Too abundantly does history cumulate
the proof of the unwisdom of such legisla-
ton as that proposed by this bill. Such
legislation is The premium which has ever
been offered by power to the cormorants
who cling to it, in order to perpetuate itself
by sharing in the plunder. 1t is the reward
which the dominant dynasty always gives
to the gilded flies which buzz about the
corpse Of its victim to fatten on its corrup-
ton. Perhaps the saddest illustration
which this evil time will furnish OF its lust
full degeneracy, will be the clamoring of
the partisan spies, informers and mercena-
ries, who, too cowardly to meet the enemy
in fight, will follow in the wake of our ar
mics to speculate upon the plantations and
estates which the rebellion has forfeited,
but which the Constitution in its beautiful
benignity would have saved to the innocent
inheritor. -aa ~,t.re4tr#r r
Is it necessary to add further authority as
to the impolicy or unconstitutionality of
this bill? / might appeal to the writings of
the gentleman who has been employed by
the Secretary of War to codify the laws of
war. | mean the DIR. Francis Lieber who
wrote so well of public law and liberty be-
fore he had official employment. l could
read from his volume on Civil Liberty" to
show the scope and spirit of that part of the
Constitution under debate. He says ''that
the true protection of individual property
demands likewise the exclusion OF confisca-
tion"-
Mr.. Stevens-As the gentleman from Ohio
question.
Mr.. Cox-Certainly sir.
Mr.. Stevens-The Constitution provides
that Congress shall have power to declare
the punishment of treason; but no attainder
of treason shall work corruption of blood
or forfeiture. Now, has not Congress pow
er to punish other than by attainder, and if
that other punishment is the forfeiture of
estate, does it violate the first clause of the
Constitution? m II
Mr.. Cox-I answer the gentleman by
referring him to the Presidents message
.TLaughter.l The President in. his message
to the last Congress held that to divest the
title forever-"for treason and ingredients
of treason"-was unconstitutional. You
passed the Joint resolution to obviate his
scruples. The gentleman must stand by
the Administration. cfargehim with be-
ing a traitor or secessionist if he now
desert Mr.. Lincoln. [Great laughter. I
hope my friend from Pennsylvania, after so
long hurliug his envenomed shafts of satire
against this side Of the House because we
did not always sustain the President, will
not himself fail OF. his loyalty. There may
be other punishments besides the forfeiture;
but the punishment you now propose, and
which l am now discussing, is unconstitu-
tional. So says the Administration. Iproud-
iystand by yrthe- Administration laugh
teri r" - ''1s'
Mr.. Stevens-I understand the gentleman
as not giving his own opinions, but those of
Mr.. Lincoln.
Mr.. Cox-When interrupted, I was giving
the views of others-Judge Story, Judge
Curtis and DIR. Lieber. am not prepared
to say that all of Mr.. Lincoln's views on
that subject are the best. l only say that
they shonld be binding upon that side of
the House who have so often urged that
failing to sustain the Administration you
fail to sustain the Government. Where,
then, do gentleman stand? Opposing the
constitutional views of their chief! How
handsomely you look before the country
in that capacity, after your phillipics against
our disloyalty! Here is a bill which in
wolves the very exercise Of the highest SOW
ereign power, sconfiscation of the estates of
persons absolutely, scheme Of forfeiture
involving hundreds, nay, thousands of mil
lions of dollars, or of landed estates, involv-
ing in its consequences the prolongation of
war and the procrastination of peace. in
volving the very fate of this Union and all
the immense interests inbound with it to
the latest generations, and about which the
President was so anxious that he took the
extraordinary trouble to send an admonito
nv message to prevent his friends commit
ting fragrant breach of the Constitution,
advising them that he would veto the meas
ure for its gross unconstitutionality; yet
gentlemen stand here, after the lapse of a
year or more, and by some progressive
philology" undertake to convict and CEN
sure their own Executive, overrule his ma
| tured Judgment and oath, and by falling to
give HIM the required support on so mo-
mentous measure become, by their own
cogent logic, traitors to the Government!
Mr.. .BroOmall-The Constitution, punish
| ing treason, allows the alternative of fine
and Imprisonment to be imposed. If, then,
the fine be levied upon the offenders land,
and that land is sold, want to know wheth-
er the purchaser, would only take life es-
Mr.. Cox-Certainly, sir. Under an hon-
est and fearless judiciary, upholding the
4 lConstitution as the supreme law, he would
lonlv get a life estate. This may. be an alb
surd conclusion; but l know that Judge
Story does not think it absurd, nor does the
HISTORY of cOnfiscations show 1t to be abb
lsurd. By no scheme or device can you di-
lrectly or indirectly forfeit the estate, ex-
lcept In pursuance Of the Constitution. s.
Mr.. Broomall-If the same individual
should be. indicted before some court fol
stealing chickens, and fined ten dollars, ant
Ibis lands sold for that fine, could the estat'
be sold in fee? :,
Mr.. Cox--If the gentleman would get |
Icivil Judgment, take out a feri Jdcias ant
make a levy. then / suppose he could sci