The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-03-26

| the Presidents speech made on the %,
of February last, defining loyalty. Thi
speech was published and well read
and even quoted in the Senate Chamber
at Wheeling, before the registration bill
was passed Yet the act was passed il
the present form, without changing the
phraseology in respect TO this matter
So it is reasonable to conclude that
under the act, the Registrar is To pre-
sumo a man to be loyal who has taken
the amnesty oath or the oath t.
the constitution in any other form, and
to register him without requiring this
er post fGcto, Retrospective oath.
! believe, sir, almost all, if not ell, in
our section are in fact, at the present
speaking, loyal There are none who
wish TO upturn or impair the rightful
authority of the government bnt being
to the manor born aud this being home
and country still, each and all are heart
lily anxious to sustain it, The real untrue
and disloyal men are those who are
trampling the constitution under their
feet, as our Legislature did, and men of
that ilk. l can confidently say the
registrars will be safe in entering as
voters all those who do not continue to
give evidence ofdisloyalty to the consti
tuition. In constituting a restrictive
act Of this kind the rule is, and should
be, to construe it strictly, that is, as in
all penal laws, 10 give it literal and
narrow meaning, as against a party to
he punished or restricted and literally
in his favor. And the advantage of all
doubts are to be given i'll his favor
These are the rules of the common law
of England and of this country all over.
If the legislature meant more than they
have said it is their fa9lt or misfortune,
and it is now too late to correct it.
But suppose the worst comes to the
worst, that the Registrar should doubt
your loyalty and feel bound to require
the oath. If he has in fact no ground TO
doubt yonr loyalty, you can appeal to
the County Board of Registration, and If
they see cause to doubt your loyalty
then, in the language of the oath if you
have, since the first day of June, 1861, ,
UOlWRtarily horne arms against the
United States or the reorganized State
of Virginia or the State O! West Vir-
ginia, or vOluatarily given aid, comfort or
assistance to persons engaged in armed
hostility to these governments, yon can't
take the oath, and there the matter
ends.
But let us see, by the best light we
can get, what the terms Of this oath
mean, and whether you can take 1t with
a good conscience or not.
AS to bearing arms there can't be any
mistake or doubt as 10 the meaning, If
you did so voluntarily, but if you were
forced into the service under the militia
laws of Virginia, ,r the consumption laws
of the Confederate Congress, you cannot
he said to have taken up arms voluntarily.
You were not bound as an alternative
to sneak OFF and hide yourself, and run
the risk of being hunted down and shot
as a deserter As to the aid, comfort
and assistance clause, ! would say
First, it don't apply to voting for the
ordinance of secession, for even if the
act of February, 1865, did apply to that
which don't believe it did, for various
reasons this act certainly does not,
because it is so modified as TO bring il
down to the lst of June, 1861, a period
to the adoption of the ordi
nance of secession Second, il don't
apply to sympathy, for you might have
been the most violent sympathizer in
the country, yet the oath don't apply TO
you, for the word sympathy is not in
the oath, or meme tantamOunt 20 It; end
because you had right to your
opinions and freedom Of speech on the
subject is guaranteed to you by tho con.
stitution; and when called on TO vote
on any question by your State, your
duty is, TO vote, and your right is, to
vote your own opinion or the right Of
voting and republican governments are,
and ever will be a farce Third, Judge
Balch decided in this county that these
words did not apply to feeding aad
clothing the rebels, as he called them
well recolleCt his charge TO tho grand
Jury, in which he instructed them to
that effect He stated a case which oc-
CURED in England, when Jeffries whom
he most Indignantly called a judicial
tiger, had decided that 10 feed a rebel to
the king was treason, but the case was
taken up to the Kings Bench, reversed
on that ground AMI the Judge happily
concluded his written opinion on that
subject By saying, our Saviour com
mandcd rs to feed the hungry and TO
clothe naked The legislature, am
informed, last winter passed an act de.
claring that the judiciary alone should
construc or interpret their acts, and
we have certainly a right to take their
own rule, and accept Judge Balch's
opinion, as it is the only expression of
the Judiciary that We know of, directly
in point Fourth. aid comfort or as.
sistancc,' these words are here almost
SYNONYMS and altogether mean little or
no more than the word aid by itself, and
it is fair 20 presume that their legal and
true meaning is, that voluntary aiding
which would make man an accessory
TO the crime of murder or sOmC'otber
felonieu5 act-it must be something
tangible that the law could take hold OF
and punish. They are not all three as
,trOng ~ the common legal expression
TO aid and abet The legislature may
have refrained from nsing the true legal
expression with a motive, or from ig-
uoTancc but it is too late to alter II
before next session, and it can't now be
reasonably Intended 70 mean any aid,
comfort or assistance which does not
of itself amount 70 q tangible offence.
1t is expressly provided that any
person feeling aggieyed OF dissatisfied
with the action OT decision Of any regis.
trar. may have the action or decision oi
such reviewed and corrected by the board
according to the requirements Of thIs
act" In short, he may appeal from the
registrar to the county board. From the
whole law it is clear that the registrar