The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1866-06-13

obserTlnca OF oil the ooI1Halone OF ALE.
ei.nes arc oil tho rights which att,ch by
virtue Of sitizsnsbip. Nov, whom do
these: utual obligations etasef .;:Vattsl,
page 96, says: l'sr. ~ -.
"The natural subject Of . prince Are bound
to him without any other reserve than tho fun
dsmental7lsws; il 10 their dsty 10 remaiu
faithful 10 him, - Il 10 his, On the other hand,
70 TAX, care 10 govern them welt Both parties
h.ye but'oEs common interest; tho psople and
The prince together constitute bot oae complete
whole, one and tho same socisty. Il Il, then,
an essential, and nseasssry eolditisn:n :nf polls-
ical society that Tho subjects fpmsin united 10
their prince as far ns In thett power. 4.
Am I told that tho late civil war dis.
severed oil thcso bonds aud relieved both
parties from the observance Of these re.
ciprocal obligations and duties? Chitty,
10 his uote to Yattel, pugO 81, says: 3.
"No individual can shake Of hts natural 81.
legianee until tho part Of country where be
residesis absolutely conquered, and the parent
State has acknowledged the severance"
And in his Treatise on Commercial
Law, page l29, he elaborates tho same
doctrine; and 1 assert, without fcar Of
successful contradiction, that all the au-
thoritics on public law, whero they touch
upon this doctrine, confirm it.
The question, how tho subjects Of o
government who have been engaged 10
an unsuccessful rebellion may be trcat.
ed, and how loyal citizens residing
within tho rcbcllious districts should bc
regarded, havo mover been considered
questions legi.imately belonging to the
department Of international law; bo'
cause as subjects and ci!izcns they arc
tho objects Of tho local municipal regu.
lationa and laws Of tho country; the
law of nations ceases to operate so 5000
as tho state Of war ceases to exist; and
when we look to works Of international
law for authorities or precedcnt0 upon
these points, We become bewildsred be.
cause we ore travelling out Of tho record.
I have, however, some authorities, which,
though not bearing directly upon these
points, 20 beyond aud cover them.
These authorities presupposc - necessa'
rily, because wise mon who have written
upon these subjects never dreamed Of the
application Of the principles Of interna'
tioual law to country subsequent to tho
overthrow Of on unsuccessful rebellion.
These authorities, then, 'prcsuppoIc tho
success Of tho rebellion and tho Perma.
nent partition Of tho country. In tho
cuso OF Eespublica u. SHtnuol Chapman,
| Dallas, page Sc, tho court held that
"Nonc arc subjects Of tho adopted gorOrn-
mcut who have not frcOly asScnted thercto.''
And in tho caso Of Kelley Us. llarri.
son, 2 Johnson's cases; page 20, the court
held that
"Ths division Of on empire works no for.
feiturc Of q right previously acquired, and, MS
o consequence oft, all the citizens ofths United
States who were born prior to our indepcnd.
ence and under tho allegiance Of tho king OF
Grcnt Dritain, would be still entitled in Great
Britain to the rights Of British subjects
This very language has been renffirmed
by the Supreme Court Of tho United
States; and all these principles here
contondcd for orc as old as tho law, and
arc Of universal acceptance, except with
tho new school Of authorities, who havO
not yet published their works.
Docs, then, tho obligation Of impair.
tial justice on tho part Of tho Govern.
usnt toward tho subject or citizen cease,
whilo that Of fealty on his part romans
or docs the obligation Of fsalty attach
without carrying with it al the rights
and privileges Of citizonship7 No, they
both cease at one and the samc time, tho
sa,ne instant, when the Government &C.
kuowledges its inability to extend its
protection to him, and not until then.
But um told that the exercise aud ac'
cording Of belligercnt rights during tho
late civil war actually amounted, 10 con :
temptation Of public Inv, to an acknoWl:
cdgmsIt Of the severance by the United
S,otcs2 IF so, then all loyal and dis.
loyal, without distinction Of race, color,
or previous condition of slavery" within
tho limits Of tho lato rebellion, are now
alions, foreigners, not citizens Of the
United stutos; and you have no more
right, except as might makes right, to
cxtond over them tho provisions Of your
municipal law for the collection Of Taxes
and for other purposes, thnu you have
to oxtond them over the people Of Mexico!
China, or tho Russian Empire. And
why is jeff. Davis to day State prisoner
if you can deal with him only in accord
auco with the law Of nations The
United States, sir, by the result Of the
late war, have acquired no right BY con
quest which does not lcgitimately belong
to them as sovereign, It Was simply
reasscrtion and triumphant vindicatiou
Of their disputed sovereignty. Tho ap.
plication of the Law Of nations works an
extension or enlargement rather than q
forfeiture or Limitation Of the rights o'
revoltcd subjects during tho revolt, but
all the rights aud remedies Of tho sover'
eign, and all the pains and penalties
which the law dsnoun unces against the Of
fsudors, an enlargement Of power 10 the
Governm meus, aud 40 abridgment Of the
rights Of the offender, attach immedi'
ately upon tho yindieation Of tho ma
TLrov sh.t 7 am nov trepchiulg, upon