Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1864-03-12
Sionx City 8tgisttr
SATURDAY, MARCH u, 1864.
The Conduct Of the Dem ocrstic Far.
~ and Press, In the Treatment or
grave Questions Of Public Interest,
- compared with that OF the Re-
I publican Party and Press under
similar Circ u m 1t ances.

( publican Party and Press under
similar Giro m st ances.
Il must be a source Of pleasure and
satisfaction to al candid minded persons
to observe the fair and unbiased manner
in which the failure to procure q review
Of the military trial Of Va'lsndingham by
the Supreme Court, has been received by
the friends Of that marty, to civil liberty,
and by the democratic press throughout
the country. That all who are opposed
70 the wholesale system Of arbitrary ar
rests, inaugurated by the present admin.
istra.ion, felt more or less disappointed
BY the result Of this effort to settle the
question Of their invalidity by the decision
Of the highest authority known to our
laws, is unquestionably true, bu. that
any such, when advised Of the failure of
the application, did more than respectful
ly dissent from the decision rendered, is
false. Their demeanor in this, as in all
other cases, is courteous o5edien@ to
the judgment pronounced, as q matter Of
judicial law No proposition, for revers
ing the decision of the court, by adding
to its bench sufficient number Of sub.
servient judges. No Haunting, ridiculing
and deriding that courts solemn judg,
ment, because i, chances to be adverse to
their wishes. No infamy Of deliberately
advocating resistance to laws which have
received the uneqnivocal endorsement of
this court, or of bounding on mobs to re.
sist the execution Of those laws. attaches
to the Democratic party or its press
The journals of that party never have and
never will SO far for forget the respect
and Difference due that august tribunal,
rs to do any such thing, even though it
were true-as alleged ty some of the re.
publican apers-whch it is not, that
the decisions of this court have, Gin no
single instance, been at variance with the
executive action of the President and
though The court should become as sub
servieut to the will aud obedient to the
behcsts Of the present administration as
its newspaper organs. But it is due to
the court to say, in this connection, that
such report Of its decision as this-found
in the New York Times" we have il,
then, authoritatively determined that the
military arrest Of Vallandingham was no:
Illegal, nor his military trial, or his mill
tary Sentence entirely false, des-
closing either the crosses possible igno.
rance Of law, or the most wiliul misrepre.
eentation Of facts The refusal Of the
court to grant tho wri. Of cert ,rari was
based upon the ground, "that even If the
arrest, trial and punishment OF Vallan.
bingham were illegalshere is still no au-
thority in the court to grant relief in this
mode, and there is no law by which an
appeal or proceedings in the nature of an
appeal from a military commission to the
Supreme Court can be taken. The ques.
ton Of jurisdiction-which is the first one
every court is required to pass upon-he-
ing decided adversely to the applicant
for the writ, tho merits of TIE case were
not entered into ut all. II the court de-
cided anything, it was that tho military
proceedings against Vallandinghim were
SO far beyond the pale of every judicial
action, and SO contrary to all law, tina.
they would not pay them a suffi Glen.
tribute OF respect even te reverse them.
And this We hold should be the manner
in which to treat this military mandate of
Observation-Disclosures it entirely. Let
Vallanaingham do so, and he may return
to Ohio tomorrow.
- -