Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-05-21

asainss shs fnrh representatives, requested to vote
nasnsr ~ or suspension Of said privilege and he
SSnv the State Ia hereby directed to transmi
OF these resolutions TO the Senators ard Represen
: .Adves in Congress.
Be it further resolved That in the adoption Of these
resolutions it s not the intention Of the Legislature TO
mpue 10 the President of the Confederate States any
desire to arrcgste himself power than the Con-
situion has conferred and that In The opinion OF this
Legislature it y the duy Of every patriotic czen to
uphold aud maintain tie said President of The Coniede
rate States In the Legitimate exercise Of the constitutional
powers conferred 90 him"
With view to determining whether the action Of the
Mississippi Legislature has been w8e and proper bet
exsmins the law, the repeal Of which is by them
demanded The preamble 70 the act Is IN these words
"Whereas The Oonst,ution of the Confederate States
of America provides in artcls first section nine para
graph three that ithe privilege Of the writ of hGJedS
corpus shall no. be suspended unless when in OF
rebellion invasion the public safety may require it
and Wherea the power OF suspending tho privilege of
said writ as recognized in said article first is vested
solely a tho Congress- which Is the exclusive judge of
the necessity Of such suspension and whereas, in the
opinion Of the Congress- the public safety requires the
suspension of said writ in the existing Of the inyR
sion Of these States by the armies of the United 6Atee
and whereas the President has asked for the uspensen
OF tie writ of habeds corpus and informed Congress of
condtons Of public dagger which render the upsusion
of the writ proper for the public defence,
/ aglns. uysson aud insurrection :"
Il thus appears have been the opinion of Congress,
that BY its authority alone the writ Of hGbsas corpus
could be suspended II is GremNkabe fact, that thOG2h
tn is the deberG.e Judgment Of Congress touching its
| sWn poNe. upSn ihs important subject yet, in point
Of ct is provided by the first section of the that
tbs suspSudng process shall comnstee at The instance
/ Of he President alone, and under his authority.
It can operate OalJ far toe President shall de-
tefalne, aod can have no enforcement in any cases
whatever except in these of peruons arrested and de-
tanned By ordsr"-that OF "ihs crearY Of War, or
the General 0Reer conaandpg the Trans Aissssippi
Military Department, BY the authority and under cum
tol Of the President Is isl curious fact aud ilus-
tsive Of the hssy and imperfect in which this
act vas rushed through the Houie, under earnest Exc
cu;iVs pressure from without by aid, too. Of ten
aRtss Ts Of discussion. and in secret session ttas
thgugh az has been seem tie suspensiTe gar o! the
lAE could not be made display itself at all, excep'
wia the bncol Of the President and his own personal
acton in tie premises yet, is declared in the first
section Of thai act that suspension has taken place al
rsidy, by she action of Congress. IL to per-
ecy clear that had the President thought proper
originate such those specified, or had not
them, In way other TO arise, the writ Of
h16sas corpus could be properly said to have been
suspended az all Whether il should be actually su5.
pSndsd therefore, was matter for his determination
aons This il uI doubtedy eonieTrng legislative power
upon the President IL ell the ideas wdch have hereto
fore entertained in regard 70 the true quality
iGl character Of legislative power be lot errOpcous
But the President s also empowered in express terms,
to GssFHiue hoe far this euspensve power shall be
~
Judicial discretion By the second section it provid-
cd that in any Of the thirteen classes OF enumt
rated in the body Of the act where iBdv duat suspect
ed Of crminGlty sha have been previously "arrested
or detained" "the President shall proper officers
TO investigate" the facts OF the case alleged against
them, I'm order that they may be discharged if mpro
perJ detained uulsss they be speedily tried in the
| Gus course Of law" Who 70 be considered the
propsr ofcSrs herey Just such the President shall
designate This sgsin lie legislative power. Who shall
u. d.
far he returns 10 his Executive character Woo is
appoint these olicers7 foe President alone. This
would be papAbly unconstitutional, unless the Senate
were united With him in the act OF appointing thnR,
since the functions Of thsse officers clearly judI
Who ia TO decide whether the persons arrested I'M
PROPERLY deta;ned?' The officers deputed by the Pro
Sdent to peIform tie Wok of iDv stigstion Such
ton On the part OF these cic rs, viii say 10
Otherwise than judicial Who TO decide whether the
parties neulpAed ''can be speedily tried in the duS
course Of lawY Certainly 10 ono doubt that none
but judicial officer could properly adjudc.e this mat
ter Even what NAV be the due course o. laSn is
stsictly matter o. Judicial eogHizaHes Yet the Pre-
sdsnt is to tayo the appointment Of all these officers
without the operative action the SsDate they are
responsible 10 him alcne aad 70 be subject 10 m0val
from Office BIZ him at bis own discretion. Our British
ancestors little less than two centuries since thought
that they rad made great progress in the protection OF
civil Iight in making the tenure Of the judges 20 de
pend upon their owl good behavior, when they provd
hl 6sps gssssrat thus securing their Independence
OF executive control. Our Congress fas thought proper
30 abosh this important imminent OF freed IL is
evident thai the Pre- ident appoint military officers
to execute the whole act though, in pout of fact many
of the offences enumerated IN the statute are exclusively
of civil coguizlnce as Treason; REASONABLE efforts
comhnaIiors to subVert the Government of the Con
ederate States; OonsprEces to overthrow the GoV6rl
ment; Conspraces 70 resist the lawful authorities OF
the Confederate Sta.es Cons iscies or preparations
wila ffnp Vnta w4Vt
tradiag with the enemy Advising melting Others
| abandon the Confederate cau'e. / repeat, what 10
LAWYER worthy Of The will den,, that ali these
are actI which have been recognized from time imme
mcriAl Of judicial coglizance belonging to ths civil
jurisdiction aud not 70 the lisry-ate to be ued IN
due course Of las, by jury, under N indctms1:
4 uesenment allowing to the parties iueulpa,ed all the
established privileges OF common Law trial. Yet moth
ing of this seems to have been thought OF by Con
gress; and that military officers Ters expected 10 sly
all or at least the greater part of the that might
arise under the law and in military way ia made evi
dent By the plain language Of the third section OF tbe
act which provides bat, during the suspension afore
said no military or other officer shall be compelled, 10
to any vri: Of hGbGs corpus to appear in per
son to return the body OF any person or persons ds
tsiaed BY him by authority of the President Secretary
Of War, or she Gene,al Officer commanding The Trans-
Mississippi D5parimsn but upon the certificate, under
OATH Of the officer ravng charge OF any one so detan
ed that such person s detained by him as prisoner
for any Of the hersnbelore specified rrder the
authority aforesaid further proceedings under the W.it
Of hGbeas corpus shall Immediately cease and Ieman
suspsn cd 80 long this shall continue in foreen
hope the honorable members Of this body will not fail
to observe that provision for triI jury is TO be
found in any part OF the act; none requiring that the
party alleged TO be guilty shall be charged und oath,
upon the allegation OF probable cause or that be shall
Dc confirmed With his accuser; that he shall have
compulsory process for the production of win in
his own Tndcation; ha; he shall have speedy trial
a, due co1rs, of lam Ali these grave considerations
sem to ave been entirely overlooked by Congress in
the passage OF this act
/ Now sir Wish by 10 means to be understood as
denying that C.ngtess has authority under certain cir
cumstances to suspend tee writ Of Hd6eGs COrpNs.-
The power 10 suspend is gwen in negative form 10 he
] ,nhrLh l.