Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-05-18
Murtb- Caruli1la 5tanhnr1

Autb-Carpliua 5tal1har1
lFron the North.Caroliua Standard February 4, 1881
The :sGreat Writ Of Right"
ehave the pleasure of laying before our readers
to-day, an able and eloquent communication over
the signature of Dazzle the subject Of the "great
writ of right" the ha6eas corpus. The writer is
thoroughly informed on the subject and his demon
STATIONS, founded on the Constitution ITSELF are as
clear as a sunbeam. Read this communication, and
then hand it to your neighbour
es' For the Standard.
frequent recurrence to fundamental principles Is
absolutely necessary to pressrre the Blessings OF
: liberty. DECLARATION OF RIGHrs, Sec. IL. 80.
Such is the warning Of our ancestors, when, IN
the midst of war from abroad and civil strife at home
they proclaimed for themselves and their posterity
the greet principles of freedom which constitute our
Declaration of Rights Among these fundamental
principles the power is denied ''of suspendng laws
or the execution of laws without the consent of the
representatives of the people," and the right is as.
serted "that the military should be kept In strict
shbordinaton to and governed by the civil power.
Here also it is solemnly declared that general war
rants to seize aRy person, "whose offence is not
particularly described and supported by evidence,
are dangerous to liberty and ought not to be grant
ed" That no free man shall be put to answer any
criminal charge but by Indictment, presentment or
impeachment" that "eyery man has right to be
informed of the accusation against him, and to con-
front his and witnesses with other testlmo
N.Y." that "no free man shall be convicted Of any
crime but by the unanimous verdict of jury
And lastly, that "every free restrained of his
liberty is entitled to remedy to inquire into the
lawfuness thereof and to remove the same if un-
lawful and that such remedy ought not to be denied
or delayed
Such are the strong and noble guards against op-
preston Eilh which our patriotic sires fenced the
personal liberty Of every citizen of the State and
greater degree of happy freedom no people ever
enjoyed, so long as these guards were kept sacred
In process of time, our ancestors entered into new
political engagements, and became subject, in q
great degree to another form Of government, which
still continues Now let V see whether they sur
rendered, in the new relation in which they placed
= themselves, any of those priceless muniments of
freedom In all respects affecting personal liberty
they are the same in the Constitutions both Of the
United States and Confederate States; but quote
from the divisional arrangement Of the latter Con-
sttution:
1.-THE right of the people to be secure in their
persons against SEIZURE shall not be violated and
no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation. Art l, sec. 9,
e. Is.
No person shall be held to answer for capital
or otherwise infamous. crime, unless on present.
ment or indictment of grand jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, in the militia
while in actual service in time of war Or public
danger. Nor shall any person be deprived of lib
'erty without due process of law. Sec. 9, cl. 16
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall en-
joy the right to speedy and public trial by an i'm
partial jury of the State and district wherein the
havn hean cd Ard
tobe informed of the nature and cause of the
cusation; to be confronted with the witness
against him, and to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor. Sec. 9, cl. II.
The trial of all crimes, except in of impeach-
ment shall be jury and such trial shall be held
in the State where the said crime shall have been
committed" Art. 8, sec. g. cl 8.
Such are the guarantees of the inviolability of a
freeman's person under the Confederate Constitu:
tion-concurrent in almost in every particular with
those of the State Constitution, and repugnant in
none. Now it is manifest LIST, that no citizen of
this State, not in the army navy in the mill
tia while in actual SERVICE be constitutionally
"deprived Of liberty" "without due process Of
law" which due process is defined in section 9,
before cited, wherein it is declared that the people
shall be secure from seizure except upon warrant
issued upon probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation" 9. That every citizen, not in the
army, &C., is entitled to speedy and public trial
by jury of the district and State wherein the
crime is committed.
That many Of our citizens are now and for q
long time have been denied these palpable consti-
tutionsl rights thus secured by two Constitutions
for nearly century, is as open and public as noon
day. Is it any apology that they have been arrest
ed by the military authority Where is its war
rant for such procedure? Certainly it is not
found in either State or Confederate Constitution
1T may exercise this power, then vain as childs
whistle Is that emphatic declaration that the mill
tary should be kept in subordna.ion to the civil
power. Did our ancestors Of arast age, or our pa
arios OF this, intend to guard the person of free
man from Seizure, without due process even BY a
regular officer of the law, the neighbor or acquain-
tanee perhaps, of the accused and likely therefore
as well as from his habits and official responsible
ties to be mild and kind in the execution of the ar.
rest and who would take bail if the offence would
allow Of it. and yet commit such power to the rude
soldier. who, both stranger and blunted in his
sympathies fer his fellowman by his profession, ex
hi5its his maset for his warrant and takes for bal
only the walls CT loathsome jail? If this be true
of our times, well may the citizen exclam with an
eminent patriot Of the days of Charles I, 81 car
live though another who has no right, be put to
live along with me: nay, can live though bur
deDed with linpositiens, beyond what at present
labor under; butte have my liberty which is thu
soul OF my life, ravshed from me: to have my per
son pent up in gaol without relief by law and tt
be so adudged-O, improvident ancestors O, I'm
wise forefathers1 to be curious in providing fo
the quiet possession Of our lands, and the Liberties
ofParliament-and at the same time to neglect GU
personal liberty, and let us lie in prison, and tina
during pleasure without redress or remedy! l
this be law, why do we talk Of liberties VIII,
trouble ourselves with disputes about Oonstitu
ton, franchises, property Of goods, and the like
What may any man call his own, if not the lbert,
of his person? am weary Of treading thes
ways" Griefs like this drove the people Of Eng
). land to rebellion, and ultimately wrung from tn
throne the famous habeas corpus act the secon
" Magma Charta Of that mighty Empire, which becam
the inheritance of our colonial youth, afterward
infused itself into our Declaration Of Rights, ant
now spreads itself over the most sacred page
our Code. Proudly now do the English peopl