Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-05-02

terae these State lines destroy this State organiza-
tion and to consolidate them all ia centralized govern
,nent, the slapes, as States, Of federal majority
Such sir is the issue of this revolution II is, in
deed an issue more weghty, in its ultimate consequen-
ces, than any before inaugurated When these
States cease to exist to act, to control as Sates, IT
would be kind boon in an overrung Providence, to
sweep from the earth the sol, along with the people,
Better be wilderness of waste, than lasting monu-
ment of lost Liberty-sacrhced by the unworthy de.
scendants Of such progenors as we have And yet sir
the law now under discussion is the political confession
of faith of Confederate government we are even now
consolidated people-enslayed at once-claIming our
personal liberty at the grace OF man; and thatman
the Commander-in-Chief of our Army and Navy. For,
sir the President cam al c, authorize my arrest mere,
while discussing this aw-commit me--and, II TINS re-
turn is to be sustained, prisoner at his discretion
may sue out my writ and you may award 1t; the re-
turn is made"l held by authority Of the Secretary
at War the President and 1t is ordered That no re-
turn shall BE- made, either Of my body, or the cause o. my
detention" This return thus ordered closes the bars
of my prison. may study, at my leisure the PHI oil
Rights and Constitution of Vrgna-the Sl5 OF Artl-
Gle of which says: eThe privilege of the writ oil ma
beGs corpus shall not in any case be suspended BUT
this law of Congress enforced by the President at WILL
in the absence of all charge under OATH authorizes my
seizure in court detans me nprison, denies all legal
to me, and keeps me prisoner at WILL subject
TO his orders IL this is liberty have been, all my
life, deuded student of the writings Of the "great
apostles of liberty.
Governor Brown, of Georgia, has written message
to the legislature of his State; thes legislature nave
passed very decided resolution on this subject. Mr..
Stephens the second officer of the Confederate govern
ment, has made speech on this law. They all con-
denim it in unqualified terms. need scarcely say, slr
that in their censure, and applaud their mo
tires, their acts, and their declarations. Suppose in the
madness of oVsrheated zeal those eminent men were
all arrested and imprisoned by order Of The President, for
those actsi Can il not be donei Is not the poosr
given by this ia1? If given, at whose discretion is 1t to
be exercised? IL exercised, where is the remedyl And
yet we are rec DcODle-sOVerelgn StateS-lndepen-
dent soveregnties Vain, inefficient, feeble, worthless
pageantries II this lao is to stand and be thus enforced
Sir Charles the First endeayored to seize five mem
bers of the House of Commons by force, but failed and
was punished in proportion to the enormity Of his out
rage upon individual liberty and representative inde-
pendence.
This law bestows on the President the pOioer at wH
to arrest by his order, every member OF CongresseyerJ
member of each legislature of each State, each Gov
of all the Staes all the Judges magistrates and
officers of each and every State, at will, and detGn
them al trl And yet we are said to be free people
sovereign States-wth untrammeed legislatures, gov
ernors and judiciary But it is said this power will
not be thus exercised! II is lodged in safe hands, The
President will not abuse the trust j will never con-
sent to hold my birhrght at the will OF any man who
is empowered to act al pH and Independent Of the man
dates Of the Constitution aud nhbitiOns Of The lGc rev.
erence law respect authority. yield TO all proper
lawful exercise of constitutional authority But when
this lGic tells that walk the streets, or sleep
quietly at home, may be arrested and imprisoned with
Secretary at War; can but chafe under the soothing
assurance that cH not be disturbed If behave myself
Sir, this the language of superior to an INFERIOR
| acknowledge no such relation to any man.
When we anayZe this law, take II TO pieces, weigh
each clause, and guage each and every power insld
ousy lurking beneath the general designation of Of
fences and compare its provision III the aggregate or
in the DETAIL to distinct, affirmative nhlbions IN the
constitution the exercise OF the granted powers, I'M
der that instrument our TO be lost in the
ntricacy of the artistic labyrinth of accumulatve, CO.
ercive restraint thus placed upon the citizen The
law have been drawn with the double purpose
Of eonceGng its hidden dangers, and coverty investing
the President with implied pOpers which one, mind
full Of the esprit and genius of the people, would
willingly expressly grant. II IS one thing to suspend
the privilege Of the writ of habeas corpus, but II
different thing to create new powers, vest original uris
dction where il before existed and place admin
stratiye remedies solely in the hands Of the executive
If it was the design Of Congress TO suspend the pru
legts of the writ asked for by the President why
did il not so do, and there let the question restl
But instead Of doing this, it denied the necessity for
the suspension asked for by the President, and thus
refused his general request, while created new pow
ers and vested accumuatye executive authority in the
President and Secretary at War assert that at no
time in the English government, from Henry the Sey-
enth to William the Third, did the king of Eng land ever
possess the power bestowed on the President by this
law. 1t strenuously contended for by Charles the
First while he celebrating as to whether or not
he would sign and approve the Petition of Right. He
on that occasion consulted the judges upon this very
point. The propositions presented and the answers
given by the judges are so very pertinent, that will
read them. They instructive, and throw flood of
light on the very point now under consideration.
The first question submitted was, "whether in no
case whatsoever the king may not commit subject
without showing cause" To which the Judges an
swered 1--WE are of opinion that by the general rule
of law the cause Of commitment by his ssty ought
be shown; yet cases may require such secresy
that the king may commit subject without showing
the causes for Convenient lne' The next question
in n hal he
and warrant from the king without any general or
special returned, the judges ought to deliver him
before they understood the cause from the kingf The
Judges answered, Upon habeas corpus brought, for
one committed by the king, if the cause De not spe
ciay generally returned, so as the court may take
knot0edge thereof the party ought, by the general rule Of
ar BE- delivered but if the cause be such that the same
requreth secresy, and may not presently be disclosed
the court IN DISCRETION MAY FoRBEAR TO DELIVER THE
PRISONER CONVENIENT TIME 10 the and the court
MAY be Advertised Of the TRUTH THEREOF On receiving
this answer, the king proposed third question
"wheher if the king grant the commons petition, he
doth not thereby erclude himself from committing
siraining subject for any time cause whatsoever
WITHOUT SHOWING A CAUSE" The judges returned for
answer "eyery law, after Il is made, hath its exposi-
ton, and this petition and answer must have an e1-
position the in the nature thereof shall require
to stand Nth justice, WHICH IS TO BE LEFT TO rue
COURTS OF JUSTICE DETERMINE, which cannot partc
ularly be discovered until such case shall happen, and
although the petition be granted, there no fear OF
conclusion, is minated in the question" Haam's
Cont. Hist. 223, "a.
Such, sir, was the drf Of CharIess policy King Au
ocrat HypOcrte and such the stern rebuke of law,
from the pens of judges, eminent for their learning
as they were distinguished for their integrity. Com
pare those to this law, and the returns made in
these cases, aud what true lover of constitutional lib
erty and assured rights, in the Confederacy that will
not hang his head in shame and confuson There Is
depth of meaning and fearful significance in each
question propounded by the royal int .rogator. 1t all
signifies absoutsm, embodied in Stafford 3 word,
Thorough" There is a world of wisdom, and i'm
pervous shield, in the answers which should encour
age every patriot in the hope that long courts
free, Independent, learned in the law, and in1ex
ble we are not yet the subjects of dominant power
whom, not to is to displease, and whom to dis
please is to hazard illegal Imprisonment
deny TO Congress the power to suspend everywhere