Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-06-28


And it is true that when war ceases and
the authority of the regular government ia
fully re-established the penalties Of violated
law are seldom inflicted upon mally.
Wise governments never forget that tba
criminality of individuals is not always or
often equal to that of the acts committed
by the organization with which thew arc
connected. Many are carried into rebel
lion by sincere though mistaken conyin-
tions or hurried along by excitements dna
to social and State sympathies and even
by the compulsion OF a. public opinion not
their own.
When the strife of arms is over. snch
governments, therefore, exercising still
their political dlscretlon, address themselves
mainly to the work of cancellation and ras.
toration, and exert the prerogative of Nor
cy, rather than that of Justice. ComnIeta
remission is usually extended to large class
es by amnesty or other exercise of legisla-
tive or executive authority, and indiVidu
| ais included In these classes with some ex
| ceptlons OF the greatest offenders, are alb
solved by pardon, either absolutely or
Fhpon conditions prescribed by the govern
ment.
These principles, common to all civilized
nations, are those which regulated the ac-
ton of the Government of the United
States during the war of the rebellion and
have regulated its action since rebellion
laid down its arms.
In some respects the forbearance and lib
erality of the nation exceeded all example.
While hostilities were yet fragrant one act
of Congress practically abolished the death
penalty for treason subsequently committed
and another provided n mode in which cit
liens of rebel States maintaining q loyal
adhesion to the Union, could recover after
war, the value of their captured or aban-
doned property.
The National Government has steadily
sought to facilitate restoration with ade-
quate guarantees of union, order and equal
rights.
On no occasion, however, and by no act
have the' United States ever renowned
their constitutional jurisdiction over the
whole territory over the citizens Of the Re
public, or conceded to citizens in arms
against their country the character of alien
enemies, or admitted the existence of any
government de tactO, within the boundQ-
ries of the Union, hostile to itself.
In the Prize Cases the Supreme Court
simply asserted the right of the United
States to treat the insurgents as belliger-
ents, and to claim from foreign nations the
performance of neutral duties under the
penalties known to international law. The
decision recognized, also, the fact of the
exercise and concession of belligerent rights
and affirmed, as a necessary consequence,
the proposition that during the war, all the
inhabitants of the country controlled by the
rebellion, and all the inhabitants of the
country loyal to the Union were enemies
reciprocally each of the other. But there
is nothing in that opinion which Gives
countenance to the doctrine which counsel
endeavor to deduce from it that the in
surgent States by the act of rebellion and
by levying war against the nation became
foreign States, and their inhabitants alien
enemies.
This proposition being denied, it must
result that in compelling debtors to pay to
receivers, for the support of the rebellion,
debts due to any citizen of the United
States, the insurgent authorities commit
ted illegal violence, by which no obligation
of debtors to creditors could be cancelled,
or, in any respect, affected.
Nor can the defence in this case derive
more support from the decisions affirming
the validity Of coniscations during the war
for American Independence.
That war began, doubtless, like the re-
cent civil war, in rebellion. Had it termi-
mated unsuccessfully, and had English Tri-
bunals subsequently affirmed the validity of
colonial confscation and sequestration of
British property and debts due to British
subjects, those decisions would be in point.
No student of international law or Of his
tory needs to be informed how impossible
it is that such decisions could have been
made.
Had the recent rebellion proved Success
full, and had the validity of the contsca-
tiOns and representations actually enforced
by the insurgent authorities been after
I FL ~ -
is not improbable that the decisions of the
State Courts, made during and after the re-
volutionary war, might have been cited
with approval.
But it hardly needs remark, that those
decisions were made under circumstances
widely differing from those which now exist.
They were made by the Courts of States
which had succeeded in their attempt to
sever their colonial connexion with Great
Britain, and sanctioned acts which depend
ed for their validity wholly upon that sue
cess; and can have no application to acts of
u rebel self styled government, seeking the
severance of constitutional relations of
States to the Union, but defeated in the
attempt, and, itself, broken up and de-
stroyed.
Those who engage in rebellion must con-
slider the consequences. If they succeed,
rebellion becomes revolution and the new
government will justify it's founders If
they fail, all their acts hostile to the right
full government, are violations of law, and
originate no rights which can be recognized
by the Courts of the Nation whose author
ity and existence have been alike assailed
We hold, therefore, that compulsory pay
ment, under the Sequestration acts, to the
rebel receiver, of the debt due to the plain
tiffs from the defendant, was no discharge.
1t is claimed, however, that whatever
may be the right of the plaintiffs to re-
cover the principal debt from the defend
ant, they cannot recover interest for the
time during which war prevented all COM
munication between the States in which
they respectively resided.
We cannot think so. Interest is the law
full fruit of principal. There are, indeed,
some authorities to the point that interest
which has accrued during war between in
dependent nations, cannot be afterwards
recovered though the debt with other in
terest may be. But that rule, in our judg.
ment, is applicable only to such wars. We
perceive nothing in the act of the 18th
July, 1861, which suspended for time all
nj Iotuao7, ba local and