Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-11-09
For the Standard.
Nave we Civil Liberty

poor remnant OF printers lelt III IL
For the Standard.
Have we Civil Libertys
In every age of the civilized world the genius Of
civil liberty has been the theme of the patriot, the
statesman, the philosopher, the poet and philan-
thropi>L
10 secure ard maintain this priceless boon given
to by the great fundamental laws of Gods uni.
versa! government millions OF men have been slain,
cities have fallen, empires have disappeared, and
Kingdoms have been swept away. And yet the
struggle for civil liberty Is not ended.
This people, the sons and daughters of Southern
born freemen are struggling for what? For civil
liberty Whenever the mill.
tary ovcrrides the civil powers of government,
il ceases at once to be civil government, and
becomes military government And all military
governments are governed by force or through fear
OF the sword | ASK then, can there be any viStige
of civil liberty, bu: in name in country where the
military power authorizes the seizure of frcemcns
property without due process through the civh
Courts Of that country? would ask can there ex-
list any civil power where the military authorities
are empowered through che Governor of State,
the keeper and guardian of the civil rights of the
people, to arrest and impriSOn men and women who
are not amenable to any but the civil law of such
State? These things have been permitted by the
uosernor Of North Carolina These things have
oeeH uouc III TIC lace OF 4 Statute law e0aCteQ QH
the highest civil authority known to free people,
the Legislature of rth-Carolina. That body has
enacted:
That any person who shall knowingly aid, as
sist, harbor or maintain, under any pretence what
e7er, any deserter from the military service of the
State or of the Confederate States, shall he gailty
OF high msdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
In the Superior Court, shall be fined, or imprisoned
in the discretion of the Court the fine no. to exceed
i've hundred dollars, or the Imprisonment to exceed
four months. That any person who shall under
any pretence whatever, knowingly aid assist har-
Dor orsnalntan any person enrolled and ordered to
report for duty as conscript in refusing to ooey
such order shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor,
sand upon conviction in the Superior Court shall
be fined or imprisoned or both, 10 the discretion of
the Court the fine rot to exceed five hundred dol
lars, nor the Imprisonment four months. That for
the purpose of enforcing the conscript law of the
Confederate States and arresting deserters and CON-
scripts, the Governor shall have power to call out
the militia That this act shall have force from and
after its ratification. Ratified the It'll day of July,
1861"
Upon the faith Of this act, the Governor was in
terrogated as to whether the militia or senior Re.
serves had legal authority to arrest men and women
who were not subject to military duty or to seize
the property of slch citizens, and he answers
The militia officers haze orders to arrest parties of
any age sec .0Ao gice Information 10 deserters"
This is what Gov. Vance says in reply to ques-
tons prcpounded to him in regard to whether such
arrests an seizures legal 10 view of the act of the
Legislature or not The Constitution of North
Carolina directs the mode Of euacting 10th civil and
military laws, and the manner in which these laws
mdt be enforced. And our Bill of Rights saws that
no freeman shall be deprived of his liberty but bv
due process OF law. The Judges of the Courts,
tue expounders and administrators Of the civil law,
give in charge to jurors that military power has
the right to search mems houses or make arrest of
any free citizen the State without due process of
law. And yet Gov. Vance issues orders to the mil
itary authorities of his State to arrest any who NAV
be suspected of giving information to deserters
Has the Governor assumed the Role right of inter.
Pretins the law, and become the Judge and Juror in
the administration of justcei If he has arrogated
to himself the authority of superseding in his or
ders the acts Of the Legislature and can cause the free
citizens of North Carolina to be arrested and inn,
prisoned by the military law, that law becomes su
Freme, and the people have no use for legislative
body, nor for judges, solicitors or justices of the
peace. ask, then, have we civil liberty?
The Governor did not so advise the people of
North carolina in his late speeches He then told
the ireemen OF this great sovereign State that the
ciVii law should rule supreme, and that freeman
should be deprived of his property or liberty but
by due process Of civil law He told the people
then that the military power was encroaching upon
the civil rights of the citizen but that he wanted
tne people to help him to it, that the civil law
OF the State was executed in the proper way. He
tnen could point to the acts Of the Legislature and
tell the people if the military seized their property
or made unlawful arrests to appeal to him for civil
justice and they would get it. But now, when men
not subject to military duty, and women are arrest.
cd by the military without due process of the civil
eeaw and the question is asked by citizen of his
state who was strongly threatened With arrest BY
Tue military, ne says in emphatic terms, "every age
ana sex are subject to the military authority who
give information to deserters." And this in the
lace OF an act of the Legislature expressly intended
take cognizance of this very matter Of aiding or
aoetng deserters on the part of any age or sex of
tae citizens ard bring them to trial hy the civil
courts OF the State. If the Governor can with inn.
penty superSede the jurisdiction of the civil cours
Oh MS State, by his official orders through an arm
eae military service, and bring parties to summary
punishment who are, according to the staiute
aenaole only to the civil law, and such ia recoo.
meg as constitutional or not the precedent is 90.
aol,shed, and every offender against the civil .cts
nnu me Legislature, called aws may with like i'm.
Goray oe arrested under military orders from the
on ".efaor and brought to justice This would At
endo ooterate the idea of civil law, because all Of
tho ca Woulo become amenable to the orders q,
hars e instead Of the acts made bv the nam.
~. p W Tue Legislature, which were made tn oovorr
f.ast as we'll az the people, And ia this the
" winch the people were invited, IF on thas
the DAY is not very far distant when the ,err ST. .aes