Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-06-12
Gen. Palmer DegfiHg the Rights oil
Freed Negroes I'm Kentuckyf


SIR Your letter Of Yesterdays date,
addressed to Captain Z B. Harlan, AS
sistant Adjutant General, in which you
state that "Jacob Hardin, represented
to the court to be slave, was commit.
ted to the work house until his master
shoald give bail that be should not ba
suffered TO 20 at large and hire himself
out as free man, was this morning
laid before me- F.e -s
II 10 no part Of the duty Of the military
authorities under ordinary circumstances
to interfere with the action Of the courts
of the State, or to ohsiruct the opera
ton of the local laws, but il is their
clear and positive duty 10 protect the
people from forcible wrongs whether in.
ficted under the forms of Law or other
wise
! beg TO assure you that ! do not
question the integrity OF the Judge
whose sentence is under confederation,
though | express the opinion that it is
wholly withont and unsupported by any
existing law. "When the reason Of the
law ceases, the law itself ceases" is a
rule founded in reason, and 10 recog-
niZed by oil courts
The particular Law, which must be.
referred.to 10 support this order, was en-
acted by the Legislature Of Kentucky in
supp ort of slavery. According 10 the
policy Of the State, then recognized as
correct, il was the duty and it was then
in the power Of masters to prevent their
slaves from going at large and hiring
themselves as free persons, while the
slave himself had no interest in the
question.
This state of things, has, however,
ceased During the last four years,
ir"Eri n~'as-- familiar TO every one, m as
Il, in a meiority Of cases,
bile 10 give protection TO their slaves
1t was not their duty, then, even accord
ing TO the theory Of the law itself, to re-
strain them; aud now, when the bonds
of slavery are relaxed, If not totally
broken, il is not in the power of masters
to prevent their slaves from going at
large and hiring themselves aa free
men.
This highly penal law, which demands
impossible acts from the owners of
slaves, must, therefore, be held TO have
ceased to exist, as much "a if repealed
by Legislative authority.
Thsre is, however, another thing TO
be said, which demonstrates the correct
ness Of that conclusion. Masters have
ceased to provide for or control those
who are nominally their slaysa Ae-
cording TO the theory of this obsolete
law, these were bis duties. He has neg
lected them, yet, by s strange perversion
of justice, the slave is selected as the
object of punishment This man Hard
in, now before me, has upon his limbs
marks made by iron fetters placed upon
him, only because his master has failed
to obey this law Nor is this the only
enormity presented in the case. Hardin
is ordered to be kept 10 the work-house,
as you inform me, not for period so
fixed as to terminate, not until he does
some act, but until the master, over
whom be can have no influence or con-
troll, and who has, now that slaves are
valueless, no interest in him, shall vol
UNFAIRLY give bail that he shall never
again go at large or hire himself as q
free man. For anything Hardin him
self can do, his confinement must De
perpetual.
/ forward you herewith my order
made upon consideration Of the whole
case. Very respectfully,
Jao NJ. PALMER,
Mai. Gen. Coma'g.
To Geo. w. johnson, Judge Louisville
City Court