The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-12-27

8iit'h|Ia|Itai.;dls lpiispatth,
WEDNESDAY,. DECEMBER ~. 1855.
Arsunneut ~ evesdy Jehnsen - the Test Oath.
= In ths United States Supreme Court. to-day,
rsAdinsft the case eaparte A. H. Garland, of
Afk1nsas, asking to be allowed to practice a.
a counsellor, Hon. Reverdy johnson delivered
H. following argument against the eonssi'"-
0onality Of the Congressional test oath;
There being no antecedent governmeHnItc ITO 10
oar own. It !: necessary to LOOK .n we're orixi
nAlly conferred upon Congress ,,.ss al nm,
stated Congress IL authorized 10 ~ 81 , ~.
cessary and proper laws 70 =. es ~ cons.rned ~
Ia eSIecf the object they are designed to &C
Connplish, II L. the duty OF the Court to as-
certain this, and then determine wnetner the
resfriction 70 the class Of powers is that Con
HreesoshaM pass no exp0& GIet0 law or bill OF
nttainder. The meaning Of this IL well nm
dsStood TO be any law which makes an act
crime which was not = crime when the act
was committed. But the law of 1865 does pun
ish in point Of fact, because it precludes the
petitioner from the exercise OF lawfui occu-
Patton n ana d nes ~ pna snnnort Of HIM
self and family, are involved. The pqMsnmen.
u severe, cruel, and unexampled. II snnJects
him to all the obligations OF the CONSTITUTION
while IT. takes from him all its advantages
The original act Of 1869 was not made nppii-
cable to attorneys in the courts OF the Cnlteo
States. Three years were sunered 10 eiaPse,
when some one In Congress, who may nave
been peculiarly sensitive, and who saw danger
in every man who had taken part in the re-
bellion, introduced a bill applying the pro-
visions of the law to practiclng attcrneys.
The bill was submitted to the Judiciary Com
mittee Of the Senate, and by an unanimous
vote was rejected. 1t afterward, however, re-
ceived the sanction of the Senate. 1t was
iitionerrnd all others similarly situated-to
punish by excluding them from the United
States courts. It was not for conduct subse-
Quent, but antecedent to the passage OF the
statute. This act comes within the clear
meaning of the clause in the Constitution
that Congress shall pass no ea7,ost factO law
or bill of attainder. No rights can be taken
away by law unless the accused shall be first
convicted Of the offence charged; and these
rights include the holding Of Office of emolu-
ment and trust. Such laws as that Of 1862
had argued last Friday that the admission to
practice in the courts is not q natural sight,
but is created by law. and therefore may be
regulated by law, and either given or taken
can by law prohibit the appearance OF coun-
sellers in the courts of the United States.
The Constitution provides that parties charged
Win CRIME S01ll nave Tie Oclle1lt OI cOuUScl
and therefore Congress has no jurisdiction
over that subject. 1t is true that every court
is vested by the common law with power to
make regulations to exclude improper officers !;
but Congress has no right to say who shall or
who shall not appear counsel. The Obliga-
ton which is imposed on Congress to create
courts carries with it an obligation on the part
Of the courts to admit counsel. The safety OF
the citizen depends ON the existence of the pro-
vision for the admission of counsel. The pre-
servation of liberty demands, as illustrated by
the history of the world, that there should be
such body of men. In all the revolutionary
struggles and despotisms which have dis
graced the world, the accused have been denied
counsel Congress would convert itself into a
tyranny if, while establishing courts, it should
exclude such a class of men. The act of Con-
Gress under review cOmpels man to- swear
against himself, while no power is given TO the
court to inquire into the facts. Norman, by the
Constitution, is compelled to testify against
himself. The petitioner, with others, was in
volved in the effort to establish their separate
independence of the authority OF the United
States, and resisted it by levying war. The
punishment for treason anterior to the passage
Of the act of 1865 was death or imprisonment;
but this act imposes an additional penalty,
that persons thus accused shall not be
admitted as attorneys in the United
States courts. Congress, in 1862, passed
law saying, whenever the President
deemed it proper he might declare a gen
eral amnesty, while the Constitution confers
pardons and reprieves. The pardon places the
recipient of it in the position in which he
stood before the commission OF the crime,
makes him a new man, and divests him OF all
antecedent consequences. Suppose this law OF
1865 had been made part OF the act LOT the
punishment of treason, and the man commit
ting the crime had been pardoned, would 1t
not also have exempted him from the punish
1nent for the offence, and prevented MN from
being excluded from practicing as an attorney
In the United States courts? The pardon
covers every part of the offence, and Congress
cannot, after the pardon has been granted, pass
a law to punish for the offence pardoned. The
disgraceful fact is presented to the world that
Congress undertakes to interfere by denying
the power of pardon, as conferred by the Con.
xtitution exclusively on the President without
limit Congress cannot say to the petitioner,
You shall be tried for treason after having been
pardoned. If this was true OF one class OF
crimes, it was true of all Others
Mr.. johnson quoted from arious judicial
opinions to fortify the points of argument by
him presented. r
In conclusion, Mr.. johnson spoke as follows
whilst the most impressive silence was pre-
served:
"WiI the Court indulge me with a word OF
two moreY Every right minded man-every
man who has within his bosom heart capable
of human sympathy-whO is not dead to all the
kinder and nobler feelings OF our nature-Who
is not the slave to his own dishOnOr-Of low
degraded passions, of hatred to his countrymen
or OF political partisanship, solely bent. on its
own wretched triumph-reckless Of the nations
welfare, but must WISH but must make it the
subject of his daily thoughts and of his prayers
to God, that the hour may come, and come 81
once, when all the States shall be again within
the protecting embrace and shelter of thu
Union, enjoying alike its benefits, land greater
were never vouchsafed to man, contented an6
happy and prosperous, sharing in its duties
devoted to its principles. and participating II
its renOwn:"
The Court holds the matter under lvise
ment, and has adjourned until Tuesday next.
CALIFORNIA GoLD.-In the money article
this morning will be found our usual annua
table, showing the receipts of California gold
Mt this port during the present year. 1t will
be seen that the aggregate is largely in excess
of the two previous years. 1t appears that the
total amount of treasure brought by sea
from the auriferous regions of the Pacific
slope during the last twelve years is upwardi
of three hundred and seventy seven millions
but it must be remembered that these figures
only represent the freight list OF the steamers
and do not include the sums brought privately
by passengers ON their own and friends &C