The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-10-13

proposition cannot be avoided and courts must
equally take Judicial cognizance of the State
and condition of peace. The Counsel has
argued that the court cannot know that peace
has been estabaishea1thst there has been no
proclamation or notification by the President to
this effect, and that large portion of the
country is subject to military rule. But j,a6
: csol knoasIedge does not haYe to await proc&ma-
tions, and if notification were necessary, there
has been sufficient in the pnblic announcements
from the State DePartEaent. to foreign powers,
OF the paciication of the country in the &C.
tion OF such powers, in Withdrawing from the
rebels, the rights accorded them as bell!gerents;
and in the proclamations of the President,
opening all the ports Of the country to the
peaceful conmerce Of the world. Warcannot
exist without two parties in armed opposition
to each other; and for months there has been
no armed opposition to the government of the
United States, within its borders Those who
were in rebellion have submitted. The lead
ers have been pardOned or are fugitives in for.
eign lands, or ere in prison awaiting executive
clemeney, or trial by the civil courts. Even
should they be tried by military courts for mil
itary offences committed during the war, that
would not show that the war continues. For
ii the crime was committed while the war was
in progress, the right to punish might continue
after the war had ceased az IL has often been
decided in the cese of soldiers who have COM
mittef military Offices about the end of their
term OF service, the right to try and punish
them would continue after their enlistment had
expired, and they had ceased to be otherwise
amenable to military law.
The net that civil governments have been
established in every one of the lately rebellious
war Is at AN end. In answer to the suggestion
that these temporary governments are estab-
ilshed by military power, and that the Presi-
dent has no Constitutional authority aside from
his powers az Communicated Chief to establish
such governments, L say that it matters not
from what source these governments spring.
so long - they are composed of persons in
civil lite; ,nd act upon, carry out and execute
the civil laws, they are civil governments.
These aresuch. The provisional Governors are
citizens, not in the military service. They ap.
point to the subordinate maeistracies and Off.
ces other citizens, and carry out the civil laws
as they existed before the rebellion, so far as
they are not obsolete, and the people of the
States yield them obedience. Now / care not
if these governments be founded ON naked usur.
patton, on the part of the President, and stand
without authority, that can be traced to the
Constitution OF the general government, or
that any OF these States yet go long as they
exercise the functions Of government in ac-
cordance with the forms of civil laws. they are
de fdcto civil governments, and entitled to re
cognition as such; and are as capable of exist
NY III sea.e VI peace, as any government,
however rightful in its origin And if aaoui-
esced in by the peoples of the States. such
goyernments become rsghtfa} though origi.
nally founded in wrong. The COVE, nment of
MaXimifan in such parts of his empire as have
fully submitted to his rule is nevertheless a
civil government, becanse founded by military
force, to which origin MI civil governments
may be traced.
l claim, therefore, that evidences IF peace
hmm nj <l ~
deliberations, in this very cause have been dis
turbed bv The public demonstrations upon the
return OF the last of our regiments from the
scene OF the war now ended. This court must
tike Judicial cOgnizance OF tie state of peace
and peace being admitted, then the act of Con-
gress in question ceased TO be operative or to
confer jurisdiction. if j: ever had that effect.
And with the return of peace the suspen-
sion OF the writ of R0beos cospus upon which
the respondent relies, was at an end. The act
OF Congress allowing the suspension. and the
proclamation of the President both limit the
suspension during the existence OF the rebel
lion, and the Constitution expressly prohibits
its suspension in time of peace
Another argument used on behalf of the re.
spOndent, and the one on which he bases his re.
fusaf to produce the body of Pryor, is. thst as
he claims Pryor is held under the sentence of
court martial, and that the court martial is a
court of the United States-a sovereignty and
!a!i1 s.s o.D S ana separate from that OF
.ag ~ saon;u. t .h sns .ase courts nave no
t sns ~ a; ;gtn saG oo1y 70 De produced, nor
~ mqune l " ~. 1le Iegay OF the detention.
n eIppOLs =, 70, LIE pos,lon ms counsel cites
n1oM Goss q nc1. sup Court Eep., SO6.
LIVES uecu ~ .las Gase tnas wnere person
courts could not interfere by habeas corpus. or
otherwise to take him from such CUSTODY. and
that return showing such custody was sufi-