Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-02-19

for dissection. Ihey then WOulu
have been hung up in glass cases accord
ing to the practice Of surgeons, and sub
iected to the gaze of all mankind; would
not the gentlemen on the other side have
made the same appeal to US they make
now? Would they not have said, "You
are shocking the sensibilities Of the chill
dren snd the children's children Of these
rebels for all time TO come, by exposing
their father, for this great iniquity, to be
disseoted and hung up in q glass case 2 "
However much the sympathy Of GENTLE
men may have been drawn out, however
laohrymose they might have become upon
that subject, it would have been constitu-
tional and legal legislation nevertheless.
But the gentlemen on the other side
claim that the Constitution, in article three,
section three, interposes barrier to the
forfeiture Of the lands Of those rebels for
ANYTHING more than their lives, whether
they be tried and convicted of treason or
not. I propose, as lawyer, to sfix some
limits to this test of the constitutional
question. The language of the Constitu-
ton either has legal Specification, or it
has not Has IL q legal Specification
"But no Gttaindsr of treason shall work
corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate,
excepting during the life Of the person at
tainted"
Now, is it not legitimate to inquire
what is meant by an "sttaint" because
this restriction evidently applies to moth
ing but " an attsinder" for treasonP May
we not inquire, then, aud must we not in
uuire what an an "sttsint" is in the eye
Of the lsw7 Aud for this let US go to the
fountain head hoVo in my hand the
fourth volume of fuckers Blackstone, and
read extracts from pages $50 and $751;
From page $50, regd:
When sentence of death, the most ter
rible and highest Judgment in the laws Of
England, is pronounced, the immediate,
inseparsble consequence, by the common
law, is sttainder."
When, by the operation Of the common
law, does the criminal become sttsint2 II
is answered:
"This is after judgment, for there is q
great difference between man conVicted
and attainted, though they are frequently
through inaecurscy confounded together
After conviction only a man is liable tc
none Of these disabilities, for there is still
in contemplation of law, possibility Of
his innocence"
"Aud therefore either upon judgment Of
outlswTy, or Of death for treason or felo
ny, and not before, shall q man be said tc
be dttGinted"
1.-THE consequences OF sttainder are for
feiture and corruption Of blood"
Forfeiture is twofold-of real and per
sonal estate. First as to real estate: by
attainder in high treason a man forfeitE
to the king all his lands and tenements o.
inheritance, whether fee simple or fe'
TAIL"
"But though after attsinder the forfeit
ure relates back to the time Of the treason
committed, yet 1t does not take effect un
less an attainder be had, of which ii is one
of the fruits; and therefore if traitor
dies before judgment pronounced, or ii
killed in open rebellion, or is hanged BY
martial law, it works no forfeiture of hi
lands, for he never was attainted for tres
SON.
Well, now, for one instant suppose tina
some portion of our army should have tht
good fortune to seize the chief of the re
bells, JEFF. Davis himself, and suppose tha
he should be put to death by marital law
would there be any sttainder" in hi
case Not at all; not at all, according Il
the authorities. But, say the gentlemen
your Congress passes O pill of sttsindel
| when it confsostes the lands. l say IN re
ply, Mr.. Speaker, that the Constitution o
the United States has stopped all that mat
ter by providing that q no bill Of attaindel
| shall be passed" Inssmuch, then, as Con
gress cannot pass a bill Of sttainder, 81
the Parliament formerly did in England
either before OF after the death Of tbs
felon or traitor; as Congress cannot pass
a bill Of attaindsr at any time nor in any
way, and inasmach IS the common law o.
England has no application to the punish
ment Of crimes in this country, declare
for myself that can see no room for this
provision Of our Constitution to operate al
all. l regard it as simply work of gu.
peFa6undaEt caution on the part Of Oul
ancestors, coming 80 recently from under
the dominion Of the British Grown, to pro
vide by all necessary, and, i YOU please.
unnecessary constitutional provisions
against the reenactment in this country
Of scenes Of barbarity which had occurred
SO frequently in the Old World,
1 find that the learned Justice Story,
| who has been quoted here with so much
appreciation on the other side o the House,
in his Commentaries on the Constitution,
when speaking OF this CT ne Of treason,
and of this interdiction in the constitu-
ton of the United States, gives Us the in.
stance CT tho Third Richard, who has at
tainted by bill of attainder IN Parliament,
months after he had laid down his life up
on BosWorlh field. No one pretends that
in this country any enactment of that sort
could be made by Congress. No one pre-
tends that the common iag principle would
attach any such consequence to an adju.
dication of the courts upon charge Of
treason, or murder, or any ether felony.
My learned colleague upon the other
side of the House Mr.. Bliss cited, as an
authority for the principle for which be
contends, passage from that Federalist,
from an essay By Mr.. Madison. | give to
the authority alI the credit that could be
asked for it by the learned gentleman, and
even more, If necessary, but say the au-
thority is not in point for his side Of the
argument, after all. On page 27l Of the
Federalist read: =5
congress hSs power 70 ueciafe toe pun
ishment of treason, but no attsinder Of
treason shall work corruption Of blood or
forfeiture except during the life Of the per-
son sttsinted."
GAS treason may be committed against
the United States, the authority of the Uni
ted States ought to be able to punish it; but
as new-fangled and artificial tressons
have been the great engines by which vio-
lent factions, the natural offsprings Of free
governments, have ususlly Wreaked their
alternate malignity on each ether, the Con-
ventiOn have, with great Judgment oppos-
ed a barrier to this peculiar danger by in
serting q constitutional definition Of the
crime, fixing the proof necessary for con-
victiOn fit, and restraining the Congress
even in Furnishing it from extending the