Council Bluffs bugle. [volume] (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1860-1868, 1865-06-01
tysena the n. r. aaiEs Aews
The Niashiaatnn Court Martial.

completely tn the assassination Ut Mv.
Lincoln haYe passed 90 rev fnFn. The
| sosres inqulsitien Of the Goars, whatever
mag De supposed 10 hare Esan igseAjsets,
has hurried through With its dark aad
sas6scioas work. The testimony that has
been given, uadnr that ugliest form Of .
ai@spotism, that sacs aa time coss aa
English kIng his head, will, undoubtedly,
eater into the decisions OF ihs Court Mar,
ItiAl. Tbs pfopie will, however, bold that
Court 10 strict accountability for any
conaiet Of Ia awards WITH the testimony
given. in aceaFdanea With The rights oi
every American citizen, guilty or Dot
gaii ty, In the broad daylight ef open
Eourt. The Star CHAMBER Of past centu-
raes must not dare 60 assame authority,
is the esstb 90 our sepaLlscan liberty, os-
er the iises af any citsEen5 Maa nay rest
perfectly assured that, though is uttered
the ds@isi5n Of even fiefns justice, the
execution Of that decision will, be the
crime Of sae accused EaAt Is III ~, be ex
eerared by all sincere iisnds of papalsr
liberty as an ACT u cold blooded murder.
A dangerous spirit il abroad ansnS
men in power, The disposition Of The
body Of Booth points, for its bisfoFicaI
parallel, baek 70 soGas. asFoaisiEs OF she
middle ages. Tue prisoners OF Ghillon,
TIE siap With the iron Max, the drawing
and quartering OF barsaroaz p4st, must
not be ntd models of imitation in this
land where humanity stands enghroned
in FreSdom. an a>sassin Booth, no
iIabt. haa been. anil, rs fuch, woul,i
hsye forfeited his life uaI4r the fadiRg
Of jnry Of his eguntryrn n. After u
righteous jasties bad bsen executed up
| On htm tbs penalty of his crime against
sociay, within the limits Of The deceatpro-
pristy guaranteed in the Constitution,
rhe wouii mt have degraded herself into
the horrible brutality Of extending frat
penalty 10 the unnatural punishment Of
outraging his corpse! 4 be dead body OF
even that desperate erirnius fell into the
hands Ut the authorities shielded By a
deent principle Of our rerabiieanisn,
and, bavirg been, for ali We know TO th
contrary, giTen as off,l ta Wild dog~, in
The faca of an express provision of fdads-
| mental iav, we have every re ason, in fact
"a well "a 10 pfiaeipie, to suspect, nay,
even 10 CRY out vsLsrn sntiv, against the
eitizrn in tue bands Of those historical
tools OF fssn 'ious despo,ism, such se-
cTet tribunals as those Of the days of
Laul and Sf.airi,
The Court Martial FIttiu. for the trial
Of the alleged conspiracy taat has resulted
in the assnsTiR4tion II Mr. LlacnEn has'
heen constituted in " tnion u<ut patton of
the puwers of the Supreme Court. That
usurpatiou is, however, not merely
technical outrage on law, bGs, xith the
spirit that - abroad ataong men in pow
eF, constitutes very substantial daHgrr
to the rights of the citizen. And the in
diTidnaIs wbo eub0dy that wrong upon
the bighrsi CURT known do not, We re-
gres 90 observe, show that decent calm
mss, that judicial ttmpcr, which ohal-
lsrges the respect ami eonf1eaes Of the
| psppla for the authorities of constitution
| al law.
| The pcrsaaal reneoutra with SIr. Revcr
dT Johnson by ths Court Martial na sit
ting on the subj ct of the assassinatiou Of
Mr.. Lincoln, has not weakened the dis
content Of the eouatry With ths supersed-
nre made ia that case Of the civil Judges.
Ganerai Harris's objection to ths aImis.
sion Of Dir. Johnson By the Court, as
eoanseI Tor one oi Ehs accused, was msde
as far as srch an unbFcnming accusation
could possibly be male, with nli the
soordy c0urtrsy Of gentl man. The sab
| jeet of that objection il however 50 gross,
81 insulting, and, sithal, so wauton, So
uafnunded, that one ia utterly assounaeti
10 find that it could have been uttered
without indignant protest in the pr r.xenee
of ''bench" Of military nfheets! Utter
ed in court Of justice, By member Of
| that Court, the insult TO Mr. Regerdy
johnson Is not merely an outrage on thp
man, but aeAndaIons violation Of all
pubic deoancy.
/ Ii General Harris docs nos know, be
certainly ought TO kaow, that unlawful
oaths are not hiGding either in law or
morals. If AF johnson bad intended biz
advice to the people Of Maryland in that
sense, h1 would esrtainiy have incurred
very great responsibility, 50 far as his
adyios in the case might be held to set
aside The pFomptings of indiyii iuai con-
science but be could not, even then, be
pronounced, With any propriety, open to
the charge OF disr, gartilng the sanct.t OF
an oata. The accusation ny member of
the Court Martial, backed. toe, By the
President of the Court, was, theEeiBrs,
not more gross than ii vas unfBunded.--
Tna seoret sitting in which ,hS Court de-
Eeided, for some reasons knoNh 10 itself.
to hold Dir. Reveriy Jobh&1n not an-
gBFtby of belief, on bis oath, tyok place
too laIes the character OF the court
| would have been saved il even some sneh
sa@pieious recurrence to seercsy h4d de.
elded previously that the meutins of the
question weu.d be utterly ou;rageans 20
alI the suppositions Of even military
!, ,s'iuStfce."
The advoeatc Of a rrfsyncT ia any.
court ia substansiaily eoassitutoHt part
of toe court. lis only ebIigatios in thr
case applies, under the theories of jadie,
ial proceedings, % bis client. speeIal
test laid down BY Tho acnuser far limiting
the right OF selection OF counsel by the
accused is q violation ag The spiris OF thai
printipEa of Justice. The special oath
prescribed in the Court AIartisI under
I consideration wss distinct Innovation
of the rights Of she prisoners, ssssi to shaf
lrxtens. . aesssoyeF ct she harraers that
popaiar Liberty has sas up for the protso-
i lion OF the citizen from The malice or de-
Isigns OF power. We protest against II as
an innovation that IN tFiai af state.
may lnass any man's iife II the mnrsy OF
. bloody misded authority. 10 i militia
ri court, hawaser, that asuTpalioa is o.
lpsciaiEy threatening, who attempts 70 re-
strict the ehsiea Of c8ansel b spssial
Tests determined upon nc his own good
pleasare, Il nj sAe same aima aushoTised
20 seiect--sf be b corrupt. 10 pack~-shs
Ibench whIch eoasEisasas both Judge aad
iusys The life es liberty OF no man IL
safe foF kwansy- foas hours anasx msur'
patton that thus s1rips lhess msiisasg