The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-05-18

States, and who has given his best years to
the study OF legal and constitutional questions,
was strenuous adherent OF the State Rights
theory, the reasons in support OF it must, though
sophlstical, be specous enough to extenuate
the error of those whom Chief Justice Chase
may be called 70 tty. This topic could be
IL the ChiefJustice himself was for years state
Rights man; If, when Governor of Ohio, he was
ready and eager to dare conflict with the
general Government in opposition TO Federal
law, and in resistance to Federal officers, no
theory consistent with his uprightness could
make the same thing henious crime in Others
He may, indeed, have been in error, and have
recanted; but his example proves that the error
is such as an honest man may entertain, and
such AS public officer, thinking himself loyal,
may act upon.
The trlal of Mr.. Davis by Judge of Mr.. Chase's
antecedents will have no great tendency either
to explode the State Rights theory, or to render
armed opposition to the Federal Government
odious. The personal obstacle to Chief-Justce
Cbase's presiding in the treason trial cannot be
more htly expressed than in the language of
Scripture: Therefore thou art inexcusable, 0
man that judgest; for wherein thou judgest an.
other, thou condemnest thyselt; for thou that
luogest doest the same things" To perceive
how closely this applies to the Chief Justice as
related to the Davis trial. 1t is only necessary to
attend to the evidence OF his former adherence
to the Southern doctrine. ... I..'.r .r..... .
The Cincinnati Commercial says, in the article
we copy, that Mr.. Chase advised President
Lincoln to let the slave States CO. rather than
resort to armed coercion, which was in VIOLA
tion OF the State Rights theory he had preached
all his life, from the case of Jones vs. Van Zandt
IN McLean's reports, in 1912, to the celebrated
Oberlin fugitive slave rescue cases, er Darte
Rushnell, e1 pdTte Langston, in 1859. reported IN
Ninth OHIO State Reports, when, As Governor OF
Ohio, through the Attorney y-General, @. p. VOL
colt, he prosecuted writ OF habe as corpus to re,
lease prisoners, convicted of violation of the
Fugitive Slave law, from the Cleveland JAIL and
openly declared that he would sustain By force
the de cision OF the Supreme Court of Ohio
against that of the Supreme Court of the United
States, even IL it resulted in collision with the
General Govenment-the full-bloWn Calhoun
doctrine of nullifcation.n
The reader who will consult the article Will
hnd this statement supported by conclusive
documentary proofs. While the fugitive cases
were pending, Governor Chase made speech in
Cleveland, IN which he used this language:-'T
will say, what | have frequently said before
that as long as the State OF Ohio remains a
sovereignty, and so long as l am Chief Execu-
tive, the process OF her courts shall be executed
Tie process of the United States courts must
not be Sighted or resisted but so long as | re.
present the sovereignty OF our State will see
that the process OF our State courts shall not be
lntertered with, but shall be fully enforced.
When am called upon 10 act, will act.n This
was spoken 10 an excited meeting al which in
hammatSry harangues were made by Glddings
and others, advocating the tearing down of the
prison wolls and the forcible release of the pri-
soners. When Chief Justice Swan concurred
with majority OF the court in pronouncIng the
Federal law constitutional, Governor Chase ex-
erted his influence to prevent his denomination
and succeededin displacing him from the bench.
To the copious array of facts presented by the
Cincinnati Commercial we will add a fe con-
hTmatory specimens, taken chiefly from Mr..
Chase's utterances in the United States Senate
where he consistently advocated the State
Sovereignty view. In February, 1885, there was
introduced bill for the protection of officers
employed in the execution Of the Federal la VS.
The necessity for the bill was explained, by its
lntroducer, TO have arisen out of resistance, by
State authority TO the execution OF the Fugitive
Slave law; marshals and their as sistants being
IN IN many cases, subject to heavy damages by
State laws. Senator Chase leo the opposition to
that bull. In the course OF his speech he said =
''Sir, this is bill for the overthrow of State
Rights. 1t is a bill to establish a great
CENTRAL, consolidated general Government"
Sir, there was once a Senator from
South Carolina ON this floor too clear
sighted not TO perceive tnat the enact
msnt of fugitive slave ac, was utterly irrecon-
cilable with that theory of State r ghts which
he, in common with South Carolina's greatest
statesmen, protessed to believe in, and too noble
and ingenious to deny the inconsistency" After
a long State Rights extract, Mr. Chase said:-
"Sr, the Senator from South Carolina spoke in
a spirit worthy of South Carolina. slave
holder and a defender of slavery he would
neither conceal bis real opinion, nor ask tor any
advantage for his section or his class at the eX-
pense OF a violated Constitution. Would that a
like spirit had controlled other Senators who
have represented State Rights constituents and
profess State Rights doctrines" In 1850, in reply
TO Senator Butler, Mr.. Chase said:-"I have GER
tainly answered the Senator, very distinctly and
candidly. said that ! knew OF no remedy in
ease OF the refusal of State to perform its stipu-
latons." Here the doctrine that the Federal
Government has no authority tn coerce q State
was explicitly avowed In 1850, in connection
with an abolition memorial from Vermont Mr.,
CLase spoke of ''the memorials OF sovereign
states, and again and again, many times over,
spoke OF the Union as this Confederacyr-t
OF expression quite after the Calhoun pattern.
In Mr. Nallandlgham's Argument, as counsel in
one OF the OHIO fugitive rescue cases, in 1857, we
ind him saying in reply to Mr.. Wolcott, Gov
ernor Chase's agent:-"And / tell Mr.. Attorney
General, and through him the Executive of the
State, whose vain defiance he has this day borne
to this presence, that it is not to be awed by
threats, etc. In another part of Nr. Vallan-
digham's reply to Governor Chases repre-.
sentative we ind him saying:-'l agree heartily
with the State Rights doctrines which the At
torney- General with so much ability has advo-
cated;" showing that Governor Chases agent
whose argument he assisted in preparing, based
his resistance to he Fugitive Slave Law, and
his threats OF force, on the doctrine OF State
Rights.
Now, considering that Mr.. Davis defense
against the charge of treason will probably rest
on the very principle so boldly maintained by
Mr.. Chase, the Chief Justices antecedents will
greatly diminish the weight of any charge he
may make to the Jury against that principle,
However clearly he may refule it, he will not
be very likely 10 convince the Jury that if one
man who held and acted on it is properly pro-
noted to the highest judicial honor, another
man for the same thing deserves nothing short
of an infamous death on the gallows. The
jury cannot render o verdict AGAINST the pri-
soner without, at the same time conVlc:ing the
Judge. -- 5..D ~.
I IL - m u 7. I = III IL n. = n z