Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-01-27

Of war, or refuse the oath Of allegiance, or
fail to give security II required by the court,
Nov, nm ready to-day to vote to enlarge
the liberty which * conferred upon the Pres
ideut 10 the manner described by me, Dot ]
shall vote with the gentleman from New
York 20 stop the abuse Of continued, perpet.
ual, and reiterated disobedieuce to that law,
while tits tho law upon the statute book;
disobedenoe not excused by any public neces.
sity, not in cases where the purposes of the
act are defined by its provisions. Sir, there
are not few persons 10 illegal confinement
IN Maryland, aud in many OF the Northern
States, some on no specified charges, some on
illegal convictions BY military commissions
some illegally held for trial before illegal
military commissions not liable to their juris
dction, for olenses punishable by the laws Of
the United States, and not cognizable by mill
tary commissions; and many for acts not erin
inal by any law Of the United States; yet
know Of no such list ns the law requires ever
being furnished 10 the Judge, nor OF any one
discharged on bis order, though more than
one grand jury has met and adjourned.
say, let this committee go and examine the
facts and spread them before the American
people and then let them say, when they
know the facts, whether there exists any law
upon the statute book Of the United States
that authorizes the confinement Of any Amer.
lean citizen not in the military service ina
loyal State, upon the judgment OF military
commission, at the pleasure of subordinate
officers of the Government, or even by the
order Of the President, contrary TO the law
comforting and limiting the discretion.
/ do 10 k. 80. AL -.
that the law is violated under one Depart.
ment Of the Government more than under
another Nor mnst il be assumed hat arrests
are made only under the order Of the Presi
dent, or of the heads OF Departments Wherev-
er the fault may lie, they are made by every
Lieutenant and every Provost Marshal from
one end Of the country 10 the other, at discre.
tion,and almost without complaint Ispeak now
directly what know TO be the case in Mary |
land. These iests are sometimes justiGable |
and sometimes unjus,liable sometimes made |
by person calling himself Provost Mar |
shsl, not known to the laws OF the United |
States acting absolutely without knowledge |
on the part OF the Secretary OF War that he
held authority from him or from any body else |
And such is getting to be the habit Of every
body In the country to act at the bidding OF |
any Provost Marshal or military officer that |
he very Independence of the American char.
acler is being broken down under the unoheck-
sd license OF military arrests. The law, sir, |
$ not so deficient; but the people ilAve been
educated within the last three year, in the be-
iet that the existence of a state OF war iusti-
lies anything and everything in the shape of
discretionary aud arbitrary authority on the |
part OF military officers, high and low, until
he very laws of the land intended for the |
OF the citizen are not invoked by
be people, because they fear that to invoke
hem will offend the military power and bring
Is !. irresponsible yengeancc.on their heads.
] wish it to be understood that there Is
power higher than the military authority
'hether that authority be lodged in the hands
Dt Lieutenant, or o. a provost marshal, or
1f the President of the United States, aud |
hat that power is here. | impcach nobody |
cast reflections upon nobody; | speak of
hlngs, not men; OF grievances, not of the |
persons responsible for them; but | say abuses |
are committed by subordina es if not by gen
.lemen in superior authority, that require our
Intervention, and shall most chez rfulIy vote (
or this resolutions.
The resolution of iuquiry was sustained
by vote of 1856 to 5-the five nays being
Cobb, Eckley, Mcbride, Rufus p Spald-
ng and Thaddeus Stevens. Two years
ago the cry, amid frantic yells and ap-
plause on the floor and in the galleries,
was this "'Fhe error of the Government
Administration has been ieniency. If
It had given to traitors (Copperheads)
irumhoad court martial and hempen cord,
t would better have pleased the loyal
men in the United States. (Applause IN |
he galleries. )"-Speech Of james H.
Campbell, Of Pennsylvania, February %.
1868. ,u .'s |
Verify the world moves. And yet this
IS but the beginning of the reaction.