The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-04-04

""y, "Ah Sdlciu IcVlcW vi Tue WeeE, Gam
bridge and Brighton market reports, &c, &c.
Difference i'm Opinion.
The Argus, after copying the extracts which
we recently made from Jeffersons Inaugural.
adds. -
~ When it is considered that Congress has lust
suspended the writ of habeas corpus in ten
States when there is no invasion, no rebellion.
and the public safety does not require ii, it will
be seen how little regard the radical leaders
have Tor freedom of person under the protec-
ton OF that writ, as well as for the constitu-
tion OF the country which authorises its sus-
pension only in the contingencies above nam
ed. Congress too has placed the military above
the civil authority in those States and has de-
MED them representation in Congress in plain
violation OF express provisions of the constitu-
ton. '
The statement in the above in relation to
the action of Congress on the writ of habeas
corpus is entirely gratuitous and uncalled for.
The Constitution of the United States pro-
vides that ''the privilege of the writ Of habeas
corpus shall not be suspended unless, when
in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public
safety may require it," os lga 9-a ~
In 1861, when rebel armies were marching
to the field to maintain an adverse government
within the limits of the United States terrific
ry, and nearly dozen States had formally
declared their separation from, independence
OF, and opposition to the Union as it was,
and when the Legislature of Maryland had
met for the avowed purpose of taking that
State out of the Union, the, President as
sumed the responsibility of suspending the
writ of habeas corpus in the insurrectionary
states and districts, to prevent rebeLsympa-
thizing judges from setting at liberty men ar
rested for treason and for other high crimes
against the government. How did the Dem
ocrats regard this act of President Lincoln !?
How did the Aryus regard it? Did the pub
lie safety at that time, in its estimation, justi
fy the act? Invasion and rebellion were rife,
the national life was threatened, the national
capital was beleagured, and yet, if we recol-
lect Alright, our contemporary and the party
with which he then trained and now trains.
pronounced the act OF President Lincoln one
OF high-handed usurpation and outrage, in
fragrant violation of the Constitution, with
out authority and without justification. If
we are no. right in this, the Argus, by refer
ence to its files, will be able to place us right.
| The ground then taken was that the Presi-
dent in no case had the right to suspend the
writ in question; that this was in the power
OF Congress alone, ana although Congress
was not in session, and only portion of its
members had been elected, and an extra ses-
sion could not be convened under sixty days
or thereabouts, our patriotic Democratic
friends insisted upon giving armed rebellion
all the advantage of these facts, and denyipg
to the government the right and the power to
do an act Enthusiastically essential to the public
safety aud to the protection of its own life I
AIrnorrs,. r,r ~,
perfect right of the President to suspend the
writ under the circumstances, yet, when Con-
gress came together in extra session, in order
that all cavil might be silenced, it threw the
sanction of its authority over the act and con-
tinued it in force. So much for the facts of
past history. s.r- sf $3.50 si
The recent suspension of the writ of habeas
corpus, in certain cases and under certain and
specific conditions-to which the argus re
ters-was by act of Congress alone. No
question can be raised as to the authoritu OF
the act itself; the only question is whether
the exigencies contemplated in the Constitu-
ton had arisen or existed. The argus as
sumes that they did not exist,-says "there is
no invasion, no rebellion, aid the public safe
ty does not require it." This is simply assum-
ing the very thing that should be proved The
act of Congress was b .sed on the assumed
fact that rebellion did exist and that the pub
lie safety required the suspension of the writ
of habeas c0rpas. And will the Argus in
form us acho is to be the judge in this matter 2
If Congress alone is competent to suspend
the writ under given conditions, who but
Congress shall say when these conditions
exist? 1880 tf 7a'' i fi
What are the facts? At the time the writ
was suspended ten of the States were yirtu-
ally under military government. Military
authority was everywhere in the ascendant
The highest military commander-below the
President-and all his subordinate comman-
ders, had, over and over again, reported or
given the opinion that it was unsafe to with
draw the military protection from the loyal
people of those States and leave the sole con-
troll of matters in the hands of President
Johnson's provisional authorities. The laws
OF Congress were trampled upon by those au-
thoritie, the property and lives of Union
men were unsafe, selfconstituted bodies OF
men styling themselves Regulators" were in
augurating reign of terror throughout many
sections of the South, and the so-called civil
authorities took no steps to stop the evil; the
murder OF Union men was not punished, the
freedmen were slaughtered with impmity.
and Congress, after looking the matter all
over, after the most careful investigation, de-
cided that those States were still in state of
quasi rebellion, and that the public safety re-
quired the suspension OF the writ of habeas
corpus, and being the body whose right to
suspend cannot be called in question, and of
course whose right to Judge Of the necessity
for such suspension is equally clear, we sub
init whether the flippant declaration above
quoted is no. particularly refreshing!
"Congress, too" says the same paper, "has
placed the military above the civil authority
in those States" A subsequent remark shows
that this refers to the recent passage of the
Reconstruction act. When we wrote our ar
ticle the other day in relation to Jefferson
and Democracy, we expected our neighbor
would walk into this trap, and we felt per-
fectly willing to leave the door open for him
to do SO. The truth is, the recent action of
Congress is the initiative designed to estab-
fish civil governments in the South, which
have not been enjoyed there since the col
lapse of the rebellion. Asaciril officer Presi-
dent johnson had no more authority than
child to appoint Provisional Governors for
the rebel States, or to set up the machinery of
government under them. 1t was mere mil
itary act, done by virtue of his authority as
Command'er-in-Chief and not by any author
ity as President of the United States. He so
regarded it himself at the time, and said the
whole work was subject to the revision of
Congress Having no power, as a civil officer
to do what he did, the acts were simply mill
tary acts, and all the outgrowth OF those ACTS
in the absence Of Congressional SANCTION
would have but military authority,-were
mere military fungi on the body polite OF
those States. The law of Congress, on the
contrary. opens the way for establishing civil
Governments in those States, lays down the
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