The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-02-28

TO- tomorrow.
Wherever the word aCourt" occurs in these
reports, please rend " Commission."]
THIRD DAY.
FRIDAY, FEE. 23d 1866.
The Court met pursuant to adjournment-al
the members present.
The Judge Advocate read bis answer to the
second plea in bar, offered by the defense on yes
terday.
The plea and answer are as follows:
PLEA IN BAR OF TRIAL BY TIE DEFENSE.
The said John H. Gee pleads in bar to his trial
before this Commission on the ground of want
ofjursdiction and assigns the following for cause:
that the President of the United States did issue,
during the year, A. D., 1865, proclamation OF
pardon and amnesty under and by virtue OF the
powers in him vested by the constitution and
laws of the United States, and. in said proclana-
ton did grant full amnesty and pardon to persons
engaged in the late rebellion against the United
States upon certain conditions, and upon taking
certain oath therein prescribed And the sand
John FL. Gee says, that he was and is included IN
the said proclamation of the President of the
United States and that he did comply with all
the conditions of said proclamation, and that he
is not and has not been excluded from availing
himself of ne benefits thereof and that he has
States; and that on the Dist day of August, A. D.,
1865 he did take the It'll in said proclamation
prescribed by the President of the United States,
before one Edward Phase, Captain End U. 5. Q. l.
and commanding the United States post at Quin-
CIV, Florida, in the county of Gadsden, which said
Oath, commonly known as the amnesty oath, he
here produces to the Court, and shows as the ev-
idence of his pardon by the President OF the
United States.
And the said John H. Gee denies that he is ex-
frnn fhpt said DardOn of the Pres
ident of the United States, and that the said am
nesty oath is evidence of his pardon, and pfifnd
acie evidence of his being included in said par
don and that this Court has not the jurisdiction
to enquire into or deny his right to be included
in said pardon, but that if such was denied it coud
only be done by the President of the United
States or by civil tribunal And this he pleads
To the Jurisdiction of the Court; not thereby ad-
hitting any of the charges or specifications in
this case-but denying the same.
ANSWER BY THE JUDGE ADVOCATE.
The prisoner comes into Court and reads a
second time, in bar, to the Jurisdiction of the said
Court, and ground for said plea in bar alleges
that he is aud has been pardoned by the proclama
ton of the President of the United States, and
that having said pardon, he is not liable to ar
raignment and trial before this Court.
For answer to said plea, it would be sufficient
to say that the prisoner has right to enter two
pleas in bar to the jurisdiction The matter con-
tanned in this plea, should have been embraced,
as second count, in his original plea; but this
objection being technical, is waived, as it is the
intention Of the Government to try this case upon
its merits
The Presidents proclamation of the 29th May,
1865, contains various exceptions, the sixth of
which is as follows: '-An who have engaged in any
way i'll the treating otherwise than lawfully
prisoners of war persons found in the United
States service, officers, soldiers, seamen, or in
other capacities" clearly showing that the Presi-
dent did not intend to pardon any man who was
charged with the offsnses for which the prisoner
is arraigned. Had tie President wished to form
an exception in his proclamation, for the purpose
of excluding the prisoner from pardon, he could
not have formed one that would more completely
exclude him than this sixth exception does.
In support of this view, it is only necessary to
read to the Court the explanatory note accom-
panying the prisoners oath of amnesty. This
note reads as follows:
an B. The taking of the above oath does not
operate as pardon in cases where the person
taking it is included in any of the exceptions
enumerated in the Presidents Amnesty Proclama-
ton. Such persons must receive the special
pardon of the President, to facilitate which, the
previous recommendation of the Provisional Gov
ernOr ought generally to be first obtained. The
petition for pardon ought to be accompanied by
an original oath, signed by the party or officer
administering it"
The assumption that the oath of amnesty is
pardon, is wonderful assumption, since every
man could take the oath with or without the par
don. And this assumption is still more wonder
full when taken in connection with the fact that
on the prisoners oath, here presented, is state
ment that the original oath ought to accompany
the petition for pardon. 1t Is well known that
the President refuses to entertain applications
for pardon, unless the petitioner has taken the
amnesty oath and forwards it with his petition
If the prisoner has pardon from the President,
tits insisted that he must produce it,
The plea being deficient in law, and having no
merit to sustain it, ought to be dismissed
After some debate on the points raised in the
plea and answer, the Court was cleared, and when
the doors were again opened the decision of the
Court was announced as adverse to the plea
The prisoner was then arraigned on the charges
and specifications, pleaded and mot guilty. to
each separately
Jno Milton Brawley-sworn lives in Rowan
county-was in Confederate service in 1864, was
mustered in in the month of June-went to
Salisbury about the 5th October, remained
there and at other places in the county till April
'65-was Captain in Hoke's regiment-there was
prison at Salisbury for confinement of Federal
prisoners-thinks or 5000, don't know precisely
Maj Gee was in command, l UNDERSTOOD ac-
ted as officer of the day several times-received
orders from the officer of the day before-if furth-
er Instructions were needed went to Mai. Gee
for them. When acted as officer of the day the
instructions were to keep the prisoners inside, to
keep them from collecting in large squads, and if
they attempted to break to halt them, and if they
did not halt to shoot them-in relation to provis-
IONS my understanding was to let none go in
met Maj. Gee at gate one day, when prisoner
was going in with something tied up in blanket,
felt it and it seemed to be leaves understood the
Major to say he wanted it examined closely, as it
might be liquor or something of the kind in the
blanket don't know that can tell what ratons
were issued-we drawed at first what was called
full rations, about pound or the rise, of flour
and about the same of meat, drew rice OCCASION
ally, don't recolleet anything else, except we
drew molasses when we had no meat Don't
know what rations the prisoner received.
Question. Describe the condition of the
prison.
Answer The place was too small for the amount
of men, and after the weather set in bad it was
very muddy-can't tell as to clothing-they had
some tents-some dug holes in the ground-there
were some houses in the grounds-about IL to 10
died daily, nearer the smaller number-they were
taken to the dead-house when they died. some