Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-09-19

% the military powers Of the President DOW are.
Ard what would be tboaeht by The American
people u an sueups By General To- Chief. 70
legislsts. By biz decress. for the people aud the
Statesf'
The EsRl;sh Bsrons wrusg from the reluctant
hands Of John At Rsnny meade. upon the 18Th
day Of June. I2i5. the follosing provision iOr
the security OF the lives liberties and property oi
the English people:
mo freeman shall be arrested. or Imprisoned.
or disposssssed Of his tenement. OF outls~ed or
exiled, or Ia snywise proceeded against; We shl
not place cause TO be placed hands upon bin,
unless by the legd judgment OF hrs peers. or ev
the lss OF the land
Lord Coke. in his excellent commentary upon
this ehApter Of Magma Chsrts. declares that
the Law Of the land here referred to was the
old common iar OF England which required
that every commitment be BY lawful warrant;
that he &C they which do commit them have
lawful authority; that bis warrant, or miuinns
be lasful: that cause be contained in the var
rant. a. for reason &c, cor suspicion OF trea-
con-" &c. "0sherwse the mittimus 70 no cause
NJ ALL" &c. And he adds: Bot. hany man 6y
color Of authority. where no hath not any 10 the
particular case. arrest or impr'son any man. or
cause him 70 be arrested or imprisoned. this -
against the act" Again he repeats that mo
man IL to be arrested or imprisoned contrary IN
the form Of the Great Charter" and he compares
those vho violate Its provisions in that regard. TO
the "damnable. and damned proceedings OF the
judge Of he'll" a. described by the poet:
'Cssfsgsfqae. sndaque doIos. subegiique fatsrs
First be punisbes, and then heareth. and, lastly.
compellesb TO confess: and make aud mars laws
st his pleasure
When the Petition of Rights was pending before
King Charles. for his approval. be long endeav-
ored to evade direct grant thereof. During the
discussions upon the subject. his Attorney Gen
erai maintained that the Law did not deny the
right Of the King. or his PRIV counsel, which are
his representative BODY. 10 extraordinary cases,
20 restrain tie persons Of such freemen, a. for
reasons Of State, they find necessary for time.
without the present expressing OF the causes
thereof. which, IL il should be expressed, might
discover the secret Of the state in that point. aud
might e4sil, prevent the service by the discov-
srv."
But the great Selden. and other manergers Of
the Commons denied the truth Of this interpre-
tarion OF the Great Charter; and argued that the
words "by the lsu Of the land" meant process
Of law" The Commons finally carried their
point. The petition was granted, and by II mill
tarv commissions. and martial Law declared
Illegal. During the discussions upon this sub
jsc', Lord Ike. Who MAS then q member OF Par
lament. said: II know that prerogative is part
Of the Law; but sovereign power is no psrlismen-
rsry word. In nv opinion IL weakens Magma
Cha-ts and all the statutes tor they are absolute
without any saving of sovereign power; and
should ne now add TO Il. We shall weaken the
foundations OF law. and then the building must
needs fall Tske We heed. what We yield unto.
Magma Charts is such q fellow As will have no
sovereign / wonder this sovereign was not
in Magma Charta. or in the combinations Of IL.
This vas spoken upon proposed amendment To
the effect that, the petition should "leave entire
that sovereign poper with which bis majesty -
intsusted foi the protection, safety. and happ-
ness OF his people" The amendment failed
The whole subject of English liberties was
again reviewed and confirmed by the Bill OF
Rights. passed in 1864.
IN that act. the power Of suspending laws. or
the execution OF laws BY regal authority was
declared ''illegsl." aud that the commission for
erecting the late Court Of Commissions for &c
clesiasticsl causes; and all other commissions
and courts OF like nature Me illegal and PERM
clous" These provisions clearly embrace the
military commissions which we're condemned by
the Petition of Rights. and the habsas corpus act
Was il the intention of the trainers Of our Con
stitution 90 confer upon the President of the
United States = power thus denied 10 the King
Of Englandf You may snswcr that question for
yourselves.
All these provisions OF the law sre. so far a.
they are applicable to our sditon. IN force ia
the United States. They have been adopted By
every State except. perhaps. Louisiana and Texas
They we're established Law in all the thirteen
colonies before the revolution; and at the time
oil the adoption of the Constitution. They are
essentially embodied in that instrument; Tor il
provides that the right OF the people to DC SO
cure In their persons against unreasonable seiz-
ures shall not be violsted;'' and that "no
person shall be deprived Of life. liberty OF prop
erty without due process of law" Martial law.
We have already seen. lis not law" and proceed
logs In pursuance OF il can not therefore. be held
TO be ''due process of law" On the contrary
Mr.. Justice Woodbury. remarked in rendering his
opinion ia th- case OF Luther Borden. by
it'-martisl lsw-''every citizen. instead of re
posing under the shield OF known and fixed laws
to bis liberty. property and life. exists with
rope round his neck. subject to be hung up by
military despot Ct the nett lamp post, under The
sentence OF some drum-hesd court martial F"
How. CD In view of such a state Of affairs
General Mcclellan we'll advised the President
when he said:
Military arrests should nor ne tolerated. eY
cept in plsccs where active hostilites exist: and
os,hs. not required by ensctmeuts. constitu-
tionaly made. should neither be demanded moi
% eived"
rIeChv land Conv ention with equal clearnesl
declare that 1.-The right OF the hsbeas corpus
should ''be held invioIaie except in district.
where marital law had been proclaimed
Even in ancient Rome, where neither life nor
liberty ever was so cell guarded a. by the Laws
az England and the United States. the citzer
could ia no case be imprisoned without the iudg
ment o! the people. IL ne saw ht 90 appeal to
them And such vas the var IN Law and q
peace
During revolution the writ OF habeas cor
pEs was oniv partially suspended in England
The act of Parliament extended only 20 citizen:
of the revoltei colonies. and subjects who during
the war might return from beyond seas And
even this limited suspension Of the writ. which
left the great BODY of the people wholly free
from lie operation. gave rise 10 bitter and terri
ole denuncistions from the most enlightened and
LIBERAL minds IN the leland
shall conclude this branch Of my subject by
squotaton from q note To psge 20 ot exec!
lieut. and learned tract 90 Executive Power. b,
Nc Curtis. of Massachusetts. aud late one oil
the justices OF the Supreme. Court OF the United
states. he SAYS:
For convincing reasons like these, in every
country which makes any claim 10 civil or polii-
ical liberty. martial Law IS here attempted, and
a. once pr4cticed in England against her people
has been expressly forbidden there for near two
centuries. ss well as by the principles OF every
other free constitutional government" I Hal
lsm's Const Hist i. 400, and distinguished Eng
lish Judge has since said that martial law. az oil
old. now does not exist in England at all, and i:
contrary 10 the Constitution. and has been tor =
centurv totally explodeil Grant V. Gould.
Henrx ri %. 4 Hale lt6. H.le Cop, Iau