Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-09-21

create bank, as a necessary agent OF the
Treasury to receive and keep, and dlsburse
the public money, wherever due to- the
Government orfrOm it, but deny, to Con-
gress power to make mere, trading corpo-
rations to deal in money, or for any other
purpose, and no side-wind decision on
a tax law will shake my faith in This posi-
tion. That power belongs to the States
alone. . ....r.,..,., g.. ..t,.,o.,,...,, f......,
Also coupled with this in Kind, and aim
ed at the States as spOlaton o power aud
of revenue, Is the tax, $50 called.p OF ten
per cent. on the circulation of State Banks,
and which is plainly and palpably not in
tended for revenue, the true object OF a true
tax, but was meant to exercise a police
power over trade and currency--a power
which they do not possess. ro. .sg ,r-iriaY.
When the people of the States gave to
the Union Government the power TO borL
row money, and the sole power to coin
money aud to regulate the value ofcoins,
and prohibited to themselves the power of
issuing Bills of Credit, as they were then
called, or Treasury Notes. as they are now
called, it never could have been designed
that the power to borrow money should
be used, as u monopoly, TO the destruction
of private trade. In nearly all the States,
the interest of money is fixed at six per
for money lent are subject to State and
municipal taxes, which make large de-
duction from the interest received. In
Ohio, this tax on the principal debts
amounts to thirty-three per cent. on the
interest; while the Government bonds are
necessarily exempt from such taxes by the
States, and while Congress refuses Or omits
to exercise their own power of taxing
them, and stipulate to pay their interest in
gold. at the same time compelling all State
creditors and private creditors to receive
their interest in Government notes of
fluctuatiug value--the private borrower Is
cut off from the supply of his wants, trade
is crippled and enterprise destroyed. 1t
was a leading object of the Constitution
that there should be everywhere one stand
ard of value, as the test OF all dealings,
both public and private, and that while the
obligation of contracts shall never be i'm
paired, the measure of value shall be also
unvaried. '.'n" -... ...f r" yfr ..
But the Congress have not only thus in
vaded the rights of property, but they have
also invaded the rights Of person, in legis-
lating on tile writ of hdbedS corpus, and
delegating what they did not themselves
possess--the power to suspend. While
admit the power of Congress TO give to the
Federal Courts the power of Issuing writs
of habedS corpus as a subsidiary aid to their
own special and limited jurisdiction, /
maintain that to the States alone be.Ongs
the unabridged power of granting all re-
medal writs in cases Of private right. The
authority for the writ of hdbedS corpus,
prior to the Constitution, was in the States
alone, and the limited term in the Consti-
tuition for. suspending the writ, confined
that suspension to times of invasion and
rebellion. which plainly shows that an act
OF Judgment must be had in each case Of
suspension, where the order of suspension
shall he a sufficient answer to the writ,
also shows that the order in behalf Of pub
lie safety. shall be one of suspension only,
and not the destruction of the writ by law.
While the Constitution recognizes the
fact, that the privilege of the writ OF hdbedS
corpus may be suspended in cases of rebel
lion and invasion, when the public safety
shall require it, meno of ability and learning
have differed as to the power by which the
suspension may be made. The President
claimed it for himself and exercised it,.
When the Congress assumed to exercise the
power as vested in them, and then to con-
fer the power on him, he approved their
act. In claiming for themselves the con-
tested power of suspension, the Congress
added so large bounty of proffered eX-
emptiolls that the scale was turned. The
rule of courts has ever been, that the body
of person detained must bs produced and
the cause of detention shown and if it
appear. that the person is lawfully in Gus
t0dyiunder the process ola court. or other
lawful power, the person was always re-
manded to abide the aotion of the power
that held him. This long settled rule OF
the courts, was set at naught by the 37th
Congress on the Sd of March, 1868, the last
day of their existence rs Il Congress, by an
enactment that no military, or other otti-
Ger" should be compelled to produce the
body of a person detained, and ne need not
produce any order of commitment or de-
tention, but merely certify that he held the
person as prisoner undr the Presidents
authority. The courts were not to be per-
mitted to know whether there was in fact
an order from the President, and whether
that order was in conformity with the Con-
stitution. t. r#.,. q .asrf rl f.I,.lr .U,
But not content with this suppression of
the right to be heard and held, according to
due course of law" that Congress attempt-
ed to provide, or they did so enact, that
any order of the President or under his au-
thOrity, made at any time during the exist
ence of the rebellion, shall be defense in
all courts to any action or prosecution,
civil or criminal, then pending or to be
commenced tor any search, seizure, arrest
or imprisonment, made, done or committed,
or acts omitted to be done under and by
virtue ofsueh order, or under color of any
law of Congress- Blythe laws nf this land,
every man who does an act without author
ity of law, which Injuries another, is tres
passer; and the person injured is entitled
to compensation in damage for the injury
done him. Justice would certainly require
a Government to protect its subordiuates
by indemnity, ifmade liable personally for
their acts. But here isan attempt to shield
them by denying remedy to the injured. @
! But they stopped -not-here; they at
tempted further to provide that all suits
commenced in State Courts by parties in.
iured, against the wrong-doers, should
be transferred to the Circuit Courts OF the
United States thus attempting, in the face
of the Constitution, to give the. Federal
Courts jurisdiction OF casesbetween parties
in the same State, In a common action of
trespass. But not content with this, they
further declare that all prosecutions of a
criminal nature, should also be transferred
to the same Circuit Courts, and thus would
be exhibited the spectacle of Federal.
Judges trying the common indictments of
a State Grand Jury, for violations of State
laws for punishments of offenses! As to
the parties I'M ured, it was an attempt to
hhrass and defeat them with expenses and
delay by attendance on distant court;
and as to the State Courts thus TO be over,
ridden and disreg9rded, it was a declara-
tion that they could not be trusted for an
acduittal; the attempted transfer, was an.
.avowal equally plain chat the Federal
Courts could be well trusted for suchia pur-
pose.