Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-07-22


sue out nv writ and you may award 1t; the return
is made" am held by authority of the Secretary
at War or President and it is ordered that no re-
turn shall be made, either Of my body or the cause
Of my detention" This return, thus ordered closes
the bars of my prison. l may study, at my leis-
ure the Bill of Rights and Constitution of Virgin
lathe Sl5 of Article of which says: 1.-The
privilege of the writ of ha6eGs corpus shall not in
any case be suspended" But this law of Congress,
enforced by the President at will, authorizes my
seizure in court detans me in prison, denies all le-
gal access to me, and keeps me prisoner at will,
subject to his orders. If this is liberty, have
been all my life, deludeJ student of the writings
Of the great "apOstles of liberty"
Gov Brown, of Georgia, has written message
to the Legislature of his State; the Legislature
nave passed a very decided resolution on this sub
ject. Mr. Stephens, the second officer Of the Con-
iederate government has made speech on this
law. They all condemn-it in unqualified terms.
need scarcely say sir that concur in their censure
md applaud their motives their acts, and their de-
clsrations. Suppose in the madness of an over:
heated zeal those eminent men were all arrested
and Imprisoned by order of the President for those
acts2 Can it not be doneI Is not the power Civ
en- by this lawH 1t given, at whose discretion Is 1t
tobe exerciSedP Ii exercised, where is the RENE
dy? And yet we are a free people-soVerelgn
s-independent sovereigntlesy Vain, ineh-
cient, feeble worthless pageantries, it this law IS
to stand and be thus enforced
Sir Charles the First endeavored to seize i've
members of the House of Commons by force, but
tailed and punished in proportion to the enor,
nifty of his outrage upon individual liberty and
representative independence.
This law bestows on the President the power at
will to arrest by his order, every member OF Con
gress, every member of each Legislature of each
State each Governor of all the States, all the judges
magistrates, and officers Of eachan every State, at
will, and detain them at will. And yetwe are said
to be free people-SOvereign States-Wltn untram-
melled legislatures, governors and Judiciary. But
1t is said this power will not be thus exercised !
1t is lodged in safe hands, The President will not
abuse the trust / will never consent to hold my
birth-right at the will of any who is empower
ed bsSAt at WILL and independent Of the mandates
Of the Constitution and inhibitions of the law. l
reverence law. l respect authority. yield TO all
proper lawful exercise of constitutional authority
But when this law tells ME that as L walk the
streets or sleep quietly at home, may be arrested
and imprisoned without complaint on oath at the
will of the President or Secretary of War, can
but chafe under the soothing assurance that will
not be disturbed if behave myself Sir, this Is
the language of superior to al inferior. 1 ac-
knowledge no such relation to any man.
When we analyze this law, take it to pieces, weigh
each clause and guage each and every power Ii-
sidiously lurking beneath the general designation
of offences, and compare its provision, IN the ag-
gregate, or in the detail to distinct affirmative in
hbition in the Constitution on the exercise Of the
granted powers under the instrument, our reason
seems to be lost in the intricacy of the artistic
labyrinth of accumulative, coerciVe restraint thus
placed upon the citizen. The law seems to have
been drawn with the double purpose of concealing its
hidden dangers, and covertly investing the Presi-
dent with implied powers, which no one, mindful
of the esprit and genius" of the people, would
willingly expressly grant las one thing to Sus-
pend the privilege of the writ of hdJeGS corpus but
it is a different thing to create new powers, vest
original jurisdiction where it never before existed,
and place administrative remedies solely IN the
hands Of the executive.