The Van Buren press., 1866-03-10


system of military jurisdiction OF this
kind, with the words Of the Constitution
which declare that " No person shall be
held to answer for a capital or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on prescntnent
or indictment of grand jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces,
or in the militia when in actual service IN
time of war or public danger and that
" In all criminal prosecutions the accused
shall enjoy The right of a speedy and
public trial by an impartial jury of the
State or district wherein such crime shall
bavo Loou cvmrnrttrt. The safeguards
which the wisdom and experience of
ages taught Our fathers to establish as
securities for the protection of the limo
cent and the punishment of the guilty,
and the administration of justice, are TO
be set aside; and for tie sake Of more
vigorous intcrposition in behalf of JUS
tce, we are to take the risk of the many
acts of injustice that would Of necessity
follow from an almost countless number
Of agents established in every parish or
county in nearly onc-third of the States
of the Union. over whose supervision
there is to be no supervisory control by
the Federal Courts. The power that
would be thus placed in the hands of the
President is such as in time of peace Ger
tain V ought never to be intrustcd to any
one man. If it be asked whether the ere
alton Of such q tribunal within a State is
warranted as a measure of war, the ques-
ton Immediately presents itself whether
we are still engaged i'll war
Let us not unnecessarily disturb the
commerce and credit and industry Of the
country by declaring to the American
people and the world that the United
States are still in condition of civil war.
AT present there is no part of our coun-
try in which the authority Of the United
States is disputed Offences that may be
committed by individuals should not
work Il forfeiture Of rights Of the same
community. The country has entered,
or is returning to a state Of peace and
industry, and rebellion is in fact at an
end The measure, therefore, seems tc
be Us Inconsistent with the actual condi
ton Of the country as it is at variance
with the Constitution of the United
States.
If, passing from general considerations
we examine the bill in detail, ii is open to
weighty objections. In time Of war il
was eminontly proper that we should pro
vide for those who were suddenly pass
ing suddenly from q condition of bond
age to a state Of freedom; but this bill
proposes to make the Frcedmen's Bu
reau, established by the act Of Congress
Gas one Of the many great and eXtraor
binary military measures to suppress tho
rcbcllion) Il permanent branch Of tho
public administration, with its power
greatly enlarged have no reason to
suppose, and do not understand it to bt
alleged, that the act Of March, 1868, had
proved deficient for the purposes fol
which it was passed, although at that
time, and fora considerable period there
after the Government Of the United
States remained unacknowledgcd in most
of the States whose inhabitants had been
involved in the rebellion. The institu
tion of slavery, for the military destruc
ton of which the Frccdman's Bureau
was called into existence as an auxiliary
has been already eIcctually and finally
abrogated throughout the whole countr,
by an amendment of the Constitution Of
the United States, and practically its cr
adication has received the assent and con
currence Of most of those States in which
rebellion at any time had existed.
am not, therefore, able to discern in the
country anything to justify an apprchcn-
sion that the powers and agencies of the
Freedmon's Bureau, which were effective
for the protection Of freedmen and refu
gees during the actual continuation o.
hostilities and Of African servitude, will
now, in time of peace, and after the ab
clifton Of slavery, prove inadequate tc
the same proper ends.
If | am correct in these views there car
be no necessity for an enlargement Of tho
powers Of the Bureau, for which proyis
ion is made in the bill.
The third section Of the bill authori
ze9 general unlimited amount of sup
port to the destitute and suffering refu
gees and freedmen and their wives and
children. Succeeding sections make pro
vision for the rent or purchase of landed
estates for freedmen, and for the cree
ton Tor thcirhcneft, Of suitable buildings
a. nc,