The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1865-10-18
The Wire CaihmIsaIeK-

Gen. Wallace idna bis coanfreres on Il,
WirtE Military Commission never reap
ed glory as soldiers Bat they arr harvest
ing a plentiful crop Of disgrace in .4heil
new occupation. Since they. seized the
tools of Jurisprudence they have shown
themselves sufficiently ignorant and inso.
lent, but for the last few days they have
out-commissioned the Commission. Can,
tain Wirtz is accused Of starving his pri.
%soners. Mr.. Baker proposes to show by
General Lee, General Johnston and
others, that the Confederate soldiers
themselves were starving ati the same
time, and this. was unavoidable. The
evidence seems relevant and important.
Colonel Chapman objsuis on the grounds
tina: would seem absolutely laug6able to
any hwyer Of average learning and abili.
ty, were il not that they are soberly ur,
ged, aoberly, heard, and will probably be
soberly allowed, by the august board of
potent, grave and reverend dolts who
compose the court. He cites indisputa.
Bile authority to, the point "that a party in
the sane indictment spnnot be q witness
for his co. defendant until he has first
been acquitted. Or convicted, whether
they plead Jointly or separately" From
which he springs like a chahoisys over
whole Alps Of reasoning and chasms Of
law, TO the conclusion that 'thc rebellion
has been one gigantic act of treason, n
common conspiracy 10 overthrow our Gev.
ernment. Not a single rebel engaged in
it, according to the strict rules Of law, is
a competent witness for another on trial,
charged with reasonable offenses, as he
is an accessory befOre,o or after the fact,
or a co%-conspirator or an accomplish, and
therefore excluded, I say, then, until
they are putged by special pardons, by a
general pardon, or By. pcqu.t tal before a
competent court, no. one of them ought
to be permitted to testify for bis asso-
ciates."@ tS e
In other words, Capt. Wirtz, being tried
for murder and Mtreat'Esnt efprisoaers
can not have Gen. Johnston for a witness,
because Gen. Johnston, IN Col. Chipman's
opinion, has committed treason il being
utterly immater;al that the prisoner and
witness are not "parties OF the same in
dicsmept,G that the crimes are different,
that the criminal acts Of two men are
different, that Gen. Johnston has never
been convicted Of any crime, or even So
much as indicted. And the man who
advances such trash as this, is according
to the New York Times, IA lawyer Of
tino ability and pleasing, digni6ed ad.
dress, who tries his case with Impressive
earnestness, but Justly AMI fairly"
When the evidence vas ,Goihg in for
the prosecution every one. who had ever
the diismest, vaguest ideas Of the law of
evidence, was amased at the kind of tes-
tlmony which Colonel Chapman offered
and the commission admitted. Still it
was a "Military Commission" No one
expected them to follow the law. 1t lad
been decided by the highest legal au.
thority that "wbat the soldier said is no
evidence" EBardeIl w Pickwick, 8
Dick, 60. Stareleigh ~, But here not
only what the soldier said, but what the
bakers daughter in the pink bonnet
heard from the carpenters grandmother,
in reply to the question whether her cou-
sin had the clhrgymae's .Pick.ax, could
"be evidence" provided only it was
against Capt. Wirts i. r.., 4.
Now flat evidence is going in for the
accused, unhear1 of stringency is sub I'll
tuted for uuheard Of laxig, Important,
essential, relevant evidence in Wirst's. ia.
vor IS ruled out with a promptitude only
paralleled by that with which irrelevant
bearsay testimony against him was before
admitted Gen. " allace and his con.
have turned themselves from a
court Of old women gossips into a strin.
gent sci Of star chamberers, The Mill
tary Commission itself was a piece of dis
graceful LEGALITY, but its Justice has be.
come SO brazen, shameless, arrogant,
and Infamous, that the disgrace Of it's
origin has seased to offend the public
sense as If a batch % bastards had
out their shame with succession
Of iomicidal slaughtera.-Nev York
World.