The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-12-09

Grand Jury Of Roane Coz Fdty .uPpn
the Test Oath law.
Editors LateIl5gencer ,i1..is.l s=,.i 8l4 !4..l
III read in the Weekly Parkersburg Ca
Sette, ofthe 30th ult., sent me by u friend "a
communication headed Judge Loomis
and the Test tOath-Importapt0 Opinion, ,,
With some remarks TefiectinE discour-
tously, to say the least, upon Attorney
General Hall, set id OHIne genus using
the authors language, which means ali
others of his descriptions or that agree
with him. At the time of the combin-
ed coPPerhead attack upon this law
prior 10 theelectioR though not a spar
tisan," nor;seeking any 61fce, hut only
voter and, owe Of -thsLl loyal people, TO
whom / had supposed the Government
Belonged Yentured to express my
views as fully as my time would then
permit, which happened to. apFee with
subject and read most of the remarks
of gentlenIenf for Rnd against IDS SpnstiS
tutionality, and my views are unehAnS-
ed. The only doubt 1entertained at the
time was, whether any person Mho had
ceased to be a citizen of the United
States, and as consequences, npf West
Virginia, by lcOInthitting overt acts Of
treas on against the United States, had
been restored to his former citizenship
and had thereafter resided in the State
one year nert before The passage of tho
test oath IuW, the 18th Of FebrEdry, 1895
Thatevery citizen of the United States,
who has during the recent civil War,
committed overt acts of treason (nnd
these enumerated in the test oath of
which he is to purge himself, ara such)
thereby forfeited his political, If not civil
rights, under the Government, and con-
sequently his citizenship of this State,
If he'were one before must be clear to
all legal as well as common sense
80 Inrl \,
concurrent opinions of the best writer's
on International law and decision of
the Supreme Court of the United States
in the case of Amy Warwick, decided
iu 1858, and reported in I'd Blacks r.,
p. 667. The moment they committed
their political rights; and became pub
lie enemies" ~ rrr5.-fsf.r .I.--gf
"a civil war,n,ssYs Yattell, -"brealSs
the, bands of society and G Governments:
produces in the nation two indepen-
dent parties, who consider each other
as eNenies,, and acknowledge no COM
mon Judge" Burlnmaqui says, 'tby a
state of war that of society is abolish
ed. Bynkershock & Wheaton 'take
the same view; and Judge Greer in Civ
ing the opinion of the court in the case
of the Amy Warwick, thus lays down
the law in the case of our recent civil
war: "The Law of nations is also called
common consent as well as the common
sense of the world 1t contains no
such anomalous doctrine as that which
this court is now, for the first time, de-
sired TO prOnOunce, to wit: That iRSLtf-
gents who have risen in rebellion against
their Sovereign, expelled her courts
established a Revolutionary Govern
lnent, organized armies and commenc-
ed hoStilities--are not enemies because
they are traitors; and war levied on
the Government by traitors, in order to
dismember and destroy it is not "a 1rar
because 1t is an tnsitITectiOH. They
hare cast or their allegiance and made
iOdT on their GObeTHIae1it and are none
the less enemies because they are iTriitOfS."
It.was the moral sense Of the copper
head advocates, then, that by their trea-
sonthe rebels had lost no, rights, and
| the same TOiC; but the Supreme Court
thought otherwise. Then, aS now. the
permitting rebel to drive his dagger
| to the heart of the Government and
| loyal neighbors with one hand, and at
the same time, put his vote into the
ballot box, and help to administer that
Government with the other! r= y.stss &
trust no one will contend that West
| Virginia was bound to rctdin as her citi-
zeILS, denuded rebels, after they had be-
come so shOrn of all political If not CIVIL
rights, by the United States, whose citt-
zenship our constitution has adopted
and agreed to abide by; but not to take
I traitors as denuded and stripped of all
national rights untilsthat nation shall
have reclOthed them With JttCJ djSd com
pLete citizenship. ill i,,iA '-'i7iil-l g ,Hu
Webster, in his dictionary, defines
ga citizen of the United, States'i thus
t'A person, native or naturalized, who
has the pTiUiIege Of exercising the elective
IrdHehise OF thETq1Fdil ilfcGtiO1ls I0l,ich, enGt-
Z Fsl4.
! chase and hold real estate" Does u
deIIWded and stripped rebel fill this bill ?
Nor, does 1T make any dif1erencefn. what
part of the United States one happened
| to reside, when. he commits the overt
act of treason; the effect is the same, the
moment he becomes a public eneny:si Y
| Chief Justice Marshall, in the trial 'oi
] Burr, decided that after civil war had
been levied; all who adhered to the
eneSuy, giving him aid and comfort,
were equally guilty, wherever living in
4 the country, or however remote from
the scene of actual hostilities. III AZ
The next question IS had any of the
| West Virginia rebels, thus denuded oi
their rights by treason, been restored
| and clothed anew with full citizenship,
and had resided, after being so restored
/ in this State for q year next preceding
the 25th of FebPuaESs 1855, when the
test oath was passed. II there WINS
none then it is clear the test oath law
could exclude no one ut the time IL was
passed from voting, who had the quali-
| fications required by our State COnsti-
tuition aud WAS therefore constitution
/ And If constitutional when it passed,
no subsequent events could render il
unconstitutional, though they might
furnish good ground for modifying the
/ law by subsequent Legislation. - y III
The first opportunity the Government
| gave these denuded rebels to return and
reclothe themselves with former rights,
was Mr.. Lincoln'S first amnesty prOcla-
nation, issued the Sth Deeember,-lS 1863
which required them to stake the oath
\ therein prescribed, and faithfully keeI
10 thereafter, or, they gained nothing
Now between that date and the 25fh
February, 1865, when the test oath was
passed, was one year, two months and
/ seventeen days. Where Is the denuded
| West Virginia rebel who took that oath
during tho hfst two months and sASen-
teen days after that proclamation was
| issued, and faithfully. keptit afteEwardsi
l I have yet to learn of one such. The
/ that came in and took the oath, If any
| did SO to spend the winter at home and
steal their loyal neighbors' horses and
rejoin the rebel army in the spring. q
have been able to hear OF none others
| The non-com batant rebels at home whC
harbored; and gave secret aid and com
| fort in a thousand ways and became
thereby equally guilty, of course did
fh6t avail themselves of the oath, as thetl
\ plan and policy were all the While, &
| conceal their guilt. During these two
months and seventeen days no lFeaeTal
| Court was in session in W est Virginia
/ wherein these oaths could have beer
taken. The various oa1hs repeatedly
taken and broken before the military
authoritiess before tl4s amnesty Ptoela.